Chongqing Forest Park is a residential community park that re-introduces the vernacular redwood forest landscape to the city. It advocates environmentally-friendly neighborhoods and addresses the issues of green space deficiency in previous urban development. The design is based on comprehensive local forest research and emphasized the value of ecologies, site activities requirements, and stormwater management. We have done a series of site analysis, including soils, climate, and topographies, etc. Based on the results, we narrowed down the suitable native tree species into four candidates, and we visited several local forests, including Chinese red pine, Chinese Glossy Privet, Phoebe zhennan, and Dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). We compared their canopy densities, tree structures, aesthetic values, and under canopy spaces. The results show that the dawn redwood, which has comparatively low canopy density, columnar tree structure, and plentiful under canopy space, is the ideal species to accommodate human activities in an urban context. The redwoods are highly suitable to the site’s farmland and forestry soil type, which will help us preserve the existing topography to most degree. It also fits into the project’s planting season in autumn. Later, we focused on more specific research on the redwood forest and its local habitats. Eventually, the redwood forest in Shanwangping Karst National Park, Nanchuan, turned out to be the premium natural model with the perfect spacing that is wide enough to create stunning shadows effects and under canopy spaces, and also dense enough to resist winter winds.
In the design process, we considered both the current function of the park as part of the Home Sales Center and their future role as a community park. The park has two parts: frontcourt and backcourt. Currently, the frontcourt is the entrance plaza of the Home Sales Center, and later as Home Sales Center transformed into a community kindergarten, it will become the play area for kids. The backcourt currently is a private yard connected to the showroom. In the future, it will be opened up as a public park to accommodate many community activities. We designed all program spaces to be adaptable and generous.
As an initial project for the entire residential community development, the site is in the middle of the parcel surrounded by empty fields, which will soon turn into construction sites. We need to consider how to connect the site with the urban roadway, that we designed a 300-meter driving boulevard to buffer the temporary context discrepancy of the adjacent areas and to process people’s emotions before they enter the quiet woods. We were inspired by the experience of walking into the forest and finding the secret hidden pavilion. After parking at the end of the boulevard, people will enter a narrow path shaded by the forest, leading them to the frontcourt of the site. The valley topography of the park creates a series of steps along the path. The spaces will gradually become more open as they walk into the frontcourt plaza and Home Sales Center.
To create the forest feeling at the frontcourt, we have done many planting studies based on the site’s topographies, view studies, natural model testing, and building layout. A combination of the square and triangular grid at 3-3.5 meters spacing with one triangle’s edge parallel to the building’s north edge is the most ideal, that it creates the perfect meditation window view resembling forest at frontcourt. We included a series of program spaces in the woods that varied in sizes, functions, and target user groups. In areas of gathering or high pedestrian traffic-volume, like plazas, under canopy fire pit, and lawn area, we increased the planting spacing to make it more general. The forest has a variable dimension of spaces with diversified walking experiences, and its exquisite shadow effects enlivened the site. The backcourt is connected to the showroom during the house sale period. It has a stepped terrace connected to the building, which is also a future amphitheater. A reflective linear water feature extends the view of the waterside lounge benches, the sky, the forest, and the pavilion at the end. A small plaza and lawn area will become the community’s hangout spots in the future.
For the long-term irrigation plan, we make full use of the convex topography of the site, where the stormwaters are efficiently collected and circulated from the mid-low valley. We reuse them for irrigation, creating the foggy effect, and to sustain the water feature in the backcourt.
The park will continuously serve and benefit the people, the city, and the environment in generations.
Name of the project: CHONGQING FOREST PARK
Project category: Residential housing park
Role of the entrant in the project: PR manager
Other designers involved in the design of landscape: Lead Designer:YUDA ZOU,XIAOLI WANG;XIHAO CHEN
Designer Team:XIAOLI WANG;XIHAO CHEN;ZHICHAO ZHANG;TAIZHONG DAI;HUIPING YE;NAN LI;XIUQUAN WANG;LUN YAN
Project location: Chongqing Central Park South, Yubei District, Chongqing, China,401120
Design year: 2018
Year Built: 2018
