Tianjin Cultural Park, Tianjin China
Tianjin Cultural Park in Tianjin China is an exceptional
example of successful public design. This summer I was fortunate enough to be
able to visit myself, and experience firsthand the space as I travelled through
it. Completed in 2012, This park was designed by Atelier Dreiseitl, who has since joined the Ramboll Group. A variety of buildings immediately
surrounding the park, including the theater house looking over the entire park,
as well as a Public Library and Museum and Culture Center. The creators were
striving to create a social place that appeals to and serves as a comfortable
space for all users, old and young alike. As you walk through the site, there
are several outdoor amphitheater like seating areas, as well as large open
squares which are used for all events like popular exercises like rollerblading
and aerobic like dancing lines. Not only does the site serve as a social
circulation space, the large pond in the middle helps manage storm water runoff.
Exploring the site, you can definitely see how the different spaces are used,
and the successes that thee designers had in achieving their goal.
The designers attack storytelling by approaching the design with
several key points in storytelling. They clearly had an end goal in mind, to
create a space that serves for social interaction as well as circulation. They
knew the audience they were aiming for, and they used a variety of beautiful
visuals to help create a more lasting image. Knowing the crowd that they were
aiming for helped them decide how to manipulate the space to help cater to the
needs of the users, giving them the spaces like the open squares and amphitheater
seating. Lastly, to create an image in everybody’s mind, they included a few
massive visuals that act as landmarks for the space. These landmarks include
the large runoff pond that the park is designed around, or the massive light
tower that looks over the entire space.
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| Rollerblading and traditional dances are popular throughout the site |
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| A Museum/Cultural Center, Library, and Theater House all surround the park |
Zhangjiagang
Town River
Located
in Suzhou, China, the reconstruction of Zhangjiagang Town River has brought a
drastic change to the surrounding area. Before reconstruction, the river easily
became extremely polluted, allowing for little to no access or use of the river
by locals, and because of this, the river was looked to be in the way, instead
of a source of life for the city. Along with this, the streets and sidewalks
were congested and difficult to navigate. Designed by Botao Landscape, this
space was designed with intentions to make the river useable, as well as make
the surrounding space an enjoyable park for the users. To make the space
comfortable, the designer tried to preserve local Jiyang culture in the design
by including native plants, soft line work often found in traditional design,
and a mix of popular materials found in the area. The new plan organized
pedestrian circulation through the space, as well as a new layout for the
streets immediate to the space, which helped clear up traffic also. The last
issue that Batao was faced with, and possibly, the most important, was finding
a way to clean the water, making it accessible to the locals. To do so, they
designed a way to reroute some of the rain and sewage runoff, as well as
creating a dredging system for the river. This space utilizes a variety of
techniques and attractions to make the space as comfortable as it is
functional. Throughout the site, one can find small retail spaces, several
pavilions, and even old restored bridges that help keep the culture alive.
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| Aerial view of the renovated site |
Batao
Landscape was faced with the challenge to clean up the river and help organize
the city surrounding it, but in a way that doubles as a comfortable urban
space. To do so, they used several of the main characteristics in storytelling.
First, they started out having a clear intention already in their mind to clean
up and organize the river and roads. Considering they wanted to do this in a
very subtle way, they decided the potential users, and how to cater to their
desires. With the future users being mainly the locals in the area, they wanted
to keep as much of the culture as they could to make the space as comfortable
as possible. They knew the audience, and to help improve the site, they
combined this knowledge with the desire for landmarks, to help create some of
the main features of the park. To keep the culture, they used popular materials
found throughout the area to construct a large portion of this renovation. In
addition to this, they restored many of the existing bridges, instead of
replacing them entirely which helps the culture remain. The culture itself
could be considered a landmark of the area, as it creates a much larger impact
for the users of the site, and in turn makes the experience much more
memorable. By having a clear intention, knowing the users, and incorporating
landmarks, Batao successful renovated the area, creating a functional and
comfortable space for all.
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| Transformation from concept to master plan |
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| View over the river |
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| Pavilion constructed in renovation that looks over the river |
Kaukari Park, Chile
Kaukari Park in Chile is a renovation project that serves to give
a new image to the Copiapo River that runs through Copiapo, Chile. The main
goal of this project is to create a scenic space that can be utilized by
locals, helping them access the river. In addition to this, they wanted to help
reduce pollution and create a space that can be widely used by all types of
social groups. Completed in 2014 by the architects at Teodoro Fernandez
Arquitectos, this project has accomplished exactly that. Including a variety of
green spaces, pavilions and gathering spaces, this park has given a new face to
the river and how the users view it. The open public spaces serve as an area
that the public can use for exercise, social gatherings, as well as just simple
circulation. In an effort to maintain the local culture, the architects decided
to use a list of materials that are popular and common in the area, that also
tie into the city’s past.
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| A pavilion found in Kaukari Park |
Kaukari
Park is similar to the other two precedents presented here, in the fact that
this too had a clear starting goal, as well as attempts to use visuals to help
make a lasting impact. Although they have an idea of their users, this is not
as strong of a case as presented in the other two. The clear first goal, was to
turn an unused space into a comfortable urban space to serve as a gathering and
circulation space, as well as give the public access to the previously polluted
river. As the design progressed, they found a way to make the space both
enjoyable as well as functional. The visuals of the park come from both the integration of native plants for green space, as well the ties to
the culture, using common building materials found in the area, and tying back
to the traditions of the area by giving the users spaces to exercise a variety
of traditions.
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| Looking over the Copiapo River |
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| Site map of Kaukari Park |
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| Section looking through park |
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| Aerial view of Kaukari Park |
All three examples show both good and not so good examples of design and storytelling. They all do their best to appeal to the users, they all act as a social gathering point for the cities they're located in, and they all serve a very logical, functional purpose on top of this. Whether it be storm water management or serving for water pollution reduction, these spaces help benefit the local area in a subtle way, by creating an enjoyable space to hide the functional purposes. The design intent of each example was clearly defined before construction began, which helped them produce the best possible space they could.
Sources:
Zhangjiagang Town River Renovation - http://landarchs.com/the-amazing-zhangjiagang-town-river-reconstruction-ruction/
