Ten transformative parkland projects – ADC

Xuhui Runway Park, Shanghai, China, by Sasaki

2020

Almost two kilometres long, the Xuhui Runway Park occupies the site of the former Longhua Airport which closed in 2011. The Shanghai office of Sasaki turned the former landing strip into a green urban park for the local community as part of a development scheme to revive the Xuhui riverfront area.

The studio has made creative use of the materials found on site, using existing concrete to form the pedestrian and cycle route down the linear path. Along the water’s edge, space has been carved to facilitate community and cultural events.

The Park of Memories, Aš, Czech Republic, by SOA Architekti

2022

Located in the Czech town of Radnice, bordering Germany on both sides, the Park of Memories by SOA architekti serves as a reminder to residents and visitors of the effects of the World War Two and the city’s troubled soviet past. Previously an old graveyard, the park is formed of three conceptual ‘layers’: history buried beneath the ground; flora and fauna covering the ground and a third layer, introduced by SOA, which takes the form of a winding walkway that hovers above the ground on steel corridor paved with timber slats. This respectful and sensitive approach has transformed the site into a place of remembrance, providing a connection to nature and the city’s past.

Superkilen, Copenhagen, Denmark, by Bjarke Ingels Group & Topotek 1

2012

Superkilen is a mile-long playful ‘urban gallery’ that displays more than 100 objects from 60 cultures, representing the broad scope of one of Copenhagen’s most ethnically diverse communities. The meandering stretch land includes interactive apparatus including climbing frames and basketball hoops. Bike paths and running tracks form part of a larger network of cycle and pedestrian routes through the neighbourhood, connecting residents to the rest of the city.

Zaryadye Park, Moscow, Russia, by Diller Scofidio + Renfro

2017

Central Moscow’s Zaryadye Park sits on the northern bank of the Moskva River and is connected to the site of a Jewish enclave in the 1800s, the foundations of a Stalinist skyscraper and the Hotel Rossiya demolished in 2007.

Diller Scofidio + Renfro have created a new park, preserving existing architectural elements to amplify the juxtaposition between old and new and creating themed terraces that celebrate Russia’s natural landscapes: tundra, wetland, forest and steppe. The park serves as a space for social, cultural and recreational activities with five pavilions, two amphitheatres, a concert hall and an elevated pier that overlooks the adjacent river.

Udaan park, Udaipur, India, by Studio Saar

2022

Studio Saar has created an accessible, playful route through the Udaan park in Udaipur, India, once an inaccessible parcel of land known for alcohol and drug abuse, the site has been transformed into a richly landscaped park that capitalises on its proximity to the Swaroop Sagar lake.

A blue cloud-shaped canopy of 60,000 handmade life-sized birds hanging from a steel frame provides shade for a seating area/events space. Elements found on the site have been integrated into the design: repurposed tyres have been used for playground equipment; recycled saree fabrics double up as swing ropes and steel reinforcement bars have been reused in the canopy.

Read more about this project here.

Domino Sugar Factory Park, Brooklyn, by Field Operations

2018

The site of a redundant sugar refinery has been regenerated into a five-acre-long riverside recreation space on the Williamsburg borough riverside in Brooklyn, New York. Field Operations designed a colourful multi-use park divided into multiple segments including a large playground, volleyball field and elevated walkways. In doing so, the park repurposes the large-scale machinery used in the sugar refinery process such as syrup tanks, raw sugar warehouse columns. Gantry cranes have been playfully integrated into the park’s design.

SØnæs, Viborg, Denmark, by LYTT Architecture

2016

SØnæs in Viborg, central Denmark, is a response to increasingly heavy rainfall caused by rising global temperatures and the fact that the high risk of flooding in low-lying areas meant that the site was no longer viable as a football ground. LYTT Architecture turned the problem on its head by creating an activity park that’s just as fun when flooded with water. To ensure the park is safe to play in, the studio developed the site as a purification pond that can hold still water, purifying it before it enters the Søndersø lake.

Castlefield Viaduct, Manchester, UK, by Twelve Architects

2022

Following the closure of Manchester’s Central Station in 1969, the Grade II listed Castlefield Viaduct – built for railway services into the city in 1880 – closed to the public and rendered redundant. London studio Twelve Architects worked with the National Trust to deliver the ‘rails-to-trails’ project, an exemplar of adaptive reuse that celebrates the site’s heritage by preserving the rusted steel structure while contributing to the urban greening of the city and addressing inequalities in access to nature.

The Hills, New York, US, by West 8

2016

Rotterdam practice West 8 transformed Governors Island, an abandoned military base in New York, into a ten-acre park with more than 40,000 new trees and shrubs. Four mounds created from demolition debris – ‘grassy hill’, ‘slide hill’, ‘discovery hill’ and ‘outlook hill’ – range from eight to 12 metres in height and capitalise on the park’s generous vistas including 360-degree views across New York’s harbour and onto the Statue of Liberty.

Art Biotop Water Garden, Nasushiobara, Japan, by Junya Ishigami + Associates

2018

Junya Ishigami’s Water Garden, located an hour (by bullet train) northeast of Tokyo, blurs the boundaries between architecture, landscape architecture and art. Designed primarily as a retreat for artists-in-residence and visitors to the Art Biotop, the park  includes a restaurant, gallery, artist living quarters, as well as glass and pottery studios. Its creation saw the uprooting and relocation of some 318 trees, which were transported and replanted to create a landscape reminiscent of Japanese Satoyama scenery. The 160 ponds that wind between the trees represent traditional Japanese rice paddies, while patches of moss surrounding each tree represent Japanese pastures.