Once celebrated for its expansive beauty, Gaoyou Lake—one of China’s largest freshwater lakes has gradually lost its ecological and cultural vitality under the pressures of rapid urbanisation. Located at the edge of the lake, the project site is a marginal wasteland connected to a small fishing haven, where traces of a once-thriving waterscape now linger as fragments of memory.

Over the past decades, the aggressive expansion of nearby cities and industries has consumed land resources, polluted water systems, and caused a continuous decline of wetlands. At the same time, local fishing communities, long dependent on the lake, face increasing uncertainty. Limited by seasonal conditions, their livelihoods are unstable, while their living environments continue to deteriorate.

Rather than imposing a heavy-handed solution, this project proposes a strategy of minimal intervention, allowing ecological processes and human activities to gradually re-establish equilibrium. In the haven, lightweight wooden dwellings replace life on boats, offering dignity and stability to fishermen. A simple boardwalk weaves through the site, forming both a daily route and a spatial narrative that reconnects people to the water.

Within the wasteland, the design refrains from overdevelopment, instead activating the latent potential of the landscape. By restoring habitats and preserving the site’s raw character, the project creates a subtle yet resilient ecological framework. Boats appear in the distance, water levels fluctuate, and seasonal changes become part of the lived experience.

This proposal challenges the conventional dominance of human intervention over nature. Instead, it embraces a slower, adaptive approach—one that prioritises coexistence, low-cost construction, and long-term sustainability. Through the integration of memory, ecology, and everyday life, the project reimagines Gaoyou Lake not as a lost landscape, but as a living system capable of renewal.