Design Concept
Human needs serve as the project’s fundamental design criterion. The design team began with a simple yet demanding question: Would our own children want to play here, and would our own parents enjoy walking here?
This perspective directly addresses the lack of nearby public park resources in the surrounding old urban district, allowing the community landscape itself to become the primary setting for daily leisure, social interaction, and neighborhood life.
The design adheres to the principle that form follows function. Rather than adopting complicated circulation systems, it employs a clear courtyard-based layout. The conventional axial swimming pool arrangement was replaced by a large central lawn, strengthening opportunities for neighborly interaction and creating a more vivid sense of communal life.
The overall landscape is shaped around seasonal patterns of use across spring, summer, autumn, and winter. It is conceived not merely as scenery, but as a medium for social exchange, emotional resonance, and enduring community identity, giving the neighborhood a lasting sense of warmth and memorability.
Courtyard Spatial System
The project establishes ten courtyards in three groups, corresponding to three key dimensions of daily life: arrival, strolling, and play. Together, they create a sequence of experiences that unfolds from short, intimate moments to longer, more immersive journeys.
•Arrival Courtyards
The arrival sequence is divided between the south and north entrances, each designed to support a transition in mood upon returning home.
At the south entrance, the design draws inspiration from the layered spatial progression of Jingxin Studio in Beihai Park, Beijing. A seven-meter courtyard wall and an orchid-themed screen wall create a deep, inward-looking space that filters out the noise of the city. Scholar trees reinforce a calm and cultured atmosphere.
At the north entrance, champagne-gold folded metal panels extend a sense of interior warmth into the landscape. Shallow water and the swimming pool reflect the changing sky and clouds, while trees with soft, feather-like compound foliage temper the space, creating a quiet and welcoming arrival experience.
•Promenade Courtyards
A 500-meter linear plaza and a weather-protected covered walkway form the framework of the promenade courtyards. The widened corridors respond to Chongqing residents’ everyday habit of walking and lingering outdoors.
Seasonally themed pavilions and covered structures are positioned in relation to sunlight conditions, forming social spaces that remain comfortable throughout the day and across the year. The system accommodates a variety of activities, including strolling, informal gathering, skateboarding, and fitness.
•Play Courtyards
As the energetic heart of the community, the play courtyards consist of a large maze, a neighborhood “ba-ba” gathering space, and the central lawn.
The maze is conceived as an equipment-free land art playground, encouraging open-ended exploration and intergenerational parent-child interaction.
The ba-ba, inspired by Chongqing’s local tradition of informal communal gathering grounds, is organized across upper and lower terraces. The upper terrace supports quiet resting and observation, while the lower terrace accommodates more active uses. Together, they connect efficiently with the central lawn and form a flexible, vibrant community hub.
Contemporary Translation of Classical Garden Principles
The design draws deeply from the spatial wisdom of the Master of the Nets Garden in Suzhou, translating classical garden strategies into a contemporary residential setting.
Changes in elevation are used to enrich visual experience; compact spaces are optimized for multiple modes of use; and the expressive qualities of planting are carefully explored to shape distinct atmospheres. In this way, the everyday charm of the classical Chinese garden is reinterpreted to meet the needs of modern community life.
Activity-Generating Landscape Design
The project creates highly composite, intensively used outdoor spaces and moves beyond the conventional model of a single-purpose, equipment-based children’s play area.
Instead, the landscape acts as a catalyst for behavior. It supports children’s play, adult socializing, and elderly recreation within a shared spatial framework, activating the community across different times of day and for users of all ages.
