Once widely recognised for its riverfront farming, fishing and nurseries, the land upon which the new Sanlin Bund Ecological Park is to sit, will once again be utilised for cultivation through native farming ecosystems. Designed to sit on 241-hectares, this new urban park will surround the city of Shanghai, creating “green lungs” that will, it is hoped, negate the effects of global warming.

In a city with 24 million inhabitants, a project of this scale is imperative to the health of the city. Centered on the Huangpu waterfront, the project will feature a grand festival plaza and landmark arch that will serve to frame the entrance to the park, as well as a new art museum.

In weaving together strands of the Sanlin culture, the design by TLS Landscapes Architecture focuses on the theme of “working the land”. A varying topography of hills and valleys forms the foundation of the park, which is created utilising harvested rubble and fill from onsite urban demolition and housing and underground garage construction.

In laying out the park in this diverse manner, the site offers biodiversity and multiple ecosystem cultivation – cypress bogs, aquatic gardens, emergent wetlands, lowland meadows, and vast upland forests – to produce a comprehensive visitor experience. Dense forest frames a series of ‘valleys’, each space then offers a specific programmatic focus, like urban sports, sustainable farming with a rustic lodge, sculpture park, children’s ecological learning centre, and wind harvesting.

Not just used as a means to separate the ‘themes’ of the park, the varied topography also serves a greater purpose. The area has been crafted to direct summer breezes through and block cold winter winds from living spaces and adjacent areas of the city.

Pedestrian bridges spanning the entire park allow pedestrians and bikers to safely navigate through the park’s roads, moving from peak to peak without having to worry about vehicles.

A complex system of waterways including canals, seasonal streams and ponds are injected throughout the park to form a massive bio-filtering system – known as a ‘sponge city’ – at the behest of the Government. The system will work to process and manage runoff as a means of protecting the city of Shanghai from flooding – a real possibility due to rapid urban growth.

The Sanlin Bund Ecological Park is expected to be completed in 2-3 years.

Check out the proposed Sanlin eco-park.