LOTUS POND

Immersed in the pond fantasy (under construction)

LOTUS POND

24

Jun

2022

Wuxi

Lotus Pond
Wuxi | jiangsu | China
 
Lotus Pond is 100 Architect’s creative design response to the invitation from the Local Government of Luoshe Town to participate in their open bidding for the renovation of Luoshe Town’s Main Square, a 10,000 m2 plaza in the neuralgic center of Luoshe Town, a famous and historical cultural town in the south of Yangtze River, with more than 1,600 years of history, located in the North-West of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China.
 

Lotus Pond (under construction) | Official Video | 100 Channel
 




 

© 100architects


The Main Square of Luoshe is the main catalyzer of social life in the Town, a space widely used by its citizens as gathering point, where authorities host official events, concerts, dances and other performances, where ladys get together for group-dancing at night, where elders get together to play mahjong or practice Chinese calligraphy with water on the pavement.
 
 

© 100architects


 

© 100architects


The Urban Planning Bureau was aiming at renovating and modernizing the most significant public space in the Town, to keep being the most relevant public space in the Town, but also to become an urban landmark beyond Luoshe’s limits, that could symbolize the great growth and development experienced by Luoshe, widely known as “China’s Township Star” for its achievements.
 
 

© 100architects


Besides renovating the image of the Square, the scope of work included the addition of new public amenities that could enhance the experience of citizens in the public realm, equipping the Square with eye-catching and functional features, such as a performance area, leisure areas, play & entertainment area for children, as well as F&B & retail units. All in all, a public space activation project that aims for a trendy outdoor lifestyle hub and gathering point for the local community as well as for visitors to Luoshe.
 
 


 

© 100architects


The proposal, inspired by traditional Chinese paintings of lotus ponds, where artists usually render images of floating Water Lilies and Oriental Koi fishes, intends the architecturalization of that traditional image turned into a dynamic square. To achieve that, we draw inspiration from geometrical patterns and lines in the pavement design that could resemble water ripples enclosing functional areas while also encouraging certain pedestrian circulations and flows of people around them. In between the water ripples that act as functional cores, rolling stones are used in the pavement design to enhance the overall Pond look & feel.
 
 

© 100architects


 

© 100architects


Two large green areas, in the shape of water lilies, are placed facing the two main roads that surround the square, as green buffers to isolate the Square’s inner space from the buzzy roads. This action allows us to have a peaceful oasis of calm within the busy town center.
 
The central space of the Square counts with a 2.400 m2 obstacles-free main activity core for large public events with a capacity of up to 800 people, also equipped with a large public amphitheater capable of accommodating a large number of spectators in those large events planned by the Town Hall, but also able to act as a main meeting and gathering point during normal days. This public amphitheater is strategically located to cover at the same time the existing access to the car park located beneath the Square.
 
 

© 100architects


Around that central core of public activity, we laid out a resting ring composed by a series of 12 colorful and sculptural canopies in the shape of lotus flowers in different blooming stages, which, in addition to being decorative elements, provide shelter to the resting mini-plazas hosted beneath them.
 
 
The new proposal will also count with a dedicated Children Play Area, strategically located in the safest corner of the Square, away from the main roads with heavy traffic and protected by the existing construction that gives vehicles access to the underground parking lot. In order to protect kids from sun and rain, the entire playground is covered with green canopies in the shape of water lilies, conceding an interesting forest-like appearance to kids playing inside. Those green canopies are then multiplied along the retail street adjacent to the residential tower, setting the border between square and retail street.
 
 

© 100architects


The most spectacular and significant addition to this new version of the Plaza, is a new Sky Park, a system of elevated platforms is the shape of rolling stones, thought to comply with 3 functions. Firstly, covering both entry & exit car ramps leading to the underground parking lot, allowing us to get rid of the existing constructions built for that purpose, and consequently opening up the square towards that service road with important F&B character. Secondly, hosting underneath 3 covered pavilions for relocating the public WC, an indoor Aced resting area for elders, and a rentable commercial space to equip the square with a small convenience store. And last but most innovative, an elevated walkable park equipped with resting and gathering areas besides lush greenery as a new platform for pleasant social interactions, offering new and interesting visuals over the main central performance space and the city itself.
 
Altogether, the proposal creates a very eye-catching, stimulating and renovated Urban Heart for Luoshe Town, a powerful catalyzer of social life for all citizens and social groups, which will also boost the commercial activity in the area.
 
 

© 100architects


 

© 100architects


 

© 100architects


 

© 100architects



 

© 100architects


 

© 100architects


 

© 100architects


 

© 100architects


 

© 100architects


 
Credits
 
PROJECT NAME: Lotus Pond
DESIGN: 100 Architects (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
DESIGN TEAM: Marcial Jesús, Javier González, Mónica Páez, Lara Broglio, Ponyo Zhao, Keith Gong, Cosima Jiang, Michelle Aldora & Yuntong Liu.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM: Jenny Fan, Nicholas Lv & Eva Jiang.
CLIENT: Luoshe Town Local Government
SIZE: 15,000 m2
STATUS: Under Construction
LOCATION: Luoshe Town, Wuxi (China)
RENDERS: 100 Architects (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

More images

Metropolitan Intervention

What is a metropolitan intervention?
This is the largest scale type of interventions that take place in the public realm of a city, related to the altering of an important portion of a city. A type of intervention of such magnitude and notoriety that impacts not only at neighborhood scale, but rather the way the city is perceived and experienced, becoming a metropolitan landmark, a metropolitan super-attractor of social interactions, and a trendy international destination for local citizens & tourists.
 
This typology combines urban planning and landscape design, intervening the city at waterfronts, bridges, parks, or whole districts, by improving the quality of its public realm, creating spaces of opportunity for collective outdoor leisure, mixed-use entertainment spaces, play & joy, etc. Interventions of this proportions catalyze major social interactions across the city, boosting commercial activity and real estate development.
 
This typology is normally used by Municipalities & Local Governments to revitalize public spaces and establish a unique brand and identity for their cities, making them more functional, aesthetically pleasing, and engaging for the community, with innovative urban solutions that enhance the quality of life and promote economic development & tourism.

insta100

Latest Moments
Special place rich in colors and activities

Special place rich in colors and activities

the huge dome was very soft and colorful, perfeto for a nice picture

Photo by Magic Jimmy

Taken at THE OTHER NEST

Swinging in Hangzhou

Swinging in Hangzhou

Kids alwayas love to find different ways to play

Photo by Mario Chan

Taken at THE OTHER NEST

Challenging truck for little kids

Challenging truck for little kids

I love this truck cause you can follow it with your son and go from one game to another one.

Photo by Camilla Sam

Taken at MĂ WAY

Publications

Latest
The Nest in Transform

The Nest in Transform

It’s not classical landscape architecture where design focuses on elegant alignment with a space’s existing character, but “injecting identity into places that do not have one,” he says.

The Nest in Transform

Marcial Jesús in Diario Financiero

Marcial Jesús in Diario Financiero

El arquitecto chileno que revoluciona el espacio público desde China.

Marcial Jesús in Diario Financiero

The Other Nest in Topscape

The Other Nest in Topscape

The Other Nest é un sistema ludico iperstimolante e multifunzionale vocato al gioco per tutte le età realizzato da 100architects,...

The Other Nest in Topscape

Moments & Experiences

Insta 100