© 100architects
The Other Nest
Chengdu | China
The Other Nest 2023 represents an exciting evolution of our previous project, The Nest, which captivated audiences in early 2021. This endeavor exemplifies a captivating and dynamic public space that aims to enhance and beautify the urban landscape of Chengdu, the vibrant capital of China’s Sichuan province.
The Other Nest | Official Video | 100 Channel
Commissioned once again by our esteemed client, the New Hope Group, who expressed great satisfaction with the original outcome, we were inspired to leverage the intellectual property we had developed. Our objective was to create a project within the same narrative framework, utilizing the same “image” while adapting to the unique site conditions of a newly constructed residential area.
Both projects embody the concept of “urban toys for the city,” aligning with our belief that play is not limited to children. The 100architects team designed these two urban playscapes to evoke joy and entertainment for individuals of all ages. These colorful playscapes act as urban attractors, visually standing out amidst their surrounding environment.
Just like the original version, the design narrative of this multifunctional playscape draws inspiration from the concept of a vibrant birth, where two newborns are nurtured by their mother. The three main IP objects, the birds, remain unchanged from the previous iteration. These vertical play structures serve as engaging elements for children to climb, slide, and discover various play opportunities.
In addition to the central play equipment, we have continued the theme of circular patterns throughout the surrounding space. These circles act as platforms for leisure, social interaction, and a wide range of other functions, enriching the multifunctionality of the playscape.
Connecting all the circular components together is a meandering running track that spans the entire project, serving as a unifying element and transforming the playscape into a multi-functional circuit of events to be enjoyed by both children and adults.
Various features have been incorporated into this playscape, including a sunken sandpit, swings, a trampoline, a fitness core, a Chinese chess table, elderly exercise equipment, and seating components under an eggshell-shaped canopy, providing shade.
To ensure a comprehensive urban intervention, we have enhanced the surrounding landscape with circular shapes consisting of lush greenery, bushes, flowers, and trees. Significantly increasing the amount of green areas, these additions create a green buffer that shields the playscape from the adjacent residential buildings.
The colorful EPDM flooring, designed to absorb impacts during play, showcases an array of patterns, graphics, and interactive games, facilitating connections between different spaces and activities within the area.
During nighttime, the project comes to life through decorative lighting using flexible LED strips, accentuating the meandering shapes of the eggshells. This includes the eggshells representing the emerging chicks as well as the canopies providing shading. For functional lighting, lampposts have been designed with smaller eggshell-shaped lamps atop them
Credits
PROJECT NAME: THE OTHER NEST
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: Matías Hernández, Jenny Fan & Eva Jiang.
CLIENT: New Hope Group
SIZE: 2,200 m2
STATUS: Built
LOCATION: Chengdu (China)
PHOTOGRAPHY: Rex Zou
VIDEOGRAPHY: Rex Zou
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What is a neighborhood intervention?
This is the medium-scale type of intervention that takes place in the public realm of a city, related to the altering of a portion of a neighborhood. A type of intervention of such magnitude and notoriety impacts not only the immediate surrounding urban environment but rather the urban dynamics of a whole neighborhood, becoming an urban landmark and a local attractor of social interactions in a given neighborhood.
The main objective of this typology is to trigger massive public interest in the place through a strong visual impact and injection of activities, encouraging the increase of high public influx and establishing an urban landmark that can cultivate important human dynamics and boost commercial activity. These phenomena are achieved through the creation of spaces for leisure, entertainment, play and collective joy, catalyzing important social interactions throughout the neighborhood.
This topology of intervention, normally is used by real state developers to bring fresh and unique ideas to the public realm of their urban developments, which contributes to stand out in the market, establishing a distinct brand identity through innovative, and user-oriented design solutions that enhance the quality of life and thus, the appeal and value in the eyes of potential buyers or tenants, increasing the marketability of the project and potentially leading to higher property values, rental rates and ultimately faster sell out. This interventions maximize the value of the entire neighborhood.
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