CHONGQING FOREST PARK

Chongqing Forest Park is a residential community park that re-introduces the vernacular redwood forest landscape to the city. It advocates environmentally-friendly neighborhoods and addresses the issues of green space deficiency in previous urban development. 

The design is based on comprehensive local forest research and emphasized the value of ecologies, site activities requirements, and stormwater management.

We visited four candidate species forests and compared their canopy densities, tree structures, aesthetic values, and under canopy spaces. The redwood forest in Shanwangping Karst National Park, Nanchuan, turned out to be the premium natural model with the perfect spacing that is wide enough to create stunning shadows effects, and also dense enough to resist winter winds. 

We considered both the current function of the park as part of the Home Sales Center and their future role as a community park that all program spaces are adaptable and generous. In the frontcourt, we used a combination of the square and triangular grid at 3-3.5 meters spacing with one triangle's edge parallel to the building's north edge for the best views. The forest has a variable dimension of spaces with diversified walking experiences, and its exquisite shadow effects enlivened the site. The backcourt has a stepped terrace connected to the building, which is also a future amphitheater. A reflective linear water feature extends the view of the waterside lounge benches, the sky, the forest, and the pavilion at the end. A small plaza and lawn area will become the community's hangout spots in the future. 

For the long-term irrigation plan, we make full use of the convex topography of the site, where the stormwaters are efficiently collected and circulated from the mid-low valley. We reuse them for irrigation, creating the foggy effect, and to sustain the water feature in the backcourt. 

The park will continuously serve and benefit the people, the city, and the environment in generations.