Man and the legacy of railway -Wudaokou Railway Park Design
Urban Public Space Planning and Design
Beijing Forestry University
The Wudaokou Railway Park explores the transformative possibilities hidden within urban infrastructure, reshaping railway fragments into meaningful landscape experiences. Set upon a former section of the century-old Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, this site once harmoniously merged railway activities with natural open farmland. However, drastic urban growth gradually encroached upon this natural context, embedding the rail lines deep into the dense urban fabric. After ceasing operation in 2016, the railway tracks became inaccessible, trapped behind fences and vegetation, turning historical infrastructure into disconnected grey patches and negative urban spaces.
Our design seeks to reclaim and revitalize these forgotten infrastructures, turning unreachable segments of railway into approachable fragments of urban history. By optimized pathway systems informed by intelligent algorithms, the design naturally guides pedestrian movement, creating meandering routes that reconnect the city fabric. Sculptural landforms carefully reference and respond to the varied characteristic landscapes originally found along the historic railway trajectory, seamlessly enhancing user experiences and promoting closer connectivity with history and surrounding environments.
Moreover, we strategically integrate iconic railway elements—such as weathered rails, sleepers, gravel, weathering steel, and concrete blocks—into the existing site conditions, transforming isolated infrastructure into vivid spatial memories. The tangible presence of these symbolic elements actively awakens site memories, fostering curiosity, exploration, and emotional bonding.
By combining intelligent optimization of circulation networks, terrain forms echoing historical regional landforms, and symbolic integration of railway heritage elements, the park reinvigorates urban life, reconnecting communities with their collective memory, and establishing a vibrant dialogue among history, nature, and urban experiences.