A park in the forest in Guangming, China

The Guangming district west of Shenzhen is part of one of the world’s biggest urban agglomerations. Guangming is a “new town” based on responsible development evolving in the direction of innovative ecological solutions for living and working in ways that reduce the impact of human activity on the environment.
This is the context of Forest Sports Park, a new park for games, sports and leisure jointly planned by LOLA Landscape Architects (NL), Taller architects (COL/NL) and Land and Civilization Compositions (CN). The whole Shenzhen area is a pole of innovation, and so the goal was to create a park that would be as innovative as the city itself, providing a gradual transition between the city of Guangming and the forests of the nature reserve on the mountain.
The plan is to create a park that can be adapted in response to the constant evolution of sports while helping to make the environment more resilient. The project centres around an iconic red elevated path providing universal access to the forest. Built with a constant gentle slope and connecting ramps and elevators, it offers users of all ages safe, easy access to the mountain to enjoy views over the city around it and immerse themselves in the dense forest while minimising impact at ground level. Visitors to this natural forest can get to know and practise new and forgotten sports and discover the latest sporting techniques; the sports on offer change as the terrain changes from open valleys to low hills and the mountain forest, providing a natural backdrop for sports and active leisure. 
The Red Path joins the park with both the city and the forest: a panoramic route passing through various types of forest growth. Functions such as a restaurant, restroom, viewing platform and forest cabin are offered in a series of modular prefabricated pavilions minimising environmental impact. Positioning these facilities on stilts does away with the need for direct contact with the soil while providing shady spots where visitors can keep cool in summer.
Now that the first phase in the 600-hectare park nears completion, the park will become an important attraction in Guangming Big Bay. In keeping with the spirit of innovation for which the region is renowned worldwide, two research and development centres, one concerned with sports and the other with botany, are centrally located in the park, ensuring that it continues to evolve and diversify, along with a linear nursery for trees and plants.
The Forest Sports Park project received two awards in the first World Architecture Festival China: the WAFChina 2020 Award for Excellent Design and the overall prize for Best Landscape. Work on the second phase in the Forest Sports Park project is due to begin in 2021.

Christiane Bürklein

Project: LOLA Landscape Architects (NL), Taller architects (COL/NL), Land and Civilization Compositions (CN)
Location: Guangming, China
Year: 2020
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