Z+T Studio: Extreme weather intensifies flood incidence. Fengxiangzhou park lies in middle of two river flows which sits in-between of old town and city new development. It is a 40 hectares island situated in the middle of Qujiang River attuned with constant shifting flood erosion. The design brought the water into the site allowing it to be submerged in certain area under flood season, at the same time providing different intimacy of waterfront experience during the no-flood season for a natural education opportunity to the public. By understanding water and coordinating with the water, the design created an inspiring open place resilient with river flood. Adopt human activities between the nature hazard is a challenge and an exemplification for the new relationship between human and nature under global environment crisis.
Challenges
Riverbank Erosion: The long side of riverbed is adversely affected by waves from the navigation channel, resulting in fragmented, fading boundaries. The other side is piled with sand and requires dredging year-round. The tip end of the island continuous erosion during rainfall and the discharge from the flooding of the Lingshan River, posing a long-term risk of bank collapse.
Flood Season: The existing flood warning water level is 42.70, with a submersion rate of 94%. The regular water level is at 40.20. The designed infrastructures need to be 0.7m higher than the once-in-a-century flood level.
Low Ecological Diversity: Biodiversity on the island is relatively low, partly because of natural hazard and seasonal flood. The main reason is the short-term development such as introducing single species nursery or recreational activities without sustainability consideration, which made the site fragile, highly prone to the threat of invasive plants.
Design Strategy and Ecological foundation
Riverbank reclamation: The project restored 1 km of damaged and fragile riverbank borders and protected 7.5 hectares of natural wetlands and revetments while optimizing the shorelines with enhanced waterfront experiences design.
Flood operation and water system: A designed wetland is connected with river through a flow adjusted weir in the west of the island; in the bayside, a man-made shoal is introduced holding seasonal waves by the tides. The two water bodies inform the orchestration of water systems to harmonize recreational activities and flood control.
The main loops were elevated, and the functional areas were elevated with flood prevention measures added including grading and permeable stone gabion walls.
Ecological diversity: The design has defined three ecological zones with a focus on prioritized protection, minimal intervention, and targeted restoration, enhancing the native ecosystem and offering diverse habitats for the local wildlife. The project delineated low-intervention ecological zones, while preserving existing vegetation and restoring and localizing soil that was damaged during previous construction.
In the harmony of Nature
Besides of interactive waterfront recreation, there are activities for meadow walks, woods playground, wetland observation, herb study, open lawn for camping, and overlook for the history/city view. Over the two-year project implementation, the project adopts a hybrid operational model, combining local villagers as contractors with municipal supervision while incorporating both internal and third-party to the management. The park is opened to all life beings, including locals and visitors, birds and insects, even herding at certain area as villagers used to do.
Conclusion
The river along the site has changed several times over the centuries, and its path settled with the completion of the downstream Dam in 2007 and the upstream Dam in 2015. The evolutionary process of the island represents the tension between the human and nature, reflecting changes in the relationship of them.
“Between the Rain” is inspired by the 1994 Macedonian film “Before the Rain”, which aired during our initial exploration of the island. It presents a never-ending story where time persists, and the circle is not round. Fengxiangzhou’s landscape encapsulates a timeless narrative of the perpetual dance between humans and nature as a cyclical rhythm persisting within the law of universe.
Landscape architecture: Z+T Studio
Lead Designers：Dong Zhang，Ziying Tang
Landscape Architects：Yanan Zhang, Min Xu, Qing Zhang, Qinghua Zeng, Yifan Chen, Siyuan Lou, Qi Wang, Teng Zhou, Zihan Wang, Lixia Bao, Yiming Ren, Zhaoyan Pan, Yulu Zheng, Enjun Che , Yilin Li, Yuxuan Niu, Wenli Zhang, Shuguang Zou , Xiaoyu Xu, Siyu Zhang, Binyuan Liu, Mingfeng Li, Hailan Fu, Xiaoyun Wu
Photo credits: Zhang Hai, Li Yilin, Tang Ziying, Zhang Wenli
Manufacturer of urban or play equipment: Z+T Hapitor Art Studio
