Client: The City of Hangzhou - Project Partners: Archi-Tectonics, Thornton Tomasetti - Awards: 2022 Luban Award for Hangzhou Gongshu Canal Sports Park, 2022 Architizer A+ Award for Hangzhou Gongshu Canal Sports Park, 2022 PLAN Award for Hangzhou Gongshu Canal Sports Park
Gongshu Canal Sports Park - Hangzhou
Project Info
!melk’s competition-winning design for this 2023 Asian Games site in Hangzhou takes cues from the city’s rich history - which was once a robust silk production economy dating 4,000 years old, as well as the starting point of the maritime Silk Road. Inspired by the soft yet strong characteristic of silk fabric, the design of the Gongshu Canal Sports Park focuses on creating a significant public space that not only offers yet another major verdant urban haven with microclimate for the City, but also improves ecological resiliency at the regional scale.
Perhaps the most significant design idea that !melk brought to the table was to distribute the main sports venues over the two different parcels of the site. The objective of this strategy was to activate both park parcels with a major anchor. However, since the two park parcels were subdivided by a road and a canal, !melk subsequently had to conceive of a unique and original way to connect the two anchors and thus creating overall cohesion for the entire project.
!melk proposed the integration of a central sunken boulevard replete with shops and concessions which !melk named the “Valley Village Mall”. The aim was to establish a sunken commercial canyon to connect the Table Tennis Arena on the southern parcel with the Field Hockey Stadium on the northern parcel, while allowing for an uninterrupted green space at the park level.
Since the site was formerly farmland, the site’s layout required extensive reconfiguration with regard to hydrology. The extensive landform system throughout the park offers opportunities to create a functioning ecosystem for habitat creation and an efficient hydrological system that treats stormwater.
While the 2023 Asian Games instigated the initiative to transform this former agricultural area into a national destination, an important legacy of the Gongshu Canal Sports Park will be its qualities as a major eco-destination for the City of Hangzhou.
!melk’s competition-winning design for this 2023 Asian Games site in Hangzhou takes cues from the city’s rich history - which was once a robust silk production economy dating 4,000 years old, as well as the starting point of the maritime Silk Road. Inspired by the soft yet strong characteristic of silk fabric, the design of the Gongshu Canal Sports Park focuses on creating a significant public space that not only offers yet another major verdant urban haven with microclimate for the City, but also improves ecological resiliency at the regional scale.
Perhaps the most significant design idea that !melk brought to the table was to distribute the main sports venues over the two different parcels of the site. The objective of this strategy was to activate both park parcels with a major anchor. However, since the two park parcels were subdivided by a road and a canal, !melk subsequently had to conceive of a unique and original way to connect the two anchors and thus creating overall cohesion for the entire project.
!melk proposed the integration of a central sunken boulevard replete with shops and concessions which !melk named the “Valley Village Mall”. The aim was to establish a sunken commercial canyon to connect the Table Tennis Arena on the southern parcel with the Field Hockey Stadium on the northern parcel, while allowing for an uninterrupted green space at the park level.
Since the site was formerly farmland, the site’s layout required extensive reconfiguration with regard to hydrology. The extensive landform system throughout the park offers opportunities to create a functioning ecosystem for habitat creation and an efficient hydrological system that treats stormwater.
While the 2023 Asian Games instigated the initiative to transform this former agricultural area into a national destination, an important legacy of the Gongshu Canal Sports Park will be its qualities as a major eco-destination for the City of Hangzhou.