Yan’an Wanda City

Given the spatial pattern of the commercial street, the project makes use of the open spaces between shops to create experiential spaces, and adds three-dimensional landscapes to create immersive experiential environments, where visitors can indulge themselves in experiencing the local cultural traditions. Based on praxeology, its' found that the actual walking distance on the site is 3 times longer than that of the straight line, so the project fully considers tourists’ regular weariness on their pedestrian journey and sets one resting spot every 150 meters on the walking routes. Most of the landscaping materials are locally sourced and are laid according to local craftsmanship, which will imperceptibly restore the straightforward, simple and unassuming character peculiar to the old city in northern Shaanxi. The five thematic squares symbolize the city’s constant shift from the past to the present. Plants are generally organized around different themes. The project mainly utilizes Chinese plant species with strong vitality and beautiful forms such as ginko, Amur maple, Shandong maple and date to create an environment that enables tourists to appreciate contemporary landscapes.

Considering that the site adjoins land and water on the two sides, the project adopts differentiated design for the revetment of the 15,000 m² water area. According to the principle of ecological restoration and the adoption of traditional construction techniques for slope protection structures, the design tries to moderately heap the slope with measures suitable for the site conditions. Based on the existing conditions, the project creates slope protection greenbelts and terraced landscapes as the ecological foundation of the revetment, and then adds memorable landscapes on some areas and decorates the scenes with lighting. The project takes advantage of the earth of the lakefront landscape belt to grow general arbors, and creates different types of plant spaces via distinct combinations. The greenery design considers seasonal changes, and form many appealing scenes for visitors to take photos together with small adornments and sculptures.