Jinmao Palace, Tianjin

The project is located along the South Canal in Tianjin, forming a key urban threshold between Tianjin West Railway Station and the canal landscape system, and closely connected to major cultural landmarks such as the Tianjin Eye and Drum Tower district. Positioned within a historically water-based urban structure, the site acts as a mediator between contemporary redevelopment and canal heritage.

The Sancha River Estuary, where the South Canal, North Canal, and Haihe River converge, defines Tianjin’s identity as a city shaped by waterways and trade. In contemporary urban renewal, however, canal heritage is often reduced to symbolic representation rather than being translated into an immersive spatial experience within everyday life.

The design reinterprets canal culture through the “boat” as a central spatial IP, transforming historical imagery into a contemporary residential landscape system. Drawing from historical painting and reference, elements such as boats, sails, pine groves, and waterside life are abstracted and reconfigured into spatial components across entrances, courtyards, sculptural features, and water gardens.

A continuous spatial narrative is established where movement, water, and landscape are integrated into a unified residential experience, redefining the homecoming journey as a gradual transition from urban intensity into a calm, water-oriented garden environment shaped by cultural memory and spatial reinterpretation.