Fish Tail Park is a virtuous, replicable urban-nature model designed for regions with a monsoon climate that can cope with rising water levels caused by floods, promote habitat restoration for wildlife, and provide a recreational environment for the people of the city of Nanchang.
The design developed and implemented by Turenscape turned 51 hectares of land heavily impacted by humans within the Yangtze River floodplain in central-eastern China into a perfectly regulated ecosystem that ‘breathes’ on its own thanks to periodic rainfall and the changing of the seasons.
Inspired by old agricultural methods practiced in marshy areas and Aztec floating farming techniques, several islets were made by recycling coal ash that had been dumped on the site and waste on the banks of fish farms. A lake was also made to hold a million cubic meters of rainwater.
The result is a floating forest with tree species that can withstand fluctuating water levels, crisscrossed by bike paths, bridges, walkways, and carefully positioned viewing platforms. Using these natural tools to meet their recreational needs locals can explore this “disorderly” and engaging marshland even when the central forest becomes submerged during heavy rainfall.
The pedestrian and bike paths were made with perforated aluminum that creates an unexpected contrast with the natural environment. At the park’s entrance, a cafeteria was built into the overpass that spans a six-lane road and connects Fish Tail Park with nearby Aixi Lake Park.
In October landscape architect Kongjian Yu, founder of Turenscape, received the 2023 Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize awarded by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF).
Client/Owner: Nanchang Gaoxing Zhiye Property Development Investment
Landscape architecture: Turenscape, Wang Xiaoming, Zhang Fan, Jiang Jingri
Engineer: Yu Fumin, Zhang Wei, Chen Rao, Lu Ang, Li Bo, Huang Songtao
Photo credits: Turenscape
