Aranya Park

Qinhuangdao, China

Site Plan

Drawing © Z+T Sutdio

Reforested coastal sandy dune is a unique yet fragile coastal woodland ecosystem, which has degraded due to recent tourism development.

Photo © Z+T Sutdio

The park dedicated eighty-five per cent of the site for the preservation and restoration while integrated low-impact recreational program into the rest fifteen per cent of the land.

Photo © Hai Zhang

A boardwalk system was proposed to accommodate the foot traffics while to limit the direct contact with the soil in the woodland.

Photo © Hai Zhang

Local stonewalls mark the entry to the woodland area and help to create a accessible ramp.

Photo © Hai Zhang

The boardwalk system was carefully laid to provide a pleasant experience in the woods. Over a three-year period, the crumbling soil in the woodland area has stabilized and the quality of the environment has improved.

Photo © Hai Zhang

At the intersection of the two paths, the Lighting Ring, a circular boardwalk, creates a 360-degree experience of the woodland forest.

Photo © Hai Zhang

The Lighting Ring is enclosed with the translucent acrylic pole screen to form a meditative courtyard environment. The translucent screen captures light and shadow as well as the subtle sound of the wind.

Photo © Hai Zhang

A mini starfish vegetable/flower farm, located between the sand dune woodland and the road, offers the rare and hands-on experience for all age groups on vegetation and farming.

Photo © Xing Zhou

The water play area is connected with the wetland garden and the irrigation system of the mini starfish farm.

Photo © Hai Zhang

A customized irrigation system works in the reality and invites the visitor, especially the children, to participate in the process from pumping water to irrigating the farm.

Photo © Hai Zhang

The irrigation system is integrated with the Starfish planting beds, which were inspired by the marine creatures.

Photo © Hai Zhang

Many playful components were inspired by the marine creatures and elements, making the park a unique and memorable public realm

Photo © Hai Zhang

The design combined the engineered measures to protect and stabilize the cliff with a joyful playground

Photo © Hai Zhang

The Octopus slide is placed on the damaged sand dune cliff and integrated with engineer structure to restore the sand dune and vegetation.

Three stainless steel slides and two light weight stairs are integrated with the engineer structures. Recreational function is combined with restoration of the slope and woodland.

Parks + Open Spaces

Landscape Architects: Z+T Studio, Landscape Architecture

Year: 2018
Team: Ziying Tang, Dong Zhang, Qing Zhang, Yifan Chen, Xinjun Gu, Qixi, Yupeng Yang, Qi Wang, Hongchao Liu, Chuan Sun, Jialin Zheng, Yanjie Fan, Yihao Hu
Structure Design & Built: Z+T Art Studio

The Aranya Park is a 4.6-hectare park in Aranya – a large scale coastal development centered with ecotourism in northeastern China. The aspiration of the project is beyond a provider of recreational program with the low impact to the nature for the community but a missionary undertaking to restore fragile coastal woodland ecosystem. The park dedicated eighty-five percent of the site for the preservation and restoration while integrated low-impact recreational program into the rest fifteen percent of the land. The project was also to develop and implement a system to restore the woodland before and after the construction of the park. By engaging artistic and experiential installations and a participatory mini farm the park offers diverse experience of the landscape. The park presented a solution to restore the damaged nature and transformed the legacy of the green buffer from a liability into a common asset. While the ecotourism has become an increasing economic drive in China, the project is an experiment and a valuable example for creating development strategies without compromising the ecosystem.