Greenway in Jiangyin

Location Jiangyin, Jiangsu, China

Client/operator China Construction City Development Ltd in Jiangyin

Architect BAU Brearley Architects + Urbanists CN – 200031 Shanghai www.bau.com.au

Design Team Guo Liexia, Gao Weiguo, Wu Xiaojian, Pan Linglu, Li Zheng, Yu Zhirui, Rong Yu, Lei Tao, Pablo Jimenez, Manuel Jose Godoy Alvarez, Fang Qun, Huang Fang, Steve Whitford, Peter Felicetti, James Brearley

Engineering Shanghai Lin Tong Yan Li Guohao Civil Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd.

Author BAU

Photos Pavel Shubskiy

Official opening 2019

Construction costs RMB 372 million (EUR 48.7 million)

WEAVING AND STITCHING

GREENWAY IN JIANGYIN

The elevated walkway features pedestrian bridges, playgrounds, amphitheatres and inviting arbours. BAU Brearley Architects + Urbanists believe that the greenway generates better urban spaces, brings order to previously random and disconnected decisionmaking, engages with the best of contemporary aesthetics, solves problems, extends local iconography, is poetic and cost-effective, and opens up social opportunities.

The Jiangyin Greenway belongs to a growing movement in China towards healthy, sustainable mobility and urban enjoyment. Infrastructure of this scale has an opportunity, or more correctly a responsibility, to create meaningful places in the city. The north segment of the loop passes through the docklands parks. It responds to the history of shipbuilding. The eastern segment of the loop leads to the Yangtze River, to which Jiangyin owes its existence. The greenway path is a scaled model of the Yangtze River and the cities and tributaries alongside are symbolised by plazas and balconies along the greenway. Visitor information explains the larger river story.

Stitching The freeway is lifted off the ground for its entire length of the site. Contrary to what one would think, and thanks to the enlightened engineering decision, the freeway is not a barrier in the city, but is a better link than the park by itself. The linear structure of the park emphasising a major north-south connection had actually turned out to be a frustrating barrier to east-west circulation.

A careful analysis of desired lines and shortcuts could rejuvenate the park with activity, make the park safer, and connect the city better. The stitching paths ensure that the greenway is connected to the rest of the park and to the adjacent streets and pedestrian circulation networks.

Thoughtful and gentle response The path provided in the brief was a thoughtful and gentle response to the existing paths and the substantial well-established planted vegetation. The design of this project is a clear and legible response to this path with solid and transparent balustrades providing privacy or views; sound barriers near the freeway for the comfort of pedestrians; arbours to provide shade and enclosure; widenings with seating at locations overlooking lakes and canals; landmark bridges with sculptural trusses framing views for pedestrians; stairs located at street intersections to link existing pedestrian paths to the new greenway.

A number of variously scaled features upgrade the programme: an amphitheatre for performances or relaxing, a raised plaza with permanent sound instruments for all, an exercise playground with nets, slides and a gentle climbing ramp for all ages, to name but a few – all providing the clarity and legibility to become memorable places.

The design has places in store for optional programmes. Rent generated from these commercial programmes could contribute to the operating costs of the greenway.

Potential programmes include a bicycle hub for repair and sales; café-bar-restaurants, a market and a gym sports shop.

Materials and structure The entire greenway is built in steel and utilises pre-fabricated elements to reduce the impact on the park. A steel structure with a coloured bituminous concrete screed gave the greenway both the potential for prefabrication and a durable low-maintenance, long-wearing surface.

Columns supporting the greenway are at 16-metre intervals in areas where there is no headroom for activities (e.g. under ramps). When there is headroom, the column spacing has been increased to 32 metres to make the space under the elevated greenway more flexible for community activities.

Bridge spans vary and can exceed the efficient 32 m span of the greenway. To deal with this issue, the bridges explore three structural principles: perforated membranes, trusses, and suspension systems.

There are two membrane variants: one where the greater mass sits mid-span and acts as an arch; the second has mass at the supports and acts as a tensile structure. The truss system turns the familiar Warren truss into a series of inclined membranes, and the suspension option explores a propped cradle dynamic. These options provide a variety of combinations to assist in making each bridge a unique landmark in the city.