Irwan soetikno park and the city

P A R aK nd

the CITY

Shanghai Urban Landscape

by Irwan Soetikno

P A R aK nd

the CITY

Shanghai Urban Landscape

by Irwan Soetikno / 王爱文 (2010280241) EPMA - Tsinghua University Summer Report September 2011

CONTENTS introduction, xi PARK AND THE CITY, 01 GARDEN AND LANDSCAPE, 03 SHANGHAI URBAN LANDSCAPE, 08 1. The Bund, 11 2. Jing An Park, 17 3. Zhongshan Park, 28 4. People’s Square and Park, 39 5. Xujiahui Park, 47 6. Lujiajui Central Green Space, 59 7. Century Park, 87 bibliography, 73

regarded as ‘negative space’ established and emerged as alley, public space, open space, park or landscape. In this point of view, architecture as the positive space often shape the image of the city. The iconic building, spectacular and celebrated modern skyscrapers, and vibrant commercial and business spaces within the heart of the metropolis, so called CBD, are often associated with the identity and ‘brand’ of the city.

introduction

xi

It was autumn 2002 when I first arrived in Shanghai. The city was bright, filled with plenty of towers. The road was broad like a black carpet in between the rows of new architecture. At the edge, the golden gingko leaves painted the pedestrian, and contrasted with the green blanket of grass and brownish granite around the open space at People’s Square.

The first two and half years I spent in Shanghai, trained as landscape designer right after graduated from architecture school has been influential to my design practices in following years. The dichotomy of architecture and landscape in shaping the urban environment is just inseparable in my personal observation of a city.

Very often architecture / building in the urban scale or city planning are set as the ‘positive space’ or container which specifically serve the human activities in various scales and function. While the left over open space or connector between the form or which is

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

Recently, landscape urbanism has emerged as a new movement within architecture which engaged multidisciplinary area of urban design and planning, architecture and landscape architecture to see the city and solve its issue from the new perspective.

Fundamentally, landscape urbanism, which introduced by Charles Waldheim in 1997, approaches the landscape as the main aspect of the city to shape the urban experience rather than architecture.

Shanghai as the largest metropolis and economic center of China has for decades been recognized by the world through its classical architecture at bund, next to the river promenade of Huangpu River and currently by its new development at Pudong area which are crowned by magnificent iconic towers. Those tectonic symbol popularly associated with the image of Shanghai as a new international metropolis.

Instead of looking at the ubiquitous element at the urban fabric, my summer research attempt to investigate the ‘negative space’ within the city as built landscape or park. The main question I’d like to address here is related to the horizontal plane (as opposed to the vertical matrix of towers) which is associated with the major ground level where people gather, move and perform. What kind of daily urban experience do we perceive from the city as we move and gather within the urban fabric? What about the nature? What about the intervention of natural element in the form of public park, water body and greenery to the modern city? How do the people live and perform within the spaces?

Left to right; Shanghai Jinmao Tower, the iconic vertical horizon; Reflection at water feature in People’s Square.

This research does not aim to establish any theoretical outcome but it rather serve as a personal observation through photography work. It simply depict the image of the metropolis through ‘urban landscape’ horizon; public park, open spaces and street. From this point of view, we could understand a new perceptive of life, out of the vertical point of view through the iconic tower.

I have to admit that summer might not be the best time to photograph the landscape. At this moment, the weather is too hot, sunlight intensity is too bright which most of the time wash away the detail of colors and textures, and create such an extreme contrast. The most importantly, the park and landscape usually looks monotonous as being dominated by green. Spring, autumn and winter have their own characteristic in painting the environment.

However, as part of the master’s program which is probably for practical reason, the site visit is to be conducted during the summer holiday. Within a month in Shanghai, I tried to visit the most prominent area of shanghai urban landscape and capture the best representation of its characteristic through series of photography.

Some of the images presented here were from my previous years spent in Shanghai, and other Chinese’s cities, taken during spring, autumn or winter, just as an additional reference to give comparison of particular spaces in different seasons.

Beijing, September 2011

xii

spiritual realm, and other living creatures.

PARK AND THE CITY DESIRE FOR NATURE

01

Social interaction, nature, infrastructure and sustainability are some of the current issues related to modern city. Since ancient time, in attempt to have direct interaction with nature, human has built natural elements within their ‘man made’ living territory as garden or landscape.

In Egypt era, garden had an important role in society and came in different scale that determine the social order and life cycle. Egypt garden can be distinguished into five types; fruit and vegetable garden, small domestic garden, palace garden, temple and tomb garden, and plant and animal garden.* This garden types show it fundamental function and hierarchy which serve from the ordinary dwelling compound, to the political order, divinity and

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

The human desire to live attached or being close to the nature continue to grow from ancient time until the development of the modern city in the late nineteenth century. In 1898, Sir Ebenezer Howard in UK initiated the Garden City philosophy which is a new methodology in urban planning at that time. Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained, communities surrounded by “greenbelts” (parks), containing proportionate areas of residences, industry, and agriculture. Inspired by the Utopian novel Looking Backward, Howard published his book Tomorrow: a Peaceful Path to Real Reform during 1989 (which was reissued during 1902 as Garden Cities of Tomorrow). His idealized garden city would house 32,000 people on a site of 6000 acres, planned on a concentric pattern with open spaces, public parks and six radial boulevards, 120ft wide, extending from the center.

The garden city would be self sufficient and when it had full population, another garden city would be developed nearby. Howard envisaged a cluster of several garden cities as satellites of a central city of 50,000 people, linked by road and rail.(1) Since the initial proposal by Howard, the idea of garden city was influential after the second world war in England and US. Several implementation of garden city also occurred in Argentina, Australia, India, Philippines and notable planning for Tel-Aviv, Israel by Sir Patrick Geddes.

1. Source; wikipedia, Garden city movement; http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Garden_city_movement

URBAN PARK Urban park first appear in North America since early nineteenth century. At that moment park was simply place for grazing cattle and training militia. The growth of the major metropolis in America at that era brought a various problem of urban air, water, and solid waste pollution as well as many social issues. City needed a a large green space to filter pollution caused by traffic, noise, and noxious odors, as well as providing communal space for social activities.

In 1857, ‘the park movement’ was initiated through the competition for Central Park in New York City, which stands out as a turning point for both urban design and landscape architecture. The movement to established this park merged design with social and political goals to create an important civic amenity. Several important social forces were at work to launch public interest in open spaces.

Most significant was the growth of cities and limitations to access large outdoor spaces. The city life routine which required most people to spent ten to twelve hour a day, six days a week in the factories and workshops, had left little time for travel to pastoral recreation areas.

Central Park, in the center of Manhattan, which now become one of the most popular urban park in the world and often established vibrant urban image of the bustling New York City, was a brilliant piece of work by Frederick

Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux who won the competition.

The landscape design of the Central Park was influenced

by Rural Romantic Cemeteries, which offered a bucolic setting for refreshing passive reflection and recreation.

The curved walkways and roads of Frederick Law Olmsted’s design were a triumph of landscape design and city planning, notable for their disruption of city’s grid street pattern. Olmsted and Vaux also made an important proposal to provide a transverse road which was sunk below the natural level of the land, so that rock and vegetation could screen them from view of park users. The design also provided a carefully orchestrated sequence of spaces that would lead visitors from the structured, crowded urban world through an active, socially oriented space and on to an intricate but convincingly designed naturalistic landscape.

As the most visited urban park in US now, Central Park has become a fresh inspiration for modern urban park in America as well in the world. After the success of Central Park, Olmsted and Vaux‘s works continue to influence several other major park in US including the Prospect Park under the philosophy of Romanticism. This principle lay its belief that nature and natural scenery has the power to uplift and restore the human spirit. Although later on, the idea of Romanticism was criticized for its attempt to literally copy the form of nature, the fundamental idea of modern urban park is still based on a desire for nature in many different interpretation and design approach.

02

GARDEN AND LANDSCAPE

03

The difference between garden and landscape can simply be determined by its scale. Most of the urban parks in Shanghai, under my observation, consist of several style or type of garden in various scale. The different ‘pocket gardens’ within an urban park create a unique ambiance which offer different attraction and function to users.

Although China has a very long history in garden design and has its unique elements, setting, spatial quality and philosophy, apparently this influence in urban parks in Shanghai has less presence. Different from ancient capital Beijing where one can find many distinctive Chinese architecture, garden and large park, Shanghai as China’s economic center is more dominated by modern building, infrastructure and urban park. Part of Shanghai, Pudong, which was built almost from scratch (tabula rasa),

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

is now a new urban center with modern architecture and parks. Shanghai Yu Yuan is the only notable corner of the city where one can find the original ambiance of Chinese garden in the middle of the busy commercial tourist center.

To analyze and better understand the spatial organization and quality of urban park design, we might want to understand the history of garden and landscape.

As the definition and meaning of Chinese garden is different from western perspective, the following section will be divided into two; the history of garden in general ( based on its philosophy and design from 2000 BC until 2000AD), and the Chinese garden.

Shanghai Yu Yuan traditional market, a major tourist destination.

The development of garden based on classification

by Tom Turner

04

HISTORY OF GARDEN 2. The reference for definition of garden quoted from Garden History which based on van Erp-Houtepen, ‘The etymological origin of the garden’, Journal of Garden History, Vol.6, No.3, pp.227-31.

A garden is ‘a piece of ground fenced off from cattle, and appropriated to the use and pleasure of man: it is, or ought to be, cultivated.’ Repton’s definition has good etymological support: the words garden, yard, garten, jardin, giardino, hortus, paradise, paradiso, park, parc, parquet, court, hof, kurta, town, tun, and tuin all derived from the act of enclosing outdoor space. Thus the Old English word geard, meaning ‘fence’, produced our words ‘garden’ and ‘yard’. In American English an outdoor space attached to a house is known as a yard, if appropriated to use, and as a garden if appropriated to pleasure. Repton’s

afterthought, that a garden ‘is, or ought to be, cultivated’ makes one smile at how little changes in the long history of garden and gardening.(2) Looking at the classification by Tom Turner, the development of garden can be categorized into; ancient garden (2000 BC - 1000 BC), classical garden (1400 BC - 500 AD), west asian and islamic garden (500 BC - 1700 BC), medieval garden (600 AD - 1500 AD), renaissance garden (1350 - 1650), baroque garden (1600 - 1750), neoclassical and romantic garden (1700 - 1810), eclectic garden (1800 - 1900), abstract and post-abstract garden (1900 - 2000).

CHINESE GARDEN “It would be vain, and probably wrong-headed, to try to summarize all the different meaning of Chinese gardens which we have touched on. They do not add up to any single conclusion, and there is no one type that is essential one. The tradition was never intended to be summarized and turned into design formula.“(3)

05

Chinese garden has a long recorded history from some of the most notable piece such as Beihai Park, The Summer Palace, and Ruin of Yuan Ming Yuan in Beijing, Shizi Lin Yuan in Suzhou, and Yu Yuan in Shanghai, to several other hundreds smaller private garden which spread across Chinese cities. The meaning of Chinese garden is based on complex philosophical foundation and interpretation based on Confucian emphasis on man in society, Taoism principle of harmony with nature, and the idea of chi to maintain the equilibrium with the ‘vital spirit’ of nature.

As Chinese garden often understood being constituted by idea of nature, in fact, the notion of nature versus artifice itself controversial can be interpreted in different ways.

‘Natural’ can be read as of nature, which is produced by nature as opposed to what is produced by human artifice.

Another interpretation of natural is man-made to resemble ‘in original state’ of the nature. This version is described by David Hawkes in this way:

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

The Bamboo in those other places may have been planted by human hand and the stream diverted out of their natural courses, but there was no appearance of artifice. That’s why, when the ancients use the term ‘natural’, I have my doubts about what they really meant. For example, when they speak of a ‘natural painting’, I can’t help wondering if they are not referring to precisely that forcible interference with the landscape to which I object: putting hills where they are not meant to be, and that sort of thing. However great the skill with which this is done, the result are never quite...(4)

Apparently there was an obvious philosophical controversy between the Confucian ideal of simple rusticity and Taoist ideal of natural spontaneity. However, the notion of ‘natural’ in the garden is mostly based on the Tao of nature, getting oneself in tune with underlying rhythms of the seasons, plants, universe so there was no discrepancy between inner being and outer reality. In the spatial order and physical realm, it is obvious that Chinese garden is characterized by asymmetrical order which resemble the nature as opposed to European garden theory of symmetrical. This distinction was first documented by Sir William Temple in his 1692 essay, Upon the garden of Epicurus. In 1749, the first publication on Classical Chinese Garden by the Jesuit Father Atterit, a Jesuit working as painters in the Qianlong Emperor, was letter influence the emerging English Garden style which imitate the Chinese stylistic convention such as concealment, asymmetry, and naturalism.

3 & 4. Jencks, Charles. “Meaning of the Chinese Garden”, on The Chinese Garden.

Unlike the French and Italian which pattern and meaning should be enjoyed from a ‘higher point of view’, Chinese garden, as a microcosm of nature’s plenitude, should be experienced in a linear sequence. The element within every spatial sequence hold certain representation or symbolism to other things. The rocks, flowers, water and trees, color and void, the boundary and infinity are among the harmonious interplay within the garden which depict the natural rhythm, change of season and various natural phenomena. Many garden plants have essential symbolism. Pine trees represent wisdom and bamboo represents strength and upright morality. Plum trees are also extremely valuable to the Chinese for their beautiful pink and white blooms during winter. Chrysanthemum were also extremely well loved because of their autumn bloom (when most plants wither and die) and symbolize the perfect Confusician scholar. and thus has also been used as a metaphor to symbolize revolutionary struggle.

Left to right; Lotus blossom at Chinese garden; Modern Chinese garden at Suzhou Museum by I.M. Pei; Royal Chinese garden at the Forbidden City.

Peonies symbolize wealth and power, and the lotus symbolizes purity (and is also a revered Buddhist plant).

Climbing roses, camellias, ginkos, magnolias, jasmine, willows, sweet osmanthus, and maples were also planted.

The plum blossom is one of the “Four Junzi Flowers” (四 君子) in China (the others being orchid, chrysanthemum, and bamboo) and symbolized nobleness. The Chinese see the blossoms as more of a symbol for winter rather than a harbinger of spring. It is precisely for this reason that the blossoms are so beloved, because they bloom most vibrantly amidst the winter snow while all other flowers have long since succumbed to the cold and died.

Thus, they are seen as an example of resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity, and thus has also been used as a metaphor to symbolize revolutionary struggle. Because they blossom in winter, the plum, the pine, and the bamboo together have been called the “Three Friends of Winter” (岁寒三友).

06

While most of the European garden are planted garden, Chinese garden is built garden. Green lawn and rich collection of plants which dominated European garden is contrasted to Chinese garden which avoid grassy lawn.

The ground is usually paved, with fancy design or, in more open or uneven places, left quite rocky. For Chinese, soft grassy lawn is associated with grassland of the northern steppes with nomad civilization whose lives were dictated by the need to pasture their cattle. A perceptive Chinese critic who visited England in 1920’s was amazed that any civilized person should want a ‘mown and bordered lawn’ which, he pointed out, ‘while no doubt pleasing to a cow, could hardly engage the intellect of human beings.’(5) 07

In most courtyard of Chinese garden, the cobble designs are worked in soft greys and musty pinks, which merge imperceptibly into the gray stones that an irregular base around the enclosing walls. A light green lawn would be much too prominent, defining the space too accurately and making the courtyard seem smaller. In this case, with certain design technic, designer would create illusion of space to manipulate the perception and scale of garden.

For example, a long wall is half-concealed behind trees and is painted gray instead of white, which will disappear like a misty shadow in the early light. There seems to be no wall at all, only a haze; and yet the area is ambiguous because the wall has a round doorway in it, promising more courtyards beyond.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

5. Keswick, Maggie. “Western Reactions”, on The Chinese Garden Chinese garden with its typical pavilion, bridge, lotus pond, rocks and trees.

lung of the urban environment.

SHANGHAI URBAN LANDSCAPE Shanghai as the leading metropolis in China with the largest urban population in China and the world(6) has numerous urban parks.

Among those numbers, I selected several park within the central urban area in Pudong and Puxi. These parks are varies in scale, function, and role in its particular district.

6. Source; Wikipedia, http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Shanghai#cite_note-Geohiveworld-5.

According to China’s 2010 census, the resident population of Shanghai is second largest behind Chongqing. However Shanghai often quoted or claimed as China’s largest cities by population.

7. Referred to natural element such as vegetation, earth and water body.

People’s square and The Bund are the public open space with its symbolic and monumental presence represents the grand image of the city. Xujiahui Park and Jing An Park located on commercial zone with crowd visitor and mobility while Lujiajui Central Green Space serves the Shanghai central business district. Zhongshan Park surrounded by residential community becomes a centre of social interaction and activities. Century Park as the largest park among the parks within my observation, resemble a natural landscape at the hearth of the city as well as the

As described earlier, the influence of Chinese garden on Shanghai urban park is less tangible. Most of the park is built in eclectic style comprised of classical, romantic, Chinese and modern style.

The presence of urban park is very important as connector and centre for activities and mobility of people within urban landscape. From the ground level, Park creates a senses of place, builds integration of dense modern high rise and natural environment, and mitigate the gigantic scale of vertical skyscrapers and massive infrastructure which often suppress the human scale.

In the urban environment, visually park also signify the changes of season thorough the changing color and formation of vegetation, and plants or shrubs at the ground surface. While the appearance of building skin and other man made element in the city are relatively static and unchangeable, the park and soft-scape(7) element are dynamic.

Relationship of vegetation and visual accessibility.

08

While Shanghai keep increasing its building volume and infrastructure in unprecedented pace, planning for urban landscape and park is significantly important to maintain the equilibrium of natural environment. At this moment, as per my observation, most of the parks are actively used by local resident, visitor or tourist. It engages the people with the natural environment, people with people through social interaction, and people with physical environment through providing connection to buildings or infrastructure. And by improving this condition, urban landscape could become important part of the city which providing a livable fabric and network, thus determine the unique image of the city.

09

Left to right; Tourist and visitors spread at the open urban landscape at The Bund; The density of vehicular traffic at the Xujiahui commercial center.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

Panoramic view of Shanghai rural environment, taken at the Chuansha area in 2005, contrast to the urban center.

Chuansha has now become one of the important district since Shanghai Disneyland is currently under construction in area.

10

01. The Bund

11

The Bund is a prominent waterfront stripe at the edge of Huangpu river, where one can experience the contrast of the old Shanghai classical architecture and the new panoramic scenery of new Pudong area. From this point, along the Bund, tourist often capture the pictorial image of the vibrant Shanghai, where the dense rising iconic skyscrapers become evidence of China’s economic power.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

The Huangpu River with the average depth of 5 m still active as a medium of water transport and tourist attraction. While at the other side, the old row of classical architecture with various styles converted into luxurious commercial zone with retail shops, banking services, cafe, restaurant and hotel.

The Bund may not be categorized as a ‘park’, but rather a river promenade with a linear ‘green belt’ which buffer the busy traffic. The history of the Bund can be traced back from many decades ago when British government established British settlement from the north old walled city of Shanghai. Later the British settlement and American settlement was combined together into international settlement.

Booming of building industry between the late 19th and early 20th century led development of the Bund into a major financial hub of East Asia. And by 1940’s Bund housed many major financial institution operating in China. Currently Bund houses 52 building with various architectural styles such as Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-Classical, Beaux-Arts, and Art Deco.

From the Bund one can walk through the commercial street Nanjing Road to People’s Square. It was at sunny afternoon when I approached Bund from Nanjing oad. It was really a hot day almost without green space to hide for shade. From a far the collage of plants at the large

wall of promenade brought a bit refreshing feeling to the exhausted visitor. It was a surreal view of building skyline at the background with the wall of colorful plants.

The night vision of the Pudong from Bund is also another spectacular view, most of the visitors would like to experience. The dazzling horizontal lights from traffic with the vertical illumination of towers creates such a vibrant and attractive ambience which boost city night life activities along the Bund.

12

13

Shanghai Pudong skyline with foreground of landscaped feature wall at The Bund.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

14

15

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

16

02. Jing An Park

17

Jing An Park is name aftern Jing An temple.

A wonderful golden temple at the intersecting of bustling commercial center. Relative smaller and simpler than most of traditional Chinese temple in Beijing, Jing An temple has become one of the most important tourist attraction in Shanghai.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

It was a hot summer day when I arrived at the entrance of the park in between a row of massive trees with its wide canopy touching each other and provided a wonderful shelter along the path. The temple at the opposite street was glowing in the middle of commercial building and office towers. It was elegant, silent and peaceful surrounded by traffic and crowds of pedestrian.

One thing I enjoy being in this park is that it creates such a rich experience within such a small area. The linear path way along the main entrance with massive trees where plenty of people of different ages would like to rest under its shelter. A small pocket Chinese garden with various vegetation. An open green lawn with towers at its background. Around the lawn sits a white pavilion which resemble a miniature Greek Parthenon, where plenty of elderly playing games inside. On the lawn few kids happily playing around freely in the open air. In the other part of the park, there is a little hill with ‘Chinese’ pavilion at the top of it. And the are several other small corner for adult exercise area and children playground. There is a totally different ambience, scale and quality of space within this park. But among all, my favorite scenery is the Bali Laguna, a little restaurant floating on the pond surrounded by romantic garden inspired by Balinese style. It gives a relaxing tropical atmosphere, especially when the air is hot like this.

The presence of Bali Laguna, a private restaurant, in the middle of the public park is a important engagement of

public facility and commercial activity. Among other parks within my summer observation, Bali Laguna appears as the most significant commercial icon which able to become a catalyst to the entire park and even district.

With its unique concept, the restaurant which serves Indonesian cuisine, able to create that image not only at the architectural level, but also at the garden scale and entire atmosphere.

The effort to resemble a tropical Bali environment is notable through the pond with vegetation similar to rice paddy, colorful tropical flowers, stone sculpture and even the rustic pavement. At the end, this little environment become an image of Jing An park as a dynamic and relaxing zone with rich diversity of architectural and garden styles.

18

19

Jing An Temple, one of major tourist destination in Shanghai, opposite the main entrance boulevard of Jing An Park.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

20

21

Bali Laguna, a commercial zone within the public park, resemble the tropical Balinese environment.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

22

23

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

24

25

The classical pavilion at the edge of green lawn, was occupied by people.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

26

27

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

03. Zhongshan Park Zhongshan Park is a gated park surrounded by residential communities. The park constituted by many different garden styles such as romantic, classical, and Chinese garden. A small lake and stream at the center of the park act as a center of orientation where visitor can enjoy boating within the lush green and flowering edges. The subtle change of topography at the ground level is formed in the way to create a different spatial experience; large open lawn, little hill with Chinese pavilion, little forest, and walk able stream edges.

28

The air was cool with foggy sky in the early day when I stepped in through the main gate. A big mound covered by colorful flowers sit at the axis of the entrance, a welcome sign. Many people and most of them are elderly, stepped into the park in their training costume. Loud music suddenly struck my ear as at the other corner, a group of people had their morning exercise.

29

I walk through the Chinese bridge and there was people boating on the stream, while few group of people doing exercise in many different style. Some elderly practice tai chi with traditional Chinese music background, and while some other working on aerobic with Indian songs.

Some kids were playing and running around. And few other people doing they own performance from playing traditional Chinese instrument or practicing Wushu martial art tools.

On the other part laid green lawn with a classical pavilion at its edge where people gather to get a shelter. Wide open lawn with white pavilion at the edge creates an extrovert view which differ from typical spatial arrangement in Chinese garden where small little pavilion dwell inside the garden with rich spatial sequence. After the classical pavilion I walk through the little path which brought me to a forest like environment with delicate ornamented pavement which lead to a pavilion on a hill resemble Chinese architectural style. At the bottom of the hill was a small lake covered with lotus leaves and stones.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

With its quite large scale, Zhongshan Park manage to build many different zone with different garden style and allows visitor to experience different environment almost seamlessly as the boundary of each zone is merged together.

Located surrounded by residential community area, has allowed this park to serve the local residents and encourage the social interaction among the people. The local residents are obviously benefitted from this green space, and from the high number of visitors and its dynamic activities, I could obviously notice the success of this park as the social catalyst or urban community.

30

Zhongshan Park at the early morning, local residents having exercise by the edge of the stream.

31

The rose garden with rustic pathways.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

32

33

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

34

35

The big tree with wide canopy provides shelter and becomes a center for social interaction.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

36

37

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

38

04. People’s Square and Park

39

Shanghai People’s park and square seems to be the centre of urban activity with the massive space of metro intersection which disperse the people to many different directions. This zone is also the intersection of commercial center, government service and public facilities. The most visited commercial street in China, Nanjing Road, and Fuzhou Road, which is famous for bookstores and stationary shops, come to an end at the People’s Park.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

Different from commercial street which has a large crowd of people within the long linear road with vibrant energy, People’s Square with the centre of open space in between Shanghai museum and People Avenue (Ren Min Avenue), is more monumental and concentric. It obvious that one will feel the different scale, tension and gesture of People’s Square once they approach it from the linear street of Nanjing Road or Fuzhou Road.

During the spring, the colorful flowers will cover the ground edge of the square, with lots of people from different age will come and gather and participate in different activities.

It’s the most dynamic urban center in Shanghai where we could find people fly a colorful kites in the skyline full of modern towers, kids running after the flock of white pigeon over the green grass, and shower under the water sprout with colorful light in the dusk.

The People Avenue, with its broad two lane and green boulevard offers more quiet and formal experience for pedestrian. Along the one edge of the road there are several government building and public facilities which each of them comes in symmetrical low rise volumetric form such as Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center and Shanghai Grand theater. On the other edge the open square on beige granite with circular water feature form a linear axis with Shanghai museum, which perpendicular to People’s Avenue.

On the other part of the square, across the People Avenue, a small plot of People’s Park come with flowering garden in formal pattern and grid. There’s also a segment for playing facilities and attraction including small roller coaster.

The Shanghai museum with its circular and planar form, resemble the ancient Chinese ancient bronze ding. With its relative low height of only less then 30m, it gives a strong monumental presence as from the square we can experience the the 360 degree open space with the panoramic view or towers surrounded it from far apart.

It feels as if the volumetric monolithic granite museum become the centre of the urban environment surround it.

40

41

The open square covered with colorful flowers and water sprout becomes center of attraction.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

42

43

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

44

Children playing at the lawn, catching the pigeon which dwell within the park as its natural habitat.

45

Colorful flowers cover the ground, signify the spring season which full of life and energy.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

46

05. Xujiahui Park

47

At the commercial centre of Xujiahui, next to major traffic line Zhaojiabang Road, spread a green area of Xujiahui Park. The 8 hectares site which previously occupied by rubber factory was constructed into park in 1999. With the contemporary design, this park become a green filter in the busy traffic circulation and commercial activities. The old chimney of the factory was maintained and refurbished, and become a landmark at the park entrance.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

The park was screen with massive plants act as buffer from the dense traffic. Main ground level is sunken against the main road, thus creating an intimate experience to the user inside the park with minimal obstruction and disturbance from traffic noise and air pollution, while visually one can still notice the cluster of building’s facade surrounding the park.

A modern pedestrian bridge cladded in glazed railing cut across the park, connecting two corner of the park which intersect with the roads. This bridge give an easy access for people to move from one to another corner of the road without have to walk at the edge of traffic line. Instead, there will be a buffered path through the bridge where pedestrian will find it relaxing without have to be disrupted by vehicular traffic. The bridge, flying above and cutting through different zone of the park, creating an interesting walking journey. One can view an open space below with the small lake and cluster of pavilion surrounded it, plants pattern and parterre cover the ground of other park, and green dense forest at other corner.

Xujiahui park has a range of diverse plants and colorful flowers, animal and ground elevation which makes it attractive and enjoyable to explore. Design with mainly modern language of stripe lines as geometrical plan and form, and employing clean cut material of granites at the paved path, steel, timber and glazed pavilion and bridge, makes the park appears dynamic and fitted into the vibrant commercial district.

Quite similar to Jiang An park, at the other edge of Xujiahui Park, a heritage building in French style is converted into a restaurant which become a destination. The surrounding of the restaurant was designed in romantic style with curved pathway and flowering garden which enhanced the unique architectural style and delicacy of the restaurant.

This park to me personally is one of my favorite place, as it has a lot of textures & material, various scale & quality of spaces, rich vegetation and ground cover, unique design element of bridge which allows users to enjoy park from different elevation, and it offers a distinctive urban park experience in different season in its relative small area.

48

49

The old chimney from rubber factory becomes a landmark of Xujiahui Park.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

50

51

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

52

53

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

54

55

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

56

57

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

58

06. Lujiajui Central Green Space

59

Lujiajui central area is the most prominent urban center in Shanghai where all the modern and iconic towers sit. Jinmao tower, Shanghai World Financial Center, and the upcoming the tallest Shanghai tower are among the most iconic form which shape the city skyline and urban space. Lujiajui Central Green space is a green carpet at the ground level bounding those commercial, financial and government institution. A small man made lake at the centre of the green space act like a reflecting pool to render the presence of iconic towers.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

Lujiajui area is one of the most visited place in Shanghai for its architectural feature and dynamic commercial center. A circular pedestrian bridge at the south east of the park is the busiest and crowded node where people are dispersed from Lujiajui metro to various directions.

However due to the distance and traffic volume, the connectivity to the park is not highly accessible at this moment. Therefore, the park appears more monumental, a counterbalance of the high rise tower, rather than active open space where people would engage and interact in daily basis.

The edge of the park is buffered from traffic with rows of trees, although in certain part we can still get the visual connection with surrounding tower while dwell inside park.

The park also act as a concentric plane, where we can experience an open space with the boundary consist of towers facade.

At the dusk when I visited this park, the sky was grayish and soft sunlight shined on the skin of two tallest tower, Jinmao and Shanghai Financial Center. From the center of the park i could obviously enjoy the collage of the colorful building skins forming a circle surrounding the park. The height of tower somehow create a perception that the park is too small or compressed, due to the imbalance proportion of height of skyline and width of park. The topography of the ground level also seems to flat, makes spatial experience in park is limited.

However, this experience is also perhaps caused by some unfinished construction work on the park and surrounding.

From the park I walk to toward south to the circular pedestrian bridge surrounded by giant super brand mall, landmark pearl tower, international financial center and Jinmao tower. The pedestrian bridge become a stage for the visitor and tourist to capture the images of iconic towers and shanghai Lujiajui skyline. While below the bridge, massive vehicular traffic moved in a pace.

As the night fall, this area becomes more vibrant with night light and the people move and interact in complex platform and dimension of Shanghai urban landscape.

60

61

The lake at the Lujiajui Central Green Space.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

62

63

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

64

65

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

66

The Pearl Tower, Shanghai’s landmark, with the overcrowded circular bridge below, where visitor gather to enjoy the vibrant city’s image.

07. Century Park

67

Century Park perhaps is not the biggest urban park in Shanghai, but at least it’s the largest and the most prominent in the urban center, in the Pudong new are. The park is attached to the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, combined this area form a large urban landscape which are walk able.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

Century park has a large water body at the centre and surrounded by several ‘themed park’ and zone. Some of the popular part in the park are open concert stage, the lucky pond, bird island and the lotus pond.

With its large scale, part of the Century park resemble natural landscape with water body and forest and natural pathways with the dense vegetation. Different from other park I visited, we can experience wide natural horizon almost without obstruction from skyscrapers. The park also functions as a lung for the city.

68

Open square at the Shanghai Science and Technology museum where visitor can walk through to the Century Park.

69

The horizon within the park with the landscape resemble natural environment.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

70

Pathways along the edge of lake in the natural setting.

71

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

72

BIBLIOGRAPHY Blaser, Werner. West Meets East, Mies Van Der Rohe, Birkhauser, 2001.

73

Corner, James. Recovering Landscape, Essay in Contemporary Landscape Architecture, Princeton Architectural Press, 1999.

Hill, Penelope. Contemporary History of Garden Design; European Gardens between Art and Architecture, Birkhauser, 2004.

Keswick, Maggie. The Chinese Garden, St. Martin’s Press, 1978.

Low, Setha, Dana Taplin, and Suzanne Scheld. Rethinking Urban Parks, Public Space and Cultural Diversity, The University of Texas Press, 2005.

Pregill, Philip. Landscapes in History; Design and Planning in the Western Tradition, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993.

Turner, Tom. Garden History; Philosophy and Design 2000 BC - 2000 AD, Spon Press, 2005.

The Garden Book, Phaidon, 2000.

Maps are based on Google maps; http://maps.google.com All the images and graphics (except noted) in this report are author’s work and copyright.

PARK AND THE CITY l Shanghai Urban Landscape l Irwan Soetikno l EPMA September 2011

PARK AND THE CITY

Shanghai Urban Landscape

by Irwan Soetikno / 王爱文 (2010280241) EPMA - Tsinghua University Summer Report September 2011