REIMAGINING THE BOUNDARY

Landscape Planning and Design of Cultural Blocks and Riverside Greenways

The design area is located at the juncture of Sichuan University near Jinjiang and Wangjianglou Park. With profound cultural background and historical and cultural tourism resources, the design goal is to rebuild open space on the boundary for research, exhibition, cultural and creative activities. The riverside landscape based on the site resources, can bring a landmark-open-space. Activating the boundary area between river, campus and park also creates the interaction among students, residents and visitors.

Year: 2019, Academic, Undergraduate design thesis

University: Southwest Jiaotong University

Location: Chengdu, China

Space Quality Analysis

The walkway is narrow and lacks street furniture.

The riverside footpath has poor landscape and closed vision.

The upper footpath is good and has potential use value

Creative Blocks

Break the boundary between culture and people - Reusing the old printing factory and other old buildings, the planning and design will enrich space form and facade with interesting tour nodes and waving path, sewing the modern with past memories.

Exhibition and Learning Exchange Area

Provide open space for people from university to display research achievements and students exchange ideas; It will be a window and platform for other users understanding the university.

Museum Recreation Area

Enrich the entrance area - After opening the campus, the school gate area will become a display space. The sinking square is convenient for the flow of people, providing a gathering area internally and a leisure area externally.

Corner Park Area

As the end of the site, it aims to create a quiet rest space, which can provide temporary rest or communication places for passers-by. At the same time, the street corner path enriches people’s walking experience

About site

The site is rich in architectural landscape and cultural resources with many old buildings. There are many types of ancient trees in the site while the unique riverside landscape brings rich bird resources. However, these resources were not effectively used and connected. The streets dominated by motor vehicles lost vitality and interaction.

Sustainability

Hard landscape and soft landscape are designed for sustainable development and aesthetics.

Pavement used in the projects are permeable materials which adapt to the rainy climate in Chengdu. When it rains, the rainwater will seep through permeable ground then purified by the soil and be part of the underground water. The rainwater will be purified by the plants or collected for other use such as watering the trees and gardens.

The selection of plants considered seasons and space levels. With various trees and shrubs, there are ornamental flowers all year round. The local species chosen in the project can be used to regenerate sustainable native plant communities and reconnect fragmented ecosystems in urban areas. The ecosystem network has expanded wildlife habitat and promoted human health and well-being.

Pavement Design

Plant Design

Sunken Square

Increasing Walking & Staying Comfort by Providing Better Soundscape

O’connell Street area is a vibrant city centre and the busiest public life location in Ireland, which could be enhanced and enlarged as regards quality and quantity of public life activity. There is a lack of staying and walking comfort while there are many kinds of noises in that area. A growing body of literature and design projects have realised that sound environment plays an important role in effecting the public life. This project research question is how to improve the walking and staying comfort through soundscape. To answer this question, a great study of soundscape and the relationship between soundscape and urban design were collected.

Year: 2021, Academic

University: University College Dublin

Location: Dublin, Ireland

Soundscape data before design

Using the app “Decibel X” on the iphone X mas, the quantitative data of sound level was detected and recorded within one minute.

Traffic & walking route

Roads mix-used by vehicles and pedestrains. Vehicles take larger space of the shopping street and bring the traffic noise.

Public trasit access convenient and a busy hustle area

Noise sources map

Noise is mainly from road traffic sound

Noise level map Illustrates the feeling ranks towards sound measured by the designer.

Type of sound

Master plan after design

How sounds effect people street music will give people the enjoyment of walking and people will be gathered if there is no traffic people will choose to walk across the street directly while when they can hear the luas or bus coming, people will choose to wait for the traffic light when there is a place under construction, people can hear machine-related sounds

Proposal

there will be a preaching sound which won’t be heard on weekdays before after quiet noisy quiet noisy

The goal of providing better soundscape of the site is the introduction of wanted sound like water,nature,music and reduction of unwanted sound like traffic noises. To achieve this goal, there are three factors involved in the planning - people, space and sound. The people, who use the space are also who can bring various sounds. The space effects how people use and what people would be. The sound also help people to identify the space and effect people’s behaviours. For example, if there is a place for performers to play music, there will be music sound. People will follow the music and keep walking to the place.

Updating the roads

Through reducing the sound source by retrofitting the road function, it provides people a better soundscape which allows more activies to happen. People have more comfort of walking & staying in the area without interrupting by vehicles.

2: Entrance to Henry Street

Water is a classical The sound of water is commonly used as part of masking strategies.(Brown, A.L. & Rutherford, S. 2013） the narrow jet (NJT) are able to generate sound pressure levels similar to RTN 60 dBA and the ‘optimum zone ’ is extending to an area between 5 m to 7-8 m around the water features (Francesca M A C(2015)

*Spreading sound: white line corresponds to 3 dBA change in level

Improve the soundscape at the entrance of Henry Street from O’connell Street

By introducing water sound to the space, it can bring a better soundsignals to it. People will have a better hearing experience and can tell the difference of two streets by hearing.

Proposed Soundscape

After the detailed design under the construction of three strategies, a more better soundscape will be provided. More spaces will be created for sitting and staying with good sound environment. When people walking and shopping, the traffic noise would not be the keynotes

Wolftone Square

Activating the quiet space

More activted space can bring a vivid scene and make this area more attractive. Certain spaces will be created for certain activities. More sitting area will be set up for people to have longer rest or conversation with friends.

Soundscape could help to identify the space

The noise of cars is replaced by the sound of steps, voices, running water, and so forth. It is again possible to have a conversation, to hear music, people talking, children playing. (Jan Gehl, 2010)

In this urban design project, after providing a better soundscape, it brings more comforts for people, not merely a place for pedestrain traffic, also recreational and social activities. It makes this communal spaces more meaningful and attractive.

Soundscape plays an important role in urban design. It forms the space through people’s sensory and effects how the space is used, what kind of activities could happen.

Sense Of Place

Urban Design of Town Center

A lot of newly built places on the edge of cities have minor differences of forms. With similar image of the city edge, places that with a lack of identity and a lack of depth of experience turn into “placeless”. The sense of place in a town can be created by improvement the town center. Adamstown, on the edge of Dublin city, is re-planned and designed which focuses on public realm to create sense of place, basing on the current built stage. The new town center offers maximum diversity, promoting and supporting various tastes and lifestyles. Together, the areas provide a cohesive network of social pockets that can accommodate various scales and functions.

Year: 2022, Academic

University: University College Dublin

Location: Dublin, Ireland

Satisfaction

The site is on the edge of Dublin as one Strategic Development Zone with good access to transport

Interactions & Activities

• Green space

• Area that allow social/spacial monitoring

• Examples: parks, comminiti gardens, playgrounds

• Walkable and mix-used development

• Areas that serve various activities

• Examples: recreational areas, squares, streets, gardens

• Similarity Memory & Experiences

• Frequent use

• Length of residency the connectivity of built road is well-organized

SDZs is to solve the house crisis. the land is mainly for residential use.

Time

Cognitive and Physical Factors that Promote Sense of Place there will be four main amenity areas the bus routes are not widely covered the areas.

Framework of Good Sense of Place

Proposal

The vision emphasized the necessity of living and working together as a community with ties to each other. Town centre as heart of the area can create the place for all the interactions. Adamstown will become a precedent example of new town development on the edge of city in Ireland context.

Community shuttle bus

• an effective supplementation to cycle and pedestrian route

• frequent and convenient choices to travel around in Adamstown among home, parks, town centre, schools, groceries shops and other services

• make it possible for increasing the use of town centre

Design approach

Design results

Through the ‘Master plan of town centre’, it illustrates collective shared spaces can be found within the blocks and across the public realm, which is to enhance the SOP of the area. Each of the those will have different spatial qualities that altogether encouraging public life, resulting in a central cultural and community hub.

City furniture the modules can be moved and used in multiple ways, for individual or groups.

Street section design

View of the linkage of buildings and square with activities

Walking On The Silk

Landscape design of 3rd Phase of UPTOWN residential area, Changping, Beijing

Concept

The landscape architecture design of this residential area draws inspiration from the soft, flowing elegance of silk. With an emphasis on curves and gentle lines, the design creates a sense of serenity and calm throughout the community

Landscape Masterplan

This project is a continuing design part of landscape architecture in this villa residential project. The Phase 1 had been completed and Phase 2 was in construction. The proposals combined client's requirement and creating a better living environment as listed below:

1. Ensure the continuity and convenience of the walking system, and consider the accessibility of moving and emergency lines;

2. Increase the usage of outdoor space and increase sports function;

3. Increase the detailed design to show people-friendly villa project space;

4. Increase the greening level, especially at the shrub level; Increase evergreen shrubs;

5. The courtyard wall is solid walls to ensure privacy as clients required;

6. On the basis of continuing the style and material of Phase I, increase the color of ground pavement;

Located in within North six ring road of Beijing, Jinyu Uptown is a low density residential development, including mainly high class residential product and some normal residential blocks. The high class residential development is the main product with low density. The goal is to create the in-between home for white collar people working in central of Beijing, compined daily-house function and holiday-house quality. Base on the analysis of project condition, the landscape design goal is serving high market-demand group with good taste, with concise and d elicate character, in English style coherence with the building.

Year: 2018 Professional

Firm: DSL Consultants Pte Ltd (Collaborated with Wilson McWilliam Studio London)

Location: Beijing, China