In 2006, Hong Kong based developer Swire Properties commissioned the office to make an alternative proposal for a new urban park in Beijing’s emerging central business district (CBD) master plan previously prepared by the New York architectural firm of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. The project provided a perfect opportunity to explore the theme of the Chinese garden in a large-scale and fast-changing contemporary setting.

The new CBD is located at the intersection of Beijing’s Third Ring Road and Chiang-An Road - the city’s main east-west artery. Despite its apparent proximity to Tiananmen Square on the map, it’s a good 45 minutes by car, thanks to the capital’s congested roads!

The vibrant and chaotic energy of the CBD bares little resemblance to the traditional Chinese architecture of the ancient Forbidden City or the historic quarters of Hutongs. Directly adjacent to the site, is the new CCTV tower designed by Rem Koohaas’ Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). It is evident that when complete, Beijing’s new center for international commerce will rival any first-class global city in the West in terms of its scale and ambition.

We had only 10 weeks to develop a concept for the new urban park master plan. We thought that the best way to accomplish this goal was to invite Swire’s team to the office for an intensive workshop in Los Angeles.

Through a sequence of sketch models (from top left to bottom right), we quickly and efficiently mapped-out the program and established the key design principles of the new urban park.

Inspired by traditional Chinese gardens, the topography of the new park would undulate gently with hills and valleys, framing views before the visitor like an unfolding scroll of Chinese landscape painting. Places for sports and physical activities were distributed along interlocking pathways interspersed with more secluded areas for quite contemplation.

Anchoring the south-end of the park, a richly planted arboretum would serve as the gateway to the park from Chain-An Road; and connected to the rest of the CBD through a network of elevated walkways. During the severe winter months, the arboretum’s light-filled interior would become a place for the community to meet; and in the hot and humid summer, its canopy to the north would provide some welcome shade from the sun and rain.

Eight intimate underground courtyards would connect the park to the adjacent commercial spaces, providing some 18,000 SM of floor space for high-end retails, cafes and restaurants. These courtyards’ protective microclimates would incorporate sustainable environmental control strategies such as passive cooling and heating - offering protection from the extremes of Beijing’s climate.

At the north end of the park, we proposed the creation of a 500-seat multi-purpose amphitheater, which would provide a small but fully equipped stage for the performance of a wide variety of venues.

Water played an integral role in our vision for the Park, both as amenity and for its role in enabling a sustainable approach to development. Through a series of diagrams, we studied how to integrate the CBD’s multiple programmatic requirements within the parkland and it's water features into a single sustainable hydrological system. In addition, previously used water from surrounding buildings would be recycled as fountains and waterfalls throughout the park.

We collaborated with landscape architect Melinda Taylor to develop a color palette for the park, using native plants to highlight the ecological diversity of region. The park’s sunken courtyards would be accented with planting of various colors, scents, and seasons.

By creating a habitat for native plants and animals, the park would offer a sustainable environment with the goal to moderate the impacts of Beijing’s notorious urban-pollution.

Our proposal for the urban park aimed to encourage dialogue and creative exchange between the area's business and local communities, and to offer a place of repose in the midst of the frenetic activities of the CBD.