Comments on: Is Turenscape's Qiaoyuan Park in Tianjin a model for Chinese landscape architecture? 请看一看土人景观事务所的作品-天津桥园公园 https://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/is-turenscapes-qiaoyuan-park-in-tianjin-a-model-for-chinese-landscape-architecture-%e8%af%b7%e7%9c%8b%e4%b8%80%e7%9c%8b%e5%9c%9f%e4%ba%ba%e6%99%af%e8%a7%82%e4%ba%8b%e5%8a%a1%e6%89%80%e7%9a%84/ Gardenvisit.com Thu, 21 Jun 2012 22:35:07 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.8 By: Alan https://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/is-turenscapes-qiaoyuan-park-in-tianjin-a-model-for-chinese-landscape-architecture-%e8%af%b7%e7%9c%8b%e4%b8%80%e7%9c%8b%e5%9c%9f%e4%ba%ba%e6%99%af%e8%a7%82%e4%ba%8b%e5%8a%a1%e6%89%80%e7%9a%84/#comment-3658 Thu, 21 Jun 2012 22:35:07 +0000 http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/?p=6924#comment-3658 I live in California, and work with some software engineers in Tianjin; we travel back and forth on occasion. I’ve recently communicated my interest in native plant gardening to some of them; I was checking if there were native restored landscapes in Tianjin. I saw the Turenscape website, and was quite impressed with their images of Tianjin Qiaoyuan Wetland Park. I have to say, I was disappointed to stumble upon your website to find out that, a few years later, the park has not been maintained.

Anyone know if there’s opportunities for regular citizens of Tianjin to volunteer on maintenance of these places? If there’s one thing China does not lack, it’s people, and I would think there’s more than enough of them who would want to reconnect to nature.

]]> By: Tom Turner https://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/is-turenscapes-qiaoyuan-park-in-tianjin-a-model-for-chinese-landscape-architecture-%e8%af%b7%e7%9c%8b%e4%b8%80%e7%9c%8b%e5%9c%9f%e4%ba%ba%e6%99%af%e8%a7%82%e4%ba%8b%e5%8a%a1%e6%89%80%e7%9a%84/#comment-3657 Thu, 12 May 2011 14:24:48 +0000 http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/?p=6924#comment-3657 It could mean either (1) a man-made wetland (2) a wetland constructed for wastewater treatment. On wetland types see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructed_wetland

]]> By: Tian Yuan https://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/is-turenscapes-qiaoyuan-park-in-tianjin-a-model-for-chinese-landscape-architecture-%e8%af%b7%e7%9c%8b%e4%b8%80%e7%9c%8b%e5%9c%9f%e4%ba%ba%e6%99%af%e8%a7%82%e4%ba%8b%e5%8a%a1%e6%89%80%e7%9a%84/#comment-3656 Thu, 12 May 2011 12:56:50 +0000 http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/?p=6924#comment-3656 Another question is that what does “artificial wetland” mean? In the design proposal of Qiaoyuan Park, artificial wetlands seems a main idea of the water-management. But as we can see from the above photos, they donot work at all.

]]> By: Tom Turner https://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/is-turenscapes-qiaoyuan-park-in-tianjin-a-model-for-chinese-landscape-architecture-%e8%af%b7%e7%9c%8b%e4%b8%80%e7%9c%8b%e5%9c%9f%e4%ba%ba%e6%99%af%e8%a7%82%e4%ba%8b%e5%8a%a1%e6%89%80%e7%9a%84/#comment-3655 Thu, 12 May 2011 11:21:19 +0000 http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/?p=6924#comment-3655 I think the ten-year procedure would produce better results. The problem is that clients do not want to do it: they want to pay the designers as little money as possible and then get rid of them. But landscape architecture is not like some other ‘built environment’ operations: the time dimension is of central importance.
Additional points:
Year 1: the best thing would is if the designers could LIVE on the site (eg in a tent) while doing the survey, the analysis and the design. If they can’t live there for 12 months, they can at least bring a tent and sleep there for a few nights at different times of year.
Year 3: ‘Monitor’ just means ‘keep watching’. The landscape design process should be ‘knowledge intensive’ and the best way to acquire knowledge is by being on site.
Year 9: involving local people in the design/construction could be very successful. They would know the place and love the place and care for the place.
I think China’s urban population is becoming detached from the land, because most people live in apartment blocks, and I guess they would like to be re-connected. I once lived in an apartment and much enjoyed doing volunteer work in a garden ‘to get my hands dirty’.

]]> By: Tian Yuan https://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/is-turenscapes-qiaoyuan-park-in-tianjin-a-model-for-chinese-landscape-architecture-%e8%af%b7%e7%9c%8b%e4%b8%80%e7%9c%8b%e5%9c%9f%e4%ba%ba%e6%99%af%e8%a7%82%e4%ba%8b%e5%8a%a1%e6%89%80%e7%9a%84/#comment-3654 Thu, 12 May 2011 10:31:35 +0000 http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/?p=6924#comment-3654 I am wondering that if this “10 years steps” was taken before QiaoYuan Park was opened to the public, the tragedy would be avoided.

Year1 : It could help designers to get a “four season experience and data for the park. They should know what the view should be in spring.

Year2: If they made a ‘test’ in a small area of the water-management in this park. Designers should understand their design for such a wonderful ecological proposal would not work at all.

Year3: Tom, Please explain this phrase.

Year4: Year5 Year6 Year7:Public participation is a “hurry need” for Landscape architecture in China.( Year7 it will provide opportunities for landscape students to get practice experience)

Year8:This “design” will adapt to the “environment”and public use.

Year9: They should do in the park, but they never did it.

Year10:Successful！

Landscape management, sustainable design, ecological design, ecological planning… these types of words are full of the proposals of Chinese landscape architecture projects. BUT BUT BUT nobody have METHODS to make their “BEAUTIFUL” plan ( Turenscape for QiaoYuan Park) come true.

Thank you! Tom the 10 steps will be very helpful!

]]> By: Tom Turner https://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/is-turenscapes-qiaoyuan-park-in-tianjin-a-model-for-chinese-landscape-architecture-%e8%af%b7%e7%9c%8b%e4%b8%80%e7%9c%8b%e5%9c%9f%e4%ba%ba%e6%99%af%e8%a7%82%e4%ba%8b%e5%8a%a1%e6%89%80%e7%9a%84/#comment-3653 Thu, 12 May 2011 07:29:35 +0000 http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/?p=6924#comment-3653 Thank you for the information. I wonder if the problems revealed by the photographs, and by the comments on this post, are a consequence of phasing the commissioning of parks on a timescale which is too similar to the procedure for commissioning other infrastructure projects (ie structures). Instead of Design->Build->Handover taking place in 1-3 years, it may be that the procedure should have been spread over a decade. This is NOT how things are done in contemporary China (where a 1-year period for Design->Build->Handover is not unusual) but Tianjin Qiaoyuan Park was an ecologically complex project and would have benefitted from a longer timescale eg
Year 1 survey and monitor the land
Year 2 design and implement an initial phase to restore ecological health to the site
Year 3 monitor the site
Year 4 design and install footpaths, seats etc to allow public use of the site
Year 5 monitor both site ecology and visitor use
Year 6 hold a public participation and community design workshop
Year 7 recruit volunteers to help with maintenance work
Year 8 prepare a design brief and a design for converting the now-healthy site to amenity park use
Year 9 implement the landscape design (cafes, children’s play, pavilions, garden planting etc)
Year 10 official opening of Tianjin Qiaoyuan Landscape Park and Garden

]]> By: Christine https://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/is-turenscapes-qiaoyuan-park-in-tianjin-a-model-for-chinese-landscape-architecture-%e8%af%b7%e7%9c%8b%e4%b8%80%e7%9c%8b%e5%9c%9f%e4%ba%ba%e6%99%af%e8%a7%82%e4%ba%8b%e5%8a%a1%e6%89%80%e7%9a%84/#comment-3652 Thu, 12 May 2011 06:59:29 +0000 http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/?p=6924#comment-3652 I did a bit of research into the project brief to create a ‘low maintenance’ urban park:

“This is a park of twenty-two hectares (fifty-four acres) in the northern coastal city of Tianjin, China. Rapid urbanization had changed a peripheral shooting range into a garbage dump and drainage sink for urban storm water; the site was heavy polluted, littered, deserted, and surrounded with slums and temporary rickety structures, which had been torn down before the design was commissioned. The soil is quite saline and alkaline. Densely populated at the south and east boundaries, the site is bounded on the west and north sides by a highway and an overpass.”

“In early 2006, in response to residents’ call for environmental improvement of the site, the municipal government of Tianjin contracted the landscape architect with the difficult task of an immediate transformation of this degraded site.”

The designers were inspired by the ecological history of the site and viewed the project as regenerative landscape design:

“Inspired by the adaptive vegetation communities that dotted the landscape in this region, the solution for this park was developed called The Adaptation Palettes, which was designed to let the nature work.”

The intentions was that the park would reflect seasonal patterns…[ http://www.turenscape.com/english/projects/project.php?id=339 ]

It may be that the site was more heavily polluted than expected, that the seasonal patterns have been more extreme or that the low maintenance regime was inadequate?

As to the value of the work to the common Chinese, if the design successfully rehabilitates it is of undoubted value, if it does so aesthetically even more so and if it reflects something of, and contributes something to, the Chinese context in its concern with the genius of place then it is a work of importance. If it contributes to the field of landscape architecture internationally, well it is a work of greatness.

]]> By: 王菲 https://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/is-turenscapes-qiaoyuan-park-in-tianjin-a-model-for-chinese-landscape-architecture-%e8%af%b7%e7%9c%8b%e4%b8%80%e7%9c%8b%e5%9c%9f%e4%ba%ba%e6%99%af%e8%a7%82%e4%ba%8b%e5%8a%a1%e6%89%80%e7%9a%84/#comment-3651 Wed, 11 May 2011 13:35:40 +0000 http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/?p=6924#comment-3651 It’s very complicated and difficult to understand.If it was a wonderful work but for me ,a common Chinese ,I don’t find any advantage with regarding to this work!

]]> By: Tom Turner https://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/is-turenscapes-qiaoyuan-park-in-tianjin-a-model-for-chinese-landscape-architecture-%e8%af%b7%e7%9c%8b%e4%b8%80%e7%9c%8b%e5%9c%9f%e4%ba%ba%e6%99%af%e8%a7%82%e4%ba%8b%e5%8a%a1%e6%89%80%e7%9a%84/#comment-3650 Wed, 11 May 2011 05:23:41 +0000 http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/?p=6924#comment-3650 Christine: sorry, I am unsure of the answers. Can anyone help? It could be that the ‘old problem’ has hit China: the design was not well-related to the maintenance regime which is being applied.
Adam: I agree about flowers being lovely but I see no reason why they cannot be incorporated in good spatial designs- whenever it is appropriate to do so. Flowers are not quite so wonderful when they lack the context of a good spatial design. Keukenhof and Great Dixter combine spatial design with the imaginative use of flowers.

]]> By: Christine https://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/is-turenscapes-qiaoyuan-park-in-tianjin-a-model-for-chinese-landscape-architecture-%e8%af%b7%e7%9c%8b%e4%b8%80%e7%9c%8b%e5%9c%9f%e4%ba%ba%e6%99%af%e8%a7%82%e4%ba%8b%e5%8a%a1%e6%89%80%e7%9a%84/#comment-3649 Wed, 11 May 2011 05:12:25 +0000 http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/?p=6924#comment-3649 Is Tianjin Qiaoyuan Park the victim of 1) an usual set of weather circumstances 2) flawed design logic which did not consult the genius of place 3) lack of an appropriate garden maintenance regime or some other difficulty?

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