Wuzhong Swan Lake

Green Infrastructure for a Growing City

Location
Suzhou, China
Status
Completed 2017
Client
Wuzhong Guotai Development
Type
Landscape

 

Wuzhong Swan Lake, designed and constructed between 2012 and 2017, is a stunning 24-hectare urban green space that beautifully integrates 11 hectares of water with 13 hectares of parkland landscaping. This scenic landscape offers a harmonious blend of water features and lush park areas, making Wuzhong Swan Lake a premier destination for recreation and relaxation in the region.

The parklands around the lake connect directly to Wuzhong’s urban centre by a boulevard “canal,” a 5.5 km continuous route, along with a variety of paths and watercraft waterways. The park combines a large range of cultural and sustainability initiatives seamlessly integrating all functional elements in a holistic design which offers a natural escape for passive recreation and relaxation, as well as active leafy pedestrian streets for continuous walking, cycling and boating.

 

Aerial view of Wuzhong Swan Lake showing water and geometry.
Aerial view of Wuzhong Swan Lake showing water and the dragon bridge.

The 150m long curvilinear undulating Dragon Bridge is a spectacular, sculptural feature of the park. The bridge connects the island to the Southeast Precinct, and is a unique and symbolic structure with distinct cultural references.

 

Swan Lake Park acts as the ‘green hub’ for the new city, where people and nature can inhabit, coexist and thrive. The park reflects JPW’s core belief in creating contemporary, connected, and sustainable public green spaces with respect to local culture and heritage.

View of Wuzhong Swan Lake dragon bridge showing people in context.

The Island Precinct is a central attraction to the parkland. Its caldera-like contour evokes the forms of regional mountains and creates elevation. The landform rises up in the centre and hollows out at the peak allowing for a range of activities to take place within and around the mini-mountain. The island features terraces with seasonal planting and water features, an elevated skywalk and viewing platform, sensory gardens, an amphitheatre, boardwalk and floating pontoon café with ornamental water garden.

Swan Lake Park in Wuzhong exemplifies the potential for landscape architecture to provide recreational, ecological and social benefits in places of rapid urbanization. Across twenty-four hectares, the park combines experiential spaces nested within circulation connections and large-scale sustainability initiatives. The collaboration of the design team is evident in the high quality of the design and its execution. The project carefully crafts a huge variety of precincts and connections as well as green infrastructure.

Jury Citation

Winner 2019, International Category – AILA National Landscape Architecture Award, Swan Lake Park

Aerial View of Wuzhong Swan Lake Park showing urban landscape in nature context.

JPW acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and honours their continuing connection to lands, waters, skies, and communities.

We offer our respect to Elders past and those present – as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work.