Project description by jury

Through a step-by-step approach, the Liyumen Waterway Park transforms an inefficient drainage system of the Qianhai district, Shenzhen, into an efficient and desirable green-blue network for the city. The proposed infrastructure provides a new green area for Shenzhen’s inhabitants while integrating flood control and wastewater treatment systems. The new 15-km2 CBD is expected to accommodate over 700,000 people, where greenspace will be highly valued in the dense business/residential district.

The concrete canal of the existing drainage infrastructure is partly reconfigured to allow the creation of a wide terraced wetland and the development of a lush vegetation. Concrete is recycled to form the gabion for planters, retaining walls and the boardwalk. The presence of mangroves and wetland plants activates biological processes that function as a natural treatment to clean the wastewater, which is subsequently reused to irrigate and fertilize the park.

This results in a lush urban oasis that provides multiple environmental benefits, including an increase in flood resilience by 36%, energy savings of 70% for wastewater treatment, as well as microclimate mitigation and the general enhancement of the city’s livability. The nature-based solution tested in this pilot project is replicable throughout the city to tackle the issue of water pollution on a territorial scale.

Jury appraisal

The Holcim Awards jury Asia Pacific highly appreciated the symbiotic approach that deploys vegetation at the center of this proposal, that moves beyond the biophilic landscape design perspective. The project is very refined and provides thoroughly researched and precise information on the life cycle assessment, which reveals a straightforward and robust methodological approach.

The issue of drainage systems improvement and inclusion into a wider territorial vision was found particularly convincing and relevant for this geographic region. The jury also praised its high potential for replicability at a global scale.