In Shenzhen, Crossboundaries has designed a large park for various activities on the rooftop of a building at the metro terminal
Over the past 40 years, Shenzhen has undergone a metamorphosis, developing from a small fishing village to one of China’s most innovative and modern cities. Its population has grown rapidly from a few thousand to nearly 17 million inhabitants, 33% of whom are under 30 years old. The city, populated by many young people, offers numerous spaces dedicated to them: urban parks, recreational centers, outdoor and indoor venues where they can spend their free time and cultivate their passions. The Nanshan Sky Park, designed by Crossboundaries studio, is one of these spaces: a sports park, built on the roof of a building near Shenzhen Bay.
Nanshan Sky Park: the new park with a view designed by Crossboundaries in Shenzhen
The new sports park in Shenzhen is located on the rooftop of the terminal of metro line 2, which leads to Shekou, in the southern area of the district of Nanshan, from which ferries, buses and trains depart for Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai.
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The firm has succeeded in creating place for meeting and recreation, for the general public and professionals as well. In fact, the 73,000 sqm roof hosts spaces aimed at improving the quality of physical education in the surrounding schools, areas in which one can freely exercise and sports facilities where professionals can train and participate in competitions with an audience.
More specifically, the park consists of a sequence of sports facilities flanked by a park accessible to all, which integrates perfectly with the surrounding urban context, enriching it.
Nanshan Sky Park in Shenzhen
At first, the complex had no aesthetic or functional value. So, the firm decided to add value by integrating the new sports area into its surroundings; connections are made through overpasses, bridges and corridors. The new facilities allow direct connection between the park and residential and educational buildings in the immediate vicinity.
An inclusive park
The park has been designed for the general public, local sports clubs, and three educational institutions in the neighborhood: the Shenzhen Nanshan Foreign Language School and the Shenzhen Bay School, which includes elementary and middle school programs.
That’s why the park is divided into three different user areas, each of which offers facilities for practicing different sports, green areas to relax or do free physical activity, services such as restrooms and changing rooms.
The school user area includes 5 tennis courts, 6 basketball courts, 2 five-a-side fields and several running tracks (460 m, 160 m and a 200 m straight track). The area for sports professionals is equipped with 2 lawn courts, 6 competitive tennis courts, 4 training fields; 2 clay courts and 2 volleyball courts. Lastly, the area aimed at the general community has large green areas and a full-size soccer field.
Access and connections
All entrances and accesses to the park are located in direct vicinity to different functional areas, and are reachable via 6 access points.
Vertical connections make the North and the South end directly accessible from the ground floor. School access occurs exclusively via bridges leading directly onto the rooftop.
On the rooftop, circulation is facilitated by three main paths that occasionally intersect: Leisure path, Pedestrian path, and Sports path (running/skating). Most of the pedestrian walkway is paved with stone, while the leisure trail is mostly covered with timber and the sports track features a rubber surface.
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Integration and sustainability
Crossboundaries has created this new park to offer a lifestyle that goes hand in hand with the young, entrepreneurial and dynamic character of the city. It is an innovative and sustainable project that stimulates and enriches the neighborhood: the frequent use of wood, the creation of waterproof structures, and the use of greenery to help provide efficient drainage are examples of this.
