Photo | Robert Miller Pictures
LANDWORKS STUDIO , INC .
HONOR AWARD / BSLA
Design — Streetscape
Zelkova Urban Garden Taichung , Taiwan
The primary catalyst of this transformation was the creation of a consistent tree canopy that established a strong and legible urban gesture in the form of cultural reference , but also a system that operates as a mechanism to improve local ecologies and to generally enhance environmental conditions along this particularly attenuated stretch of city fabric .
The physical strategy for the Zelkova urban landscape is predicated upon expanding the pedestrian public realm within a rapidly urbanizing area of an already dense city . The project was located to unite the urban park system to the west with a series of new cultural institutions and open spaces to the east , including the Taichung Opera House . As completed , the project is phase one of a multi-phased series of public realm expansions – a strategy to make streets more active participants in the open space network of Taichung , Taiwan .
The insertion of a dramatic allée and corner park is defined primarily by mature Taiwan Zelkova trees . The understory is defined by a mix of native ground covers , providing seasonal variation and interest . Because the entire area is elevated above a contained box of urban infrastructures , the site behaves much like a roof top , where the soil is very shallow . The team established a language of elevated torqued and angular walls , which reference the regional landscape while providing sufficient planting depths and soil types to support the large trees . Consequently , the landscape acts as the connective tissue that unites the diverse architecture styles of the adjacent buildings and guides the fluid movement of pedestrians through a series of varied experiences .
Boston Society of Landscape Architects Fieldbook
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