The work is in preparation for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games. Nanjing is one of China’s four great ancient capitals and the second largest commercial centre in the East China region.
The masterplan will provide connectivity and access along its length addressing industrial sites and urban dereliction as well as linking with recent new developments and existing open space. Atkins has also been chosen to oversee the detailed landscape design and construction over the next two years.
The site covers an area of 11km2 and Atkins’ design incorporates seven landscape and activity zones which interconnect yet remain distinctive. The zones feature tourism, leisure, commercial facilities and incorporate natural landscape highlights.
Mark Kang, Atkins’ project director, said: “A successful landscape must work for all elements; the local culture, the ecology, the people and the businesses that will become part of its fabric. For this project, this was particularly relevant. Due to the layering of the different development phases in Nanjing’s history, the waterfront appears non-homogeneous and fragmented. We drew our inspiration from the local silk industry which produces brocade known as Nanjing Yunjin, a series of weaving patterns using a consistent palette of colour threads. The masterplan calls for a coherent design language while highlighting city heritage and fulfilling the needs of contemporary urban living and recreational activities.”
The city of Nanjing, on the banks of the River Yangtze, incorporates some of China’s most important historical, ecological and social landmarks and this project is part of a major masterplan to both consolidate and celebrate these aspects within the overall riverside corridor. To undertake this, Atkins’ scope of work includes landscape design, urban planning and tourism consultancy.
Atkins was the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and is currently overseeing the transformation of the Olympic Park into an new visitor destination and community park.
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