YIYU: The project is located at the city of Nanchang in central China and serves as a vital starting point of Rule Lake urban renewal project. Rule Water Street combines its historical evolution with the memories of the mother river, Gan River, of the site, and aims to rebuild a new modern bonding between the water and people. The Rule water street features in three main areas: “the plaza of thunder dance”, “the shower of lights”, and “the colour blocking rain garden”. The design of the three parts is inspired by the imagination of the water history: the rocky bound at the shore, the shimmering light above the morning river, and the movement of the waves.
The plaza of thunder dance is located in front of the urban exhibition hall. The design of the square that consists of terraces and benches is enlightened by the rocky bound of the river. By using level changes and the stone blocks, the water wall generates cascading splashes, to mimic the dramatic expression of the waves. During the night, the fountain also combines numerous interactive water jets, by using bright pink, purple, and blue lights, to perform the theme of “the thunder dance” — powerful water jets dance like lighting as the focal centre point of the square.
The shower of lights is located beside the square and serves as a playground for kids. Inspired by the shimmering lights above the morning river, the light plays the main character of the design—filtered by a canopy composed of thousands of transparent acrylics panels, the sunlight transforms into countless colourful butterflies.
The last part of the exhibition area is the colour blocking rain garden. The rain garden is designed for rain collection for irrigation of the garden. The garden consists of a grid system of aquatic planting beds with recycling gabion and gravels. By mixing colourful aquatic flowers and stones from the construction site, the waste transforms into a sea of lives with colourful flora waves.
Location: Nanchang Kan River District, China
Client: Greenland
Landscape Architect: YIYU design
Design Team: Yifeng Lin, John Wang, Alex de Dios, Wendy Huang, Yizheng Tien, Daisy Ng, Daisy Lau
Area: 8000 sqm
Type: Commercial plaza
Design year: 2017
Year Built: 2018
Photographer: Alex de Dios
Designers: YIYU design /
