Award-winning Tianjin 4A Sports Park is a public park paying homage to the ancient Yixing town formerly located on site and weaving together retail, sports and environmental elements in a high-density maze program. The high-density park design maximizes the ecological impact of the relatively small site by raising environmental awareness through remarkable Play ‘n Learn landscape features.

The site is a modern city built over the remains of historical Yixing, a town with remarkable connection to another Yixing town in Jiangsu province. With the construction of the Grand Canal, the residents of Yixing moved their entire village, and reconstructed a facsimile to north of Tianjin city. While this historical town was destroyed, BAM utilizes the urban plan of the original Yixing as a palimpsest.

The project is roughly divided into 4 plots which overlap each other. These quadrants are defined by a central axis which runs northwest to southeast which connects the residential district through the mall to the metro. The other axis is the large central plaza which is an open space for activities and events.

To the east is the food quadrant, which contains a beer garden and outdoor eating areas. It sits alongside the play quadrant, where curved and contoured playground areas, sandpits and fountains are organized around a bright yellow canopy. The maze quadrant, evoking the winding streets of the ancient town, sits to the west and comprises four different zones – the hedge maze, earth maze, wood maze and water maze. The maze also works as an analogy for the learning process in which one always works to find their own path.

The ecological impact of the site is very much determined by its size. This is ‘high-density’ park on a relatively small site. The park design maximizes the ecological impact by raising environmental awareness through interactive landscape features. The central landmark of the park is a large sculptural element which in fact is a geothermal chimney and steam exhaust for heated water which is naturally occurring in this region.

The highlight Play ‘n Learn element on site is the “Water Mountain”. This water feature is an interactive hydrology model – a miniature of the Yangtze River delta landscape, the Three Gorges Reservoir and the ancient Dujiangyan irrigation system.

The water springs from the mountains, moves through the valley and flows into the deltas at the ocean. Children can activate water sources in the miniature mountains, and use dams placed in certain locations along the water’s route to create reservoirs. However, if the water is not carefully managed it will spill over into other waterways and continue its path to the ocean.

On the surface, this water feature reflects the Chinese landscape, the agricultural and cultural development and heritage. On a deeper level, the design talks in particular to the human’s role in the heavy manipulation of the landscape and water ways. This feature turns an idea which is potentially far too large and abstract for a child to comprehend and turns it into a play environment, where the learning is not didactic but instead inherent in the play. Through these types of play we intend to bring greater awareness to more children about the big environmental issues in the hope to raise a generation of people with a mind to fix them.  

Awards: 2023 Architizer A+ Award Jury Winner (Architecture and Learning), 2023 Grands Prix du Design Landscape of the Year (Landscape and Water, Innovative Landscape).