Introduction

PLAT ASIA is designated to renovate an urban square, "SHIJIE" in Kangbashi District, Ordos, China, into an all-people-friendly smart sports park to satisfy the necessity of increasing seeks for a healthy lifestyle using the public place. The original square is surrounded by the residents' zone, office building, school, and exhibition center, with a critical position and convenient transportation. There is a themed sculpture, "SHIJIE," at the 19.7 ha site, the open-edge urban square assembled with a few public amenities and several gate ball courts already. However, the lack of a rational configuration, professional runway, and enough service space and place resulted in an unwelcome green land in the city and low efficiency in use, which needed a prompt renovation. 

19.7-8.7×106: The Land Fabric of Ordos

The Ordos spread over 87 thousand square kilometers, including the desert, steppe, and river context. Translating this unique and coexisting landscape into a spatial experience in the park is the first concept derived from ideas by the principal designer, BIAN Baoyang. KUBUQI Desert and Mu Us Desert, influenced by the northwest wind at desert climate, form blocks of dunes in a slow slope in the northwest and upsweep in the southeast, which inspired the micro-terrain in the same direction in the park. The desert steppe in the Ordos records the history of geology transformation for thousands and hundreds of years. The design shows the grassland of steppe elements as the park's background. Zigzag HONGLIU Rivers from south to north through WUSHEN County, and the Yellow River spreads west to east at DALATE County. These curved lines drawn from undulated rivers construct the dynamic route for a whole circulation, with islands-like spaces for rest, under a motivated pace, and encountering family or friends.

All-Age-Friendly Comprehensive Sports Park

Deriving from the local land's texture, it generates the layout and a circulation path. The circular runway symbolizes the river in the field as the first step. The Blue runway represents the Ordos sky and the river's reflection. The renovation remains the themed sculpture line in the park's central axis and strengthens a main runway. Grouped by age and habit of exercise, the five arrays in different functions came out. The comprehensive ball courts areas, which are posited in a naked area in the northwest, include football pitch sizes for 5 & 7-A-Side, basketball courts, tennis courts, badminton courts, and table-tennis courts, which satisfy the multiple activity scenes in professional and leisure; the kids' square in the core of park; the bike field prepared for teenagers; the comprehensive exercise area for elders; the original gate ball courts area get a new gate ball stadium for some professional games; the alkaline soil area which is not available to planting is used to a seasonal place, a sand pits area in summer and skating tracks in winter; a new water pool and gestured-based fountain could flourish the activity with water in park. 

Wonderland for Kids: Hug with Nature at a High Sight

The new architecture in the park's center, which integrated the kids' playground and the park's management service center with a roof lookout, overlooks a panorama of the park and the city. The façade of the service center building assembled some recreational equipment for kids. The first floor contains an office, sports store, shop, café, and restroom. The semi-open corridor and the façade with vertical shade strengthen the transparency and conversation between people. 

“Dune Ridge” in the Sunshine: Views of Thresholds

The parkland mainly keeps the character of woodland pasture in the Ordos, allowing some human-scale leisure activities in the grassland, such as camping, a popular lifestyle nowadays. Landscape designers keep the original tall arbor trees well-growing and remove the dense and messy bottom bush that obstructs the sight of open surroundings. This transparent landscape layer benefits from feeling psychological safety in this environment and keeps a connection with people and nature. Plant new native species with original Populous alba, Pinus sylvestris, and Salix matsudana to grow a local plant ecosystem. The shading system keeps one design language. Besides the natural tree shelters, membrane structure pavilions posit in different places and spaces, support a comfortable rest area along the tracks, and encounter space in a walkway to help care for kids, which applies to diverse scenes. Those shelters with curved ridge lines and directions keep out the sun all day and respond to the dunes, especially in Ordos.

Smart and Healthy habitats

The park applies an intelligent management platform system to operate and interact with people. Smart landscape installation includes:

• Controlled lighting.
• Monitoring traffic data of the jogging loop.
• Smart navigation matches with the VI system. 
• Water purifier system.
• Charging based on solar energy and intelligent storage assembled in the outdoor furniture. 

To a great extent, those intelligent systems help build a personalized and sustainable service for people at foreseeing planning. The health of habitats focuses on water circulation and using green materials. The site follows the original terrain with the difference of height, sets an introduced route for stream and penetrated materials, gathers waters into marshland, and finally keeps a balance of water in the park. 

Design for People

Since its completion and opening in August 2023, the park has attracted many people to visit and play there, especially the kids' playground, which has obtained many favorites. At the same time, the football pitch has hosted some professional games, which have been a landmark park in Ordos. Considerately under the control of a strict budget, the designers complete this challenge of the park's renovation together with clients, cooperators, and contractors. Ordos Smart Sports Park accomplished the nature of an urban square for people, led a trend toward a healthy lifestyle, and let the green lands return to everyone's routines.

Project information

Project name: Ordos Smart Sports Park

Location: Kangbashi district, Ordos, China

Types: Renovation

Site area: 19.7 ha

New building area: 1,180㎡

Max height: 9 m

Main buildings: park’s management service center, gate-ball stadium

Building materials: permeable concrete, colored asphalt, permeable bricks, desert sand; all-plastic plastic runway, hybrid plastic runway, EPDM rubber, PU mold rubber, polyurea flooring; PTFE membrane, steel panel, aluminum thermal insulation decorative board

Design period: 12/2021-03/2022

Construction time: 06/2022-07/2023

Opening: 08/2023