Project Name: GREEN CORRIDOR – FLOODABLE HEART
Location: Taizhou, China
Client: Municipality of Taizhou Core Area Control Center
Year Designed: 2014 - current

The site is located in Jiao River District, which is in the estuary area of Taizhou Bay. The average land elevations are between 3-4m, normal high tide is approximately 3.62m with a 50 year event producing high tides of 5.17and 100 year high tide event producing high tide elevations of 6.02. Being at the junction of Central Road and Heart-Sea corridor, the site is the core zone of the urban development axis. Urban Spatial Structure: “one core, six corridors and four groups” indicates the junction area of Central Road and Heart-Sea corridor, where our site is, will be the new city core. The Heart-Sea corridor is a landscape corridor with ecological, recreational and cultural functions. It also contains flood control channel. The width of it is 800–1400 meters. It is only corridor that connects mountains and the sea, which makes it the most environmental valuable area in Taizhou City. The development of this corridor will promote the entire planning area. Even with the naming of this corridor as “FLOOD CONTROL” in a situation where they are essentially developing a huge area that has been permeable agriculture fields for 1000’s of years and like New Orleans or the Netherlands is at times below sea level the discussion is still around how this landscape corridor will promote the development of this entire area rather than how, as a functioning ecological system, it can inform future development. The interior of the park is programmed with more wild nature activities. This allows for the natural edge to act as the buffer it is for the surrounding development and programmatically creates the juxtaposition of urban and natural that makes living in The Green Heart Eco-Corridor of Taizhou attractive. The buildings and landforms are integrated in a way that creates multi-tier movement corridors for pedestrians, vehicles, and multi-modal forms of transit. Existing villages are integrated to maintain a unique sense of place and historical context. This type of development is the most attractive to a global population that cherishes the unique gifts of every culture. Opportunities for learning and exploration abound as the performative framework of the park design helps a diversity of ecologies thrive. This nature corridor extends as green infrastructure into the surrounding urban environment and throughout the new development so that water on a micro-scale has some place to go and the natural and urban systems can remain in balance.