Dameisha Area sponge upgrading project

” “The sponge city and waterfront landscape upgrading of Dameisha Outlets focus on the integration of facility function and landscape experience in the whole process. The design could improve the ecological process of rainwater, the quality of the spatial environment, and reshape the living scene, to effectively gather the popularity of the waterfront commercial town and activate the value of the commercial space, thus achieving a win-win situation for the ecological, social and economic benefits of the sponge landscape. ” Since being listed as a pilot city in 2016, Shenzhen has integrated sponge city construction with water and urban governance and made many successful ecological projects such as rivers, lakes, and parks, so Shenzhen got good grades in the performance evaluation of the second batch of pilot cities. With the implementation of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the proposed vision for 2035, sponge city construction in China turns into a new phase of systematically promoting across the whole region. When completing the large-scale regional sponge projects, Shenzhen begins to focus on site-scale sponge construction and the integration of public space-qualified improvement with sponge facilities. Making sponge landscape as daily life --Sponge city and waterfront landscape upgrading project of Dameisha Outlets， Shenzhen Located in the eastern coastal zone of Yantian District, Shenzhen, with rolling hills, open sea views, and the Dameisha River winding through it, Dameisha Outlets, together with Dameisha Waterfront Park, Eastern Overseas Chinese Town Scenic Area, Vanke International Convention Centre, Dameisha International Water Sports Centre, and Dameisha Art Village, form an important city card of Shenzhen. With a good natural background and many years of continuous environmental improvement projects such as mountains, forests, lakes, and seas, this area has gradually built an ecological pattern, and the ecological service value and environmental quality have been greatly enhanced. Dameisha Outlets between the mountains and the sea Built-in 2010, the Outlets town has already run for nearly 12 years. After years of use and typhoon impact, the quality of the environment has significantly deteriorated, the ecological service value is lacking, and the spatial layout cannot meet the daily leisure needs of the shopping and leisure crowd and the surrounding residents in the new era, so the popularity of the town has significantly declined. Many issues in Outlets before the upgrade By comprehensive regional analysis, find the key nodes to shape the landscape sponge scene With a regional perspective to study the ecological process and the site conditions to accurately identify the key nodes. The design combined the sponge city concept and work methods with landscape design by reconstructing the rainwater process. The landscape sponge scene will help this area turn to be a sponge demonstration area with coastal characteristics, a high-quality commercial public space with hydrology, landscape, and ecology functions. After the transformation, the commercial people, tourists, and leisure residents will come back to the town again, and the sponge landscape scenes will become part of daily life. The general plan of this upgrading work in Dameisha Outlets The photos in Outlets after upgrading work This section of the shoreline has the highest landscape value from the perspective of the shoreline of the outlet business town. The originally stepped barge enters the water vertically and can be seated for long-distance viewing, but it is not convenient for the waterfront. The design takes the comfort of the water as the core starting point, using the shaded square as a shelter, retaining the corner observation pavilion, and replacing the step barge with a "two-step wide step + suspended platform" approach. The clean and sharp platform reinforces the character of the peninsula, and the lighting at night enforced the tranquility of the island. two-step wide step + suspended platform Wide steps for seating and viewing, the platform for water interaction The renovation of the floating table provides a good place for fish to hide and shade; the water attracts black swans to stay, and their interaction with people forms a new hot scene in Outlets, which increases the flow of people and effectively activates the surrounding business. Evening lights add to the serenity of the peninsula Leaning on the waterfront, talking to friends, and taking pictures with swans become the latest famous sensation Renovated waterfront attracts black swans The original site included a landscaped water feature, flower ponds, and display fixtures, and was laid out in a way that was not conducive to a full experience of the commercial scene. After years of use, the site suffered from subsidence and unevenness in many places, and the lack of infiltration led to frequent waterlogging and deterioration in quality. In the aftermath of Typhoon Mangosteen, the trees were left intact and the underlying ground cover was severely degraded, which not only lost its ecological value but also affected the commercial function and made people reluctant to stay or pass through the site. The design preserves the original trees and replants the vacant trees, which form a natural waffle. Smoothing out the site to achieve a tidy and orderly place where people can pass and stay. Three colors of permeable pavement reshape the tidy square Retaining the original trees and planting vacant trees to create a natural wooded plaza The sponge system of "permeable paving + permeable tree holes + open linear ditches + rain gardens" is built by redrawing the water catchment zones. High-quality ceramic permeable tiles in black, white, and grey are used to replace concrete blocks to aid natural infiltration. Many rain gardens layout dispersedly and they can absorb and purify rainwater in the neighborhoods. The underlain infiltration pipes connect to the open infiltration channels, and the purified rainwater will be directed to the ecological pond for terminal purification. The tree-lined plaza provides diverse ecosystem services Permeable paving, infiltration tree ponds, and infiltration channels form a complete sponge system The performance of the site has been greatly improved after the renovation. Visitors can move around after the rain immediately, and the trees give the site shade. All-day comfort has quickly increased the number of shoppers and attracted neighborhood residents to come here to enjoy their life under the trees. The plaza provides space for shopping and leisure activities The plaza becomes an important part of the daily life of the surrounding residents The hard-bottomed pond on the site has fallen into disuse for many years and made safety and health hazards, while there is no children's playground in the town. So design transforms the disused pond into a playground, intending to make effective use of the site and increase attraction. With a rain garden set within the undulating playground and a large-bellied cottonwood, children can play in nature. Permeable terrain playground Traditional non-permeable children's activity areas commonly suffer from waterlogging, which causes deterioration in quality soon after use and causes problems in maintenance. This project has changed the traditional approach by adopting an integral permeable EPDM flooring process, which can improve the infiltration speed, and prolong usable time. The sponge grounds nourish warm parent-child time. The staggered treatment of mats and gardens is good for runoff organization In front of the library on the west side of the waterfront, there was originally a hard-paved square and scattered dotted concrete tree ponds. Due to constant waterlogging, the old and worn paving was prone to siltation, which seriously affected the useful functions such as access, sitting, and the image of the shopping area. The hard paved area is transformed into a sunken green space, with a lawn as the core of the site, enclosed by steps and gabion seats for seating and relaxation, and surrounded by a paved plaza as a public activity space. The original trees are retained and replanted with linear tree formations to outline the boundaries of the site and enrich the vertical landscape experience. The sunny lawns and trees form a landscape A sponge scene consisting of permeable paving + sunken green space + strip rain gardens The layout of the original car park was confusing, and the hard surface lacked permeability, so the rainfall took a long time to drain. The design optimizes the layout and flow lines and upgrades the original car park pavement to a permeable asphalt material. The rainwater from the pavement is channeled into the rain garden through the vegetable zone, where it is purified and transferred to the end of the ecological pond for storage and purification for reuse. Eco-parking with sponge function and artistic aesthetics Central rain gardens as bio-retention facilities The eco-parking sponge process The ecological pond is located on the east side of the island. Before the renovation, it was a hard bottom lotus pond, which lacked self-purification ability. The design preserves the original tall trees, expands the water-friendly platform, and adds gabion seats. A series of technical solutions such as mulching, disinfection of the substrate, and construction of vegetable and microbial communities are used to reconstruct the "underwater forest" system, helping to maintain the water quality. The rainwater can be used for watering the gardens and washing the roads. The pond now attracts children to play and adults to enjoy a slower pace of life at the edge of the pond, and the pond turns out to be a precious urban public space. Leisure along the ecological pond Water ecology restoration process in ecological ponds