NEW ERA

Longfor Kaiyuan in the Xiyong core of Chongqing is a 68,957-square-metre residential landscape designed in 2017 by Chongqing Blues Urban Landscape Planning for client Chongqing Longfor Jingming Real Estate, comprising villa and low-rise apartment zones. Two ecological view parks wrap the site to the north and south, insulating it from urban noise, while a quiet, picture-like corridor runs through the whole development and returns arriving residents from the busy world to a warm home. An open, civic-facing front stages the ritual of arrival: welcoming pines stand at both ends of a mirror pool, and stepping through the gate enters a comfortable enclosure. Led by low shrubs, a set of lotus-leaf sculptures comes into view, concentric ripples spreading across each leaf and carrying a spare, meditative calm. A Chinese waterside pavilion gathers the spirit of still water and moonlight; timber and stone are quiet and refined, and a 360-degree waterside terrace links people with nature, so that one can sit and watch children play while a breeze moves through the water curtain. The paving below is composed of curved lotus-leaf patterns, precisely cut to soften the hard stone walls; at dusk, small lights on the leaves suggest summer fireflies among the lotuses. A bamboo path leads deeper, greenery guiding the visitor onward in a journey that seeks quiet in the noisy city. A 115-metre depth of field unfolds scene by scene in a contemporary aesthetic. The great sun lawn is chosen for open-air films, picnics and aerobic exercise, an outdoor gym for young adults and a playground for children. The swimming pool is split into a shallow children's area and a functional lap section with a 1.6-metre depth for fitness.