Cloud Paradise Park

Z+T Studio towards Z + TSTUDIOfor providingthe following description. The Cloud Paradise is a 25, 000 SM promenade alongthe side of the lake in the Luhu Eco City in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The design was tightlyrestricted by existing conditions including thepreservation of the existing structures, the contourof the lake and the fire code. Inspired by thedesign of the water system of the Luhu Eco City, water is the theme in the Cloud Paradise. The Cloud Paradise was designed as a children’s park meant toteach about water and the natural environment. Itwas designed to not only serve as a playful park, but also an outdoor natural museum. Z+T Studio the bouncing cloud, the interactive drydeck fountain plaza, the creeks, the interactivespring water pond, the glacier mirror wall valley, the snowy sliders and the whirlpool crawling net. Through these uniquely designed landscape featuresand program, information related to water forms likeclouds, rain, creeks, rivers, ponds, ice, snow andwhirlpools is presented in special ways. In order toachieve the design goals, the designers at Z+T Studio participated heavily in the constructionphase. As the consortium of designers, artists, structural engineers, and technicians, the Art Workshop of Z+T Studio played a key role from thedesign to the final realization of the project. The Art Workshop designed and fabricated many keyelements. Prior to the final production andinstallation, the Art Workshop constructed thefull-size mock-up and ran intensive tests of thedesign in the Z+T Studio’s workshop space. Throughthe participation of the Art Workshop and thisunique design-built procedure, the cost of theproduction, the schedule, the quality and the designintegrity have been better controlled compared toconventional procedures. Prior to its grand opening, the management of the park invited a dozen familiesto test play the facilities in the park. Based ontheir feedback, together with Z+T Studio, themanagement fine-tuned the details and optimizedmaintenance strategies. For a better experience inthe park, the management also established a ceilingfor the overall number of daily visitor. Since itsopening, the Cloud Paradise has gained positivefeedback from the public and professionals. The parktells a story of the life and time of a drop ofwater. Through a series of participatoryrecreational components, it integrates environmenteducation into diversified playful experience. The white inflatable trampoline, a popular place forfamily to play together, is a metaphor of cloud. Theplayful white cloud-like trampoline is the startpoint of the water story. The second node next to the cloud trampoline is theinteractive fountain. It represents rainfall. Fourcustom stationary bicycles are designed to trig thefountain jets. Water collected from interactivefountain flows to a meandering creek. The shallowrelief is used to transform a 5-meter wide hardpavement to a joyful place, yet still meet the fireaccess code.