SPARK is delighted to announce it has won a limited competition to master plan the regeneration of the Qing Tai district of Suzhou.
SPARK’s proposal establishes a development framework for the former light industrial and residential village to create a new cultural and economic network of extraordinary programmes and events.
Our design proposals were inspired by the processional principles of Suzhou’s traditional Chinese garden design and their harmonic relationship with water, Suzhou’s world famous natural resource.
The idea of creating a ‘social picturesque’ where the views to and from the various buildings and spaces arranged around the lake and waterfront give meaning and identity to the master plan.
There is great subtlety in this “poetic” approach with the built interventions stemming from the desire to create a connected cultural-tourism destination around water, a catalyst for a future inspired by the best of the past.
Human relationship to water in Suzhou is critically important, historically it was used for pragmatic purposes like trade and industry but now its primary value is one of amenity. Our proposals maximise this value so all routes / pathways are connected and have aspect to the water.