“Going north to vacate the imperial city”

Stretching its bones, Xi’an, the oldest city in China, has turned its eye toward north.

基于皇城复兴及市政府北迁的影响，西安城北原有大量城中村及老旧建筑的徐家湾片区逐渐进入了人们的视野。因其搭载高铁站与机场双重交通枢纽，直通第十四届全运会会址的区位特殊性，道路空间及街景改善成为了本区域城市改造的当务之急。

Located in north is an area called Xujiawan, where “villages” in the city and old worn buildings abound. Revitalization of the imperial city and migration of the municipal government to north has gradually brought people’s attention here. This is a special place serving as the transportation hub of high-speed train stations and airports and having direct access to the fourteenth National Games site; therefore, it becomes urgent to improve the area’s road space and streetscape.

“雄心勃勃的西安要通过城市扩张的三级跳，立马张家堡区域，剑指渭河两岸，在西安地理版图和经济社会发展史上写下浓墨重彩的一笔。”

“With great ambition, Xi’an will write an extraordinary stroke in its geographic landscape and economic and social development history, by hop skip and jump in urban expansion, stationing in Zhangjiabao area and pointing to the two banks of River Wei”

就此，旧城“街景复兴计划”应运而生。

In response the “Streetscape” for the revival of old towns has emerged.

团队陆续以鱼藻路口袋公园、庙张姚社区口袋公园为试点，尝试探讨小尺度的城市公共空间改造艺术。并逐步推广这一模块化口袋公园的建设方式，以复制性极强的小型公共空间渗透整个街区，形成斑块之间的联动，完成整个徐家湾片区绿网的重生。在旧与新的更替中，为快节奏生活的居民提供一种新颖的生活节奏，改变街区的传统生活方式。

With Yuzao Road pocket park and Miaozhangyao community pocket park as trials, we attempt to explore small-scale urban public space transformation art and promote construction method of such modularized pocket park. This kind of small-scale public space is highly replicable and can penetrate to the entire block, linking spot by spot, and thus completing revival of green network in the entire Xujiawan area. The substitution of old and new will bring a novel living rhythm to the residents here who are used to a rapid pace of life and change traditional living style of blocks.

“更多的绿地，更慢的城市。”

“More green land, slower city”

鱼藻路口袋公园成为了设计团队的第一次尝试。

Yuzao Road pocket park is our first try.

原场地紧邻住宅社区，但仅供车辆停靠，没有任何行人愿意在此停留，形成了一种疏离冷漠的社区氛围。

The original site abutted residential communities but functioned only as a parking spot; nobody was willing to linger at there, leading to a distant and indifferent community atmosphere.

于是，在设计之初，团队通过研究片区服务功能及周边人群使用动线，重新梳理场地，挖掘城市肌理的可塑性，打破传统单一、线性的构图，用曲线重组带状空间的格局界限，慢跑道丰富内部色彩，提升活力。

In regard of this, we studied the area’s service functions and dynamic route of surrounding users, re-organized the site to explore plasticity of urban texture, and broke up traditional single and linear layout. We reshaped the belt area’s boundary via curves and motivated the site using colorful jogging lanes.

“打造声舒适、风舒适、人舒适的舒适型片区口袋公园”

“Create a comfortable pocket park that is sound-, wind- and human-friendly by using new technologies”

而对于紧随其后开工建设的庙张姚社区口袋公园，景观设计师称之为口袋公园2.0，这一次，在分析太阳固定运动轨迹、年主导风的风场特征的基础上，通过叠加冬夏日照充足和阴暗的区域，明确适合冬夏活动的场地，打造夏天可避荫，冬天可活动的口袋公园，切实提升人们居住与活动环境的舒适性、市容的美观性。这一技术之前更多的被运用于居住区活动场地的设计之中，而市政项目涉猎甚少。但对于面域狭窄，四周紧邻高层建筑的口袋公园来说，确有其优势所在。

Miaozhangyao community pocket park, following closely to Yuzao Road pocket park, is called by us as pocket park 2.0. This time we were no longer satisfied with pure plant matching and site shaping; we introduced in more scientific analysis technology instead, that is, wind and sunshine positioning. Based on the fixed movement trail of the sun and wind field characteristic of the yearly dominant wind, we overlay sunshine-abundant area and shadow area in winter and summer to identify a site suitable for winter and summer activities, so as to create a pocket park which, by providing shadow in summer and activities in winter, substantially improves comfort level of people’s living and activity space and make the city more eye-pleasing. Previously such kind of technology was more used in activity space design of residential areas and was seldom used in municipal projects; now its advantages are exerted in pocket parks which have restricted area and abut high-rise buildings.

廊架设计与本次口袋公园名称“红旗公园”相契合，模拟旗帜迎风招展的动态效果，并形成场所空间——“展旗廊”。在项目建成后的回访中景观设计师发现，“展旗廊”的使用率极高，周边也被居民自发的重载了许多新的活动模式，原本废弃的场地活动密度大幅增加，人群沟通的活力与氛围得到极大改善。过去被不便于使用的街区空间阻断的社区文化与归属感正在重新建立。

From return visits after completion of the park we found the residents here invented many new activity modes. The once-deserted site has seen much more intense activities and social communication becomes exuberant in a much better atmosphere. The community culture and a sense of belonging that were once blocked by inconvenient street space are being reestablished.

现如今，徐家湾片区不断发展与改革，景观设计师希望在未来的口袋公园3.0、4.0、5.0……等等，尝试不同的手法来打造“异人异景”、“因地而生”的口袋公园，例如对未来口袋公园周边用户模式和活动要求进行评估以及问卷调查，确定居民对户外娱乐设施、公园、小路和开放空间的态度和行为，基于人群的真实需求为出发点，以挖掘未曾在意过的生活缺失为目的，摒弃传统社区中的功能场所，打造匹配现代社区用户需求的交流、互动、活力中心，营造全新的未来社区空间格局。

Xujiawan area is developing and reforming, where we hope to see future pocket park 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0, etc., and attempt to use various approaches to create pocket parks that vary with users and self-adapt to specific sites. We will, for example, assess and investigate the user mode and activity requirements of residents around the pocket park, ascertain the residents’ attitude and behavior toward outdoor entertainment facilities, parks, roads, and open space. Based on the crowd’s true demand, we will dig the perhaps never-noted missing living demand, abandon function sites in traditional communities, create communication, interaction and vitality center that can match modern communities and build brand new future community space pattern.