Redefine the border of water

Abstract

In the past
centuries, water structures such as canals, etc. were important as a lifeline
for a city instead of being a facility only for water. However, globally,
cities are turning their back to the water. Despite their potential for urban
development, many canals or watercourses are losing their identity in urban
areas. There is a potential of turning the canal or watercourses back to a
lifeline for the city by landscape methods. Through landscape methods, there
are potential to turn the role of water in cities more positive and let it
influence life in the urban area.   The
Grand Canal (known to the Chinese as the Jing–Hang Grand Canal) in China, start
from Hangzhou to Beijing, was a backbone for urban life and played an important
role in social, culture, ecology and economy in history. Tongzhou, located in a
low-lying area in the southeast corner of Beijing, was in history a hub along
the Grand Canal that connected Beijing city center and southern China. Now, the
Grand Canal in Beijing part is no longer used for transportation because of the
lack of water. Even though the Grand Canal doesn't benefit Beijing as in the
past anymore, it is still a strong urban element for creating public space and
potential backbone for urban development in Tongzhou district. The Grand Canal
can serve as a landscape infrastructure in Tongzhou district, creating spatial
conditions for social-ecological inclusive urban development.   There are always roads or a stretch of green
in parallel to the canal, several public area or waterfront dock located along
the canal in the longitudinal dimension. The stretch of green was mostly planned
as part of a park or public area. Space was only expanded in parallel to the
canal almost in all types of waterfront. Longitudinally, the existing green
area next to the canal is a separate system from the city. The opening of the
green areas is always facing a wide road without any form of connection to the
communities. The accessibility to the public area can be improved in the
lateral dimension. Vertically, there is always a boundary in the border of
water, it is hard for people to touch the water, which is considered dangerous
being close to the water. To transform the Grand Canal as a landscape
infrastructure, we need to make use of the expansion area and create a
connection between city and water, people and water. Hence, space is going to
be considered as a zone instead of a line around the canal and from the upland
trail to instream. Moreover, the Grand Canal as one of the most important water
source carriers is in charge of keeping water and keep the quality of water.
There are moves of water retention and purification to be made in the design
process. In conclusion, most of the space along the canal only expanded
longitudinally but lack of consideration on the lateral and vertical
dimension.   This project explores the
potentials of the Grand Canal as a backbone for urban development. It is
considered to be an urban landscape infrastructure that exploits the
longitudinal(amount of water and water connection), lateral(connection between
water and city, ecology connection) and vertical(connection between water and
people, water and ecology) dimensions and creates conditions for the
development of a social-ecological inclusive urban landscape and sustainable
water management.