Wanrong Road Reconstruction project

The Wanrong Road Reconstruction project is a transformative urban renewal scheme located at the intersection of Daning Park and a dense residential neighborhood in Shanghai’s Jing’an District. Faced with the challenge of integrating high-density housing, urban infrastructure, and ecological continuity, the project redefines the role of architecture as a bridge between natural and built environments.

From urban planning perspective, the design responds to the existing city texture — characterized by small-scale residential blocks — by breaking down the building volume into smaller units to better integrate into the environment.

At the same time, the project addresses the challenge of height transition between the open park landscape and adjacent high-rise residences. Through a terraced massing strategy, the building forms a stepped profile that gradually rises from the park side towards the residential area. This approach not only preserves view corridors and ensures sufficient daylight but also extends the park’s greenery into the site, by transforming the building into a vertical garden that acts as an extension of the park landscape. Green terraces, roof gardens, and landscaped platforms are introduced to draw nature into the site, creating a continuous green corridor from the park into the urban fabric.creating a multi-layered urban interface that mediates nature and city life in a sensitive and sustainable way.

This design strategy not only maximizes the advantages of the natural landscape to the north but also carefully manages the transition between open parkland and high-density residential towers. By breaking down the building volume, stepping back the massing, and integrating greenery at multiple levels, the architecture becomes a landscape mediator — softening the urban edge, reducing visual impact, and enhancing environmental friendliness for surrounding residents.

Materiality is handled with care—warm-toned bricks and contemporary metal panels reference both the site’s industrial past and its forward-looking civic role. Inside, a large light-filled atrium serves as a social spine, connecting different floors while allowing passive ventilation and visual openness.

The project addresses the challenge of balancing ecological continuity, community accessibility, and urban density — creating a sustainable and human-centered green space within the city.