Shenzhen Skypark, a fusion of infrastructure, architecture and urban landscape

Crossboundaries’ Skypark revalues a former unused rooftop,converting it into a recreational urban strip in Shenzhen. The park revitalizes a pre-existing rooftop, creating a space for sports and leisure, with the Shenzhen skyline as the backdrop. The 1.2km rooftop of a metro terminal and maintenance facility is transformed into a public park that houses a multitude of outdoor programs that take advantage of the site’s height and beautiful surroundings. As a way to give back to the surrounding neighborhood, the park connects to buildings on its west side through skybridges, leading in students and sports enthusiasts on a platform made for them - bringing educational institutions together with the local community in a unique combination of sports and recreational offers, tied together with the landscape.

A PARK WITH A TWIST The park’s spatial organization follows decisions made towards 3 different user groups: the general public, the neighboring schools and sports professionals. Ultimately, the space is filled with plots of sporting facilities, ranging from basketball courts and 5-a-side football pitches to professional level tennis courts with an audience stand. A separate walkway for the general public interweaves through the length of the park, with parts elevated for a better view, people who are simply looking for a casual stroll can enjoy the atmosphere without crossing paths with the high energy activities within.

EASE OF ACCESS All entrances and accesses to the rooftop park are located in direct vicinity to different functional areas, whilst preventing unnecessary interference, reachable via 6 access points in total. Vertical connections make the North and the South end directly accessible from the ground floor, inviting the general public up to the roof. School access happens exclusively via crossovers, leading directly onto the rooftop. They are attached to 3 secondary public entrances, in the form of elevators and staircases, for additional access from the street level.

UNIQUE WAY OF PATHFINDING Once inside the park, a signage system is implemented to help users navigate. The entire length of the area is divided in 100m increments, with signage polls located on each interval, presenting the current location as well as a map and description on where different functions are located. Scattered around the park are also pieces of urban furniture with marking of distance and function to help better pinpoint one’s location.