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The Urban Carpet
The Urban Carpet
Shanghai, China
Finalist, 2025 A+Awards, Landscape & Planning - Public Parks and Green Spaces
Project Featured on Jul 29, 2025
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Other Projects by Atelier Scale
The Urban Carpet
Shanghai, China
Finalist, 2025 A+Awards, Landscape & Planning - Public Parks and Green Spaces
Project Featured on Jul 29, 2025
Firm
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2024
SIZE
100,000 sqft - 300,000 sqft
BUDGET
$500K - 1M
Located in Xuhui, Shanghai, The Urban Carpet completes a twelve-year transit-oriented renewal, blending commerce, offices, transit, and public space into a cohesive whole in China’s first core-area hub redevelopment. Serving over a million people within three kilometers, the park’s revitalization goes beyond an aesthetic upgrade—it weaves together past developments and addresses the evolving needs of the community.
The design doesn’t start from scratch; it’s an adaptive response to the site’s complex conditions. Originally built nearly a decade ago, the park faced significant challenges: the weight of the subway shield tunnel below, the presence of mature tree canopies that had to be preserved, and the integration of new commercial areas with established pathways. The surrounding community, with its growing population, had new expectations for exercise, social interaction, and child-friendly environments that the original design could no longer accommodate. This revitalization is thus a delicate balance between honoring the past and embracing the future.
Three guiding principles shaped the design process:
1. Preserve Nature
Over the years, the park’s ecosystem has reached a delicate balance, one that the redesign aims to enhance, not disrupt. Mature trees have been preserved in place whenever possible, with necessary transplants relocated within the site to maintain canopy continuity. The elevations were carefully adjusted to minimize impact on root zones. Beyond preservation, the project enriches biodiversity by introducing layered plantings that support urban wildlife and create microclimates that provide comfort to visitors.
2. Diversify Scales
The renewal process reimagines spatial relationships, transforming the park from a passive, uniform landscape into a layered, multifunctional space. The original pathway, which served as the central spine, has been restructured to introduce moments of contrast. This “big gets bigger, small gets smaller” approach maximizes impact without extensive reconstruction. The result is a dynamic flow of spaces that cater to both large-scale urban movement and intimate encounters, ensuring that the park remains flexible to future community needs.
3. Participatory Landform
The park’s original undulating topography, once just scenic, has been reinterpreted as an interactive social landscape. Slopes and terraces now foster play, exercise, and spontaneous gathering. What was once a passive viewing experience is now an immersive, inhabitable terrain—an open-ended space for various activities. The design acknowledges that public spaces are not static; they evolve through human interaction. By prioritizing adaptability, the park ensures long-term resilience, allowing the community to shape its use as needs change over time.
More than just a park, The Urban Carpet is a dynamic connector between ecology, infrastructure, and human experience in a rapidly growing city. Through careful preservation, spatial recalibration, and participatory design, this project sets a new standard for high-density urban renewal. It shows that with thoughtful intervention, inherited spaces can be transformed into vibrant, lasting civic landscapes that meet the needs of both current and future generations.
The design doesn’t start from scratch; it’s an adaptive response to the site’s complex conditions. Originally built nearly a decade ago, the park faced significant challenges: the weight of the subway shield tunnel below, the presence of mature tree canopies that had to be preserved, and the integration of new commercial areas with established pathways. The surrounding community, with its growing population, had new expectations for exercise, social interaction, and child-friendly environments that the original design could no longer accommodate. This revitalization is thus a delicate balance between honoring the past and embracing the future.
Three guiding principles shaped the design process:
1. Preserve Nature
Over the years, the park’s ecosystem has reached a delicate balance, one that the redesign aims to enhance, not disrupt. Mature trees have been preserved in place whenever possible, with necessary transplants relocated within the site to maintain canopy continuity. The elevations were carefully adjusted to minimize impact on root zones. Beyond preservation, the project enriches biodiversity by introducing layered plantings that support urban wildlife and create microclimates that provide comfort to visitors.
2. Diversify Scales
The renewal process reimagines spatial relationships, transforming the park from a passive, uniform landscape into a layered, multifunctional space. The original pathway, which served as the central spine, has been restructured to introduce moments of contrast. This “big gets bigger, small gets smaller” approach maximizes impact without extensive reconstruction. The result is a dynamic flow of spaces that cater to both large-scale urban movement and intimate encounters, ensuring that the park remains flexible to future community needs.
3. Participatory Landform
The park’s original undulating topography, once just scenic, has been reinterpreted as an interactive social landscape. Slopes and terraces now foster play, exercise, and spontaneous gathering. What was once a passive viewing experience is now an immersive, inhabitable terrain—an open-ended space for various activities. The design acknowledges that public spaces are not static; they evolve through human interaction. By prioritizing adaptability, the park ensures long-term resilience, allowing the community to shape its use as needs change over time.
More than just a park, The Urban Carpet is a dynamic connector between ecology, infrastructure, and human experience in a rapidly growing city. Through careful preservation, spatial recalibration, and participatory design, this project sets a new standard for high-density urban renewal. It shows that with thoughtful intervention, inherited spaces can be transformed into vibrant, lasting civic landscapes that meet the needs of both current and future generations.
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