Wanda Mall: A Modern Forest in the Heart of Lanzhou

Fujian F.A.M. Architecture Design and Engineering's Award-Winning Landscape Design

The design of Wanda Mall is inspired by the Silk Road, the Yellow River, and the urban forest of Lanzhou. The project aims to attract college students, young and middle-aged people with its "Modern Forest" theme. This fusion, collision, and coexistence of tradition and modernity have set a new benchmark in landscape designing in Lanzhou's New Town.

One of the unique properties of this design is its use of artificial stone, which offers advantages such as bright colors, high smoothness, uniform color, compressive wear resistance, good toughness, dense structure, and durability. These characteristics make it a preferred decoration material in today's landscape decoration.

The project is situated at the intersection of West Nan Binhe Xi Road and Yin'an Road, Anning District, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China. It covers a total area of about 227600 square meters, including 186300 square meters as earthscape area, within 98,000 square meters inside property line, 88300 square meters outside property line area, and 27800 square meters as roof landscape area.

In order to build a resilient landscape in a windy and sandy site, the project introduced drought-tolerant plant species that have adapted to poor soil, poor drainage, and strong wind resistance on the high slopes of the loess into the site, mixed planting of native plants and introduced plant species. This strategy extensively plants native trees and understory vegetation that can adapt to the climatic conditions of Lanzhou, creating an immersive, diversified landscape that requires only moderate maintenance, while meeting the sustainability of water resources.

The project started in May 2019 and was completed in October 2022. The project team, which includes Xianglong Hu, Yunxiang Huang, and Faxin Lin, worked closely with architects, structural engineers, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing department to simulate natural conditions-soil, drainage, and irrigation. Through a network of primary, secondary and sub-drainage systems that meet the requirements of soil, irrigation design and quality control to simulate natural drainage and soil conditions. Although the project is located in the northwestern region of China, it shows the characteristics of plants with distinct seasons.

Image credits for this project belong to FAM, 2020. The copyrights for this design also belong to FAM, 2020. This Design was awarded Silver in A' Landscape Planning and Garden Design Award in 2021, a prestigious award rewarded to top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that illustrate outstanding expertise and innovation.