Beyond Decoration: The Conversational Landscapes of Huangpu ONE

“Art is not a decoration; it is a conversation we have with the world.” — Henri Matisse

Located at No. 68 Longhua East Road in the Huangpu District, Greentown Huangpu ONE occupies a legacy site of the Shanghai Expo. Even in a pioneering global city like Shanghai, urban renewal projects—with their unique site attributes and functional transitions—remain both intriguing and challenging. The landscape design is positioned as an “Outdoor Aesthetic Parlor.” It centers on a newly built art pavilion while highlighting the original dawn redwood forest in the rear courtyard. Initially serving commercial purposes, the pavilion will eventually transition into a small-scale public art space for the community. With a light and graceful touch, the design integrates artistic paths into the woodland, curated waterscapes, and sculptures. This project represents a sustainable and “warm” organic regeneration—a precise spatial practice that achieves a perfect balance between the site’s natural attributes and modern design language, elevating both function and aesthetics.

Centered on Art

We envision this not merely as a landscape, but as an ever-evolving art venue that seamlessly blends indoor and outdoor spaces. Utilizing expansive mirror-like water features, “Viscon White” feature walls, and olive trees with a painterly texture, we created an open yet ceremonial “outdoor foyer” that interfaces the art pavilion with the city. The sculpture “Shan Hai · Jin Que” stands serenely at the center of the water, creating a dialogue with the rhythmic, modern architecture of the gallery. This establishes a visual connection between the city and the art space, fostering an immersive, open, and artistic performance scene. Here, art shifts from passive observation to a tactile experience; the custom sculpture “Eight-Pointed Star” is nestled among gentle grass mounds, making art readable, touchable, and integrated into every corner.

Natural Dawn Redwood Forest

The original dawn redwood forest is an irreplaceable resource. By preserving these trees, we maintain a sense of belonging and identity while aligning with the district’s artistic atmosphere. The redesigned woodland serves as a natural gallery where art and nature intertwine. Using low-intervention landform techniques, the design reshapes the site’s relationship, transforming a once-enclosed forest into an accessible “green parlor” for visitors. The “Redwood Theater” utilizes subtle micro-topography and Baipo Yellow gravel, featuring self-sustaining plant communities that reduce the need for long-term maintenance.

Still water surfaces and platform seating appear to “grow” out of the environment, softly blurring the boundaries between interior and exterior, and between exhibits and nature. The “Driftwood Tea Island” and mirrored waterscapes create a social axis for rest and interaction. Ecological sections, such as the desert garden and sparse woodland mounds, evolve autonomously over time, revealing another form of art: nature itself as the most moving exhibition.

Craftsmanship in Stone

As light pours in, the crystal-clear water reflects the architectural silhouette, creating an ethereal and serene atmosphere. The Baipo Yellow stones, set within the water, resemble exquisite artworks, with a warm glow emanating from their crevices. Through modern, minimalist artistic techniques, we have skillfully utilized textured stone walls and painterly vegetation. By integrating mirrored water, soft paving, ambient lighting, and collaborative artist installations, we have deeply fused nature with art. Our goal is to create a vibrant, shared space that embodies both artistic and natural qualities.

The large-scale landscape stones (the largest measuring 2.5m x 4.5m) required precise crane positioning to fit seamlessly with the water features, posing a significant challenge for stone-cutting and on-site construction. All materials for the “Aged Stone Skin” platforms were pre-arranged, custom-cut, and numbered before being manually installed on-site, ensuring the perfect realization of the design vision.