The square in front of the Kunshan Municipal Government, together with its subway station, has underwent a comprehensive transformation since 2022. With the new retail and parking facilities introduced to the underground, the landscape above ground followed the original cross-axis structure of the city square, placing a water feature and a large grass slope along the central axis, dividing the site into four sections. Dazhou and Associates was commissioned for the design of the landscape architecture above ground.

Every city in China has its central square—often monumental in scale, yet frequently empty and uninviting. Standing on the site, we were struck by a profound sense of emptiness and desolation. Therefore, the first design response was to introduce a series of meandering and undulating corridors that are designed for human scale. While the scale of the square belongs to city, the corridors would establish approachable scaled spaces that invite daily engagement.

The meandering path frames a sequence of courtyards, accommodating activities such as play, rest, gathering, and circulation. The design also carefully integrates ventilation shafts, stairways, elevators, and other infrastructure emerging from the underground, discreetly concealing them to mitigate their visual and functional impact.

The decline of many civic squares can be attributed to insufficient functional programming. With mechanical equipment concentrated underground along both sides of the central axis, we transformed the elevator halls into four glass boxes that accommodate retail functions. These structures with double-layered façade feature white with red undertone by day, glowing softly at night, which has become the landmarks within the square.

The grand roofs appear when approaching the termination of the corridors. They serve as flexible and unprogrammed spaces, expanding the corridors to accommodate various activities, such as gatherings, singing, dancing, playing, etc., while offering shelter for them.

The project employs a swaying-column system: slender columns carry only vertical loads, while shear walls provide lateral and seismic resistance. This creates the vision of a roof floating like a ribbon. As a result, the corridor structure appears light and dynamic, enabling unobstructed views. We envision that as surrounding trees mature in the future, the corridor will weave through dense foliage, alternately revealing and concealing itself.

“Urbanity” has been the key to our practice—architecture should contribute to the city landscaping by creating or integrating into the urban space system. We oppose landscapes created with consideration for symbolic graphics only, and reject compositions drawn from an aerial, diagrammatic perspective. Cities ultimately belong to people, and so should their landscapes. In this project, we collaborated with the client to devise functions that genuinely serve the public to create a civic square that can be actively used by its citizens.

Since completion, Kunshan City Square has exhibited a significant increase in public engagement. People have been gathering spontaneously to play in the fountains, sing, dance, stroll, and rest. The square turns out to be bustling all the time. In the end, Kunshan City Square has successfully evolved from a symbolic showcase into a civic space that truly serves the public.