Architectural Design for Nanjing Constitution Park and the Amenities of Urban Living Room in Green Expo Park

The Constitution is the nation’s fundamental law and the overarching legal framework for governing the country and the state. The complete implementation of the form is the primary objective and foundational effort in the comprehensive promotion of the rule of law and the developing of a socialist state governed by the rule of law.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly underscored the importance of upholding the Constitution while maintaining the rule of law. This includes adhering to the constitutional principles as a basis for lawful governance. The “Seventh Five-Year Plan” and “Eighth Five-Year Plan” from the Party Central Committee and the State Council emphasize the necessity of “innovating ceremonial positions” and “fully enforcing the constitutional oath system.” Furthermore, it is essential to “introduce a constitutional salute as a component of new citizen ceremonies, youth-adult ceremonies, student graduation ceremonies, and similar activities.”

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In line with the General Secretary’s significant address, the focus is on learning, applying, and embodying the essence of his speech, especially in finding dynamic ways to disseminate Xi Jinping’s thoughts on the rule of law among the general population. The ultimate goal is to ensure that every citizen deeply understands that upholding the principles of the country’s power and governance according to the Constitution Park hinges on unwavering commitment to the Constitution’s stipulations, including the CPC’s leading role as defined in the Constitution and adherence to the state system of people’s democratic dictatorship and the NPC congress system, as mandated by the Constitution. This constitutes a vital mission for the present and the future in advancing legal education and the rule of law.

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There needs to be a dedicated location for constitutional education in Nanjing, so the endeavor is to create an all-encompassing constitution park. This park will serve as an educational hub encompassing Xi Jinping’s legal ideology, a central site for upholding and venerating the Constitution among all citizens, and a prominent urban landmark that promotes the culture of the rule of law. The aim is for people to naturally learn about, respect, and pay tribute to the Constitution. The Nanjing Constitution Park project received construction permits on November 25, 2021, and commenced piling work on December 3. The official construction work began on December 4, which coincided with the eighth National Constitution Day, and the park was completed and opened to the public on December 4, 2022.

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Nanjing Constitution Park Site Selection

The Nanjing Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee, in collaboration with the Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources, has decided to construct a constitutional theme park in the Green Expo Park. This park, reflecting Nanjing’s distinctive attributes, will span from the west of the Jiangsu Grand Theatre to the Jiajiang section. The primary construction zone centers around the Sheep Lawn. It covers an area of about 64,530 square meters, with a Phase I total building area of 31,162 square meters. This comprises 6,921 square meters above ground and 24,250 square meters below ground. In line with the broader urban planning and the existing surroundings, the constitution park design adheres to the “three combinations” principle. It aims to create a communal cultural space for the public, essentially becoming an urban living room within the upgraded Green Expo Park.

Site Plan

The intricate blend of legal culture with the natural environment is a fundamental aspect of Nanjing City. The Yangtze River and Nanjing share a mutual dependence, with the river profoundly shaping the city’s living regional culture and influencing its urban development. This interaction also establishes a spatial corridor and a platform for the city’s ecological progress. The Constitution Park, located alongside the river, is a crucial urban public cultural site that embodies Nanjing’s riverside cultural identity. It further enhances the “two banks of the river” into a vibrant, multifunctional, and beloved zone, setting a precedent for merging legal culture with the natural surroundings.
Conversely, the junction of legal education and daily activities is evident in the Green Expo Park City Living Room, positioned near the upcoming Metro Line 9 and bordered by Yangtze River Avenue. It boasts convenient transportation options and a picturesque riverfront promenade, offering easy access and a rich waterfront experience. The area provides various recreational activities and public amenities that ensure its enduring vibrancy, making it a favored leisure and community engagement hub.

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The park maximizes Green Expo Park’s ecological and cultural assets, providing a serene setting for public legal education and fostering understanding and respect for the Constitution and the rule of law in a leisurely and enjoyable atmosphere. Legal literacy and the spirit of the rule of law are cultivated while providing entertainment and relaxation.
Green Expo Park boasts excellent infrastructure, landscapes, and ecological resources. The Constitution park’s design retains the original layout, current configuration, and overall appearance, cleverly integrating constitutional elements into the natural landscape and revitalizing the park.
Constitution Park extends the Hexi cultural and sports axis to the Yangtze River’s tributaries at the urban level, connecting with the riverfront green corridor. It introduces new themed areas like the National Flag Plaza, Oath Plaza, Water Plaza, and Green Slope Lawn. These seamlessly merge with features related to legal education, Yangtze River conservation, urban recreation, and ecological preservation, setting a precedent for harmonizing rule-of-law landscapes with Green Expo Park’s existing scenery.

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In 2021, the Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources spearheaded the creation of “The Nanjing Charming Riverfront 2035,” an intricate blueprint for the core sections of the Nanjing Riverfront. This plan aimed to elevate the riverfront’s quality by establishing nine “urban living rooms” along both riverbanks. Within “Charming Riverfront 2035,” these nine urban living rooms include the Yuzui City Living Room in Hexi, Happy Riverside City Living Room, Green Expo Park City Living Room, Treasure Ship Heritage Park City Living Room, Xia Guan Riverside Business District City Living Room, Shang Yuanmen City Living Room, Muyan Style District City Living Room, Ding Shan City Living Room in Jiangbei New District, and Green Water Bay City Living Room.
Set against exceptional ecological resources, the Green Expo Park City Living Room seamlessly connects with the “Jiangsu Grand Theatre,” Asia’s most prominent theater complex. This connection fosters a vibrant and ecologically conscious riverside hub for fashion and cultural living.

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Integrated with Metro Line 9 Riverside Park Station and the comprehensive enhancement of “Ginkgo Li” and “Sheep Lawn”, it builds up a public vitality zone on the cultural and sports axis of Hexi New City, from Jiangdong Middle Road to Olympic Sports Centre, to Grand Theatre, to Green Expo Park, and to the Ecological Technology Island. The construction of Nanjing Constitution Park at the core of the Green Expo Park greatly enriches the cultural connotation of the city’s living room. It is the window for the city of promoting and showing the spirit of the rule of law, and it is an effective supplement for further enhancing the service functions of the city living room and improving public service facilities. Making Nanjing Constitution Park the core, the Green Expo Park City Living Room will become a public activity place with comprehensive cultural functions and convenient access for the public, which will well meet the diversified needs of education, innovation, exhibition, sightseeing, leisure and mass activities, and show the history and development, future and culture of the city.

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Cultural and Sports Axis – The urban Cultural and Sports Axis in Nanjing’s Hexi New City stems from the New City Century Axis, initially conceived in 2004. It originates at the New Town Building, stretching westward to connect the Olympic Sports Centre and the Jiangsu Grand Theatre. The axis continues along themed riverside landscape areas, ultimately reaching the Left Bank Flower Sea, covering a total length of approximately 3.0 kilometers. Across the tributaries of the Yangtze River, the Eco-Tech Island has designated a plot for an urban landmark site in its master plan. This site serves as a visual counterpart to this vital urban development axis, underscoring the significance of urban public spaces. The axis is enveloped by public cultural establishments like the Jinling Library, Nanjing Women’s and Children’s Activity Centre, and the Christian Mission Church, playing an integral role in Hexi New Town’s broader layout known as “one district, three centers, two belts, four axes, four gardens, and two special zones.” Right from its inception, the cultural and sports axis in Hexi paid special attention to the creation of urban public spaces.

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From the western square of the Olympic Sports Centre, people walk through pedestrian pathways, passing the Ginkgo Lane area. They cross the Jiangsu Grand Theatre and the Yangtze River Avenue Expressway, reaching the lush Green Expo Park. Their journey continues along the Yangtze River, leading to the picturesque Left Bank Flower Sea, offering captivating riverfront scenery.
Green Expo Park’s urban living space intersects Hexi City’s cultural and sports axis and the riverfront scenic zone. Its ceremonial and ecological qualities create a unique setting for Constitution Park. The addition of Constitution Park enriches the cultural and sports axis with various experiences, solidifying its status as an iconic urban public cultural axis in Nanjing while enhancing cultural vibrancy along the western riverfront.The Olympic Sports Centre on this cultural and sports axis is dynamic, featuring two massive arches in ‘Jingling Red’ stretching nearly 400 meters over the main stadium, symbolizing the city’s sports passion.

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Inspired by lotus leaf water drops, the design of Jiangsu Grand Theatre features four “water drops” with a petal-like texture, embodying cultural refinement. In the context of Constitution Park, it continues this theme, creating a connection between the city and its natural surroundings. On the east side, it harmonizes with the Grand Theatre’s lotus leaf drops while incorporating constitutional elements and the spirit of the Constitution. The design employs a unique, contemporary spatial language to enhance the cultural and sports axis’s vibrancy, merging individual cultural structures with urban public areas. An iconic urban memorial site is achieved by integrating environmental elements on a larger scale. The area surrounding Nanjing Constitution Park boasts exceptional landscapes and established public spaces. Beyond Constitution Park, the design envisions a 1.8-kilometer axis from Ginkgo Lane to Eco-Tech Island, enhancing the urban and natural landscape, aligning with the architectural form of Jiangsu Grand Theatre, and invigorating the western riverside area’s business potential.

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The design represents the Constitution’s spirit and incorporates constitutional elements by combining square and circular spatial forms and numerical symbolism. The circular sky and rectangular earth reflect traditional Chinese philosophical concepts. In contrast, images of purity, fundamental core, origin, unity, inclusiveness, integrity, and completeness emphasize the Constitution’s paramount importance and appeal, resulting in a timeless monumental public space. The spatial journey in Constitution Park commences at Ginkgo Lane, traverses the Jiangsu Grand Theatre, and arrives at the circular entrance square of Constitution Park, featuring the national flag square and sunken water feature. It then crosses Wanjingyuan Road, entering the central zone of Constitution Park. At its heart lies a circular constitutional education exhibition hall with a 100-meter diameter.

Axonometric

The circular exhibition hall encloses a 1,000-square-meter square plaza with a constitutional theme. It hosts important events like constitutional oaths and coming-of-age ceremonies. The northern wall displays national symbols, while the western wall emphasizes “All power belongs to the people.” The southern wall underscores the constitution’s importance. An electronic screen to the east showcases constitutional education and activities. To the north and south of the exhibition hall, rectangular green areas are used for citizen activities. These areas have elevated ends and a central depression, creating a green slope facing the circular hall, enhancing its iconic appearance. Underground facilities include commercial spaces, parking, and event venues for the Green Expo Park City Living Room.

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These areas grant easy public access via Metro Line 9, linked to the Jiangsu Grand Theatre-Nanjing Constitution Park Station. A green slope merges with underground spaces through four sunken circular plazas, presenting a coherent design that unites above-ground and below-ground components.Proceeding westward, the path extends through a water courtyard, reaching the roof of the preserved Listening Waterfall structure. The spatial axis carries on across the river, ultimately leading to Eco-tech Island. The axis reaches its pinnacle at a planned landmark tower in Constitution Park’s phase II, forming a complete three-kilometer urban public axis from the New Town Building to the tower. In terms of design, modern architectural elements feature light-transmitting concrete and stainless steel paving in the lighting system on the first and second floors, creating a contemporary “Constitutional Light.” During the evenings, LED lights under the light-transmitting concrete illuminate, accentuating the “red lantern” facade of the constitutional exhibition hall and the continuous “Constitutional Light” running throughout, presenting a distinctive image of a vibrant China.

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On their initial site visit, the designers ascended the rooftop of the preserved structure named the “Listening to the Waterfall Pavilion.” From there, they gazed eastward, taking in the “lotus leaf drops” of the Jiangsu Grand Theatre. They were met with a blossoming landscape on the left bank as they continued on a straight path toward the riverbank at the same elevation as the roof. On the horizon, to the west, beyond the tributary river, lay the picturesque Eco-tech Island and a breathtaking view of the sunset.
Constitution Park’s primary visitor path on the second floor aligns with the riverbank, allowing citizens and tourists to journey directly from Ginkgo Lane, through the Jiangsu Grand Theatre, to Constitution Park and the riverbank. The ground floor of the Constitution Exhibition Hall serves as an open area, optimizing ground space utilization and significantly enhancing the public space within Green Expo Park’s urban living room.

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Numerical metaphors integrate constitutional elements, creating a commemorative narrative within the space—digits like “54 Constitution” and “82 Constitution” link with practical architectural needs. Intelligent geometric design showcases Nanjing Constitution Park’s blend of spatial settings and constitutional symbolism. The entrance square, raised to 8.2 meters, features an 82-meter diameter defined by two curved scenic walls. On either side of the pond, 50 red flags form a 12.4-meter-tall flag matrix. The Constitutional Hall in the Constitution park has an outer ring with a 100-meter diameter and an inner ring measuring 82 meters. Oath Plaza’s relief walls, serving as a prominent backdrop, reach 8.2 meters in height and 5.4 meters in width. On Eco-tech Island’s axis terminus, a landmark tower with an 8.2-meter diameter rises to 82 meters, among other numerical alignments.

Axonometric

Amidst the natural beauty of Nanjing Green Expo Park, you’ll find Nanjing Constitution Park, a space adorned with vibrant greenery. Its landscape design strengthens the urban cultural and sports axis, emphasizes the park’s ceremonial character, and shapes an inviting urban living space within Green Expo Park. Nanjing’s unique hanging bell trees gracefully outline the park’s boundary. At the same time, an array of colorful foliage encloses it, ensuring Constitution Park stands out year-round within the Green Expo Park’s natural environment. Ginkgo trees thoughtfully enhance the entrance area’s sense of ceremony, harmonizing with Ginkgo Lane on the eastern side of the Jiangsu Grand Theatre, beautifully blending form and function. Around the main building, an open lawn adds to its prominence and serves as a lively space for relaxation and play within Green Expo Park’s urban living area. Here, children can play freely and cheerfully on the lawn and in the sandpit, embodying Constitution Park’s vibrant spirit of open democracy and liveliness.

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Project Info:
Architects: azLa
Area: 31162 m²
Year: 2022
Photographs: Bowen Hou
Lead Architects: Lei Zhang, Xiaohua Lei, Chenxing Li(Project Leader)
Design Team: Zhenhe Gu,Cheng Zhang ,Liuxin Yang (Architecture) Min Zhao, Cheng Chang, Yufei Chen, Hao Lian(Landscape) Haiyi Ma, Ming Sun, Yi Cao, Tiantian Luo, Mingxing Peng, Sirui Pu, Hui Jiang, Shuying Fang (Interior)
Construction Drawing: Wei Qi, Yong Fang, Xin Li, Yihui Yang, Chi Zhang, Xiaoxuan Fu, Tingting Sun, Yu Zhang, Xurong Zhu, Jun Li, Zhen Guo, Ziyang Zhu, Zhendan Li, Yongsheng Yao, Bin Zhu, Caiqin Liu, Yan Hu, Gharei Gu, Tian Wu
Constitution Park Construction Office: Dezhi Xia, Qing He, Mingyao Xu, Jun He, Youliang Hong, Guojun Cai, Ruquan Xu
Contractor: Nanjing Hexi New Town State-owned Assets Management Holding (Group) Co.
Epc Engineering Contractor: China Construction Eight Cultural Tourism Expo Investment Development Co.
Constitutional Education Exhibition Hall Design And Construction: Jiangsu Aitao Culture Industry Co.
Collaborators: Zhang-Lei Design & Research azLa, Nanjing Changjiang Urban Architectural Design Co Ltd, Nanjing University Architectural Planning & Design Institute Co Ltd
Owner: Nanjing Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee, Nanjing Hexi New Town Development and Construction Management Committee
City: Nanjing
Country: China