Beijing, China
Located in a former industrial factory, the U.P.Space Rainwater Garden by Zou Yubo and his team from U.P.Space Landscape Architecture Design Consultants Co., Ltd. is a retrofitted garden as one of the first actions taken toward solving flooding on the site.
The significance of U.P.Space Rainwater Garden lies in its pioneering role in developing localized knowledge for the design, implementation, and maintenance of LID facilities in northern China.
The exemplary design encourages other businesses within the factory to also retrofit their gardens.
For its sustainable and inspiring design, U.P.Space Rainwater Garden has recently been awarded a 2022 Green GOOD DESIGN Sustainability Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Rooftop and driveway runoff flows through a series of bioretention terraces before infiltrating through the central sunken garden.
An underground cistern provides additional storage during extreme rainstorms, and purified rainwater is reused for irrigation, car-washing, and water-scaping.
Rooftop rainwater visibly slows down in the first flush pools and dissipates into the cascading terraces.
A variety of plant species have been experimented with in the pools to improve the water quality of the roof runoff.
Without additional irrigation, careful selection of native plant species ensured a robust lush garden after just one growing season.
Rainwater both nourishes the native plants in the central sunken garden and recharges precious groundwater through the infiltrating bioretention soil.
In the fall, the vibrant golden leaves of the well-preserved ash trees saturate the atmosphere with vibrancy.
Gabions filled with recycled rocks from local quarries offer a low-cost approach to spatial division and rainwater filtering.
A bright-colored permeable FRP platform invites everyone—from professionals eager to learn Artful Rainwater Design to neighborhood children—to stay and interact with this landscape.
An educational sign imparts the knowledge gained through the design and construction processes to visitors of the site.
Throughout the day and night, an illuminated firm logo built with salvaged glass boldly expresses the employees’ affection toward their workplace.
The latest addition to the garden—a custom-designed “Human and Nature” sculpture gifted by an artist, brightens up the dull and smoggy winters of Beijing.
Since completion, the garden has been able to reuse and infiltrate 100% of the curb-cut inflow and runoff (57,060 gallons per year) from the 220 square meters of roofs and the site itself.
Rainwater trails and garden functions are clearly communicated through the custom-designed downspout, first-flush pools, steel and concrete troughs, terrace scuppers, and the permeable FRP platform.
Flow reduction achievement prompted the designers to pursue their next research project—evaluating the water quality improvement function of bioretention.
A preliminary test of 17 parameters indicated excellent performance for metals, bacteria, TSS, and petroleum.
Project: U.P.Space Rainwater Garden
Landscape Architects: U.P.Space Landscape Architecture Design Consultants Co., Ltd.
Chief Designer: Zou Yubo
DesignTeam: Gao Tiankuo, Tan Binjie, Liu Lisha, Lin Zhangyi, Xia Lixin, Jiang Siqi, Bai Xue, Sun Teng, and Wang Zhixuan
General Contractor: Contractor U.P.Space Landscape Architecture Design Consultants Co., lLd.
Photographers: Tong Jingxing
