From Private to Shared Hot Springs: Urban Design for Nanjing Tangquan Town

  • Prize
    Winner in Landscape Architecture - Urban Design
  • Company/Firm
    Urban Architectural Lab, Architects & Engineers Co, Ltd. of Southeast University (AESEU)
  • Lead Designer
    Hua Liu, Dongqing Han
  • Design Team
    Peng Gui, Ying Tang, Weiren Zhuang, Rui Lu, Lanjun Li, Yang Wang, Yuping Xu, Yacheng Song, Xin Zhou
  • Other Credit
    Li Li, Yuan Meng, Fei Sun, Yu Li, Yiting Zhu, Zhenhong Gu, Yang Yu, Yin Lu
  • Photographer Credit
    Urban Architectural Lab, Architects & Engineers Co, Ltd. of Southeast University
  • Location
    Pukou District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
  • Client
    Tangquan Street Administration, Pukou District, Nanjing

Tangquan Town, with a 1600-year history, is a Jiangnan town known for scenic views, hot springs, ancient forests, and historic temples. It features unique radon and dual-temperature springs, boasting Jiangsu's highest geothermal water flow. Historically, outdoor hot springs and communal baths were common, but many are now privatized or abandoned. To create an eco-friendly, shared hot springs, and vibrant tourism town, the design team proposed publicizing hot springs and developing a themed route with slow traffic lanes, integrating resources with urban spaces for diverse, communal experiences.
For tourist’s need, the team used big data models to analyze more than 1000 tourist towns, recommending hotel capacity and the ratio of commercial to lodging use. For residents’ need, they preserved public bathing place and added facilities to maintain traditions and create jobs. They maintained constant communication with the government, offering designs for road optimization, facilities, and policies. The team suggested the government first invest in parks, then involve the market for commercial, cultural, and residential projects, achieving gradual improvements with market participation.