U.S.-based firm Sasaki has won the international competition to redesign Suzhou Creek?also known as the Wusong River?in Shanghai, China, which was historically one of the city?s most vital water routes, but which, in recent decades, suffered severe pollution and neglect. After receiving a grant from the Asian Development Bank, the waterway has been cleaned and is now in the process of becoming a new centerpiece for Shanghai. 

Courtesy of Sasaki Associates

U.S.-based firm Sasaki has won the international competition to redesign Suzhou Creek?also known as the Wusong River?in Shanghai, China, which was historically one of the city?s most vital water routes, but which, in recent decades, suffered severe pollution and neglect. After receiving a grant from the Asian Development Bank, the waterway has been cleaned and is now in the process of becoming a new centerpiece for Shanghai. 
Courtesy of Sasaki Associates

For thousands of years, long before Shanghai evolved into a global metropolis, Suzhou Creek dominated the landscape. As the region was settles, centuries of human manipulation sought to contain Suzhou Creek, transforming it from a key feature of the watershed into a highly engineered canal used to transport goods and materials. Suzhou Creek is often credited as one of the primary drivers of Shanghai?s modern industrialization. For recent generations of Shanghainese, ho...