Innovative street furniture features in Gumei Park
Urban furniture design works are displayed at Gumei Park, which has been reinvigorated into the nation's first urban furniture-themed park.
Gumei Park at 799 Pingji Road in Minhang District has been reinvigorated into an urban furniture-themed park, the first of its kind in the nation, with plans to install about 130 innovative urban furniture designs in the zone.
The park, a macrophyte ecological park constructed in 2021, features a butterfly-shaped lake in its center.
In October 2022, Gumei Subdistrict launched its first urban furniture design competition, which was entered by 76 design teams. The designers generated 262 works.
Eventually, 130 outstanding works in 50 categories distinguished themselves. They are gradually being installed on paths, green areas and other public spaces of the park.
A champion design of the contest, a community activity center with green space, connecting arches, benches and fitness facilities, has been installed in the park.
"Among the more than 200 subdistricts and towns in Shanghai, Gumei is the only one that has a mei (美, beautiful) in its name," said Sun Dawang, the champion designer.
Sun applied the calligraphy symbol of mei (美) from renowned ancient China calligraphers Wang Xizhi, Huang Tingjian and Zhang Zuyi into the designs of the seats of his work.
Thus far, about 60 urban furniture projects have been installed in the northern part of the park.
By the end of this year, the remainder of about 70 designs will appear in the southern part, and an urban furniture-themed touring route centering around the "butterfly lake" will be formed and recommended.
"A city's future is built upon its innovation capacity and history and cultural heritages," Bao Shidu, dean of Donghua University Environment Art Design Research Institute, said during the reinvigoration ceremony on July 14.
Inside the park, a 50-meter-long corridor showcases the history of urban furniture development in China, with pictures, text, audio clips and real items presented to visitors. Highlights of the display include a pitching post with a stone lion, stone lanterns, seats and Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220) stone reliefs.
The Gumei urban furniture design competition will continue as a biennial contest, and the subdistrict is planning to build the nation's urban furniture design industrial park.
By then, low-cost and well-equipped incubation spaces will be provided for startup college students from Tongji, Donghua and other universities.
