What makes a landscape award-winning? Is it natural beauty? Biodiversity? In the eyes of the World Architecture Festival, at least this year, it’s revitalisation. The 2025 Landscape of the Year award went to the Embracing Flood: Xinjiang River Ecological Corridor, in Shangrao City, China.
Designed by Turenscape, the Xinjiang River Corridor is a 102-hectare floodplain that was once degraded by invasive species and informal agriculture. Seasonal floods left the area largely inaccessible, while catastrophic floods would wipe out its ecosystem roughly every two decades. By the early 1970s, its banks had been stripped bare of trees due to climate change and human activity.
Turenscape stepped in to transform the land, redeveloping it to protect its ecological value while restoring native habitats, boosting flood resilience, and opening it up to the public year-round. Impressively, it did this all sustainably and cost-effectively. The design features modular concrete walkways on pole structures, alongside durable, natural materials that blend into the environment.
Among design strategies that help to naturally manage floods and minimise environmental disruption, the floodplain has also been thoughtfully designed for public use. An elevated skywalk offers panoramic views safely above flood levels, while three boardwalk layers respond dynamically to changing water levels. There’s an educational element, too, with waterfront platforms and observation decks that combine recreation with learning.
The Xinjiang River Ecological Corridor is a striking regional landmark that also showcases the area’s natural beauty. It’s also a global model for floodplain restoration, showing how we can protect nature from climate threats while giving people meaningful ways to connect with it.
This is the second year in a row a project in China has won the Landscape of the Year award. Last year’s winner was the Regeneration of Vitality, Shenzhen Guanlan Riverside Plaza in China. Other winners at the World Architecture Festival this year include Gelephu International Airport, The Holy Redeemer Church and Community Centre of Las Chumberas, and the Fractal Chapel at State Hospital Graz.
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