PARKLIFE by TEAM_BLDG: Micro Park in the Heart of Shanghai

On the bustling Huaihai Road in Xintiandi district, TEAM_BLDG created PARKLIFE, a 968-square-foot spatial installation for the Design Shanghai·Xintiandi 2022 festival. More than an architectural experiment, PARKLIFE reflects the concept of "home" during the pandemic and explores how micro-urban spaces can foster pause, reflection, and reconnection with nature in the fast-paced city life.

Concept: Home and Micro Park

In 2022, after prolonged quarantines, the notion of home became central to urban life. At the same time, nature—plants, animals, and small ecosystems—thrived despite the absence of people. PARKLIFE reflects this duality by reimagining "home" as an open communal micro park within the city, offering passersby a place to rest, recharge, and reconsider the value of private and public environments.

Surrounding Home: Recreating Rooms of the House

The installation showcases three main rooms of a home—living room, bedroom, and bathroom, organized into distinct volumes of varying sizes and heights (ranging from 2.45 to 5 meters).

• Form and Passages: Sloped roofs channel rainwater into the landscape courtyard, while intersecting pedestrian paths enter the volumes, creating free movement.

• Materials: Plywood and matte corrugated panels blend inside and outside, real and virtual, creating permeability and curiosity.

• Windows and Lighting: Strategically placed openings enhance transparency, allowing views of the urban environment and greenery.

By altering structural logic to reveal the keel, the installation reflects the vertical growth of surrounding trees, connecting architectural form with natural environment.

Engau Space: Between Public and Private

The center features a micro park courtyard, inspired by the Japanese concept of Engau—an intermediate space between inside and outside.

• Elevated platforms and columns frame plantings and pathways, forming a space that is protected yet open.

• The courtyard reduces urban noise, offering a quiet corner where visitors can rest among the chiming bells, flowers, and shrubs.

• Paths made from corrosion-resistant wood ensure accessibility and create a garden-like setting suitable for individual or group visits.

Thus, the installation redefines the boundaries between private and public, home and nature, transforming them into continuity.

The Flow Room: Blurring Boundaries

Moving from one "room" to another, visitors experience a smooth transition between architecture and landscape. Minimal finishes draw attention to light, plants, and furniture, while semi-transparent panels let natural light and evening shadows animate the spaces.

• During the day, natural light fills interiors, strengthening connection with greenery.

• In the evening, blurred silhouettes and shadows create intimacy and layered atmosphere.

• The installation demonstrates how even temporary architecture can redefine perception of domestic, living, and public life in the city.

Sustainability and Reuse

PARKLIFE was designed as a temporary installation, assembled in just three days using prefabricated components for efficient on-site assembly. After the festival:

• All planted plants were transferred to new homes.

• Plywood elements were disassembled and reassembled into new furniture, ensuring a sustainable future.

This approach to circular design confirms TEAM_BLDG's philosophy that architecture is a process of renewal, continuity, and social value.

With PARKLIFE, TEAM_BLDG created a micro park installation that unites home, community, and nature in one of Shanghai's busiest districts. By blending boundaries between private rooms and public space, architecture and garden, permanence and temporality, the project invites urban dwellers to pause, reflect, and rediscover joy in communication and nature within city life.