Good Old Days and Pollinators Garden Showcase by Bowen Qian

Good Old Days and Pollinators Garden Showcase by Bowen Qian is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award Nyiaj in Tsim Kev Tshwm Sim thiab Kev Ua Koob Tsheej Competition Category.

NyiajKev Tshwm Sim· 2025

Good Old Days and Pollinators Garden Showcase

by Bowen Qian

A' Design Award Nyiaj Winner in Kev Tshwm Sim Category

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Verified Award Winner

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

The Design

About Good Old Days and Pollinators Garden Showcase

The Good Old Days and Pollinators Garden Showcase reflect the social transformation in China from rural living to urban community life. Inspired by the coexistence of aging residential buildings and nature, the design recreates a pocket garden that simulates an ecological restoration site amid remaining structures after relocation. Through natural planting that attracts pollinators and a multi-sensory, interactive layout, the garden becomes a street-corner retreat, blending ecological value with cultural memory and immersive experience.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Nyiaj

Good Old Days and Pollinators Garden Showcase yog tus yeej ntawm A' Design Award Nyiaj, ib qho kev lees paub muaj meej mom heev tshaj li qub uas muab rau cov qauv tsim qib siab, zoo nkauj thiab ua rau neeg xav tsis thoob. Cov neeg yeej Nyiaj yog cov haujlwm ci ntsa iab heev thiab tsim tshiab heev uas qhia txog kev paub, kev txawj ntse thiab kev ntse ntawm cov kws tsim qauv. Good Old Days and Pollinators Garden Showcase xav tias yuav yog ib qho haujlwm zoo kawg nkaus uas tsim rau qhia, tshaj lij heev thiab tsim tshiab tob. Cov qauv tsim yeej A' Design Award Nyiaj no yog ib qho khoom tsim uas pom tseeb heev thiab neeg qhuas uas pab tau thiab nthuav dav ciam teb ntawm kev kos duab, kev tshawb fawb, kev tsim qauv thiab thev naus laus zis. Good Old Days and Pollinators Garden Showcase yog ib qho khoom tsim uas neeg coob xav tau, uas ua rau xav, coj kev xav zoo thiab ua rau xav tsis thoob thiab xav paub.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Based on the concept of "coexistence of dilapidated old-style residential buildings and nature", the real garden site is simulated as a pocket garden of "remaining residential structures after relocation and an ecological restoration scene. Pollinators are attracted through natural planting, and multi-sensory fusion and interaction are integrated to create a street corner miniature garden with ecological value, cultural narrative and immersive experience.
Dimensions & Packaging: Width 8000mm x Depth 5000mm x Height 3500mm
Tags: Pollinator-friendly, Inclusive-design, Pocket-garden
Production Technology: The three "walls" are the main structures, representing the "soil erosion" of people's inner spiritual home under the direction of urbanization. Bug-hotels and insect-houses are interspersed in the flower beds, providing a habitat for pollinators in the ecological chain, playing a positive role in conserving and maintaining the water and soil on the physical site, and also echoing the conservation of the lost water and soil in people's hearts by these walls.
Research: This form of expression aims to provide a new idea for municipal planners under the direction of urbanization development - while retaining some of the "original relics", some of the "relocation relics" can be integrated into the overall design and planning process in the form of block gardens or pocket gardens. This will not only provide a place for spiritual rest for the original inhabitants (especially the elderly), but also enhance the understanding of the original historical appearance of this area for later generations.
Inspiration: This design is based on modern social changes that multiple generations in China are facing the transformation from rural living habitats to the urbanized living model of living in communities. Many people have witnessed the demolition and replacement of modern and contemporary old-style houses, and new urban functional blocks have been planned on the original site of the relocation. Multiple generations have lost their "physical" homes, and their spiritual homes have gradually faded over time.
Project Duration: This project started on 11th April to 13th April as a temporary Pocket Garden in 'China Garden Expo 2025' in Suzhou, China
Operation Flow: When visitors enter the garden, they can touch the "relics" and feel the passage of time, and through the fragrance of flowers, the touch of plants, and close interaction with pollinators, they can form an immersive experience spanning natural and human history.
Team Members: Bowen Qian
Image Credits: Bowen Qian