Architectural Cases

TROP's innovative design for Yanlord The Park in Shenzhen, China, has redefined urban residential landscapes. By converting a conventional courtyard into a dynamic, multi-level park, the project addresses the common challenges of high-density living, offering residents a rich, functional, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor environment that fosters community engagement.

Shenzhen's Yanlord The Park: A Multi-Layered Urban Oasis

In the bustling city of Shenzhen, China, the Yanlord The Park residential complex faced a common urban dilemma: a constrained ground space surrounded by towering residential buildings, leading to limited sunlight and narrow, shaded areas. The challenge for TROP, the acclaimed landscape architecture studio, was to transcend these limitations and create a functional, inviting green space. The solution, unveiled on March 13, 2026, was a groundbreaking design that transforms the flat courtyard into a vibrant, multi-layered garden promenade.

TROP's visionary approach involved introducing subtle yet impactful elevation changes. The central ground was raised by approximately 2.1 meters, while localized depressions of about 1.2 meters created intermediate terraces. These ingenious shifts in elevation vertically distributed various activities, ensuring that movement, social gatherings, and tranquil retreats were not confined to a single, flat plane. This allowed for optimal use of space, creating an illusion of expansive depth within a compact footprint.

The upper level of the park was conceived as a main promenade, featuring a gently winding path that meanders through artfully arranged clusters of trees and planting beds. This continuous route provides residents with an immersive walking experience, punctuated by variations in path width and small platforms designed for pausing and observing the garden's beauty. The strategic placement of tree canopies softens the imposing scale of the surrounding high-rises, while lush shrubs and groundcovers delineate edges and enhance the overall comfort of the pedestrian journey.

Conversely, the lower level of Yanlord The Park was envisioned as the community's social heart. Here, TROP integrated a captivating stepped water terrace, complete with shallow areas perfect for children's play and platforms where adults can comfortably gather or find repose. The presence of water not only introduces a refreshing microclimate but also adds a sensory dimension through its reflective pools, cascading steps, and delicate channels. Thoughtfully designed sheltered spaces beneath elevated structures offer year-round outdoor retreats, while amenities such as barbecue areas and a charming outdoor theater are poised to host vibrant neighborhood events and foster a strong sense of community.

Seamless connectivity between the upper and lower levels is achieved through a continuous circulation loop of ramps and steps. The ramps ensure accessible movement for all, while the steps provide direct pedestrian routes and informal seating opportunities. Even essential fire access areas are ingeniously integrated into the public pathways, enhanced with tasteful planting and water features. Through these meticulously planned strategies, Yanlord The Park transcends the traditional role of residential landscapes, moving beyond mere decorative greenery. It emerges as a calm, adaptable, and dynamic environment, actively supporting everyday activities like leisurely strolls, peaceful relaxation, children's play, and lively social interactions, thereby empowering residents to forge their own rhythms of daily life within this urban sanctuary.

This innovative project serves as a compelling model for future urban developments, demonstrating how thoughtful landscape architecture can significantly enhance the quality of life in high-density residential areas. By prioritizing functionality, community, and aesthetic appeal, TROP has created a verdant haven where residents can thrive.

Renowned filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, celebrated for his distinctive cinematic creations such as 'Dogtooth' and 'Poor Things', recently offered profound insights into his increasingly deep connection with still photography. On the occasion of his exhibition, 'Yorgos Lanthimos: Photographs', opening at Onassis Stegi in Athens, the director articulated how this medium provides a unique sense of liberation, contrasting sharply with the intricate and collaborative world of movie production. This exhibition, scheduled from March 7th to May 17th, 2026, features a comprehensive collection of his photographic work, inviting audiences to explore the subtle yet powerful narratives embedded within his individual images.

A recurring theme in Lanthimos's commentary revolves around the inherent independence photography affords, especially when juxtaposed with the complex machinery of film production. While filmmaking demands extensive crews, significant financial resources, strict schedules, and the careful orchestration of numerous elements, photography allows for a much more direct and solitary engagement with the world. He likens the act of holding a camera and simply walking to a fundamental gesture that often initiates his photographic process, shedding the conventional expectations associated with narrative creation. This approach emphasizes an unburdened creative exploration, where the absence of a preconceived outcome becomes a form of artistic liberty.

For Lanthimos, the journey into photography began not as an intentional artistic pursuit, but as a practical requirement during his film school days. He recalls learning that cinema, at its core, consists of 24 frames per second, necessitating a foundational understanding of photography. Initially, this skill served as a stepping stone towards his primary ambition of filmmaking, rather than an artistic end in itself. However, as he continued his cinematic work, the camera became an indispensable tool for observation, gradually transforming his technical proficiency into a profound personal connection with still images. This evolving relationship allowed him to appreciate photography not merely as a prerequisite for film but as a distinct and deeply satisfying creative outlet.

Lanthimos views the still image as operating within a unique temporal framework, one that permits meaning to remain fluid and open to interpretation. Unlike the definitive sequences of cinema, a photograph can exist independently or integrate into various collections, its significance shifting with each new context. This adaptability extends to the multiple formats photography can assume post-capture; an image might appear in a book, an exhibition, or a different visual series, each iteration inviting fresh perspectives. This inherent fluidity, he argues, sets photography apart from the more rigid narrative structures of film. An illustrative example of this is VISCIN, a photobook accompanying his exhibition, designed as a leporello fold that visually mirrors a film strip, assembling photographs from the set of 'Bugonia' into a continuous visual narrative.

Furthermore, Lanthimos emphasized the tangible qualities of analog photography, particularly in an era dominated by digital media. The act of producing a physical photographic print holds deep significance for him. He describes the ritualistic satisfaction of taking a roll of film, developing it, and holding the prints in his hands. This immediate, tactile experience contrasts sharply with the often-extended timelines of filmmaking, where the audience connection is delayed. The sensory engagement with the print, its texture, and even its scent, becomes an integral part of the artistic process. The exhibition at Onassis Stegi showcases four distinct bodies of work from the past five years, featuring images from films like 'Poor Things' and 'Bugonia', alongside a new series captured in Greece. These works explore a diverse range of subjects, from people and landscapes to animals and architectural fragments, each imbued with potential narrative depth without demanding a fixed interpretation.

A poignant moment in the discussion arose when Lanthimos reflected on his earliest visual memories, revealing a profound connection between photography and the process of human recollection. Despite claiming a poor memory, he observed that his childhood fragments manifest not as continuous events but as discrete, isolated images. This realization led him to understand how the still frame inherently mirrors the structure of memory itself, asserting that every significant moment in his life exists as an image. This focus on isolated moments permeates the photographs on display, inviting viewers to engage with subjects that carry their own inherent meaning, whether it's a building, a face, or an animal. Ultimately, he suggests, a photograph reveals as much about the viewer's perception as it does about its subject.