Meet Yuan Tian: Landscape Designer Reimagining Brownfields as Resilient Public Infrastructure

Yuan Tian is a Los Angeles-based landscape designer at RIOS, with a background in architecture and landscape architecture from China and the University of Pennsylvania. She specializes in large-scale ecological strategies that integrate urban renewal, infrastructure reuse, and public engagement. Her award-winning project, Back on Rail, explores the ecological and social regeneration of contaminated brownfields through rail-based soil remediation and community-integrated landscape interventions.

Back on Rail: Transforming Polluted Railways into Healing Landscapes

Located in Jinnan District, Tianjin, China, Back on Rail addresses the widespread soil contamination caused by decades of heavy industrial activities within a major steel production and logistics corridor. The site, situated between Tianjin’s urban center and the Binhai New Area, has experienced severe ecological degradation due to the accumulation of industrial pollutants, including solid waste, wastewater, and airborne particulates. Acknowledging the trend of declining industrial rail use, the project suggests transforming underutilized railway infrastructure into a logistical and spatial backbone for a phased ecological remediation strategy.

Methodology: A Phased, Rail-Oriented Remediation Framework

The project is structured around three primary phases of soil remediation, aligned with both engineering protocols and spatial design objectives:

Phase 1: Ex-situ Remediation and Engineering Logistics

Severely contaminated soil is excavated and transported via existing private rail lines to minimize disturbance and reduce the risk of secondary pollution. Clean soil is then reintroduced into the landscape to support future biological processes.

Phase 2: In-situ Remediation and Phytoremediation Initiation

As pollution levels diminish, phytoremediation is employed using hyperaccumulator species selected for their capacity to extract heavy metals. Simultaneously, infrastructure for public access is introduced, including pedestrian paths and selective observation points.

Phase 3: Ecological Integration and Infrastructure Reuse

Once soil remediation reaches an advanced stage, portions of the railway are decommissioned and reprogrammed as linear ecological corridors. The spatial system is enhanced with civic amenities that encourage public engagement and long-term stewardship.

Each phase functions both ecologically and pedagogically, positioning the site as a living laboratory for environmental restoration and public education.

Typological Transformation: The Station-Based Urban Framework

The site is organized around three nodal zones—referred to as “stations”—each representing a distinct contamination condition and remediation typology. These stations operate as adaptive frameworks that integrate remediation technologies with civic, recreational, and educational programming:

Station 1: Environmental Research and Exhibition Hub

Situated on a former contaminated farmland parcel, Station 1 serves as the educational anchor of the project. Soil museums, plant nurseries, and research workshops document and exhibit the restoration process. Ground sculpting and vegetative succession are used as spatial narratives to illustrate the layered history of industrial disturbance and ecological recovery.

Station 2: Civic Interface and Cultural Infrastructure

Located at the intersection of two regional expressways, this station repurposes infrastructure into public spaces for commerce and performance. Sunken plazas, retail corridors, and open-air concert venues are embedded within the cut-and-fill topography, encouraging new cultural dynamics in an industrial relic.

Station 3: Health-Oriented Recreational Landscape

Positioned on a former coal-mining site, Station 3 focuses on psychological and physiological healing. The space is programmed with sports facilities, sensory gardens, and child-focused rail reinterpretations such as terrain-based roller coasters. This zone prioritizes environmental justice and the rebuilding of public trust in post-industrial landscapes.

Systems Design and Perceptual Transformation

The masterplan is structured upon a multi-layered system integrating soil logistics, native plant succession, and circulation infrastructure. The existing railway is repurposed as a dual-function system—first serving as a low-impact logistics corridor for soil remediation, and later transitioning into an ecological spine and recreational network that connects three major civic nodes. A high-speed cycling viaduct is introduced to enable users to experience the site from both ground-level and elevated perspectives, highlighting the evolving relationship between people and landscape.

Strategically selected native species are deployed to stabilize soil, enhance organic matter, and initiate successional processes that could help re-establish resilient broadleaf forest ecosystems. Grading and earthwork operations are meticulously managed to achieve on-site material balance, reducing external inputs and minimizing disturbance.

Beyond its technical rigor, Back on Rail functions as a socio-ecological manifesto, reframing polluted industrial lands not as zones of exclusion but as platforms for engagement, education, and regeneration. By embedding civic programs within each phase of remediation, the project aims to empower local communities to participate in environmental transformation, fostering new perceptions of ecological agency and shared stewardship in post-industrial contexts.

Awards and Global Recognition

Back on Rail has received significant international acclaim:

• Gold Prize – 2025 French Design Awards, Industrial Landscape category
  • Silver Prize – 2025 MUSE Design Awards, Institutional Landscape category

These accolades reflect Yuan Tian’s dedication to designing landscapes that are ecologically rigorous and emotionally resonant, rooted in science but driven by empathy.

Published by Joseph T.