The idea comes from San Francisco but points to the East, in China. The Kuth Ranieri Architects of San Francisco decided to transform abandoned roller coaster at Suzhou into an aviary. The American team, which is working on adaptive reuse with the landscape architects of the Bay Area TLS Landscape Architecture, has a clear goal: to transform a aged amusement park at the foot of the iconic Lion mountain in a central green for a new technology-oriented residential hub. For Shishan Park - this is the name of the project - TLS has designed a general plan that, in addition to providing a circular walk around the original lake, is divided into ten sub-districts represented by iconic pavilions and recreational spaces "that exploit natural lakes and of the site, as well as the historical significance and beauty of the mountain".

A prominent role in the new urban area covers the abandoned amusement park and its original metallic roller coaster. Kuth Ranieri's basic idea is to reconvert the area into a new 160,000-square-foot visual and functional center for 182-acre development by making a superscaled aviary roller coaster. His plan also includes a a circuitous “infinity walk” that takes occupants up and through the reused roller-coaster structure to perches above the treetops furnished with viewing platforms and an expansive sky deck. Inside the complex, a ten-storey circulation tower is planned to take visitors to the highest observation levels, where a a wide staircase containing landings to accommodate public planning will embrace the elevator core. A green-roofed animal care facility is also expected. Traditional Chinese ink paintings inspired the metallic enclosure surrounding the aviary, in particular the representations of Lion Mountain, while the cascade and rounded geometry of the canopy evoke evoke “a feeling of layered misty mountains”.