International planning competition 2nd Prize

Located along the sea coast north-west of Qinhuangdao, Suizhong Binhai Area is a new city development of vast dimensions just behind the border between Hebei and Liaoning Province. The plot is located beside the main access road which is the backbone and main artery of the new district, linking it with the adjacent Qinhuangdao cargo airport and further south with the tourist resorts around Beidaihe.

Location
Suizhong / China
Client
Yindu (Qinhuangdao) Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.
Design
2010
Site area / GFA
17.5 ha / 315,000 m²
A corona of 18-levels high-rise buildings is surrounding the plot along its borders, creating not only a decent city skyline, but also protecting and “safeguarding” the low-rise development inside the borders. The high-rises are facing the sea in the south. In the inner part of the plot an extensive park with water feature will be …

A corona of 18-levels high-rise buildings is surrounding the plot along its borders, creating not only a decent city skyline, but also protecting and “safeguarding” the low-rise development inside the borders. The high-rises are facing the sea in the south.

In the inner part of the plot an extensive park with water feature will be created, including a small number of townhouses.
In the north-eastern corner a twin tower of about 100 meters fulfils the function of an eye-catcher and landmark building, combined with attractive commercial uses in its podium level.
1-3 levels commercial buildings and public facilities are encompassing the land on three sides, where such uses are obvious and suitable according to the surrounding urban functions. These pedestal buildings are separating private and public space in a clear and unmistakable way and create a border for the more intimate residential uses inside.

3/4 of the apartments are below 90m², and even the bigger ones have reasonable sizes. In almost 95% of the apartments only two flats share one traffic core – except for a very small percentage of 40 m² one-bedroom apartments.
Point-type buildings that avoid an unpleasant “wall-effect” are the characteristic building type. Moreover, the vast majority of the land is dominated by buildings within or below 11 levels, which have a high popularity and still provide a widely accepted human scale.

In this project urban planning, architecture and floor plan layouts form a unity, altogether with the aim of a reasonable and economic planning with an outstanding quality and liveability. Such an approach is certainly not the norm for low- to medium-income residences in China. The planning demonstrates that high density, high quality and affordability are not mutually exclusive.

READ MORE
Scope of services
Conceptual urban and architectural design
Design team
Wolf Loebel, Ran Li, Marta Niedbalec, Lukasz Piasta