Shanghai Baosteel Pioneer Park

The ‘Wusongkou Venture Park’ of the Baosteel Group is the largest industrial complex in Shanghai. Since its beginnings, the manufacturer has grown at an amazing pace and continuity, and now after 30 years of pure iron and steel industry, Baosteel Group is leading the pioneering regeneration of the old factory area in the Baoshan Wusong district.

The start-up area has been divided into three key nodes along the main city artery, TongJi Road.The new development, ‘Wusongkou Pioneer Park’, will play an important and demonstrative role in major innovative industries such as science & technology, cultural and creative industry, modern services with new materials, smart manufacturing, 3D printing and energy and environmental protection. To enhance the comprehensive urban quality, it will offer large spaces for start-up businesses, workshops, educational programs and social activities as well as leisure and shopping possibilities.

Node 1, the ‘Art creative cultural area’, is located at the northern edge of the industrial transformation site and its interface with the city outskirts. This site will become an indispensable link between the center and the periphery, not only because of its location, but for the historical meaning and value for Baosteel Group Corporation and Shanghai. It was here, in 1978, where the first pile of the iron and steel factory was driven into the earth.

Considering the historical value and the charm of the first factory building, the architectural proposal preserves the precious buildings and elements and merges them with new innovative materials and functions.

The functions of this plot are focused on cultural and high-standard creative developments. Office towers with commercial podiums rise along TongJi road to serve the whole neighborhood and act as a noise barrier between the elevated highway and the low-rise cultural heart of the node. The center of the plot then becomes a cultural hub, with a steel museum, library, entertainment hall, workshop ateliers and co-working spaces for creative minds. The scenery towards the west river bank is an open plaza with cafes and restaurants for relaxation and leisure.

To emphasize not only the urban but historical and cultural importance of this node, the project proposes a super high-rise as a symbol of the growth and sustainability of the Baosteel Group Corporation. The super high-rise offers space for high level commercial functions, finance, offices and a 5 star hotel. A restaurant/lounge-bar with a 360 degree view over the area is planned to serve at the 71st floor.

Node 2, the ‘Casting urban life area’ is located at the intersection of TongJi Road in the east and Shuichan Road, in the north. This node is divided in two, the east part and the west part.

The plot in the east is next to the subway and bus station, which makes this area very active and a perfect spot for the new growth of high and middle-rise office and Soho towers, with commercial podiums for shopping, entertainment and dining as well as kindergarten, children’s playground, language school and dance school to serve the residents.

The west part has another scale, more quiet, with charming existing buildings and an amazing outdoor scenery, which gives the node the character of a small hidden place that perfectly suits for an escape from the urban hustle to enjoy diverse cultural exhibitions and small restaurants and café & bars.

Node 3, the ‘Technical creative office area’, is located at the south edge of the Wusongkou Pioneer Park, which contains the old steel pipe factory, and has a closer connection with the surrounding districts, such as large residential and commercial areas. As the southernmost point of the Park, it is the south gate to the area and is welcoming the visitor with a solid and elegant representative image.

The existing layout of the factory buildings spreads out perpendicular to the avenue and lets them align to each other closely with a strong character. Based on the linear array footprint of the existing buildings, the new volumes develop upward, and become an image of stacked steel plates with an east west orientation. The skin of the new architecture is covered with corten steel and square windows with convex-concave shading elements, to emphasize the industrial character.

Dujiangyan Hotel Complex

A mere 5 minutes’ drive from the hotel group is Duwen Expressway (S9), the link between Sichuan and Tibet tourist attractions, such as Wolong Nature Reserve, Wenchuan County and Mount Siguniang. The project is the last upscale hotel group on the route to Tibet.
The project is located in the south of Dujiangyan, the famous town of longevity and a well-known tourist destination, especially famous for its over 2,200 years old irrigation system. The hotel complex borders the big Min River, the longest tributary of the Yangtze in the east and Zhaogong Mountain in the west. ‘Black Rock River’ in the east of the site divides the site into two blocks from north to south. In addition to these existing water bodies, the Client plans to excavate 7.5 hectares of artificial lakes inside the site to further improve the environmental level.

The building blocks of the hotel group are developed along the perimeter of the site with artificial lakes inside. The lobby of the Six Star Hotel is located in the southeastern corner. Visitors standing in the lobby can see the lake and overlook the Zhaogong Mountain.
The villas are extended northward. Using the terrain and the lake, all the villas have good views. The five-star hotel and theme hotel are located at the southwest corner of the site, using the boundaries of the Black Rock River to enclose their respective interior landscapes.

6 Star Hotel
The Six Star Hotel covers an area of about 11 hectares with a total of 90 villas. The inspiration for the hotel design is the West Sichuan Palace hidden in a bamboo forest by the river. The building materials in western Sichuan are mainly wood, limestone, gray brick and gray tile, presenting a simple texture and natural beauty. Traditional materials and structures have been incorporated into the design of the hotel lobby, and have been changed, reorganized and renewed to the greatest extent, retaining the shape and meaning of the traditional local architecture. Furthermore, we fell back on the skills of gardening in Western Sichuan, and used the methods of “suppressing” and “leaking” to expand the space experience of the guests.
The villas all have outdoor hot springs. Taking advantage of the height difference of the terrain, guests can enjoy the view of the artificial lake or the Minjiang River from the outdoor pool, while ensuring the privacy of the villa.

Spa Complex
The Spa is located between the five-star hotel and the theme hotel, with a separate external entrance and access from both hotels through a corridor. The total area is 1,800 square meters, and it is equipped with 7 outdoor pools of 2,000 square meters.
In the façade design, the spa takes reference of the traditional forms and materials of Western Sichuan. But in order to create a more relaxed atmosphere, more civilian structures have been adopted, such as the “ChuanDou” structure or the “supporting arch”.

5 Star Hotel
The five star hotel with 300 guestrooms has a privileged situation with its proximity to Heishi River on the East and its location right beside the big lake.
Based on traditional Sichuan architecture (‘Chuanxi’ style), the base of the building – which usually is the noble one, hence accommodates the public functions of the hotel – is clad with stone with carvings that resemble flowing water – as reference to the local culture with its millenniums of history of water management.
The main body – where the guest rooms are located – is designed to convey a town-like atmosphere where several buildings are attached to each other with different heights, in order to break the horizontality of the building and create a certain random rhythm.
The balconies combine white plaster and wooden details in order to create a local feeling but in a rather modern way. The grey clay-tile roofs seem to be floating from above the building and then hold by the elaborated wooden structure.
The main entrance of the hotel is emphasized by placing two vast, abstract interpretations of traditional Chinese lanterns on both sides. During the night there will be a special effect created by a perforated brick wall that will cast distinct patterns on the street when lit from behind.
The five star hotel is characterized by simple and elegant details. Different combinations of the same materials are used to obtain ‘unity in diversity’, as the key for consistency and excellence.

4 Star Theme Hotel
The building is neighbouring the five star hotel on its north side, Heishi River to the east and the huge ‘Wanda Entertainment Park’ on the opposite side of the road, towards south.
Due to the existence of several panda research and preservation parks in the city of Chengdu (which is only 55 km away), the ‘world of pandas’ was chosen as a theme for the hotel. The design approach had families with small children as main target. As common feature with theme hotels, the main goal is to achieve an immediate feeling from the building and façade itself suggesting a certain level of playfulness. Guests will be able to feel the ‘world of pandas’ not only from the elements of the landscape but from the building as well, which stands out as the icon of panda life.
As we approach the hotel from the road, a 6-storey, organic-shaped building features a composition that reminds us of several pandas standing or laying down. Panda faces and bodies defined by a white background with dark grey spots and shapes, and those hanging from the bamboo base and hiding between the bamboo forests of the vertical cores, give us the feeling of a natural panda habitat welcoming the guests.
On the ground floor large framed windows step out from the façade to define the main public areas of the Hotel.
The building has four main parts with an undulating façade that open towards the river and the lake behind in ordered to optimize the views from the guest rooms. The undulating gesture allows enclosing a garden that gives privacy and distance from the road. The 461 guestrooms have balconies that project towards the water side or to the mountain side making the hotel special not only for its theme, but also for its splendid views of a great location.

Bar Street
Dujiangyan has not only a long history, but also colourful architectural forms and styles.
In the design of the ‘Bar Street’, the architectural concept was to blend Chinese and Western traditions and to blend the ancient and the modern: Traditional Sichuan architecture (offering traditional Chinese food or accommodating classical tea houses) is mixed with Republican style (1912-1949) and modern architecture (offering Western food and bars) as well as “new Chinese style” (offering modern Chinese food) in a harmonious way. Blending the different styles brings a whole new urban experience.
In the landscape design, local traditions have been adapted, myths and legends are combined with landscape elements and with the architectural design, further blurring the boundaries between time and space and function.

Hainan Begonia Bay Resort

  • ‘Darentang Resort Village’ (Plots A+B): The two biggest plots stretching along the beach host a five star resort village with two hotel buildings ( tot. 416 keys) and 161 holiday villas in five different sizes from 99 to 476 m². The two plots are separated along a green promenade leading to the beach.
  • Commercial Service Centre (plot C): It takes the remaining part of the beach, with outdoor covered public facilities that also serve the seaside resort, including the functions of swimming, diving, and other water activities, restaurants, bars, shops, and parking facilities.
  • ‘Houhai Fisher Area’ (plot D): The existing fisher area along the mouth of ‘Tielugang’ side-bay is providing convenience for fishing business, typhoon shelter, and floating seafood restaurants, but currently in a mass and in bad conditions. After planning and design, the plot will become a scenic spot for tourists to experience life and work of fishermen; tourists are planned to have original, ecological seafood in rows of typical local fishermen’s boats, meanwhile the Houhai villagers have the opportunity to get a catering business with independent property right. They can rent out or transfer their houses/boats.
  • ‘Houhai Fascinating Town’ (plot E): A resettlement area for the locally removed residents called has been planned, with tot. 362 houses, educational facilities and commercial areas to provide an additional source of income for the residents.

As opposed to the busier ‘Yalong Bay’, ‘Begonia Bay’ has been reserved as an alternate land for urban development, featuring beautiful scenery, the absence of urban noise, and an excellent location regarding overall resources and environment.
Located at the main point of Haitang Bay, the so-called “Houhai Golden Bay”, the planned resort’s health program has been selected by the municipal government from worldwide top Chinese medicine health-preserving resort projects.
As seaside tourist city, Sanya has a large concentration of leisure resorts, but few health-themed ones. The planning concept makes use of the advantageous environmental resources in order to create a competitive property with healthy leisure experience for people.

The five star hotels will be managed by a professional Chinese Medicine team of the investing Tianjin Medicine Group. Hotel functions include guest rooms mainly for high-end customers to spend vacations, providing medical baths, healthy sleep, etc., Chinese restaurants serving herbal cuisine etc., and a spacious SPA including health diagnosis and treatment area, acupuncture moxibustion, medication area, and massage area.

Both in East and West, humans have always been committed to the pursuit of harmonious relations between themselves and their natural environment and developed their distinct theories about the connection between both. China has a long cultural history of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practice and health treatments. This Eastern wisdom is unique, broad and profound. Chinese medicine stresses the concept of the whole, with a dialectical attitude towards the human body itself and the balance between man and nature. Chinese medical scientists are working to find the link between body and nature. Whether in the medical or in the architectural field, ancient peoples have developed vast experience in research and practice.
Chinese medicine theories of “organic naturalism” have developed a concept of “Heaven and Man” that fits well with the desire of people to pursuit a healthy life-style.

Combining the existing environmental advantages with an overall planning strategy, the design considers health and leisure together, and combines human activities with natural scenery. Two guidelines have been developed: The functional planning proposes an integrated industry with vacation, leisure, wellness and medical treatment functions. Secondly, regarding the landscape planning, TCM health elements have been integrated, whereas the landscape fully serves recreational functions and uses the splendid natural scenery.

Wuhan Smart City & Eco City

Amidst a varied range of water bodies, the Smart City accompanies the Yangtze River bank, whereas the Eco City is located between the inner Dongjing River and Phoenix Road, a major city road leading to downtown Wuhan.

About ¾ of the overall planning area (84.7 km²) is made of abundant natural landscapes surrounding the two cities, composed of mountains, rivers, flood lands and artificial water ponds.

According to RhineScheme’s urban planning concept, both new towns are divided into themed districts with corresponding land uses. Within a coherent overall design, each of the districts receives its own architectural identity and individual urban structure based on its land use and theme. This is achieved through carefully knitting together the urban structure with the existing landscape and infrastructure, and by selecting appropriate architectural typologies and styles.

Smart City: Features

A new city district is going to be created in which advanced facilities and modern technologies provide energy-efficiency, environmental sustainability and – last not least – highest liveability.

The site-related official planning document “Smart City – Analysis of Development Ideas” has been setting up important basic guidelines to be followed, namely:

  • Low-density, low F.A.R.
  • Taking advantage of natural landscape resources to highlight the regional culture features of the area
  • To realize the characteristics of “smart city” initially, connecting public city resources (water, power, oil, gas, mobility and public services) and to monitor, analyze and integrate various data in order to create intelligent living standards.

In general, the concept of ‘SMART City’ has been introduced as a strategic device to highlight the growing importance of social and environmental capital within a framework of Information and Communication Technologies, in profiling the competitiveness of cities.

In particular, a city can be defined ‘SMART’ when investments in human and social capital, traditional transport and modern communication infrastructure fuel sustainable economic development and a high quality of life, with a wise management of natural resources.

The philosophy of RhineScheme’s proposal is based on the existing landscape as a foundation principle. Eight objectives have been identified and defined as follows:

  1. Create new spatial experiences and new fruitions founded on the idea of natural landscape and urban landscape.
  2. Facilitate the communication between people and nature.
  3. Set up a new model of economic district that relies on knowledge, tourism and education besides business.
  4. Propose a new traffic model that combines fast mobility with slow mobility.
  5. Define a new multifunctional ‘micro-centre’ that enables a lifestyle combining culture and education, living, working, leisure and sports at the same time.
  6. Create an urban space at human scale, rich of publicly accessible spaces and urban landmarks.
  7. Enhance the residents’/users’ feeling of identity and belonging to their place.
  8. Propose a new urban model for sustainable energy production and consumption.

The predefined road network is connecting the North-Western wetlands and the Eco City to the Yangtze River in the South-East, crossing the Smart City. An essential and necessary consideration has been to create a new Green Corridor following the roads infrastructure and connecting the wetland system with the Yangtze River basin.

This Green Corridor is at the same time an environmental connection, sustaining biodiversity and ecological flows, and an infrastructural channel that reorganizes the main public systems: water drainage, public transportation, auto mobility, etc.

 

Smart City is divided into 8 districts interconnected by a network of regional highways and major roads. These districts respond to the major connections with a protective wall of higher buildings both shielding the inner areas and creating an urban atmosphere along the roads.

Towards the extensive water landscape and the Yangtze River front, the urban structure becomes dispersed and natural. The height of the buildings is reduced to minimize the visual impact on the landscape and to create a suburban appearance.

From a functional aspect, the Smart City consists of administrative areas, a commercial core, some R&D areas housing innovative industries which are synonymous for the district, as well as some high-level housing areas.

Eco City

The Eco City consists mainly of residential areas with close connection to natural green areas.

It is settled between an industrial district in the north and the winding waterscape of Dongjing River. Most of the public and commercial facilities are oriented towards Phoenix Road in order to provide a strong spine and main artery. Towards the river the building heights decrease, and the urban structure becomes less dense and plays with the existing boundaries of water and land.

Strategically placed at the heart of the urban tissue, the Eco city core defines a town center and will provide services for the surrounding residential areas. It will include the administrative headquarters of the Eco City and various public use functions such as cultural, hospitality and commercial facilities.

Smart City: Core Area

 The design for the Smart City’s core area aims for an urban scale which is restrained in size and density; water and irrigation canals as structuring elements have been kept and re-used as landscape features for retail, working or living areas.

The district planning was deepened for an area of 4.78 km² strategically located to take maximum advantage of the most attractive features of the territory: On one hand it is surrounding an existing lake, offering a quiet and relaxed atmosphere, ideal for reconciliation with nature and for a realm of slowing-down. On the other hand it stretches towards the Yangtze River, showing a denser and taller built environment able to serve as business card of the whole development. These apparently opposing functions are bound together by a Green Corridor running west to east, the ecological backbone of the Smart City and its main landscape feature.

Key method and strategy was to re-use the existing land structure to a maximum, which follows a complex geometry of canals and water ponds, in order to minimize disruptions and to make the planning efficient in terms of time, subdivision of land, and construction costs.

Main roads are therefore located on top of current banks dividing water ponds; existing canals are kept, improved and becoming elements of the landscape design; lower land areas of existing water ponds will become sunken courtyards or parking garages or other underground facilities, by that saving excavation costs.

Moreover, the existing water system becomes the distinctive structure of the overall development, with intended reference and similarity to ancient Chinese water towns. Existing water ponds are re-used and revived in order to create a unique and contemporary waterscape, dedicated to people and leisure.

A Water Park is created around an existing lake, with a new and unique water experience, taking advantage of the existing water ponds, water streams and the prevailing topography. A new urban experience will emerge based on the found structure of ponds and canals, with urban surroundings facing the new water axis and benefitting from unique and inspiring landscape resources.

Finally, a rich network of pedestrian connections and public transportation is designed around and across the whole area to facilitate an alternative mobility to replace or reduce private car traffic.

Smart City Core: Quarters

 Different functional quarters have been shaped with unique character and distinct identity. They define the character and living features of the Smart City Core, as there are:

The Water Park / Smart Living / Public Service Area / Shopping Water Town & SOHO / Living & Working Water Town / The Green Corridor / The Yangtze Waterfront / Urban Mansions along the Canal / Residential SOHO.

The start-up area measuring 1.65 km² and located around Chanjiang Lake will host the planning headquarters from which the city generates and also the first constructed area that will attract investors and future citizens. Both official and representative projects are placed here: The ‘Smart City Enterprise Centre’ will provide the necessary logistic support, while the ‘Smart City Exhibition Centre’ will host exhibitions and all kinds of information related to the planned city. A broader introduction to the envisioned cityscape will be given by samples of high-standard apartments and commercial areas that will be built there.

A cultural area is shaped on the south-west side of the lake, where a set of low-rise buildings, all with public functions such as museum and concert hall, will be integrated into the park’s landscape design.

The very center is shaped by a low-rise shopping area, which will take advantage of existing water and canals to create a human-scale environment with car-free areas dedicated to leisure, restaurants and meeting places.

Close to the highway crossing the plot in north-south direction, a modern SOHO development will show vibrant, dynamic facades to the cars passing by, benefitting from its good visibility.

On the east side of the plot, the skyline will gradually rise both in height and density. Finally, by the river bank, a group of landscape office towers will create an image of modernity and efficiency, carefully balancing between the low scale of the smart city and the size required by the wide Yangtze river which they are facing and from which they will be seen.

Meishan Shengshou Village

In Dongpo District with its rich cultural resources and supply of healthcare and leisure facilities, the existing, traditional Shengshou residential area has become an important tourist node. Min River, a touristic treasure in itself, is offering an ideal place for holiday life.
RhineScheme’s design approach embodies a new development model of urban and rural integration with the aim of creating a “new water town, natural village, and renewed old town” for the regional tourist resort and leisure market.
The most important guideline for the design has been to combine the three main layers: residence, forest & field and water area. Creating a harmonious symbiosis between nature and human settlement has become the main strategy.

“One corridor, two cores, three zones”: Keeping the original rural texture and retaining the original activity corridor has been one motif, keeping the traditional village core and creating a new cultural core to become the catalyst for the whole district has been the other. Final aim was linking the 3 distinct zones, the eco-hydrological area, the ancient town tour area and the culture and activity-driven new development into one vibrant entity.
To ensure comfortable access to the traditional settlement in Shengshou, the Binjiang walk is designed to create the east-west connection between site and Min River, and the north-to-south urban greenway along the river. The pedestrian streets are based on the original road design, but integrate a more pleasant residential environment to achieve a smooth transition between city and nature. Also the ecological waterfront axis provides the bivalent experience of urbanity and nature, ecology and human settlement.

In total there are seven thematic areas:
1. Traditional settlements: The traditional residences will be upgraded and renovated, the facades will be renovated, the new industry will be perfectly integrated into the old houses, and the spirit of the place will be reinvented to retain the village’s memory.
2. Interactive experience of agriculture and forestry: Rural leisure hotels are created based on the site resources to develop agricultural tourism, organic farming, and other activities to enrich the leisure life of citizens and be compatible with nature.
3. Folk handcraft experience: Preserving the culture of traditional materials, passing on intangible cultural heritage and developing traditional craft cultures such as bamboo weaving, clay sculpture, and painting.
4. “Dongpo Flavour Garden”: Using the border areas to host supporting facilities that cover: Local cuisine, Meishan Bazaar, international catering, convenience supermarkets and so on, connecting the city and the countryside.
5. Culture and art exhibition: Located beside of the main road and adjacent to the city, it has the potential to become a cultural and artistic center that serves beyond the district borders. It includes an art museum, a library and a civic cultural center. It will use green and high technology to form a new landmark in the city.
6. Wetland Park: The rich water resources on site allow building an Urban Wetland Park. Furthermore a terraced landscape can be created by the existing topography and height difference. A small island in the wetland is an ideal place for camping and picnics for young people, and its rich ecological environment is ideal life-science exhibit for children.
7. Bamboo theme park: Located independently on the north part of the site, it features and takes advantage of a large number of bamboo forests in the area. Bamboo is the obvious theme for the site. The quiet and private environment hosts a resort hotel with restaurant and a nice place for weddings. An additional sports park attracts people who love both nature and sports.

The design respects the site’s current topography and landforms and maintains the traditional residential style. According to the functional requirements the low-lying southeast part of the plot forms a lake, with the undulating riverside avenue as interesting spatial experience, while actively building features of a ‘sponge city’.
The architectural design of the Culture and Art Centre falls back on the natural and cultural elements of the area: bamboo shapes are used for its façade elements, and the building flows organically towards the lower side of the landscape like a terraced field.

Changchun ‘Longxiang Plaza’

Adjacent to the two arterial roads, the project enjoys outstanding connectivity. The Beihu Wetland Park on the west side of the site is of great appeal… The design makes full use of the landscape resources so that the planned new buildings can all have access to the beautiful scenery. In the future, diverse commercial formats (leisure, commercial, hotels, apartments, offices, etc.) will attract a large number of business people. The dynamic and vigorous architectural style also offers a striking and attractive urban scene.

The overall project is designed to be low in the south and high in the north, in order to respect the central location of the existing Jixing Building and to ensure best views of all buildings along Beihu Park.
The plan outlines a city skyline that is gradually rising from south to north. The high-rise buildings in the plot are surrounded by water bays of Beihu Park from the south to the north, forming a high point on the northernmost super-tall buildings as an important landmark of the city. The high-rise buildings will serve as offices in the future, and they all can enjoy splendid views of Beihu Park.

The southernmost plot among the three – on the west side of Beiyuanda Street – has been positioned as the Center of Science and Technology. The southeast side of the plot is for multi-storey buildings, whose volume and scale are relatively small, while the layout is flexible to serve as individualized exhibition space. At the same time, the design avoids blocking the view of Jixing Building.
Several tall buildings are arranged on the west side (along the lake), as SOHO office space. Multi-storey buildings will be designed with a rooftop garden to create pleasant views. The central plot (north side of Jixing Building) is planned to be ‘Longxiang (Phase I) Lifestyle Plaza’ including a five-star international hotel. 3 or 4 storey buildings will form commercial space so as to meet the needs of the High-tech Zone. The hotel will have guest rooms on higher floors facing the lake, so that every room offers optimal views.
The plot on the north side is planned to host ‘Longxiang (Phase II) Future Plaza’, a ‘Water World’ complex, a quasi-5-star business hotel, serviced apartments and super high-rise office buildings (220 meters).
The plot on the east side of Beiyuanda Street is planned as Financial Centre, which echoes the planned buildings on the west side.
The underground (garage) of the four plots will be connected.

Proposal 1 uses natural arc elements in the design of the entire project to create a stable and smooth overall image.
Proposal 2 highlights the volume of buildings and vibrancy of space accentuating the beauty of geometric elements and making the building full of tension and vitality. The façade design adopts a diversified approach with futuristic art, emphasizing new technologies and catering to people’s aspiration for innovation and exploration.

Yantai International Korean Town

The main traffic connections from East to West divide the site into three parts. The natural resources of sea, river, mountain and forest interconnect in the site and constitute its most valuable asset. These factors determine the main development direction: from sea and riverside towards the interior.

As reference, we can see that typical harbour/estuary cities base their growth on their history or on the industries which give the city its character. Our site is based on natural resources, which are new and pristine. So how does one define the new city’s character? How can a nice environment be integrated with the new city functions?

River, sea, forest and mountain. These elements help define the functional distribution and desired atmosphere: Proximity to the water determines the active, leisure and entertainment pole. Proximity to the forest park determines the more quiet, calm and private area for residences. Water and forest are brought into the site in a dramatic way to increase direct contact with the waterfront and the park, for better commercial performance, but at the same time of course with the aim of creating perfect conditions for a life-and-work balance.

Following this analysis, some key concepts for the new city’s main characteristics have been defined:

  • Korean culture in a Chinese-Korean Town will create a unique atmosphere based on eastern cultures. Firstly, the local culture is an attraction for non-Koreans, Chinese and foreigners who bring business and commerce. The good atmosphere will attract more tourists and business opportunities. Secondly, Korean City culture is an attraction for Koreans, an incentive for settlement and investment. The increasing visitor flow promotes business cooperation between China and Korea.
  • Tourism: All-season all-day tourism, suitable for various age-groups, multiple categories, one-stop service, multi-culture tourism.
  • Green construction / new energy resources: Wind, solar, and tidal energy, water treatment, central infrastructure corridor, low-carbon buildings, waste management system, slow urban transportation.
  • Self-sustainable / self-supporting: Meeting the demands of the physical and spiritual life of citizens. Containing a full range of industries and services to promote the development of the city without using the surrounding cities’ functions, at the same time pushing the development of the surrounding areas
  • Smart city: Using IT for the people to satisfy their need for food, clothing, living, transportation, sports, entertainment and various aspects of ubiquitous convenience. To foster the development of Chinese IT industry emerging application technology, strengthen the industrial advantage and national competitiveness.
  • Sea, Mountain, Forest and Estuary converge in a common zone of interest. A green loop is born, extended, and multiple loops appear on focal points. The existing road plan and its green protection areas form the base for the urban fabric. Main and secondary circulation nodes appear and integrate the existing towns as urban heritage areas. A riverside green public space loop is priority and forms the main landscape element. A secondary public green loop gives structure as an urban corridor connecting all areas.

Four main development poles have been defined, with specific functions – tourism, mixed use, science & technology as well as finance – that give structure to the zoning plan.
The development is divided into 5 stages. The first stage (which has been deepened carefully in RhineScheme’s design) is to become the heart of the city.

Due to serious political differences between China and Korea in 2017, the project has come to an unexpected complete stop.

Fuyang Ying River East

The business area includes an iconic super high-rise building with a height of 180 meters as well as low-rise commercial streets for continental European style shopping.
The relationship between Anhui Province and the German State of Lower Saxony are a foundation for tourism and for the transfer of technology and tradition in beer brewing and other related businesses. German-style Biergartens are placed along the river bank providing an authentic atmosphere of German leisure culture.

The location of the plot offers splendid views towards the river delta and the city centre directly behind. In order to take advantage of the views and the location along the river, revitalizing the waterfront and creating reasonably sized commercial facilities is decisive for the success of the project. Three main design principles have been traced:
Maximized view connections, attractive work spaces & leisure activities, and a public Waterfront Promenade.

A continuous circuit linking the main commercial areas at strategic points supports the development to become a vivid, active area with diverse functions.
Located straight in the axis of the delta, the office and hotel towers rotate their direction, thus emphasizing the views towards the delta. The towers are designed to create a choreographic three-dimensional silhouette along the river. At the same time they are facing the green island towards the south, providing visual connections and welcoming the traffic crossing the bridge.
Creating a commercial podium at several levels is a strategy to expand the views to the delta. Directing the commercial area towards the centre and entering from the main access points, leads people in and contains the flow inside. It helps creating an important core for business and commerce.

The residential area comprises high-end apartments with best views towards the Ying River and the city center beyond. The residential buildings have two orientations to optimize both the views towards the river and the sun exposure. Different angles between the buildings avoid blocking the views.

Qinhuangdao HSR Station district

By adding contemporary and green architecture and by inventing and developing a convenient infrastructure for vehicles and pedestrians to cross from one side of the station to the other without interference.
The urban expansion around the station will be seen as proof of a tolerant, modern and smart city, adding both mature and charming features to the city image.

RhineScheme’s task was to design the non-residential areas only.
The northern intervention site occupies a total area of 9.3 ha; the smaller south site has 3.4 ha.
The functions inside the southern area interact as a small town, with a five star hotel, office towers and commercial street, where people have a pleasant stay, workplaces and shopping facilities directly connected to the HSR train station. The uses are organized around a series of interconnected plazas forming a semi-circle with focus on the train station.

The northern areas welcome the passengers with a pair of super high-rise towers, both 205 meters tall. These twin towers create an iconic landmark in the new city skyline.
The further north is marked by mainly residential areas, where low-rise commercial streets along the Central Avenue and the avenue surrounding the train station offer convenient shopping and leisure facilities.

Tianjin Culture Park | Building Guidelines

The underlying master plan of the Cultural Centre – first prize of an international urban planning competition in 2008 – focused on the Park itself.
The site encompasses an area measuring about 1 km² with a 10 ha newly created lake at the centre. The vast territory offered the possibility to create something like a representative ‘garden salon’ for the whole city.
To fulfill its public function, a core area with the dimensions of about 400 x 1200 meters has been kept free of any buildings, a generous, grand open space commensurate with the scale of the city, able to accommodate a variety of public events.

A large lake is core feature and major attraction offering a lot of amenity potential, as well as being a major ecological anchor for the site. Walking on the lakeside delight the senses as does the contrast between different areas where the lake has an architectural edge with promenade spaces, or soft, naturalistic, contoured shorelines where nature takes center stage.

The “Central Park” is framed by a pearl necklace of outstanding cultural buildings to the south and east, and by a commercial building spine to the north.
The encompassing buildings – consciously kept at a human scale – make up for an adequate, modest and low-rise architectural ‘stage setting’ of the park area, supported only in the background by the inevitable high-rises in the skyline of Chinese cities.

The lake in its heart is accompanied by elevated terraces, on the north side following a huge arc-shaped promenade covering a shopping mall and facilities for the youth, in the south forming a more formal public boulevard lined by museums, library, and theatres.
The Eastern edge creates the potential for spatial drama: A vast flight of steps in line with the glazed building front of the Grand Theatre is closing the frame of a park with almost rectangular contours.

The urban layout creates a cultural district of international esteem, integrating existing cultural and administrative buildings, and incorporating a whole series of new facilities -cultural, public, commercial ones – as well a complex public transportation hub.
A dynamic set of cultural spaces (indoor and outdoor) have been created that are interconnected and unified through the artful use of water as the core design element.
A vast urban promenade winds through the site, with its unique focal point and simultaneously the most dramatic viewing point along the lakeshore front of the Grand Theatre that is embracing the entire park composition.