A new style of regeneration
New Wave Xixiang
Location: Shenzhen, China
Client: The People’s Government of Bao’an District, Shenzhen. Urban Planning, Land and Resources Commission of Shenzhen Municipality
Programme: 8.4 km² urban regeneration masterplan
A forgotten part of coastline
Before the exploding development of modern Shenzhen overwhelmed Xixiang neighbourhood the project area was a rural fishing and trading port at the Pearl River. Forgotten relicts of marine and farming history are today nestled under organic layers of factory and early housing development and the bustling urban life. Located in the shadow of Bao’an International Airport, Xixiang will also become a gateway to Shenzhen for cars crossing the Pearl River Delta over the new causeway bridge to Macao. As urban village Xixiang is typical of Shenzhen, but as location it is rather special.
A new wave of regeneration
The motto “New Wave” represents the key goals of our regeneration strategy: to rediscover the relationship of this district to the Pearl River which shaped its history and old culture, to give space for a new life style for this urban village allowing local people to be involved, and to set off positive transformation waves with a more nuanced regeneration approach.
Regeneration toolbox
Rather than whole sale clearance and investment into only a few, large projects, we propose a more diverse transformation strategy. We introduce a multi-scaled toolbox: three regeneration methods differentiate between upgrading, reinvention and new infill development; new style public buildings introduce multifunctional nodes and kick start further change; and a set of mini tools for more surgical improvement to open spaces and buildings in this complex and hype dense urban area.
Stages:
2016 Regeneration masterplan
Awards:
2016 International urban planning competition, 2nd price
Shenzhen Transformation Article
Team:
MLA+: Brechtje Spreeuwers, Martin Probst, Ruizhi Cao, Dearbhla Mulligan, Pinar Bozoglan, Kristian Vukadinovic, Luisa Queiros, Shuning Yang, Cola Zhang
Town planning: Guangdong Urban & Rural Planning And Design Institute
Multimedia: Cola Zhang