Will Chengdu’s Science City become a futuristic utopia of self driving cars and green spaces? Here’s what you need to know about China’s boldest city project to date
In the east of China’s Sichuan province, the arrival of a new airport is driving the development of an innovation area on the outskirts of Chengdu. The pilot project or “launch area” envisioned by the planning bureau of Chengdu’s Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone will become known as the Future Science and Technology City.
After a hard-fought competition, it was announced this month that the master plan and architectural design competition has been won by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and German architecture studio GMP. The two practices will begin by designing the first phase of the overall master plan that will eventually house an International Educational Park in the west and a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) in the southeast.
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OMA partner Chris Van Duijn says the 4.6 sq km master plan “hopes to provide an alternative to the typical master plan based on the traditional car-oriented road network.
“We intend to create a design rooted in the geography of the site. We hope that the connection between architecture and landscape will result in a dynamic environment for education that will inspire innovative ideas.”
According to design website Stirworld.com, the buildings under the master plan will have landscaped terraces that are imagined to become almost an extension of the natural landform of the site.
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The 4.95 million sq ft international education park that will form a section of the science city will include educational programming for multiple universities and dormitories, national laboratories and innovation offices.
The complex also includes a landmark building measuring 860,000 sq ft that will include a university library, student centre, auditoriums, laboratories and more.
Van Duijn explains that the Dutch firm’s inspiration for the structures lies in the traditional Linpan rural settlements in Chengdu famous for practising small scale farming and deploying ancient irrigation systems. The entire area will eventually include six clusters, each highlighting a specific architectural typology.
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Even more exciting? These car-free clusters will be connected with train stations and surrounding urban developments by a smart mobility network for automated vehicles.
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This article originally appeared on Luxurylaunches.
- OMA – which also designed Beijing’s iconic CCTV headquarters – and German studio GMP have won the bid to design the new city
- The project includes an educational park, epic in its proportions, that will mimic the natural landscape and hopes to ‘inspire innovation’