henning larsen masterplans 'sustainable and livable' shenzhen development

henning larsen, alongside two chinese firms, has won an international contest to design a vast new neighborhood in shenzhen. often referred to as china’s silicon valley, shenzhen is a coastal city home to tech giants such as huawei, tencent, and ZTE. however, the city’s existing business districts were developed kilometers away from the waterfront, resulting in a separation between the metropolis and the sea. ‘our design aims to make shenzhen the waterfront city it should always have been,’ says claude godefroy, partner and design director of henning larsen’s hong kong office.

all images courtesy of henning larsen

henning larsen’s competition-winning scheme for ‘shenzhen bay headquarters city’ seeks to forge a new relationship with the coastline. ‘to create an attractive waterfront we brought commercial and cultural facilities meters away from the seashore, so citizens will finally be able to enjoy the atmosphere of shenzhen bay in an activated urban environment, like in sydney, singapore or copenhagen,’ godefroy continues.

to create a green, sustainable, and livable environment, pedestrians take priority over cars. as part of the plans, vehicles are relegated to an extensive underground network of highways, roads, and parking. meanwhile, all the basement levels of the district are interconnected in a network of retail arcades and sunken plazas, replacing the need for out-sized shopping malls above ground. in lieu of the massive shopping malls traditionally sitting beneath the tall buildings, the architects propose a porous urban fabric composed of smaller buildings sitting in between the towers. at eye level, this urban typology offers a human scale with narrow alleys and small plazas.

this porous urban fabric also allows effective urban ventilation by making use of the sea breeze, which can contribute to cool the district during hot summer months. other heat-reducing measures include the integration of 10,000 trees, roof gardens, and whitewashed streets. ‘the success of this district depends largely on our capacity to reduce the heat in the public realm, especially when considering climate change,’ explains claude godefroy. ‘we know by experience that our initiatives can reduce the heat within the district by 5-8 degrees compared to the surrounding city. the added comfort level will encourage citizens to use the public realm.’

large-scale art installations seek to attract attention from afar, while the seafront will house larger cultural venues for performing arts and exhibitions. furthermore, an ambitious plan to impose public and cultural venues at the pinnacle of the tallest towers will create a ‘skyline of art’ — defining the overall image of the entire district.

the shenzhen bay masterplan offers a range of shared working spaces in both dedicated buildings and integrated in the public realm. the dedicated co-working buildings are spread out in the masterplan and offer independent access, larger floorplates, internal atriums, and access to amenities such as coffee shops, gym, and shared meeting rooms. henning larsen will now refine the design further before presenting the final masterplan.

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architect: henning larsen architects
name: shenzhen bay headquarters city
location: shenzhen, china
status: competition-winning proposal