TLS + SOM's urban landscape for china's xiong’an new area brings people closer to nature

in collaboration with SOM (skidmore, owings & merrill LLP), TLS (tom leader studio) has been announced as winners of an international competition to plan the ‘boot area’ of china‘s xiong’an new area. the successful project, selected from more than 200 entries, focuses on creating an international-standard masterplan while still ensuring relevance to the chinese context. additionally, the landscape design by TLS aims to complement and define the proposed urban environment and essentially bring nature back into people’s daily lives.

all images courtesy of TLS

the concept behind the winning project centers on the notion of a ‘city for life.’ what may seem to be an open-ended theme has directed the design by TLS to principally consider how people’s lives are affected by their context. with this in mind, part of the plan is woven around the existing ‘baiyangdian’ freshwater lake beside the site. by envisioning the new city alongside forests, wetlands and waterways, the scheme intends to return to ‘ecological living’. forging a direct relationship with nature, the team propose to provide residents with a better quality of life and well-being.

as can be seen from the images, the proposed landscape is characterized by the trees that populate the shoreline. the planting of these trees intends to invite nature, and the wildlife that may live there, into the urban environment. in addition to providing areas of shading and cleaner air, this design element aims to provide biological diversity with various flora and fauna, while also creating a ‘sustainable backbone’ of the city.  

TLS’s landscape design has also been informed by the idea of ’24 solar terms’ – which refers to china’s most delicate expression of nature. a notion which is deep-rooted in chinese culture, aims to bring an awareness of changing seasons and living conditions of animals and plants. with this in mind, the plan considers each passing season and effectively complements the shift from warmer, lighter months to colder, darker ones. overall, with an abundance of greenery threaded into the masterplan, TLS envisions a ‘new paradigm’ for the natural chinese urban landscape.

tom leader of TLS studio comments: ‘when we first thought about what will make this city exceptional in the world, we asked ourselves these questions: how people will live here in a new way? how can their lives integrate with nature and baiyangdian? how will the new residents establish their social fabric? what cultural legacy will inform these new social spaces?’

project info:

project name: ‘xiong’an new area’

location: xiong’an, china

design: skidmore, owings & merrill LLP (SOM) and tom leader studio (TLS)

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom