MVRDV's shenzhen terraces wins competition for a new 'urban living room'

with a scheme that focuses on sustainability, MVRDV has been awarded first prize in an international competition to design a new mixed-use center in shenzhen‘s universiade new town. developed in collaboration with landscape designers openfabric,‘shenzhen terraces’ will create a new multi-level urban living room in the heart of the vibrant university neighbourhood.

all images © atchain

designed by MVRDV for shimao group, the project spans an area of 1,090,384 ft2 (101,300 m2) and covers an extensive program, which includes a small gallery, library, and outdoor theater. selected from 27 other entries, the main concept behind the winning proposal is to merge the existing landscape with the new development by the use of stacked plateaus for the various buildings.

the organic, horizontal lines of shenzhen terraces provides a welcome contrast against the verticality of the surrounding high-rise buildings. as these curving forms overlap one another, they afford plenty of space for green terraces, where visitors gain shade themselves from the hot sun under the deep overhangs. in addition to creating an outdoor place to enjoy the view, these balcony elements also offer space for plants and water basins that cool the verandas and establish a climate buffer to the interiors. at certain points, the terraces dip to the floor level, forming connections between the various floors and doubling as small outdoor auditoriums.

in other places, the façades are pushed inwards to emphasize entrances and create recognizable places within the scheme to help visitors orient themselves. the largest building – which includes a bus terminal, conference center, and entrepreneurship center on the east of the site – has a carved-out middle section to create an open-air atrium. finally, bridging elements are introduced between the various buildings, turning the second floor into a continuous route and connecting it with the surrounding developments. these ties intend to knit shenzhen’s newest urban living room into its context, making it one with the city and offering access for all.

‘shenzhen has developed so quickly since its origins in the 1970s’, says MVRDV founding partner winy maas. ‘in cities like this, it is essential to carefully consider how public spaces and natural landscape can be integrated into the densifying cityscape. the urban living room of the shimao shenkong international center will be a wonderful example of this, and could become a model for the creation of key public spaces in new town developments throughout shenzhen. it aims to make an area that you want be outside, hang out and meet, even when it is hot – a literally cool space for the university district, where all communication space can be outside. it will truly be a public building.’

the design’s landscaping, developed in collaboration with openfabric, echoes the pebble-like forms of the terraces above to create patches of greenery and public programming between pedestrian routes. these patches host planting that imitates the sub-tropical natural forests of the region, mixed alongside features such as grassy hills, palm tree-filled plazas, public art, reflective pools, and activity zones for pursuits such as climbing or table tennis.

the landscaping also extends to the roofs of the buildings, with a green lawns that are accessible to the users occupying the areas that are not covered with photovoltaic panels. the abundant planting and water features reduce the local temperature and provide habitat for urban wildlife, while gardens and rainwater collection generate food and water resources. the concrete used in the buildings themselves will be made using recycled concrete as the aggregate.

overall, MVRDV’s shenzhen terraces aims to bring vitality and innovation to the area through a seamless integration of landscape, leisure, commerce, and culture. located in the heart of the longgang district at the meeting point of high-rise housing, commercial complexes, and sports and educational facilities, the site is ideally located to serve as a defining public space within the region. combining a pedestrian-friendly landscape with a mixture of functions and public transport, shenzhen terraces is aims to become a sustainable hub for the surrounding area.

project info:

project name: shenzhen terraces

location: shenzhen, china

year: 2019

client: shenzhen shimao xin li cheng industry co.,ltd.

size and programme: 95,000 m2 (1,022,571.5 ft2) mixed-use

architect: MVRDV

founding partner in charge: winy maas

director: gideon maasland

associate design director: gijs rikken

design team: sanne van manen, irgen salianji, shengjie zhan, luca beltrame, katarzyna maria ephraim, cas esbach, hengwei ji, dongmin lee, yannick macken, giuseppe mazzaglia, siyi pan, sen yang, jiani you, daan zandbergen

partners:

landscape architect: openfabric

cost calculation: shanghai xinyuan construction engineering consulting co., ltd