The firm is very proud to be the winner of ISOCARP – Merit Award for Excellence Winner for the Yangyuan urban project in Wuhan.
The ISOCARP Award for Excellence (AfE) rewards plans in design phase as well as projects in progress or already implemented and is open to a wide range of professionals and institutions operating in the domain of urban and regional planning.
Operational urban project to convert the historic industrial district of Yangyuan in Wuhan
This detailed operational urban project aims to create a quality living environment for 150,000 future residents in the most densely populated district of downtown Wuhan.
Situated on the banks of the Yangtze River, the site is marked by numerous remnants of the past industrial era. In the past, it was a strategic crossroads for rail and river transport, and a key area for heavy industry. After more than half a century of urban development, industry gradually left the town, leaving behind this industrial enclave on the water’s edge, with ideal natural conditions but dotted with railway lines. The city centre gradually expanded around this industrial wasteland, increasing the surrounding urban density and making urgent urban renewal necessary, firstly to meet the housing and office needs of 150,000 inhabitants, and secondly to provide a safe and comfortable public space, while enhancing the value of the land.
The project concept is based on the idea of transforming yesterday’s ‘industrial rust belt’ into an ‘industrial embroidery belt’ for the future. Our design draws on the local context, transforming the ubiquitous railway lines into linear public spaces, linking the fragmented neighbourhoods of the past into a coherent whole.
Taking our inspiration from the railway tracks, we have integrated the blue and green fabric in the form of ‘water lines’ and ‘plant lines’ that intersect with the rails, breaking with the conventional idea of a public space in a major axis perpendicular to the river. In this way, we have created a multi-dimensional linear public space, integrating urban fabrics at different scales. In this dense city, we have designed a space on a human scale, while integrating the open-ground framework, hydraulic safety, pedestrian continuity and pedestrian permeability throughout the urban space.
The Urban Renewal of Yangyuan Industrial Heritage Area in Wuhan plan aims to realize integrative development of industry, academia,
research and application and make the area an urban renewal demonstration unit with inclusiveness and inheritance, by turning the heritage area into a whole-life-cycle industrial community of digital and intelligent engineering that integrates engineering design, digital and intelligent services, and cultural experience by combining science and education, exhibition and communication.
Client: Wuhan NRCU (Wuhan Natural Resources Conservation and Utilization Center)
Key performance indicators:
128ha study area,
Project area 28ha,
Built GFA 1,180,000 m².
Programmes:
Housing and social housing, schools, nurseries, shops, offices, hotels, cultural facilities.
