Platinum Urban Planning and Urban Design · 2020
Lougang City CBD of Taihu Lake CBD for Taihu
by Gad
- A' Design Award 2020 Platinum Winner in Urban Planning and Urban Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: Huzhou City Investment&Development Group
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 899,834
- Verification code D6C3DD35C0 · Verify this award
About Lougang City CBD of Taihu Lake CBD for Taihu
Lougang City CBD of Taihu Lake is an urban design for a new central business district in Huzhou, China. The plan is inspired by the local Lougang irrigation system and its ecological pattern. Located on the southern bank of Taihu Lake, the district includes an internal lake channeled from the lake to form waterfront public spaces. Two pedestrian skywalks connect the transport hub with the skyscraper complex and the exhibition park, separating vehicle traffic from pedestrian flows. The plan also sets aside 132 hectares of ecological area.
This remarkable visualization of gad's Lougang City CBD of Taihu Lake masterplan exemplifies the highest aspirations of contemporary sustainable urbanism, presenting a vision where metropolitan vitality and ecological sensitivity achieve remarkable synthesis. The design emerges from a tradition of integrated planning that traces conceptual lineage to garden city movements while incorporating contemporary understanding of environmental systems, urban ecology, and the psychological dimensions of placemaking. The compositional intelligence of the plan reveals itself through the careful calibration of density gradients, transitioning from intimate human-scaled residential neighborhoods through mid-rise commercial districts to dramatic civic landmarks that establish identity and orientation within the urban field. Technical achievement manifests in the sophisticated response to the existing water system, where natural and engineered waterways become organizing armatures rather than obstacles, creating networks of blue-green infrastructure that provide ecological services, recreational amenities, and microclimate moderation. The landmark tower serves simultaneously as practical vertical density and symbolic aspiration, its organic sculptural form suggesting harmony between human ambition and natural forces. The extensive landscape integration visible throughout the plan suggests commitment to biophilic design principles, recognizing the essential role of nature contact in supporting human wellbeing within urban environments. One might observe how the varied building typologies create visual rhythm and programmatic diversity, while consistent material palettes and scale relationships establish coherent district identity. The atmospheric rendering technique employed captures the luminous quality of lakeside environments while conveying the aspirational character of visionary planning. This masterplan invites contemplation of how thoughtful design might shape communities that support both individual flourishing and collective civic life across generations.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This project is located at the south Tai Lake, not far from the downtown of Huzhou city. Huzhou is known as Lougang irrigation and drainage system. This city is designed to be harmonized with lougang landscape through its identity of new headquarters on the northern and skyscraper complex by the lakeside. To promote integration, the original lakeside avenue which separates the open space and the office buildings from the lakeside proposed to be shifted towards the south, so that an internal lake could be channeled from Taihu Lake to create a series of quality waterfront public realm. Meanwhile, vehicle roads between parks and development areas will be removed to enhance the sense of natural landscape. To create better connectivity and accessibility, the two skywalk platforms connect the transport hub with the skyscraper complex and exhibition park, so that vehicle traffic and pedestrian flows can be separated. Therefore, a sustainable and smart city for 75000 residents and white-collars would be provided, with 132 hectares of ecology area (including a bay, canal and green belt), which a new central business district will be established.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Research areas:about 305 hectares
Core area:about 118 hectares(including headquarters zone, landmark complex and north bay.)
Total CFA:3050000 square metres
Core area CFA:2000000 square metres - Tags
- CBD, Complex, Headquarters, Urban design
- Production Technology
- Base on the site's ecological advantages and urbanization background, This project is trying to create a future city through the adoption of LID(low impact development), multi-layer transportation, as well as Low-carbon technology. LID is realized by the ecological pattern inherited from the trace of the Lougang irrigation system. Multi-layer transportation includes pedestrian skywalks system, above and below ground traffic systems, aiming to create a highly efficient transportation system. Low-carbon technology is used on the architecture and utilities design and construction.
- Design Challenge
- During the design process, the challenge is to create a unique world-class urban downtown paradise. The key is to identify the core value of the site, such as location and Lougang culture from its historical perspective. Another key to the success of this project is the collaboration between the urban design team and the architecture team. Urban designers and architects work together from the initial stage of this project, to make sure the design concept - the city of vitality, can be fully complemented throughout the process of the design activity.
- Project Duration
- The project started in June 2019, and turned into architecture design period. It is located in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province,China
- Operation Flow
- The wide diversity of business activities and the comprehensive functionalities in lougang city will help to create a lakeside activity center for the residents as well as elevate the living quality and land value. Furthermore, the new site will attract many innovative financial businesses in the city, such as green financial businesses. New residents from these new businesses will live and work here and bring more diversity and vitality to the city. Residents in lougang will work in a sustainable office building, jog along the riverside park, and enjoy the theatre entertainment in the culture center.
- Research
- This project is located on the bank of Taihu Lake, there are several cities original from Taihu Lake. Wuxi and Suzhou started developing at lakeside area much earlier than Huzhou. So it’s key to find out the advantage comparing with Wuxi and Suzhou by analogy method, as block size analysis, street scale comparison. The conclusion is that this project does have a chance to take the late developing advantage to create a ecological lakeside city.
- Inspiration
- The first design inspiration is from the Lougang irrigation system which unique to Taihu Lake Plain and represents the identity of Huzhou city of China. Locating at the south bank of Taihu Lake, Huzhou is the only city named after the lake and the only remaining site of the oldest and most complete Lougang System. Finding a way to integrate the high-density nature of Chinese urban development with the ecology culture, to form a brand-new Chinese urban CBD with its own unique identity became the main aspiration of this project. To accentuate such a vision, To accentuate such vision, increase the ecological areas and merge the development plots are the key principles we followed throughout the whole design period.
- Image Credits
- gad
- Patents
- Copyrights belong to gad, 2019.
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