Building Investment (March-April 2021)

Artist impression: The The six clusters of the new Chengdu Future City will
striate educational, residential, and scientific functions while adhering to
the site’s existing topography and ecology.
(Source: OMA)
Artist impression: All the clusters will be car free, with a scale to
ensure that all places within can be reached within ten minutes.
(Source: OMA)
hills and follows the site’s topography and spatial structure.
The International Education Park, to span over 460,000 sqm,
will include education programmes for multiple universities,
dormitories, public programme, national laboratories and
innovation offices.
Talking about the different sections of the masterplan, OMA
explains: “Inspired by the Lin Pan villages in Chengdu – traditional
rural settlements that practice small scale farming and deploy
ancient irrigation systems – the masterplan will be divided into six
clusters, each highlighting a specific architectural typology defined
by its programme, as well as its relationship with the topography
and local water systems”.
The Living cluster, with commercial programme on the ground
level and residential developments above, will feature a reservoir
at its centre to evoke the water elements on site.
The University cluster will feature buildings with landscaped
terraces that resemble hills. These terraces will offer outdoor,
dynamic spaces for academic activities. This cluster will also
include a biofiltration system, where the large roof areas of the
buildings will become rain gardens, filtrating water and collecting
it in underground storage tanks and detention ponds. This cluster
will be connected through a network of walkways and cycle paths
to the Laboratory cluster. Located in a wetland area, it will provide
research gardens taking advantage of the site’s conditions.
Farming systems will be installed on roofs of the buildings, which
will house facilities for innovative experiments. Also situated in a
wetland area, the Market cluster will be an elevated grid structure
with commercial and public facilities at the ground level, and
residential developments and offices above. This cluster will be
characterised by its use of hydropower.
The Public cluster will be a Transport Oriented Development
(TOD) with public spaces and support research, exhibition
and production program. It will reinforce the identity of the
masterplan by integrating nature and architecture: an existing
water basin will be built into a science and technology park. The
central area of this cluster will be an elevated, circular volume
where all trains and transportation facilities will connect. Below
will be a space for landscape and greenery.
The Government cluster will sit on top of a hill along a river.
Five office buildings will surround a central block, all of which will
be connected by walkways extending into the landscape. The
central volume will feature a public plaza, and the surrounding
ones will include plant incubators alongside wetland incubators.
All the clusters will be car free, with a scale to ensure that
all places within can be reached within ten minutes. They will
be connected with the train station and surrounding urban
developments through a smart mobility network for automated
vehicles. Defined by clusters integrating architecture and
landscape, the masterplan will result in a dynamic environment
that will inspire innovative ideas.
(Source: stirworld.com / e-architect.com)
Mar-Apr 2021 | www.b-i.biz 29