Foster + Partners has unveiled its design for a new master-planned center for the Chinese city of Hangzhou. Organized around a central landscaped axis, the master plan is described by the firm as a “green and interconnected mixed-use quarter.”
The central axis is intended as a “leafy spine” guiding visitors through the district, bookended at each end by green space. While the north end holds a public park, a wetland in the south is connected to a new cultural hub.
The axis itself holds several cultural centers, including a public library, exhibition hall, and galleries. Massing gradually steps up towards the axis, creating a defined skyline while seeking to “respect the site’s natural surroundings” as well. The density also increases around public transport hubs to encourage public transit use.
“The master plan is organized around a 2.5-kilometer central axis that runs the full length of the site, from north to south,” explains Bruno Moser, Head of Urban Design at Foster + Partners. “The axis intersects with different bodies of water, generating five distinctive zones with unique characteristics. Each zone celebrates the city’s relationship with water in its various forms, from streams and lakes to canals and wetlands.”
News of the scheme comes in the same week that Foster + Partners and BIG were reported to be involved in a master plan rebuilding effort for Antakya, Turkey, after the area was severely impacted by an earthquake earlier this year. Earlier in October, the firm unveiled its design for the Ellison Institute of Technology campus in Oxford, while also releasing new interior photography of the MOL Headquarters they designed in Budapest.
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