The Pearl River Delta is the second largest bird migration delta and estuary in Southeast Asia. Preserving and restoring bird and wildlife corridors while also providing regional connectivity, transportation, and development options is at the pinnacle of today’s development challenges. In the Shunde New City Plan, urban development and nature are integrated to form a unique and comprehensive system beneficial to both people and the natural environment. The Shunde New City Plan weaves a constructed wetland delta system into a multi-modal, pedestrian-oriented city. At 72 square kilometers, the plan utilizes the form of a wetland delta to break the city fabric into multiple nodes, with water as the connective tissue between development centers. Between water corridors, the plan contains multiple islands as pedestrian-scaled, mixed-use villages linked by an environmental infrastructure containing greenbelts, water corridors, wetlands, and trails.
A layered transportation network and multiple urban centers serve to create connected yet self-contained units of residential, retail, office, educational, and/or civic spaces. Two major stations consolidate regional rail, local monorail, water taxis, buses, and cars for the region. In addition, a comprehensive trail network parallels the greenbelts, and a water taxi system and a monorail network promote connectivity between the neighborhood centers. Throughout the project, human and environmental sustainability takes center stage. Fine-textured neighborhoods with compact blocks and small street cart-ways contribute to a human-scaled, walkable environment. The plan proposes compact blocks and a fine-scaled network of streets designed as human corridors, augmenting the pedestrian environment and allowing for a more delicate, environmentally-sensitive approach to planning and development. The net effect is a greater number of smaller streets, collectively mitigating traffic while expanding circulation choice. This smaller-grained fabric encourages walkability, reinforces a sense of place, and creates more development parcels and opportunity for architectural variation.
Tata Eco City
At the crossroads of ecology and community, this master plan synergizes a unique blend of spaces that support active lifestyles and foster innovation and creativity. Tata Eco City Master Plan was been developed layer by layer, using a set of strategic design interventions to help ensure that the delicate balance between nature and the built environment is prot...
Downtown Jebel Ali Landscape Master Plan, UAE
Downtown Jebel Ali is a new development located 35 kilometers southwest of Dubai, along an 11 km stretch of Sheikh Zayed Road. Representing the first phase of a major mixed-use development on the outskirts of Dubai, the project includes two high-rise office buildings and two high-rise apartment buildings with access to Sheik Zayed Road. Mixed-use buildings and...
Buffalo Bayou Park
This thoroughly renovated, 160-acre public space deploys a vigorous agenda of urban ecological services and improved pedestrian accessibility, with two new bridges connecting surrounding neighborhoods. The design utilizes channel stabilization techniques, enhancing the bayou’s natural meanders and offering increased resiliency against floodwaters while preserv...
Shekou Promenade
After China reached out to the rest of the world through its open-door policy, Shekou (part of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone) became an important gateway for foreigners to discover the mainland. Its urban public realm, however, suffered from rapid urbanization and lacked attractive parks and facilities for the burgeoning population. With an increased awar...