A River Reborn
{"autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"8000","speed":"1000","arrows":"true","dots":"false","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}
{"autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"8000","speed":"1000","arrows":"true","dots":"false","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}

DETAILS

LocationGuangdong, Shenzhen, China
ClientShenzhen Urban Planning, Land and Resources Commission
Size13 km2

The Buji River urban review master plan integrates strategies of recreation, reconnection, culture, and ecology to bring the river back to the people of Shenzhen. Based on a restored Buji River ecosystem, the urban review master plan for this flourishing environment aims to reconnect the river with the city.

The program is to be implemented at three scales. At a city scale, a new green road network connects the Buji River and the city. At an urban scale, a vibrant waterfront hub with terraced water access and an amphitheater opens up the city toward the river with a dynamic three-dimensional bridge system to provide much-needed access to the river. Building forms are integrated within the river terminus, punctuating the mixed-use transit district. At a larger site scale, river banks will be reimagined with boardwalks, outlooks, terraced river banks, rock gardens, and floating gardens to encourage a peaceful or playful river experience. The greenway network extends into the neighborhoods and connects to the overall landscape system.

Related Projects

Greening Houston’s Freeways

As Houston’s Downtown has developed and expanded over many decades, public green space has been increasingly constrained by several interstate routes: primarily I-59, -45, and -69. These thoroughfares, while essential for commuters, have left little room for workers and nearby residents to enjoy unimpeded access to their locale’s adjacent trailways and bayous,...

Nanhu New Country Village

China’s rapid urbanization over the past several decades has radically diminished its agricultural landscapes and labor force, focusing instead on industrial and technological advancements. The Nanhu New Country Village brings a contemporary approach to integrating agriculture and residences in a village setting, enhancing existing rural character, and improvi...

Santana Row

SWA provided full landscape architectural services for the development of a neo-traditional town center near downtown San Jose. The client’s vision called for a variety of design styles to create a town center with an impression of growth over time. This theme is expressed in building elevations as well as landscape design. The restaurants and boutique r...

Downtown Cairo Planning & Revitalization

The Khedive’s Cairo is often referred to as the heart of modern Cairo.  Laid out by Ismail Pacha in the late 19th century, the Khedive’s Cairo was a physical manifestation of the governmental and societal evolution that the Khedive envisioned for Egypt.  Like many American and European cities, time and intense pressures of popul...

South Waterfront Greenway

A bold new plan for the area along the Willamette River includes a 1-1/2 mile extension of the City’s downtown’s parks and the reclamation of the river’s edge for public recreation. Working closely with the City of Portland, developers, and natural resource advocates, the design team devised a rational plan that places access and activity in targeted nodes wit...

Lewis Avenue

In a city renowned for fantasy, the design of Las Vegas’ Lewis Avenue celebrates the local desert landscape and affirms the street as part of a real-world working district. It was one of the first projects to be implemented in Mayor Oscar B. Goodman’s 2000 Las Vegas Downtown Centennial Plan, aimed at revitalizing the historic downtown core. The City asked SWA,...

Yuzhu Riverfront Mixed-Use Development

Positioned along the Pearl River, Yuzhu’s landscape is shaped by the layered forces of geography, history, and industrial memory. The Yuzhu Riverfront Mixed-Use Development is organized along a north–south framework: a vibrant commercial and retail core anchors the waterfront, while the southern district is defined by ecological richness and a high-quali...

NOAH Ethnographic Village

Armenia has set an initiative to increase global tourism and develop a site within its capital city with majestic views of Mount Ararat, where Noah’s Ark is purported to have landed. SWA developed a strategic plan based on several principles derived from the existing context of the site: first, to capitalize its proximity to important landmarks that allow for ...