Hengqin Island, located in Zhuhai, China, is embedded within a unique and beautiful landscape, and is currently being developed for urban growth throughout the region. Taking cues from the surrounding site, SWA’s master plan intends to capture the essence of the place, and pay homage to its most fundamental landscape elements: the sea, valley, and mountains. SWA takes its inspiration for their plan from these natural landscape elements and uses them as a framework for the development and growth of the island. Henquin’s ultimate goal for the master plan seeks to define a unique environment, focusing on the relationship between water and landscape, and preserves the natural beauty of the site. A saltwater estuary, previously filled between the two islands, is re-introduced in the plan as the physical framework for new urban growth. Waterways ebb and flow through mixed-use neighborhoods, and link to the natural freshwater drainage from the mountains, while smaller neighborhood islands are created that serve to fulfill specific roles, including a multi-modal transportation and shopping center. SWA’s design seamlessly connects water, land, and the larger cultural context of the site to create an ecologically sensitive and aesthetically invigorating island that will serve as an incubator for urban growth throughout the region well into the future.
Hangzhou Grand Canal
For centuries, the Beijing-Hangzhou’s Grand Canal – a staggering 1,000 linear miles which remain the world’s longest man-made waterway – was a lifeline for commerce and communication. The water’s edge was necessary for trade, a logical place to live, and often a driver of innovation. However, as with many waterfronts globally, it eventually fell victim to the...
Kula Belgrade
The landscape of the St. Regis Belgrade creates a dynamic public space at the nexus of several major roadways and the city’s bike and pedestrian waterfront path. Drawing from Belgrade’s urban culture, natural context, and layered history, the design introduces a central urban waterfront space at the heart of Kula Belgrade, celebrating a new destination for the...
St Johns Riverfront Design Incentive Strategy
As part of a larger effort to establish its downtown as a center for business and culture during a period of unprecedented growth, the City of Jacksonville was in need of a design and investment strategy for its underused waterfront along both banks of the St. Johns River. The design team’s approach entails both a large-scale and a node-based strategy, identif...
Changsha Baxizhou Island
Over many decades, public agencies in China have sought to solve growing flooding issues in a defensive way: fortifying and hardening river edges, raising levee heights, and ultimately separating the people from historical connections to the water. With an understanding of river flow processes and volumes and of wetland and native forest ecology, this separati...