Jiading Lotus New City Center

Location: Shanghai, China
Site Area: 11.4 sq.km

The challenge of this new urban center is to preserve the existing river system, establish a recognizable symbol and create a new city center that is truly a public space. We proposed to develop the area into three distinctive zones that addresses the specific Jiading urban requirements of 900,000 m2 and 11 public buildings. These three areas consist of the Lotus Area, the Lotus Boulevard and the Civic Spine.

The Lotus: is the area designed with canals and water ways that create a lotus silhouette The central portion accommodates the commercial and office needs while the adjacent areas are designated for high–tech and bio technology industries along with hotel residences.

The Lotus Boulevard: is a north-south crescent strip that establishes a clear definition between the Lotus area and the civic core. It accommodates a pedestrian boardwalk along the water edge, a strip of landscape that exhibits the indigenous recreational activities and a circuit boulevard providing access to 12 public buildings.

The Civic Spine: is the east-west central axis of the urban plan. It comprises of a ring road around a water and island feature connecting the civic buildings and entertaining buildings in this designated area. On the west end of this access is the Jiading civic building and at the east end of the axis is the justice, police and inspection courts.