PINGSHA NEW TOWN

Pingsha New Town, located at the western coast of Zhuhai, will contribute to the rise of Zhuhai into the league of globally known cities in the Pearl River Delta besides Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The urban planning focuses on three fundamental questions: how to attract and develop new industry and program; how to create an urban structure that is ecological and liveable, and how to design a public central area for the new residents and the people who will commute for work.

The essence is how public space creates quality and how the new development will benefit from this quality. The public space system connects people, rather than buildings and creates an accessible river park, rather than just green infrastructure. The public space defines the three character zones: central park, urban center and beach. Mixed-use is not simply a fashionable concept but considers the difference between the locations in the master plan.

Zhuhai is a coastal city where Zhu River meets the sea. High dense water network in PRD gave Zhuhai a frame of Sea City. Pingsha should continue this relationship to sea and ecological corridor is from this consideration. We have to realize that the site area is rich in ecological resource which needs to correspond to its context. Meanwhile, more natural shape river design will as­sist in integrations between green spaces & rivers, meanwhile emerging of active waterfronts.

After structuring the ecological network, nodes are expected to build up the con­nection among public spaces. Layered slow transport system connects these important nodes and forms the integrative community network. Meanwhile, an organically shaped central green axis will be the physical link between the ocean and the green parks adjacent to the North border of the site and will represent the green lung of the entire Pingsha New Town development.

Commercial and business areas are mostly grouped along the central green axis into two clusters close the ocean. A diverse vari­ety of other business typologies such as high-rise mixed-use buildings and courtyard office buildings, are more evenly distributed on the site and supported by community facilities and by network of public space and green areas.

Functions corresponding to the ma­rine life, combined with the existing resources of the site, help us to de­termine the functional distribution of Pingsha New Town. The new offer of functions and highlights will provide the district with a recognizable and beautiful new image.

The most prominent architectural landmark of the whole development is the Waterfront Commercial Center which combines retail, F&B, entertainment with the functions usually attributed to a community center, such as generous public space on multiple levels for social interactions and indoor and outdoor space for cultural activities.

Integral part of the building is the waterfront pedestrian area linked by a pedestrian bridge to the building and which has been designed to increase the offer of public activities and to enhance the panoramic views towards the ocean.