Master plan for Cheng Qiao New Town

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Location
Shanghai, China

Island concept The general idea for the development of the Chongming Island is an attractive mixture of landscape with soft tourism areas, nature conservation areas, ecological agriculture and forestry and high tech industry in green areas, a modern New Town which is made attractive through cityscape and architecture. Assuming the part of the urban heart of the island, it has the character of a garden city, but with harbour activities mixed in as well as pleasure boats, cruising ships and cargo ships, thus connecting utility and beauty. Purposes of Cheng Qiao New Town In the first place, Cheng Qiao new town will be the home and workplace of its inhabitants. Moreover, Cheng Qiao New Town will become a weekly or monthly meeting point for all people living on Chong Ming Island, for residents working in agriculture, industry and logistics as well as for tourists from all over the world. With its marina and Yacht harbour, it will be a point of attraction with more than just regional impact. And last but not least, Cheng Qiao will become one of the New Towns in Shanghai that offers residential areas connected by an underground system for people working in Shanghai - and perhaps one day, the other way around as well. Landscape A unique, very beautiful and well cared for landscape dominated by water, open scenery and varied vegetation from pine to palm trees, offers the background for the new town.Street pattern A symbiosis of Chinese traditions and modern urban design creates a street pattern that forms a complex network of small canals and streets. Large axes, wide water features and parks with different characters divide the urban landscape.Street design A hierarchy of seven street types creates a different character for every kind of street, from small residential streets to the main axis between the train station and the new city centre. Wide pavements, cycle paths, green spaces and street lights creates an attractive area for pedestrians as well as for drivers.Architecture A varied architectural language divides the different neighbourhoods. All styles are possible, but the modern understanding of typical Chinese building types like Lilong Houses, Row Houses, Courtyard Houses or freestanding villas is important for creating a characteristic identity for the new town. City skyline The Cheng Qiao New Town skyline is defined by buildings that are lower than the tree-tops (4-5 storeys high). Only specific areas like the river site or the new city centre are marked by towers up to 20 storeys tall. The new centre of Cheng Qiaos is formed by its urban axis, for which different purposes, situations and qualities present themselves. The station in the north forms the prelude, the green culture and entertainment quarter with a grouping of several landmarks marks the end point. Along the boulevard is the reciprocal central purchase area with partly considered passages, restaurants and services such as banks or offices. Toward the canal in the east, the central mixed-usage area changes into urban living at the water. Because of its representative place at the basin of the inland port, the seat of the islands government is located at the centre of the axis. In order to mark this range as the heart of the axle, two gates are set at the point of the seat of government and at the end of the basin. In the east, on the other side of the channel, the Central Business District is on a peninsula surrounded by water. The axis ends in a mix-usage area where the main uses are culture and entertainment. At the end point of the peninsula, which consists of a group of several landmarks, there is a view of the marina, which lies on the virtual continuation of the axis.Residential district The residential district is opened by a central axle on which all public mechanisms and the quarter squares are. The central axle branches off into several development streets which bind into the overarching street system. Life is oriented towards the inward axis and opens up into dead end streets. Water arises mainly along the centres axle and forms an important component to the character of the garden water city. The LiLong houses at the eastern edge of the quarter are locked-in by a green course. Between the blocks are green elevations of different heights. To support the green purchase the block will be dissolved into its structure. In each case, the LiLong-house forms are circumscribed into a gate situation per unit and are connected to it, thus combining tradition and modern trends.City image concept of Chengqiao New Town. Cheng Qiao New Town will become a modern Chinese Garden City with a unique city image and a large sailing- and yacht harbour on the Yang Tze River. A new kind of water city means the modern interpretation of traditional Chinese water cities around Shanghai, like Tong Li and Wu Zhen. A modern Chinese Garden City means the re-interpretation of historical German and English garden cities and the adaptation of traditional Chinese park designs. In doing so, a unique city image is created, a city image that is formed by the combination of natural landscape, architecture and urban design.

Planning area
27.5 sq.km

Inhabitants
200 000

Commissioning party
Shanghai Municipal Planning Bureau

In cooperation with
Shanghai Urban Planning & Design Research Institut, Bertrand Warnier, Paris; Gunter Kölz, Stuttgart

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