The project site, located close to South Nanjing transportation hub,
acts as a gate between the old Nanjing City and the new developing
industrial area. The site is equally divided by 2 hectares of public
green area, located on the axis that connects the Yangtze River and the
railway station central plaza.
Although the 8 plots designated for this new mixed use development were
clearly delineated by streets, the project manages to fuse them into a
continuous walk – able urban space. The central green space spreads
throughout the other 8 sites, connecting the public squares on each plot
through pedestrian routes designed using pavement, hinting at site
interconnectivity.
Also, the urban pedestrian area is spread over 3 layers of roof gardens
that share the view to the central park. The Functional layout includes
offices, commerce and hotels and serviced apartments. Nanjing City is
defined by some important natural elements such as springs, rivers,
lakes and forest.
The Yangzi River crosses the city from west to east. Also, the Xuanwu
Lake, Qinhuai River and Jinchuan River contribute to the unique natural
landscape of the city. An old Chinese proverb says that ‘the best things
are like the water: water is softness and water is hardness’.
Seeing the importance of this element, the original idea of the scheme
comes from water and develops into a unique concept as ‘glaring stone
and flowing water’- the unique contrasting temperament of the city.
An important design criteria for active and efficient urban communities
is to design for transit, biking and pedestrian mobility, not around the
car transit – in other words, design using narrower streets and smaller
blocks, with active, useful and interesting street fronts.
The current pattern of development in China is based on large
development blocks, often 500 m by 500 m in size and a network of wide
arterial streets. We believe that this type of urban design has a
negative impact on retail activity and transit usage.
In order to make this new development more sustainable, flexible and
energy efficient we used design tools and practices such as networks of
paths and streets that promote walking, mixed-use zoning comprising a
mix of different building types, activities and social classes and
considering a 24 hour occupation of the urban area, diversity developed
around a central ‘green’ space. Courtesy of UA Studio 7.
South Nanjing Station City / Graphic files:
Location: Nanjing, China
Architect: UA studio 7
Project directors: Zesong Shi, Sheng Zhang
Project manager: Jungang Zhou
Project Team: Xueqiong Du, Shun Yin, Yanghong Cai, Zhenlong Ma, Mingshang Gao, Yulin Ye, Ke Zhang, Dong Yao, Xuehua Yan, Jose, Yuan Yao
Land area: 95465.60 ㎡
Building area: above 512167.25 ㎡
Underground: 259598.00㎡
Year: 2014
