Merit Award
One Shenzen Bay
Shenzhen, P.R. China
Lead Landscape Architect: Blake Sanborn
Client: Parkland Real Estate Development Co. Ltd
How can we design cities to accommodate population growth without sacrificing a connection to nature? This project, One Shenzhen Bay, seeks to strike the balance by prioritizing communal open space and creating a vertical landscape. Shenzhenäó»s population has increased from 30,000 in 1970 to 12.5 million today. This unprecedented growth demands that designers find innovative ways to introduce the restorative powers of landscape into the urban arena.
Our design team inserted over 3 acres of gardens on structure that cater to multi-generational families. Here elders care for the young in gardens that include playgrounds that are carefully integrated into strolling gardens. Busy tech workers come home to serene courtyards where water, light, and vegetation are composed and tranquil. Design inspiration stems from the natural beauty of the surrounding mountains and placid waterways but the character of the project is intentionally abstract. As surrounding developments race to build bigger LED screens and maximize development footprints, this project took a different approach. In a sea of chaos, One Shenzhen Bay is an island of calm.
