#33 art district



Year: 2015
Size: 17 ha
Type: masterplan
Status: competition
Location: Dongguan, Guangdong, China
Client: Yongzheng Cultural Group

Partners in charge: Chen Chen, Nicola Saladino, Federico Ruberto
Design team: Yang Xue, Wei Zhao, Wenbo Wu

External collaborator: CC Ltd.



Located in Dongguan, #33 Art District envisions the urban regeneration of an industrial site of 16.6 hectares into a campus for creative industry – a dynamic hub for innovation, collaboration and production – that could play an important role in Dongguan’s transition from an industrial to a knowledge-based economy. The masterplan on the one hand aims at introducing new programs into the vacant buildings, forming new functional clusters, on the other hand it retrofits public urban spaces and landscape elements into the existing urban fabric. Through a series of interventions at different scales, the design of the campus redefines new ways of living, working and learning that span both indoor and outdoor.

An ecological framework integrates storm water management, phyto-remediation and urban farming on multiple levels, structuring the new public spaces. In a climate with heavy rain precipitations, the flatness of the site could generate risks of urban flooding. The different drainage conditions are studied and evaluated in order to introduce a series of rain gardens and permeable surfaces linked by bio-swales that help slow down surface runoff at extreme storm events, collecting and cleaning rain water for irrigation purposes. Phyto-remediation uses successive phases of planting to cleanse the soil contamination inherited from previous industrial activities (electronic, textile, manufactory industries were active onsite). Before the ground is completely transformed into clean soil, urban farming is introduced on roof gardens that can be adopted by the adjacent communities.

The overall green infrastructure system not only responds to the environmental challenges of the current brown field, but also helps create diverse outdoor spatial experiences that provide a unique identity to the campus. Pedestrian accessibility and leisure activities are enhanced through a series of interconnected elements. A “loop” cuts through the buildings on the ground floor, forming a continuous path activated 24/7, even after all the offices close at night. It links all the daily lifestyle attractors (café, gym, grocery, etc.) for the people that work and live on campus and connects to the adjacent plazas to create a more fluid pedestrian experience.

An elevated path runs across the site diagonally providing a multi-layered network of informal meeting areas such as an amphitheater and various public terraces, which ultimately encourage socialization, cross-disciplinary discussion and collaboration. The sky-bridge activates the 2nd floor of the retail areas and leads to the observation tower and a tree-path in the south-west park. The original main street is transformed from a 4-lane vehicle road into a slow traffic corridor where pedestrian paving, bicycle lanes, bio-swales and car lanes interweave providing a more pedestrian-friendly streetscape. Integrated pockets of outdoor sitting areas work with cafes and restaurants along the main axis.

东莞#33艺术小镇项目呈现了一个将占地16.6公顷的旧有工厂区转化为创意产业园区的街区复兴计划。这里将整合创新、协作和生产,成为一个充满活力的社区,并在东莞“从今日世界工厂转化向未来创新性经济”的转变过程中扮演重要角色。该计划不仅提出向旧厂房中引入新业态的愿景,并且试图借此契机精心策划和提升其公共设施与外部空间品质。通过在不同尺度上的空间干预,向已有的街区肌理内植入新的公共空间与景观元素,打破室内外空间界限,重新定义一种新的生活、工作和学习的方式。

整合了雨水管理、棕地植物净化和都市农业的生态策略作为整个公共空间再造的驱动力之一,在不同高度和层次上展开。厂区内地势平坦,方案因而从高程分析出发,在排水不利的高洪涝风险区引入以生物廊道相连的雨洪花园和下渗地面,减少短历时强降雨的雨水外排量而降低对市政排水系统造成的压力,从而整体实现低影响开发。同时,这个连贯一体的雨水管理系统可以收集并净化雨水以供植物灌溉所用。棕地植物净化策略利用植物本身的自净功能分阶段处理不同区域因几十年工业活动(电子,皮革及制作)所带来的土壤污染。在地面土壤得到充分净化前,一系列社区农业将在建筑屋面安全的土壤环境开展。整体的绿色基础设施设计不仅回应了作为棕地的旧工业区在环境方面提出的额外挑战,也将同时为室外公共空间提供丰富多样的体验,这将构成该园区独一无二的特质之一。

步行可达性和体验的提升也是该方案的重要目标之一。方案提出的“步行圈”穿越单体建筑的商业首层,即使在商场关门后仍是一个连续的步道系统。为支持大部分使用者将在园区同时工作和居住的特殊模式,它将一系列日常生活商铺(咖啡厅,健身房,便利店等)联系起来,形成了一个1.0公里的生活方式圈,是贯通整个园区的重要空间线索。同时,因其联通原本被建筑体量打断的各个小广场而提供了更加连贯通畅的步行体验。斜穿整个园区的架空布道则是一个多层次的步行公共空间网络,将一系列可以开展自发会议和头脑风暴的露天剧场、休息区等场所串联在一起,意在为促进跨学科领域的合作和交流创造环境。它同时激活了二层的商业界面,并指向位于西南侧公园的观景塔和公园丛林步道。此外,为提供更为步行友善的街景环境,贯穿场地南北四车道的主路被转化为双车道的慢速轴线。蜿蜒的车道与步行铺地、自行车道、停车、生物廊道交织在一起, 形成更为丰富有活力的步行体验街区。