Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
Xichong is situated at the southernmost end of Dapeng Peninsula, Shenzhen. The representative three-kilometer long white beach belt makes it one of the most fascinating places in the Great Bay Area, where ecological resources, indigenous cultures, and bucolic textures are encompassed to form a symbiotic continuity.
The project was awarded with a 2021 Green Good Design® Award by The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum.
The most destructive disaster encountered in Xichong area is storm surge. It has constantly threatened the shoreline’s security, decreased water resource quality, and interrupted the biological network’s diversity.
In addition, due to the inevitable development in the future, the on-going threats to ecosystem fragility and population outflow of the village will accelerate the process of deteriorating precious ecological and cultural resources.
Therefore, the company proposes protective development and immersive experience as the company’s core design concepts to enhance the site’s resilience and vitality.
The three strategic categories are implemented to tackle the interferences in the coastal system, riparian system, and the sponge city system.
First, the resilience of the costal system is rejuvenated through building up islands that are 500 meters away from the shoreline, retreating windbreaks that are 300 meters away from the beach, adjusting the coastal section, repairing 20% of the riparian buffer zone, and restoring a healthy sand dune ecosystem.
Second, the robustness of the riparian system is reinforced by restoring the natural texture of the river, rebuilding 15% of riverbank wetland, and preserving the mangrove floral that is capable of reducing 66% of tide height.
Third, the city’s permeability is through introducing a blue-green infrastructure based on the sponge city system to alleviate the pressures of cloudbursts.
Immersive experiences are carried out through the introduction of brand-new tourism-related industries and the preservation of original village texture and culture.
The team proposes three themed sightseeing routes that connect various villages and scenic spots.
Tourists can take an electricity-motored shuttle to explore the site while limiting the number of vehicles and parking spaces.
In addition, the concept of the “co-living” pattern is applied to the villages, where the inner regions of the villages are divided into a commercial area and a residential area.
Moreover, the community is revitalized through the connection of the management hubs of the areas. This can show the interplay among tourists, newcomers, and local residents.
Xichong will become an epitome through the protective development mode and immersive tourist experience.
It represents an exciting way of interaction between humans and nature and reconciles an equilibrium between ecological protection and human activities.
Landscape Architects: ISA Internationales Stadtbauatelier, Beijing, China and Stuttgart, Germany
Client: Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China