The masterplan of Huaxi City Center was designed by MAD. And to develop each part of the masterplan, MAD invited young international architect to collaborate with. It was happen last summer in three-day workshop with unique design approach and result. After 15 years of urban development in China, they want an alternative future for the next cities. One thing that they avoided is copying the skyline of Western cities such in Manhattan and Chicago.
Each architect provided a unique design for a single part of the masterplan, based on their own understanding and interpretation of the local natural and cultural elements. The result is a series of organic individual buildings, growing from the natural environment, and working together to produce a compound of diverse urban activities. In this high density urban environment, the limits of urbanization are controlled and set by nature; the buildings take on the dynamic topography of the site, touching the landscape in a more interactive way.
We’ll see how this utopian vision turns out once you throw in city government, local contractors, etc. And come the Chinese New Year, let’s hope none of these are prematurely destroyed by rogue fireworks, like the one in Beijing was (I roll my eyes whenever I pass what’s left of that some-billion-dollar yet-unfinished building).