huangpu riverfront

This project re-imagines 700 acres of riverfront close to the center of Shanghai as a new, green, river-based series of neighborhoods and commercial centers. The site consists of a series of denuded wetlands and polluted rivers and creeks, with a few encampments and temples scattered within. The site plan focuses on the raising and the cleansing of water resources via wetlands and landscape conditions, and on making the Huangpu Riverfront the generator for new urban villages. Five fingers of water-landscapes are brought into the site and programmed to offer distinct and complementary activities and characters: River Deck, Culture, Exhibition, Sports and Eco Forest.

These green fingers then give rise to vibrant new neighborhoods at a variety of scales: from an intensely developed new mixed-use and commercial center / downtown to low- and midscale developments with pedestrian-oriented streets and close proximity to nearby parklands and riverfront. Existing natural and cultural resources are integrated into the plan, thus grounding the new neighborhoods in the social and environmental histories of the site.

The project was declared co-winner of an international competition and is being implemented in phases over the next decade. SOM out of Chicago and Shanghai were key collaborators.