© MVRDV
MVRDV, in collaboration with ISA Architecture, has revealed the designed of the Zhangjiang Future Park, a park and community center for the workers and residents of Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Pudong, Shanghai, China. Fully integrated into a rolling park landscape will be a library, an art centre, a performance centre and a sport center – four civic programs that are currently lacking in the neighborhood.
© MVRDV
Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park was established in 1992 as a complex for companies operating within the fields of tech and innovation. Twenty years later, and the neighborhood has become a center of both business and life, with more than 4,000 companies employees 100,000 workers whose families live largely nearby.
Never planned, however, were public facilities for gathering and recreation – a scenario MVRDV’s Future Park sets out to correct. Located on an island at the crossroads of two waterways and valuable green spaces, the masterplan aims to create a new destination that brings nature, culture and entertainment into one comprehensive landscape.
The project is envisioned as a combination of a relaxing, park-like atmosphere and the cultural excitement of a city center. The two conditions are separated through vertical layering, with park lawns above and urban plazas beneath. Buildings nestled into the landscape act as the knuckle between the two settings, providing the space for cultural and recreational activities while housing additional park space on their roofs. Paths on both levels allow for ease of circulation between program elements.
© MVRDV
© MVRDV
“The building volumes gently blend into the landscape and provide the park with activities,” explain MVRDV. “Multiple access points converge towards the main central square, providing each a different perception of the site. The design proposal forms an intriguing silhouette, a recognizable collection of buildings that emerge from the park: a crack in the landscape that produces urban life. People are able to walk not just around the buildings, but even on top of them, therefore experiencing radically different perspectives of the site.”
“The green roofs programme is as lively and diverse as the park programme and strongly integrated with the buildings’ functions.”
The 10,000-square-meter library will offer a variety of social and reading spaces arranged around a central atrium, envisioned as an extension of the central plaza. Across the plaza, the art center will offer 5,000 square meters of natural-light-flooded exhibition space.
Next door, the 10,000 square meter performance center will house two theaters: a larger 700-seat auditorium for plays and concerts, and a 300-seat theater for smaller events. Other areas will include spaces for music, lecture halls, dining facilities and lounges.
The final main element is the sports center, which will offer 10,000 square meters of sports facilities including an olympic-sized swimming pool and large glass-walled sports hall. Courts and fields will continue out into the park and onto the rooftop.
The project is slated for completion in early 2019.
News via MVRDV.
- Architects: MVRDV, ISA Architecture
- Location: Pudong, Shanghai, China
- Design: MVRDV – Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries
- Design Team: Nathalie de Vries, Wenchian Shi, Marta Pozo Gil with Marco Gazzola, Lorenzo Mattozzi, Enrico Pintabona, Cai Zheli, Chiara Girolami, Shengjie Zhan, Chi Li, Cosimo Scotucci, Wenzhao Jia, Emma Rubeillon, Chi Zhang, Jammy Zhu, Ray Zhu and Shuting Zhou
- Visualization: Antonio Luca Coco, Paolo Mossa Idra, Costanza Cuccato, Davide Calabrò, Pavlos Ventouris and Tomaso Maschietti
- Co Architect: ISA Architecture
- Landscape Architect: Openfabric
- Designers: Francesco Garofalo, Jacopo Gennari Feslikenian and Maria Teresa Pinna
- Client: Zhangjiang Group Co. Ltd.
- Area: 56000.0 m2
- Photographs: MVRDV