A unique ecological resource for an otherwise densely-populated urban region, the Xiasha district is a rural, coastal setting outside of Shenzhen. FCHA’s second-prize winning proposal for the masterplan project of Xiasha Wander Bay seeks to strike a balance between the preservation of the site’s pristine ecology and the needs of a four-season tourist town. The new masterplan prioritizes pedestrian and other carbon-free forms of transportation through the introduction of a multi-layer infrastructure of transit, public space, and landscape.
The system we envision buries both parking and vehicular access roads beneath an expansive, wandering promenade that serves as the primary access route for site’s hotels and other amenities, including a ferry terminal, visitor’s center, transport hub, exhibition hall, theatre, and food court. The multi-layered infrastructure of the proposal also informs the economics of the new development. Mass-transit nodes placed along the path help to activate its public spaces without the noise and pollution of car-traffic. By threading the promenade around the site in an Ω-like shape, previously undesirable land further from the beach becomes an easily-accessible place to construct hotels and apartments aimed at tourist interested in both the mountain and seaside activities the site has to offer. My specific role in the project was the design and modeling of all the public buildings and amenities envisioned by the masterplan.
MATTHEW MARANO 