Shenzhen Maozhou River Left Financial institution Science and Expertise Park / TJAD Authentic Design Studio
Shenzhen Maozhou River Left Bank Science and Technology Park / TJAD Original Design Studio
Text description provided by the architects. Maozhou River is the largest waterbody system in Shenzhen, flowing through Baoan and Guangming districts. Along the waterway are mostly industrial areas, among which Guangming district is most well-known for being a novel town for hi-tech industries. The Left Bank Science and Technology Park is situated at the Guangming Section of Maozhou River, making it one of the most important public nodes along the 12.8km spanning Maozhou River Greenlane Project. The site is perpendicularly divided by two urban highways. The triangular plot is scattered with temporary storage warehouse. Together with the hardened ground surface, the presence of water is almost unperceivable from the site. What should have been a great waterfront has become a void separating the city and the water.
In 2020, this once forgotten spot is offered a chance for revival as an exhibition center and a themed urban park for science and technology is planned, as well as a chance to re-introduce and embed nature in the site. The footprint of exhibition center is relatively small comparing to the 88,000 sqm triangular site, which means that the site will be mostly open space. Settling the building in a corner of the site or stacking it up vertically are neither suitable massing strategies under such low density. Although the footprint is no larger than several thousand sqm, we have expanded our scope to the 88000 sqm site. Considering the characteristics of the site geometry, we placed the main entrance and main exhibition spaces along the long edge of the site and proposed a footbridge that would connect Loucun Wetland Park across the river.
The circulation on the site is treated as brushstrokes and is materialized as elevated passages, forming two systems with scenes of scientific exhibition color-coded in orange and of ecological exhibition color-coded in blue. The two systems meanders across the park, intersecting and overlapping with each other while providing shade for the ground level. The elevated structures with altering density perform as the backbone for the project, forming an open public space that connects different parts of the park, the embarkment of the river and the waterfront. Building, elevated structures and urban infrastructure is organized as the solid elements in the project. They function independently while participating in the systems of orange and blue. Together with the open void spaces in the park, they form a well-balanced figure-ground relationship.
To the north of the main exhibition hall, the lawn is gradually elevated to the second level, on which visitors can trek their ways to the upper floor of the architecture, take the elevated passage system and reach the roof of secondary exhibition spaces, where a spectacular view of the river is provided. Under the lawn is a multi-functional meeting hall, its concrete structure supporting the folded steel roof for the main exhibition hall. The oversized elevation is carefully dissolved into the landscape.
Secondary galleries are unfolded along the river. Their roof is organized into the elevated passage systems so that the view to the river is preserved for the public. Through the gaps between the roofs there is a continuous surface leading to the embarkment and the V-shaped foot bridge. By implementing the same modular system for passage systems and exhibition spaces, other smaller scaled exhibition rooms can be dynamically added to the system.
Exterior exhibitions including those for eco-engineering and technologies are scattered along the orange and blue systems of public circulation. Together with wetlands, shallow pools, fountains and event plazas, they form a series of places of excitement, avoiding a grand and unitized landscape. The event-based strategy brings energy to the park. By turning the hard surfaces into permeable soft grounds, the project provides ecological filtering of rainwater and high-quality public spaces.
Due to the tight design and construction schedule, we implemented modular systems for the construction of the project. The main exhibition hall is realized by spatial steel frames with a maximum span of approximately 38 meters. Secondary exhibition halls are partial steel structure with a span of 20 meters, integrated with the slope on the roof into a rigid truss system. The construction utilized pre-fabrication of steel structures as much as possible. By close collaboration with other consultants, the project was managed to be designed and built within 6 months.
