The largest freshwater lake in Zhejiang Province lies only seven kilometers from the center of Ningbo. But until recently there was no plan for realizing the lake’s potential as a leisure and tourism destination. Now Design + Planning AECOM has designed a 2000-hectare town along the lake, with 159 hectares devoted to a civic center that will attract visitors from Ningbo and beyond. The center contains a large public plaza, flanked on two sides by hotels. Inland from the plaza are shopping streets, on which buildings—in a “streamlined” version of the local vernacular style will face newly contoured canals. Throughout the town center, the planners insisted on intimately scaled spaces, with more bicycle routes and pedestrian paths than are typical of new cities in China, says Brian Jan, principal-in-charge and director of urban design, Asia, for AECOM.
Jan’s team also worked closely with environmental engineers to allow the new town to coexist with the lake and canals, which will continue to be used for irrigation. Extensive “treatment wetlands” in the master plan will help insure water quality remains high, says Jan—both for environmental reasons, and because the future of the town depends on it. “If the water quality drops,” he says, “so does the value of the land and the development.”
You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.
Unlimited access + premium benefits for as low as $1.99/month.