In their proposal for the Re-thinking Shanghai competition, Vinícius Philot, Fabiano Ravaglia, and Gibran Duarte aims at transforming the big metropolis through biological methamorphosis. In their “Let’s paint Shanghai with fireflies” design, they give thought to the question, How could we make Shanghai, an already trend setting city within Asian and global scenario, also a reference for urban sustainable growth? The firefly system will be a sub-effect of a new way of thinking the public space. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Living in a huge city as shanghai has never been easy and probably will never be. Big metropolis tend to be cruel with its inhabitants, offering enormous distances to be transposed, crowded places and other difficulties we are so used to face in a daily basis. Suhzhou creek has a central paper on Shanghai`s urban dynamics and has been a spot for Chinese government`s public interventions in the last decades, mostly near the intersection with Huangpu River with Pudong`s stunning and emblematic skyline.
There have been efforts towards water purification, creation of public spaces and urban spots such as art districts and shopping areas. However, we want to address Suhzhou as a wider zone: the one connection central, downtown Shanghai to other peripheral areas.
In a macro scale, modules will be combined identifying special needs along each section of the creek:
Module 0 – Flow – creekside firefly farm and parks; Module 1 – Social -circle benches; Module 2 – Covered – tiled topography, smart roofing; Module 3 – Proménade – algorithmic archways; Module 4 – Day – museums, libraries, gardens; Module 5 – Night – restaurants, pubs, night clubs; Module 6 – Mixed – sports centers, arts centers, bike parking lots, subway and train stations.
Bright city lights, usually cast by skyscrapers and neon signs, will now have a different meaning, creating beautiful landscapes and being used combined with museums, art and sports centers, night clubs and many other urban hardware. Suzhou shall have its role revisited and reinvented.
Architects: Vinícius Philot, Fabiano Ravaglia and Gibran Duarte Location: Shanghai, China Collaborator: Priscila Inacio Project Status: Concept Project Year: 2012
