Danish practice ADEPT has won an international, invited competition to master plan the 17KM2 site of Laiyan New Town and Binjian District in Hengyang, China. Their winning proposal, “Green Loops City” was lauded for developing an innovative and sustainable way to accommodate rapid urban growth while preserving Hengyang’s cultural heritage and lush surrounding landscape.
Aidi Su from ADEPT stated: “Much of Hengyang’s cultural and natural resources are still very much intact when compared to other Chinese cities facing rapid urban development. This is an incredible opportunity for us to make a difference in Chinese cities.”
“Green Loops City” is based off of 8 sustainable planning principals: Design sustainable transportation, create a denser urban network, maintain cultural heritage, develop new and existing communities, implement a denser urban life, preserve and enhance the natural landscape, create a new ecological system using existing water networks, and connect to surrounding neighborhoods.
With a delicate combination of these 8 principals, ADEPT has designed a master plan that interconnects existing and new developments through a series of “green loops.” Each individual loop focuses on a particular theme relating to the advantages of each area. For example, the Culture loop connects the most important cultural buildings while adding a new bar and restaurant street to bring more activity to the area. The Sports loop follows the city's natural waterways to create more enjoyable sports area, while also forming secondary access to some of the areas most important landmarks.
While each of the loops work individually, together the loops can form a larger green network - ‘Green Loops City’ - that connects all the different parts of the city. Visitors and locals will be able to easily navigate Hengyang on various multi-modal pathways that traverse through the city's loops and visit each area.
