NBBJ has imagined a two million square meter “Net City” master plan in Shenzhen for Tencent, one of the largest internet companies in China and the owner of messaging app WeChat.The size of Midtown Manhattan, the new project will be among China’s first interconnected districts with office buildings, residential areas, public entertainment venues, parks, and a waterfront.
NBBJ has unveiled images of its latest venture with the internet giant Tencent. Responsible for the company’s global headquarters back in 2018, the architecture firm created the “Net City” development, including working and living environments, next-generation offices, living spaces, schools, retail, amongst others. Generating an around the clock community, the project is far more than just a neighborhood.
“Made for humans without the distraction of motor vehicles and the noise, pollution, and speed”, the different components of the master plan, from buildings, blocks, and open spaces, were thought accordingly. In fact, the car-free neighborhood puts in place an open and porous campus, rich in public spaces, like commons, groves, wetlands, and sports, and recreation parks. It is also connected to the rest of the city, through subway lanes, bike paths, and ferries.
On another hand, Net City features “terraced buildings of different scales and heights, […] interspersed across a series of green pathways”. Generating human-scale feel and organic experiences, the project opens up to nature and water. Finally, with sustainability at the core of the design process, the master plan incorporates photovoltaic panels, sensors that track environmental performance and flooding, and a comprehensive transportation network that prioritizes pedestrian access, bicycles, and public transit. Moreover, the project collects water and manages runoff and flooding by planting mangrove trees at the shoreline’s edge.
