A design consortium led by Grimshaw, alongside Mott MacDonald, China Aviation Planning and Design Institute (AVIC CAPDI) and Beijing Urban Construction Design and Development Group (BJUCD), has been selected as the winner of an international competition for Shenzhen Airport East Integrated Transport Hub. The multi-disciplinary design team also includes schlaich bergermann partner (sbp), Atelier Ten and Gross Max.
The brief called for an aspirational vision to create an integrated intermodal transportation hub to act as a new urban gateway and landmark for the Greater Bay Area and the winning proposal will provide transfers between high-speed rail and other public transportation modes as well as connections and terminal facilities for passengers traveling to and from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, making it one of the most integrated transportation interchanges in the world.
According to the consortium, the project will be an exemplar of environmental sustainability and will achieve LEED Platinum and Chinese 3 Star rating through a highly economic architectural solution that uses materials efficiently and maximizes repetition of components.
Jolyon Brewis, Grimshaw Partner, said, “We are often inspired by the transfer of geometries and forms from nature into architecture. We have applied this approach to the masterplan and interchange design at Shenzhen Bao’an Airport which is directly inspired by the mangrove tree. Not only does this have symbolic value as an important tree to Shenzhen, but it has led us to a solution for the building that is highly efficient. It will also be a wonderful place for people to occupy and travel through. We hope it will lift the spirits of millions of Shenzhen citizens, as well as those who visit this incredible city.”
Sponsored by China National Railway Corporation Limited and Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government, the project is undertaken by Shenzhen Metro Corporation Limited as the tenderer. The Grimshaw team was announced as winner following an assessment by a bid evaluation committee of 13 experts in urban planning and design, architectural design, aviation, railway, urban rail and integrated transportation.
Anne Kerr, Mott MacDonald China managing director, commented, “We are delighted our team has been selected to contribute to the next generation of travel within this exciting area – which is an important hub and connection in terms of people and goods. We are passionate about the development of integrated transport solutions that deliver better social outcomes through greater connectivity. By combining our global and local expertise in aviation, surface transport and the built environment, this project is a unique opportunity to create a world class, sustainable and passenger-centric hub that supports the continued development of the Greater Bay Area – and one that we are honored to be part of.”
Dave Richards, Atelier Ten director, added, “We are thrilled to be a part of this fantastic team designing such a significant and aspirational piece of transport infrastructure for Shenzhen. This competition-winning proposal builds on work that we have been doing with the team at Grimshaw for many years on biophilia, form and skin to ‘manage’ comfort and expectations through the manipulation of light, sun and air in the in-between spaces that transport interchanges generate. The evocation of biophilic influence through the underlying mangrove forms serves to reinforce the connection to nature in this very busy city. We look forward to developing and evolving this LEED Platinum project with Grimshaw and the rest of the team in the months ahead.”