“Global Design Show”
A New Blueprint for the Urban Design of
Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone
Photo by Liu Chang
“High-quality planning and design serve as the prerequisite and paramount element for the high-quality development of cities.” On July 7, 2023, the 2023 Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone (ZAEZ) “Air Silk Road” International Competition of Urban Design Scheme officially commenced.
Schematic Map of the Urban Design of Smart Business District
Schematic Map of the Urban Design of Central China Medical Science District
The international competition was composed of two major components. The first component was the optimization and enhancement of the overall urban design within the entire 747 square kilometers area of ZAEZ, as well as the urban design of Smart Business District spanning 27 square kilometers, which extends from the north to Chaohu Road, from the east to Jiude South Street, from the south to Yandu Avenue, and from the west to Hedong Road. The second component was the urban design of the Central China Medical Science District and its collaborative districts, covering an area of 45 square kilometers, which ranges from the north to Bohai Road, from the east to Sunwu Road, from the south to Nanhai Avenue, and from the west to Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway. The two components of the competition were released as a whole but implemented separately, with unified coordination by the ZAEZ Administrative Committee.
Thecompetition received responses from top design teams from around the world. In the international urban design competition for Smart Business District, in addition to the two invited design firms (consortia), it successfully attracted 21 participating teams (consortia) from 9 countries or regions including China, Hong Kong (China), Germany, France, Japan, Singapore, the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, with a total of 57 design institutions participated. Similarly, the urban design competition for the Central China Medical Science District also attracted 36 participating teams (consortia) from 9 countries or regions globally, with a total of 69 design institutions involved.
Regarding the international competition, the ZAEZ Party Committee and Administrative Committee attached great importance to it, meticulously plan and conduct specialized research. They entrusted professional institutions to organize and implement the competition.
The urban design competition for the Central China Medical Science District invited 9 renowned domestic and international experts to serve as judges. These judges have expertise covering various aspects including urban design, architectural landscape, and city transportation. The urban design competition for the Smart Business District invited 7 renowned experts and scholars from home and abroad to form a professional jury. Andrew Tyley and Zheng Shiling were invited to participate online. On July 28th to August 1st, 2023, the official announcement of the competition was made. In September, a qualification review meeting was organized to select the shortlisted participating units. Subsequently, field research and on-site visits were conducted, followed by an offline Q&A session and the release of the task book for the design phase. In November, the mid-term design presentation was held, and based on feedback and recommendations, further optimization of the design was carried out. In December, a scheme design review meeting was organized.
Scene of the Scheme Review Meeting
In December 2023, after specialized research conducted by the ZAEZ Party Committee, the final winning team for the competition wascomposed of Nippon Design Corporation, AECOM Environment Planning and Design (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., China South Architectural Design Institute Co., Ltd., and Henan Province Transportation Planning and Design Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Nippon Design Corporation fullyconsidered the relationship between ZAEZ and its surrounding cities. Focusing on the three main features of “port”, “industry” and city”, the company conducted researches on international airport cases, summarized the value enhancement trends of future airport new cities, and constructed a value-added structure of 747 square kilometers for the ZAEZ based on Four Ports Interconnectivity strategy. Simultaneously, leveraging its abundant experience in international new city design and practice, Nippon Design Corporation planned the future of the 747-square-kilometer ZAEZ with the concept of growth and grounding.
Aerial View of the Urban Design of Smart Business District
In the planning of the 27-square-kilometers Smart Business District, Nippon Design Corporation madefull consideration of sustainable urban models and skillfully designed a water-green system of suitable scale. Additionally, the company considered the construction timeline, development priorities, and flexible reserved spaces ofZAEZ, embodying the concepts of project implementation and operability in the context of the new era.
Renderingsofthe Urban Design of Central China Medical Science District
In the design of the Central China Medical Science District, AECOM Environment Planning and Design (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., China South Architectural Design Institute Co., Ltd., and Henan Province Transportation Planning and Design Research Institute Co., Ltd. incorporated three design concepts: operable city, compatible spaces and attention to small joys of life. From a human-centric perspective, they aimed to create a sense of small joys in people’s surroundings. Considering the future needs of scientific populations for knowledge sharing and a closer connection with nature, they constructed diverse thematic scenes, optimized the urban spatial layout, established an open and sustainable development framework, and designed a city blueprint featuring “dual corridors, unit-based structure, and network connectivity.”
Bringing together talents from across the world and harnessing global strength, ZAEZ is now standing at the starting point of the “New Golden Decade”. The future blueprint of the urban design of ZAEZ has been unveiled expectantly.
PROSPECT
A promising aerotropolis with efficient hubs,creative and diverse industries,and a qualitycommunity.
The efficiency and driving capacity of itsinternational comprehensive transportationhub grows significantly with larger catchmentarea.The development level and sci-techinnovation capacity of the industries furthergrow.A hub economy with certain interna-tional influence takes shape.Breakthroughsare made in opening-up platform applicationand operation.Public services are enhanced.Urban quality and vitality are greatlyimproved.
A sustainable,livable,economically vibrantaerotropolis with a super hub,a leadingopening-up system,strong creativity,compet-itive industrial ecosystems and a harmonioussociety.
Develop into a superb transport hub connect-ing China,linking the world,serving theglobe.The integration effect of its opening-upplatform grows significantly.The contributionof sci-tech progress to economic growthlargely increases.A market-oriented andworld-class business environment governedby a sound legal framework,is created.Ahighly competitive modern industrial systemis established to fully participate in globalsupply chain.
A world-class 4.0 aerotropolis which is eco-nomically prosperous,socially vibrant,andecologically sustainable.
The world's top hub cluster with best-in-classdomestic and international connectivity iscreated.Rank among the top in the world interms of all economic development indica-tors.Become the most attractive and com-petitive growth pole in China.A world modelin high-quality development and modern
urban governance.
