The design proposal by MLA+ and OKRA landscape architects has been selected as the winner of the International Consultation for the coastal area of Shenshan Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen Municipality in China. A nature-based design solution that covers a total area of 19 square kilometers.
Together with MLA+ and Shenzhen IBR, OKRA established a design framework for mountain, sea, and land-development that respects the Chinese historical water strategy while combining it with the modern Dutch approach. The result is a future-proof coastal defense that integrates engineering and landscape design providing a vibrant sequence of protected spaces along this beautiful 12 kilometers long coast.
Our seawater and freshwater strategies make space for buffer areas that put protection and ecology first, restoring existing ecosystems and shaping a ‘sponge’ development that boosts the quality and resiliency of nature and urban spaces: an elastic landscape! The new green-blue heart of Shenzhen!
OKRA has shown once again its expertise in coastal defense design, following the success of our Katwijk Coastal Zone project which develops a natural dune landscape that not only preserves the value and identity of the existing town but makes it stronger. Our practical project experiences gets strong support for its conceptual and strategic design.
More about the competition and the result can be found on the website of the Shenzhen Center of Design.
Multimedia animation of the project (Chinese with English subtitles).