Emerging as a creative capital of China, Shenzhen is developing 10 major, new cultural facilities of which the Shenzhen Institute of Design and Innovation is one. Located in the Greater Airport Area of Bao’an District, the new 3.4 million square foot, $430 million campus occupies a largely undeveloped site with steep and difficult terrain at the north and east and existing university programs to the west.
Responding to natural site conditions, we minimized the building footprints and consolidated them on the flattest portion of the site, staying within height limits imposed by proximity to the airport. The program includes all the elements for comprehensive campus life such as classrooms, labs, offices, student and faculty residences, an athletic center, library, exhibition and auditorium spaces as well as dining.
To merge and seamlessly transition between these diverse programs we envisioned a spatial and programmatic “synthesizer” that was both indoor and outdoor where academic and social life intersect to create a third space. This multi-level, north-south spine is where highbay maker spaces and fabrication labs spill out onto the promenade where students coming from the residential and social programs can interact with the process of making and learning that is on display. The synthesizer further organizes and connects programs along its
length such as the athletics center to the south, and to the north, it connects the exhibition, auditorium and a series of pre-fabricated pavilions that are dispersed throughout the dense landscape and accessed via a series of existing nature trails.
length such as the athletics center to the south, and to the north, it connects the exhibition, auditorium and a series of pre-fabricated pavilions that are dispersed throughout the dense landscape and accessed via a series of existing nature trails.
Location | Shenzhen, China
Date | 2020
Role | Lead Designer (while employed at DLR Group)
Program | Academic, Administrative, Housing, Conference, Research (3.4 million square feet)
Date | 2020
Role | Lead Designer (while employed at DLR Group)
Program | Academic, Administrative, Housing, Conference, Research (3.4 million square feet)
Rendering of Central Promenade
Hand Sketch of Design Concept
Concept Diagram
Rendering of Main Campus Entry
Rendering of Occupiable Rooftops
Rendering of Sports Facilities
Rendering of Auditorium and Conference Center
