WORK Architecture wins Hua Qiang Bei Road competition

WORK Architecture, in collaboration with Zhubo Architecture Studio, ARUP and Balmori Associates, has won an international competition to redesign a 1 km-long section of Hua Qiang Bei Road, Shenzhen, China.

This winning design aims to help solve Hua Qiang Bei Road's traffic congestion problems, while creating a series of "new contemporary public spaces" for the city, according to a WORK Architecture statement.

It consists of five above-ground mixed-use public spaces in the form of pedestrian bridges across the road, a new streetscape and traffic design and an underground boulevard connecting four new metro lines to the street and neighbouring buildings.

Hua Qiang Bei Road was once the heart of Shenzhen's industrial district but is now its "premier shopping and electronics street".

Unfortunately this success has created the traffic problems.

Each bridge will take the shape of an "iconic lantern", with its own theme - an electronics museum at the southern end, an urban information hub in the electronics district, an elevated public park at the centre, a "figure eight" observation pavilion and a fashion and design museum to the north.

Each latern will also act as a "piece of ecological infrastructure": filtering and storing rainwater, providing solar power, creating space and providing infrastructure for productive gardens, etc.

Underground, they will connect via public amenities, including a public library, a food court and a series of performance and gallery spaces.