Wei River Ecological Corridor

WUHAN, CHINA, 2011

The development of the Wei River offers a remarkable opportunity for Xi’an, one of China’s burgeoning mega-cities, to reconfigure itself for the future. Recognizing the natural and planning constraints on growth in other directions, the city is rapidly developing to the north, threatening existing rural structures and opening the way to a city that is overwhelmed by its own sprawl. The river (and the line of historic sites beyond it) can house a dense new edge for Xi’an, organizing a logical and beautiful condition and turning an under-used resource into a remarkable amenity for the city and its region. Our project is both for the riparian areas of a 50 kilometer stretch of the river but for the development of the urban and landscape spaces in the surrounding corridor and includes a new CBD around the recently constructed central train station, an Olympic village, a cultural zone, a tourist are centered on a series of agricultural villages, an energy research zone, an exposition and entertainment island, and extremely extensive array of parks and recreational facilities.

Credits: J. Gu, Y. Liu, M. Okazaki, M. Sorkin, Y. Sun, L. Yin,