Zhuzhou, China

Yunlong Digital Technology Park

Masterplan

NAUTA architecture & research - Maurizio Scarciglia, P.B.A. Architectural Consultant Co.Ltd

Yunlong Digital Technology Park Master Plan

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Zhuzhou city

Yun Long International New Digital Technology Park is a project proved by Zhuzhou Municipality. It is a business park providing R&D offices and facilities for innovation industry, which focuses on mid-high level of the market. The project locates in the Yunlong New Town of Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan (CZT) Region, Hunan Province, China. It is located in the Changtangcun area that is in the east of Changzhu regional highway, in the south of Yunlong Road and in the north of Yunhai Road. The park covers a total site area of approximately 48 ha. This project is driven by the intention to intergrate the cities of Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan into one urban region. Furthermore it should respect the National vision that aims to develop this region as a testing zone of ‘Resouce-saving and Environmentally friendly development’. Therefore, this project has the ambition to explore a sustainable model to develop a business park, which could guarantee a long-term payback for the investors in terms of economy, social and environmental development.

Regional context

The focus of urbanization in China is shifting from the coastal regions to the inland. The Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan (CZT) Region turns to be a hot spot, subject to enormous urban transformation and expansion, which get support by the national policy since 2006. This growth is based on a strong external infrastructural network that include the high speed train and high way connection to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Thus this region holds the best opportunity of urban development in the coming decade. Since 2007, this region has proved to be a testing zone of ‘Resource-saving and Environmentally friendly development’ by the State Council.

Metropolitan context

The three cities originally connected by the Xiangjiang River are now integrating into one urban area. The urban form is turning into a ‘City Loop’, with an ecological ‘Green Heart’ in the middle. This regional integration strategy is implemented upon a very strong infrastructural network, connecting the main cities within the region to the rest of the country.

Functional link with context

The location of this project is very strategic. On the fore hand, it locates in the central networks of CZT region. It is connected to the regional Huanghua airport and high speed train station with a distance of 15-20min by car. In addition, the highway to Shanghai goes across at the south of the site. The connectivity implies enormous advantage for business oriented development. On the other hand, the site is surrounded by the protected ecological ‘Green Heart’. On the global scale, where new park developments occur, working/living spaces in high quality natural environment turn to be the essential condition to attract the users and investors. On the regional scale the challenge of this project is how to generate a maximum commercial value of the park from the potentiality of connectivity and landscape.

concept

Growing towards a ‘City Loop’, Zhuzhou is extending its urban area along two new wings, among which Yun Long New Town (as well the site) is located in the northeast one. Because of its proximity to the airport, Yun Long New Town has strong competitiveness for the new business development which has ambition at the national scale, while the other New Town in the southwest owns the advantage of the local market. Based on this identity, the project has potential to develop the congress, convention and branding program and help to lift up the quality of its offices. Further more, the park shall articulate an image of a modern business park, at its western part facing the regional highway.

a green business park

According to the new urban regulations, the central area of the new Yung Long town where this business park project is located, appears as the centre of the new development on the urban scale. This portion of the master plan shows how it will programmatically link the new extension to the consolidated city centre of Zhuzhou, yet creating a new functional centre for the satellite city. The program portrays a multifunctional/business oriented heart that will centralize the activities, becoming the new city centre for the adjoining areas, respectively leisure/tourism epicenter and administrative/logistic epicenter. In this network of macro-areas within the new town, the central cluster plays an epicenter role, being heart between the Institutional development to the south and the north Leisure pole. For this reason it is possible to portray a leading role of this central cluster, giving attention to its multifunctional vocation. Following the national highway that brings from Zhuzhou to Changsha and the regional airport, the central area of Yung Long town can define a necklace of public program specializations that could help the sequence of projects work as a network, without competing with each other. In this context, based on the functional destination of the Yun Long International New Digital Technology Park, we can propose to focus on the Congress-Exhibition facilities, making the master plan leading destination for business oriented services.