Located in the center of Shenzhen’s Nanshan District, the Dachong Master Plan Project is the largest urban village redevelopment project in Guangdong Province and one of Shenzhen’s five “New City” landmark projects. The architects proposed a new master plan for the area based on an existing commercial master plan. The design creates a porous public space—an “open city within a city”—that promotes urban interaction, encourages a mix of uses, and references the history of the site in its design and form. The architects organized the design around five concepts:

Historical Context
The architects sought to establish a strong relationship with the site’s history by incorporating the existing street layout into the new master plan, preserving a historic temple on the site, and incorporating the existing lake into the new plan.

Two Axes
The architects established two axes: a cultural axis and a commercial axis, both originating from the historic Dawang Temple, and applied distinct landscape strategies to each. The relationship between these three elements anchors the site and gives it a unique character.

Diversity
To add diversity to the master plan, the architects further developed the existing commercial grid by introducing a more traditional urban scale. This resulted in a central public zone, the “Crystal Village,” defined by a pedestrian-friendly scale and a variety of retail typologies.

Scale and Spatial Sequence
To create a more diverse range of urban spaces within the master plan, the architects created a variety of public spaces, including small pedestrian passages that support a contemporary form of micro-urbanism, multi-level public spaces, and a series of public plazas, each with its own character.

Inside and Outside
Responding to the large scale of surrounding area, the architects proposed a strong commercial border, defined by large scale retail and commercial buildings, along the edges of the project site, allowing the master plan to properly interface with the large-scale architecture that defines Shenzhen. Within the site, this “hard edge” transitions seamlessly into the previously mentioned “crystal village”, creating rich urban space, strong commercial zones, and a unique new civic space for Shenzhen.