Shabu Urban Renewal Project, Guangzhou

It is one of the most important emerging topics in China now how to preserve historical spaces and inherit cultural contexts in modern urban construction with multi functions. In 2019, the "Implementation Plan for the Reconstruction of Shabu Old Village in Huangpu District, Guangzhou" was officially approved by the district government. Adhering to the concept of "people-oriented", MPG Group participated in the urban renewal and construction project of Huangpu Shabu Community as the leading agency of landscape planning and design. After more than two years study and hard working, the Rongdri Lingnan style block with great natural environment, cultural history and educational significance was completed.

The entire Shabu Old Village renovation project is located in Shabu Village, north of Huangpu East Road, Huangpu District, Guangzhou, and east of Kaifa Avenue. The opened Rongdri is located at the intersection of Huangpu East Road and Kaifa Avenue between Xiayuan Station and Nangang Station of Line 13. The core area of the old village reconstruction.

With the development and changes of urban development, the demolition behind the planning appeal has formed a broad space for urban reform and renewal. Through the adjustment and optimization of the urban space form and function, the local life atmosphere can be fully preserved and the urban image can be improved. At the same time, the functions of the site are multiple and mix-used, contains complete functions with commercial, residential, schools and offices. After completion, a composite urban village can be formed, which is conducive to the integration of social urban space and ecological livability.

The City of Life for All Ages

Taking both the historical context of the old town and the vitality of the new city, Vanke Huangpu New City is composing an ecological and livable city for all ages.

During the implementation process, Vanke took the cluster design as a leading action to gradually activate the road of co-construction and mass-creation of Shabu Update.

Vanke Guangzhou Huangpu District Shabu urban renewal design concept is to build a city of Life for all ages, which means that in childhood, people started from the dream of "Windmill Park" and went to "Big Footprint Park" to pursue the growth footprint; After riding the wind and waves in the "Sports Park", the growth from youth to youth is the admiration for history in the "Kapok Park" covered with "Hero Flowers"; In the middle age, people returned to their hometown by the wind in "Rongdeli" to carve inheritance and responsibility into the pilliars of the ancestral hall; The "Natural Wetland Park" and the "Flying Bird Park" are the health care that returned safely in their later years. This time, we will show the newly completed rongdeli, which integrates historical buildings and new urban public spaces.

Site Background and Challenges

Rongdeli is located in Lubu street of the former Shabu village, adjacent to lubujiao ancient canal. It contains many ancestral halls and new antique buildings preserved in the original village, with a total land area of more than 14000 square meters and a total construction area of about 9500 square meters, including nearly 2000 square meters of preserved cultural relics and style buildings. Rongdelhi is not only a Waterfront Commercial Street in the future, but also a public space with a variety of citizen activities: sightseeing, chatting, listening to plays, fishing, etc. these activities with the most urban cultural characteristics are the most characteristic vitality factors in the city.

Design Concept

By exploring the traditional elements in the current site such as old bricks, tiles, stone roads, Lingnan gables, ancestral cultural buildings, canals, ancient trees, etc.: evoke "memory", inject "new life", and turn Rongdeli into a traditional cultural landmark in Guangzhou.

Integrating these historical, local elements that record the past and future landscape places, we hope to introduce the existing life into the historical site, support all kinds of city activities, activate the original sense of place, and create retail spaces of the waterfront. Then the thinking of the existing site life scene, from the perspective of onlookers and users, has become the starting point of this plot design. Taking the Lingnan Waterfront Neighborhood Market as the orientation, it focuses on building an intangible cultural heritage network represented by marriage culture, dragon boat culture and Cantonese opera culture, and promotes the restoration of cultural relics and the integration with the new urban public space.

Lingnan Wedding Culture

Rongdeli has selected the wedding activities with the most cultural characteristics and atmosphere, and specially created a complete wedding cultural space as the cultural symbol of the venue. It presents everything from the wedding reception, hall worship, wedding photo taking, certificate obtaining and wedding banquet setting.

Participation and Experience of Traditional Culture

In terms of landscape design, be benefit from the construction party expanding the lakeside interface to form an orderly open space with scattered front and back, the whole lake area and coastal sites are unified as a leisure park, and the independent style buildings are integrated as landscape sketches in a harmonious and organic way.

Lingnan Architecture

In terms of architectural design, there are wok ear walls, herringbone slopes and Bogu ridges. Rongdeli first carefully renovates the protected cultural relics buildings in the site to further highlight the local architectural characteristics of Lingnan. For new buildings, it refers to the Lingnan Characteristic garden buildings, unifies the style and volume of the protected cultural relics buildings in the site, and take the new Lingnan architectural style as a strong benchmark for mature Lingnan characteristic commercial blocks such as Lingnan Tiandi and Yongqing square.

The old village in Shabu located in the historical and cultural preservation area of the urban renewal project, while Rongdri is one of the largest old renovation projects in Huangpu District. During the process of the transformation of the old city with new vitality, the historical and cultural heritage is highlighted with respect of human usages. In the future, Rongdeli will hold various activities such as lion awakening, dragon boat, Cantonese opera, as well as rich and interesting experience projects such as Cantonese cuisine. We expect the "slow life under the banyan tree" will return to the community. The leisure of the old city will be just around the corner.

To be Continued

Urban renewal always accompanies urban development. Under the background of high-speed urban construction, MPG’s design of Shabu Old Village areas shows natural preservation, respecting history, inheriting and promoting national culture.

In the future, MPG Mogao Group will continue to follow up and launch urban renewal projects in Huangpu District of Guangzhou: Windmill Park, Big Footprint Park, Sports Park, Kapok Park, etc. Please look forward to the wonderful presentation!

Project Brief

Project name：Vanke Guangzhou Rongdeli Landscape Design

MPG chief designer：Ma Zhen

Design Team：Yang Longfu, Wang Guan, Gao Li, Lv Juan, Dou Rui, Song Chen, Zhang Yao, Xi Ruijun, Xiang Lihua, Zhang Rui, Li Yun, Liang Yalin, Tang Zihan, Luo Jiaxue, Li Shijia, Fu Qinzhou, Zhou Peng, He Kejie, Hu Yue

Developer：Vanke Guangzhou

Photography：Vanke Guangzhou and Zhang Zhenglai in MPG

Site Location: Huangpu district, Guangzhou

Site Area: 30600㎡

Design time: July, 2021.

Completion time：July，2022

Source：<https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Yhnpb1gATNBJfntiPl7gXQ>

Edited by Jia Mengyuan