Shenzhen Bay super headquarters

In 2014, Prof. Chen Keshi and his design team won an international architectural design competition with a design scheme containing the concept of “Chinese dream” and “future architecture”. This bidding scheme organically integrates traditional Chinese rural thoughts with modern urban complexity and diversity, imagines boldly and strangely, spans ancient and modern time and space, triggers future thinking, and wins wide attention of international media.

In 2014, the Shenzhen Municipal Government of the special economic zone, located on the coast of the South China Sea, held the international bidding for “Shenzhen bay super headquarters architectural design scheme”, in which hundreds of world-famous design institutions participated in the most influential international architectural scheme bidding of the year. At last, the “Chinese dreamland - Shenzhen bay super headquarters” scheme proposed by Prof. Chen Keshi and his team won the first prize among the 124 schemes selected by the international experts.

Shenzhen is a miracle in the history of urban development in the world. In 2012, Shenzhen municipal government proposed to build Shenzhen bay super headquarters base and made it clear that as the ultimate position and typical representative of the city in the global economic industry chain, super headquarters base is an important functional center for Shenzhen to realize the dream of a global excellent city in the future.

The reason why the design scheme of “Chinese Dreamland” won the prize was that it proposed the concept of “future architecture”, reflected an understanding of ecological architecture, also condensed the spatial ideal of Chinese people, and was also the specific practice of “ecological aesthetics” proposed by Prof. Chen Keshi. The design scheme extends the park usually built on the ground to the building. In the future, helicopters can directly land on the roof. People can take the elevator to the ground, and then take the subway to all parts of the city. This is a way of life in the future, and also a kind of expectation for future city. This project also incorporates numerous elements to augment sustainability. For example, UV-blocking glass siding lowers the transfer of heat and reduces energy consumption. Solar panels convert energy from sunlight to supply natural power. Water harvested from rain is recycled and used to irrigate vegetation or filtered and used for drinking water. The large amount of space reserved for landscaping and shelter; walking paths and the central park will be covered in greenery, all these contributing to a harmonious and pleasant ecological environment.

The overall structure for the super headquarters will consist of “1 Cloud City Center + 2 featured top-level street blocks + N amount of three-dimensional urban clusters”. The Cloud City Center, as the functional core of the headquarters, the core of ecology, technology, and vigor, will play a crucial role in leading the area’s development.

According to the award-winning design, “the Dreamland of China” covers a total land area of 230,000 square meters, has 2.7 million square meters of floor space and reaches a height of 750 meters. It includes 1 million square meters of office space, 200,000 square meters of commercial space (including the international convention center and restaurant), and 200,000 square meters of cultural and educational space. It also encompasses an amphitheater situated on the water, Shenzhen Bay University, ten museums, ten art galleries, twenty five-star restaurants, a book town, movie theater, aquarium, and a 2 km-long central park located along the city center’s axis.

“Deep in cloud and mountain” within the city: the plan originates from the human settlement ideal of Chinese Taoist nature

As the main steam of Chinese traditional culture, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism have left a deep imprint on every Chinese, and also have a profound impact on our aesthetics in space.