International collaboration handed heritage urban design project in China
A Melbourne based design consortium has won a major contract for the master planning of a world heritage site in China. Architects CK Designworks and Melbourne based sustainability and landscape planners, ERM, beat groups from England, Singapore, Taiwan and China for the design and planning of 40 sq km of Nanjing’s historic zone.
Team leader, Robert Caulfield from architecture company CK Designworks said that the selection of the CKD/ERM team showed that Australian architects and planners were considered to be as good as any in the world. Apart from CK Designworks and ERM, the consortium consists of Nanjing University’s Faculty of Antiquities and Heritage and two Shanghai based research groups who would be undertaking economic and demographic research. The site is an UNESCO world heritage area with Nanjing being China’s historic capital containing many monuments and mausoleums to past rulers, emperors and dignitaries.
Caulfield said: “At CK Designworks we have just completed the master planning of a new high tech zone in Nanjing which will eventually house 200,000 people and provide 1.6 million jobs. “It was designed to the latest international environmental and sustainability standards and the government was really happy with the result. This was obviously a big factor in winning this spectacular new commission.”
Allan Wyatt, a partner with ERM said that they were investigating several alternative forms of mass tourist transport coupled with major car, bus and high- speed rail interchanges. Wyatt said: “Our objective is to keep private cars out of the entire heritage area.” Caulfield said that they would also be undertaking the concept design of three of the most significant new buildings in the area and establishing planning guidelines for many others.
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