2021 Galleries

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Galleries // 2021 Spark:Space // Guangzhou Lirendong Master Plan

Guangzhou Lirendong Master Plan

Winner - Silver

Competition: Spark:Space
Designer: Ellen Lou - Principal
Design Type: Landmarks, Memorials, Parks, Vistas, Plazas, Urban Planning
Company / Organization / School: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Website: http://www.som.com
Team Members: Ellen Lou & SOM Design Team

The regeneration of the Panyu Lirendong urban village envisions the site as a new vibrant mixed-use community and elevates the identity of Panyu district as a center for live, work and play. Lirendong, the biggest e-commerce village in China, provides housing to migrant workers, factories for small businesses and offices for e-commerce in its chaotic and complicated urban fabric. The transformation of this village is crucial in bringing new livelihood and lifestyles to Lirendong as well as in maintaining its own character. A new elevated green deck, the Lirendong Sky Park, not only serves as a regional public open space, but also re-connects the community. Stretching over the existing high-traffic Panyu Avenue, the Sky Park provides seamless connections to existing and future developments. Linking to the existing hill and ecological corridors, the Sky Park also ensures that the future of Lirendong is close to nature and sustainable. Central to this regenerating effort is a mix of work and live, bringing together a diverse community of Lirendong residents, small business entrepreneurs and visitors. In addition to the Sky Park, a new cultural hub and the planned subway station are intertwined together through a series of human-centric connections. The cultural hub offers district-level youth educational programs that foster education, entertainment and sports.