BIODIVERCITY, BJARKE INGELS GROUP (BIG)
‘BIODIVERCITY’ PAVES SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR PENANG ISLAND BIG, Hijjas and Ramboll have been selected as winners of Penang State Government’s competition to design Penang South Islands' masterplan. BIG (BJARKE INGELS GROUP)
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IG, Hijjas and Ramboll have proposed a vision for a new sustainable destination where cultural, ecological and economic growth is secured and where people and nature co-exist in one of the most biodiverse places on the planet at the southern shore of Penang Island: ‘BiodiverCity’. Penang State Government initiated an international design competition in January 2020 to transform Penang South Islands into a sustainable, global destination, providing Penangites with approximately 4.6km of public beaches, 600 acres of parks and a 25km waterfront. BIG, Hijjas and Ramboll’s masterplan proposal – BiodiverCity – supports the ‘Penang2030’ vision with a clear focus on livability, on stimulating a socially and economically inclusive development, and on environmental sustainability for future generations. Penang’s vast biodiversity spans various topographies and protected environments which, in recent years, have seen its coastal zones and natural habitats disrupted by urban developments. In contrast, BiodiverCity is conceived as an Urban Mosaic of three diverse islands, and a set of urban design guidelines for mixing programmes, addressing pedestrian and mobility networks, building sustainably and harvesting resources. The three islands bring together mixed-use districts of 15,000 to 18,000 residents across 50 to 500 acres, and a continuous 50 to 100m buffer around each district, establishing habitat connectivity and supporting edge ecologies in reserves, parks, corridors and urban plazas.
FC&A – OCTOBER – 2020
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