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Art River: Typological Archipelago
Luis Gil, MDes REBE Christine Min, MArch II Han Wang, MAUD
In a city with more than 8 million residents, Haizhu Lake offers respite from the dense development of Guangzhou. The expansive man-made lake, canals, and surrounding orchards are a popular amenity in the congested city, a moment of tranquility in an otherwise bustling urban center. The Art River development takes its cue from the contextual waterscape and is proposed as an interconnected archipelago. Art River proposal’s program composition consists of a residential, hotel, and retail development, as well as a cultural center and a sculpture park. These programmatic elements are conceived as interconnected islands organized by a canal system that is an extension of the existing waterways of Haizhu Lake. The canal system has a dual function: to provide physical separation of specific programs and to increase the length of the valued waterfront. Furthermore, the canals and the island communities are designed to embody and reflect specific architectural and natural contextual qualities. A 117-key hotel complex anchors the center of development and functions as a core program and a logistical hub, providing service amenities for the surrounding development. To the south of the hotel complex are residential villas that are serviced by the hotel but are sold as individual residences. Taking their organization from the road grid of the historic Haizhu area of Guangzhou, the villas are arranged as series of perimeter block houses with