A closer look at HAO's winning Binhai Eco City Master Plan design in Tianjin

Since Danish architect Jens Holm established Holm Architecture Office (HAO) in 2010 in New York, the office has participated and won in various competitions. In their latest design, HAO -- in collaboration with Archiland International -- shared the details of their first-prize proposal for the 49.2 acre / 200,000 m2 Binhai Eco City Master Plan in Binhai, Tianjin, China.

On top of that, HAO's master plan is also a finalist in the upcoming World Architecture Festival 2014 in Singapore. This nomination makes HAO a WAF Finalist for the second year in a row.

Find out more about the project below.

Project description:

"The Binhai Eco City Master Plan is the result of a unique collaboration between the Chinese and Singaporean governments. The project was conceived as a case study for a completely green development, emphasizing the use of renewable energy and the direct integration of natural surroundings into the built environment."

"The project consists of a new Central Business District (CBD) as well as five new cultural buildings with programs ranging from exhibition spaces to libraries and dedicated educational space to sports facilities. Where the CBD will provide valuable new office space and create a bustling new city center, the cultural buildings will become the educational heart of the plan."

"Both the CBD and the central cultural buildings are all designed to minimize energy use, and all incorporate ideas of passive building design, utilizing solar panels and geothermal heating and cooling to achieve near zero impact structures."

"The entire master plan sits on a raised plateau, allocating traffic and service to a lower level, establishing the new Eco City Master Plan as a green pedestrian oasis within the larger development of the new Binhai area. The overall plan integrates and merges the cultural belt towards the water with the new CBD, drawing green areas towards the plan’s center."

“The proposed ‘finger plan’ mimics an open, outstretched, hand, creating an environment that directly integrates nature and living. This design allows the green areas to slide in-between each finger, inviting direct interaction throughout the day and night and creates five islands that house the cultural buildings. The direct access to the green surroundings makes the Eco City Master Plan distinctive and affords its future inhabitants a vibrant and healthy place to live, work and play.”

Project Details

Name: Eco City Master Plan.
Program: Museum, Exhibition, Sports Center, Hotel, Library & Financial District.
Type: Invited Competition, Shared .1st Prize. WAF Finalist 2014.
Size: 49,2 Acres / 200,000 M2.
Client: SINO Singapore.
Location: Binhai, Tianjin, China.
Status: Ongoing.
Collaborator: AI, Kragh & Berglund (Landscape), Buro Happold.

All images courtesy of Holm Architecture Office.

Click the thumbnails below to see more project images.