This competition-winning urban design for a research and development community represents a new step for Chinese urbanism: creating incrementally constructed iconic civic space. Our design goal was to create something greater than a single building; our goal was to create a memorable and connected civic district. Peter Schubert, Design Partner Located on the western edge of Shanghai, Taopu Sci-Tech City is part of a new district being planned around one of Shanghai’s largest future parks. The design actively engages its context, creating strong visual, pedestrian and infrastructure connections with the surrounding site, district and city. A unifying architectural language was established to create individual iconic moments and a cohesive urban garden identity for the development as a whole. A network of indoor and outdoor spaces develops a fluid pedestrian experience incorporating memorable urban spaces within the city to support a 24/7, activated, mixed-use urban environment. The multi-level pedestrian network forges symbiotic relationships between retail areas, park spaces and streetscapes. The design supports a connected research and development community while linking to the ex
