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GDW’s Concept For DecoCity, Chengdu, China
GDW has recently completed a concept for DecoCity, a new urban development on the outskirts of Chengdu, China.
The client desired a city that was Art Deco in both architecture and lifestyle. We took this idea to heart, and created a plan based on the Art Deco theme of the rising sun, an apt metaphor for this new city, for Chengdu, and, most definitely, for China as a whole. Further, the rising sun provides the backbone for a city that offers an exceptional quality of life.
Our concept is based on the following principles:
Quality of Life
A place people want to live, work and play
Active Central Place
Easily accessed
Successful shops and restaurants
Vibrant sidewalks
Well loved parks
Surrounded by area of highest density
The city’s heart, the place where people gather
Parks and Gathering Places
Central Icon and plaza in the town center
Amphitheater for public events
“Bryant Park” with dining, public green and multi-use place
Small, neighborhood parks accessible places for a few quite moments, places for children to play, friends to meet
Nature Places
Nature areas made active by:
Cafes
Teahouses
Open spaces and areas for exercise
Carousel and places for children
Waterfront amphitheater
Sports Places
Large sports park with a variety of large and small sports facilities
Open space to be enjoyed by all
Walking Places
Pedestrian and vehicle spokes that allow easy access to the city center
Radial canals and walk streets create pleasant places to walk, and easy access to the river and sports area for all
Identity
Unique qualities that help people identify with a place and make them proud to call it their home
Singular architectural vocabulary expressing a strong identity
City plan reflective of that identity
Easily understood layout
Carefully considered massing offering a distinct and memorable skyline
Cohesive building massing contributing both to the overall massing and architectural identity
Unique landscaping that reflects and extends the architectural language
GDW’s Two Primary (and surprising) Goals for a Sustainable City:
GDW’s plan for a new city outside of Chengdu, China
The two primary goals for a truly sustainable city are, without question, quality lifestyle and identity. Why? When one puts political agendas aside, it is obvious that the single largest commitment of environmental resources required of a city is the construction of the city itself. A city that is loved, that people enjoy living in and are proud to call home is a city that will remain intact for generations.
Ironically, cities and the structures they are made of are typically awarded sustainability points for the ease of which they can be recycled. We believe that this is a fallacy. We wonder why a well designed city should have reason to be recycled. Searching the annals of history, we are aware of no city that provided quality of life, no city that made its residents proud, that was subsequently subjected to the rigors of recycling. Not, in any event, without the help of an invading enemy army!
This is not to say that we reject all the principles of sustainable city design. We simply find most redundant. Why is it necessary, for example, to award points based on transport? Moving people easily, effectively and pleasantly through a city has always been a major goal for planners (except, perhaps, during medieval times, when it was a greater concern to make it difficult for invaders to navigate city streets then for residents to easily move around).
A city that forces its residents to remain immobile or sit in traffic is not a city that provides quality of life. A city that makes circulation pleasant does, however, provide an enviable lifestyle. Should not the desire to create pleasant strolls and easy commutes be of paramount priority for the urban planner? Is not the process of awarding points for public transport directed more specifically to special interest lobbies than to those who will call a city their home?
We reject the notion of designing based on checklists created by academia and special interests. We favor cities designed for people. We reject the notion that people will work to preserve their city because of the ease of which it can be recycled. Instead, we seek to create places that capture the hearts of inhabitants.
A people proud of a city will maintain and preserve it, making sure the precious natural resources invested in its creation will benefit generations to come.
GlobalDesign’s Concept Design and Paster Plan for Rose Valley, Chengdu, China
Video Coming Soon
GlobalDesign Workshop’s concept for a mixed-use site in Chengdu, China
Video Coming Soon
2 Ways to Change Human Behavior (or Getting People to do What You Want Them to Do)
Design is all about people. More specifically, it is often about changing the behavior of people. To create a successful retail architecture destination, town center destination entertainment destination or resort destination, you need to change the behavioral patterns of people. You need to influence them to choose to go to your destination instead of another.
There are two ways to change human behavior: we can force people to act as we want (the IKEA approach) or we can design a place, based on an understanding of human nature, that will encourage people to intuitively decide to do as we would have them to do (Apple’s approach). IKEA’s approach creates resentment and drives folks to find a shortcut, a way to game the system. Apple’s approach creates devoted followers and evangelists who happily choose to do as Apple likes….. and bring their friends.
So don’t ask designers to think like bureaucrats or politicians, don’t ask them to force people to do as you want. Don’t ask them to think like designers, either. Designers typically design based on the way people ought to think (in their esteemed opinion), not based on the way people actually think, on what they want, what they need.
Tell your designers to spend time with people – real people with families, bills and clothes that aren’t black. Tell them to do as Apple has done – design products that real people want. Require your designers to design for a quality of life as real people, not just affluent singles and eccentric artists, but real, normal people, define quality of life.
Does that mean designers cannot change the way people live? Of course not. Effecting change is generally our primary task. It means that rather than forcing change, smart designers create change that people want, buildings and places and cities that people want, that will enhance THEIR lifestyle – and are environmentally responsible. People were, after all, satisfied with Windows and dumb phones until Apple created an operating system and smart phone that people wanted.
Designers tend to define quality of life as we think it should be, design to that standard, then wonder why so few live in the worlds we create. A Hobbesian cynic defines quality of life based on the self interest of people as THEY define it, and designs so that change is in the self interest of real people. A Hobbesian cynic is wise. Works for smart phones and laptops…..
Cloud Lake Resort, Chengdu, China by GlobalDesign Workshop
