ResidentialBy Clifford Pearson
Instead of a gated community where wealthy families and expatriate businessmen live behind walls, Zhujiajiao Cambridge Water Town is a vibrant neighborhood integrally connected to both its urban and historical context. The project, which will include 830 dwelling units when it is completed between 2007 and 2008, shows how modern architecture can work with ancient Chinese principles of urban design to create an attractive alternative to the isolated enclaves of villas that are popping up on the outskirts of many Chinese cities today.
As he did with his design for Xintiandi, the successful mixed-use neighborhood in the French Concession area of Shanghai, architect Ben Wood studied local street patterns and urban history before creating a master plan for Cambridge Water Town. Set in the rapidly changing district of Qingpu on the outside of Shanghai, the project takes inspiration from the canals, footbridges, and walkways of Zhujiajiao, the historic water village at the heart of Qingpu. Although clearly modern in its design, Cambridge Water Town feels like a worthy descendant of old Qingpu, not an alien intruder. “It’s sort of a transformation of the vernacular water town urban typology with clean modern lines,” explains Wood.
When completed, the development will include 337 individual villas, 136 semi-detached villas, and 357 townhouses. Wood and his firm Studio Shanghai designed a variety of models for each type of housing and mixed them together so the streetscapes have a sense of diversity and a visual rhythm that never becomes monotonous. The stand-alone villas range in size from 220 to 300 square meters, while the semi-detached villas range from 180 to 220 square meters, and the townhouse units 130 to 200 square meters. Balconies, roof terraces, and waterside walkways provide a variety of outdoor spaces for residents to enjoy.
To make the development an active community—not just a place to live—Wood added small-scale commercial and cultural facilities to the mix of uses. When finished, shops, restaurants, conference facilities, a hotel, and a clubhouse with a gym and spa will give Cambridge Water Town a distinct personality that is low-scale but still urban. In addition, Wood and his firm designed a handsome 750-square-meter sales center (opposite bottom right) so it could be transformed into a cultural center when the developer has completed selling all of the housing units.
While most villa developments in China today repeat the mistakes made in American suburbia, Cambridge Water Town offers a different vision for growth. Instead of cul-de-sac streets that feed into one main arterial road (and often create traffic jams), the project in Qingpu provides a street grid with many points of entry and exit. It also varies the width of streets to create a heterogenous pattern of circulation. And by weaving new canals into its circulation plan, Cambridge Water Town offers the chance to use water taxis to relieve traffic congestion. The end result is a more attractive and environmentally sustainable neighborhood where people do not need to drive everywhere.
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