The demonstration zone of East Dike Shenzhen recently opened by Mr. Huang Min, vice mayor of Shenzhen, accompanied by Mr. Zhang Liwei, head of the Water Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality. As from May the demonstration zone is open to the public, welcoming visitors and serving local residents.
East Dike is located in Dapeng, a mountainous peninsula in the direct proximity of Hongkong and Shenzhen. In 2018, the typhoon Mangkhut damaged the coastline to various degrees. In 2019, team KCAP+FELIXX has been selected to develop the plans, restore the coastline and raise protection standards. With the ‘Triple Dike strategy’, the team developed an integrated approach towards the climate adaptive reorganization of the 130 kilometer long shore. In the concept, water safety strategies are connected to eco-development and nature restoration and merged with social and economic growth. On a 500m long strip in Yangmeikeng, the performance of the proposed nature-based strategies for the sea wall are tested and materialization principles are explored and refined. The realization of this demonstration zone is the first milestone in the construction of 18 kilometers of embankment to be completed by 2021.
Strategic projects
For 6 villages along the shore, all originating from fishers’ communities, the strategy is turned into strategic design projects, creating unique and site-specific realms. The ‘Triple Dike’ is composed of three development zones, carefully embedded in the local conditions and responding to the specific future needs of every village. The small-scale identity will be protected and their different characteristics reinforced.
Village Dongshan is situated in a quiet bay, allowing the embankment to be designed as a green park, merging the mountains and the sea. Guanhu is a creative and cultural district. The dike performs as a vivid green beach boulevard, a backbone that unites existing functions with new recreational facilities. Moonbay is built on a mountainside, overlooking the sea. The embankment acts as a balcony, overlooking the bay, connecting the village to the floating fishing restaurants. Shayuyong is a gateway port, designed as a robust and rocky embankment park. For Pengcheng with its beautiful beaches and as important touristic attraction, the reinforcement of the coast is turned into an attractive beachpark. Yangmeikeng is an exposed village along the coast, within an ecological and marine protection zone.
Demonstration zone, Yangmeikeng
The three protective zones of the ‘Triple Dike’ in Yangmeikeng strengthen its exposed character, turning the village into a contemporary fortress. The design evades the introduction of a grant metropolitan scale and supports the organic village life. A rich collection of places boosts the further growth of the local culture.
The first zone is formed by a collection of ‘rain-gardens’, as part of the communal space. The lush vegetation of trees and shrubs blends with the adjacent mountains and offers covered and shaded places. The gardens collect and infiltrate rainwater and wave overflow. The middle zone is composed of a sequence of shifting walls, with different heigths. They create a plazas and sheltered terraces on different levels, connected by a scenic walk. The third protective zone consists of ‘wave-gardens’, mitigating the impact of the flow during storms. They are planted with robust beach vegetation and rocks and offer places for picnicking and to enjoy the view on the beach. Walls and pavement blend in with the sandcolor of the beach. The materialization illustrates the characteristics of the three dike zones: more delicate materials are used for sheltered places, robust and solid elements are used for the exposed zones.
International recognition
East Dike Shenzhen starts to receive international recognition and appreciation by experts and professional juries. It is shortlisted for the World Landscape Architecture (WLA) Awards 2020, nominated as laureate in the Eurasian Prize 2019-2020, currently exhibited in Roca Gallery London’s exhibition ‘Sea Change: Flood Resilient Architecture for the 21st Century’ and selected for the ‘Water as Leverage’ exhibition of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) 2020.
Only 10 months after winning the competition by KCAP+FELIXX, the realization of the demonstration zone sets an important milestone for the construction of the in total 18 kilometers of embankments by 2021. This challenge has been met, thanks to the fast and qualitative team work of KCAP+FELIXX, and the close cooperation with the client Water bureau of Shenzhen Municipality as well as with the China Resource Group, responsible for the design and construction management. The technical development of the plans is done in collaboration with Hope Landscape & Architecture, the water safety and engineering by China Water Transport Planning & Design Institute. Deltares contributed to the development of the nature-based solution of the Triple Dike. The trusted contractors of the demonstration zone are CCCC First Harbour Engineer and Huachuang Architecture Construction Co. Ltd.
East Dike Shenzhen
Design team: KCAP+FELIXX
Location: Shenzhen, China
Client: Water Bureau of the Municipality of Shenzhen
Status: tender won, demonstration zone delivered, preliminary and detailed design for 6 villages in progress
Participating parties: China Resource Group (design and construction management), Hope Landscape & Architecture (landscape and construction design), China water transport planning & design institute (engineering), Deltares
Image Credits:
Photographs © Xingzhong Zhang, China Resources Group and © Hao Cui, CCCC First Harbour Engineer
Drawings © KCAP+FELIXX
