Wuhu Cultural Corridor plan seeks to re-envision the city core

Situated on the banks of the Yangtze River, Wuhu emerged as a treaty port in 1876 and has since developed into an international commercial center. Today, this legacy remains in the form of distinctive colonial-era buildings scattered throughout the city’s urban fabric. The unique architectural style of the Customs House, the British Consulate, and St. Joseph’s Cathedral are artifacts of Wuhu’s rich history but have become isolated relics in the center of the city.

Many foreign settlements in China like Wuhu arose in the 19th century primarily because of their strategic location as ports, becoming an integral part of a global network of commerce and trade. Wuhu was built predominantly on higher ground above the river for tactical reasons, but also to intentionally signify the self-defined elite status of the colonial power. Over time, this state of privilege created both physical and psychological barriers. The ensuing segregation impacted local residents through income and other social inequalities, but also in the form of a broken open space network and limited accessibility to the waterfront.

Sasaki was commissioned by the City of Wuhu to re-envision the urban core and heal these divides. A key strategy of the plan was to link the center of the city back to the riverfront, while also integrating the scattered heritage architecture as key elements of the city’s history. Pedestrian connections create an intentional sequence that integrates new civic program into the historic buildings, while new infill buildings activate the public realm along with this important connection to the water. Additional narrow roadways and pedestrian corridors penetrate into this once enclose core, creating a more intimate urban experience and improving the walkability of downtown Wuhu.

To anchor the restored historic buildings that have been repurposed for cultural uses, the public spaces adjacent to them were completely reimagined. The plan uncovered the potential of Fanlou Mountain as a unique topographical element in the center of the city, creating a museum campus on the hillside that establishes a civic presence in a landscape that was once inaccessible to many of Wuhu’s citizens. A new elevated crescent plaza adjacent to St. Joseph’s Cathedral mitigates the grade change between Fanlou Mountain and the riverfront and becomes a new center of gravity for the cultural corridor. A series of the viewshed studies ensured that sightlines to the historical buildings, and to the river, were carefully protected. Detailed urban design guidelines were also established to regulate improvements to historic façades, and to guide future development to focus on creating a more coherent experience between new and old.

Wuhu’s renewal plan is a series of cultural and public realm-led strategies that provide new opportunities for a more walkable urban core. This approach celebrates the importance of the public realm as a powerful tool to connect the needs of the contemporary city with its people and its history. By embracing and acknowledging Wuhu’s challenging past with an optimistic outlook for what’s to come, the plan fosters a more inclusive and accessible urban core for future generations to enjoy.

Wuhu Cultural Corridor

Design Firm | Sasaki

Location | Wuhu, Anhui Province, China

Client | China Railway Urban Planning & Design Institute Co., Ltd. / Wuhu Planning Bureau

Size | 67 Hectares

Image & Text Credit | Sasaki

About Damian Holmes 3253 Articles
Damian Holmes is the Founder and Editor of World Landscape Architecture (WLA). He is a registered landscape architect (AILA) working in international design practice in Australia. Damian founded WLA in 2007 to provide a website for landscape architects written by landscape architects. Connect on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/damianholmes/