NAUTA AT SHENZHEN BIENNALE ON JAN. 26

NAUTA architecture & research is asked to organize a workshop-debate during the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture in Shenzhen (CN).

NAUTA proudly invites you to the event ‘Business and Technology Parks; a critical research study for the development of the sustainable urban districts of the future’ on Sunday the 26th of January, at 2 pm in Venue A, the Value Factory (the former Guangdong Float Glass Factory).

In the last 2 years NAUTA has developed a method for the strategic re-use of the vacant office buildings in the European market. The methodology of the ‘Palazzi of Rotterdam’ project could be applied to any city that, either currently or in the future, might be subject shrinking or vacancy problems. It is not unrealistic to imagine that the boom of construction in China, with large investments in office buildings, might open the future question of transforming those buildings into new multifunctional complexes (video).

Two years ago NAUTA got commissioned the design of the masterplan for the Zhuzhou Digital and Technology park, an office complex in Zhuzhou City which, according to the brief, should use 80% of its new built area for office space. NAUTA researched the reasons to reduce the office space to 50%, making sure that the rest of the available surface would provide all necessary functions, such as housing, services, public facilities, school, sports facilities, necessary to make the 40ha development self-sustainable and successful on the long term.

According to our studies, several business parks, not only in China, are currently developed with a percentage of office up to 90%. What is the long term destiny of those satellite office cities? What would happen if new real estate scenarios or simply a temporary collapse of the market would empty those properties, with the consequent dilemma of what to do with them? While in Europe ‘Palazzi of Rotterdam’ is a tool to clinically solve the complex process of re-using vacant office buildings, in China the same research works as an ‘alarm call’, in order to develop new responsible projects, valuable through time. Such projects, if well planned, could help reduce urban pollution, avoiding the demolition of potential vacant properties and extend their life cycle by transforming them into new hybrid functions.

For more information please visit the Shenzhen Biennale website:
http://en.szhkbiennale.org/”>http://en.szhkbiennale.org/
http://www.szhkbiennale.org/”>http://www.szhkbiennale.org/