A revolutionary take on the relationship between cities and farms makes for a connectivity-focused master plan for a major city bordering Beijing, China
Songzhuang Arts and Agriculture City
Songzhuang is a new regional model for development that balances economic growth with agricultural traditions
As contemporary cities grow, a common issue around the world is how to repurpose agricultural land and resources for urban development. With social, economic, and ecological implications, this topic is an even greater concern in China as cities rapidly expand due to the growth of the country’s already enormous population. A significant shift in how we think about the relationship between cities and farms is long overdue. Sasaki’s master plan for Songzhuang offers a revolutionary vision for how urbanity and agriculture can be integrated to enhance the relationship between people and the land, creating new economic opportunities.
Conventional development patterns dictate that agriculture is located at the periphery of the city. Located on the outskirts of Beijing, Songzhuang’s distance from Beijing’s urban core allows for the formation of a new paradigm of development where traditional relationships of city, open space, and farmland are reconfigured. The master plan for Songzhuang envisions a series of self-sustaining communities that are designed to encourage creative pursuits, offer a high quality of living, and integrate with larger regional open space and hydrological systems. Sasaki’s plan inverts the traditional pattern. Development forms the periphery of the city and the farmlands within allow for a diversity of edge conditions that foster interaction with the urban fabric. This strategy creates a balance of development and open space that ultimately facilitates a higher quality of life through self-sustenance and new economic opportunities based on research and the scientific advancement of agricultural products and processes.
Between 1997 and 2008, China lost 12,300,000 hectares of farmland—a land area equivalent to nearly the entire state of Iowa. Of the arable land remaining, 40% is environmentally degraded. Rethinking China’s farms is critical to the nation’s future.
The primary goal of the project is to transition the region’s economy from a commodity-based agrarian landscape towards new industries focused on technology and research
Communities are planned as a series of highly interconnected, mixed-use, creative industry clusters
These clusters are organized in conjunction with catalytic programs and public spaces that facilitate living, working, and recreation
To avoid displacing existing communities, the plan for Songzhuang integrates many of the site’s villages into the new urban fabric
Conventional development patterns dictate that farms are located at the periphery of the city. The master plan for Songzhuang inverts this traditional pattern, featuring clusters of development organized around an agricultural core.
Communities are planned as a series of highly interconnected, mixed-use, creative industry clusters
These clusters are organized in conjunction with catalytic programs and public spaces that facilitate living, working, and recreation
To avoid displacing existing communities, the plan for Songzhuang integrates many of the site’s villages into the new urban fabric
Conventional development patterns dictate that farms are located at the periphery of the city. The master plan for Songzhuang inverts this traditional pattern, featuring clusters of development organized around an agricultural core.
The planned communities that make up the urban form of the district are organized into a series of clusters that follow a familiar structural system: catalytic land uses organized around a primary public space and augmented by a series of programs that facilitate living, working, and recreation. Interconnectivity among clusters is supported by a dedicated transit system, an integrated technology network, and a series of pedestrian and bike pathway—each helping to facilitate synergies and the exchange of ideas between the different clusters. This connectivity is a critical component of the innovation process that will fuel the creative economy of Songzhuang.
Given its scale, Songzhuang is capable of accommodating a diverse built and social fabric, with building types for young professionals, families, agricultural workers, and more
Industries such as textiles and biotech benefit from their integration with farmland
Maintaining current social networks and traditional agrarian lifestyles while providing access to training opportunities creates new economic opportunities for existing residents
By blurring the boundaries between agriculture and development, the contribution of farms to the economy becomes more evident
The public realm provides a multitude of functions including regional park systems, productive landscapes, recreation areas, and neighborhood plazas that serve Songzhuang’s diverse population
Songzhuang’s development clusters are organized with a central core of a catalyst program (educational, cultural, commercial, and civic uses) arranged around a primary public space. This compact structure ensures that all facets of daily life are at the center of a 10-minute walking radius.
Industries such as textiles and biotech benefit from their integration with farmland
Maintaining current social networks and traditional agrarian lifestyles while providing access to training opportunities creates new economic opportunities for existing residents
By blurring the boundaries between agriculture and development, the contribution of farms to the economy becomes more evident
The public realm provides a multitude of functions including regional park systems, productive landscapes, recreation areas, and neighborhood plazas that serve Songzhuang’s diverse population
Songzhuang’s development clusters are organized with a central core of a catalyst program (educational, cultural, commercial, and civic uses) arranged around a primary public space. This compact structure ensures that all facets of daily life are at the center of a 10-minute walking radius.
Another important element is the seamless integration of the existing Songzhuang Artist Village and its current cultural array of museums, art galleries, studios, and innovative residential typologies that are already thriving on the site. Similarly, existing villages currently engaged in farming and other industrial operations are incorporated into the new plan, rehousing residents within the district rather than displacing them to remote sites that are disconnected from current social networks. By providing housing within the clusters and access to training institutes without disrupting existing social networks, inhabitants are slowly integrated into new communities with the choice of continuing to earn a living from with their current skill set within the new agriculture system, or transitioning into new industries.
A significant amount of the food source for the development can be grown on site, creating a model for food security that can be replicated throughout China
The design of the open space within each cluster supports collaboration, community activities, and urban agriculture practices
Sustainable strategies are integrated throughout the city
Re-establishing the site’s hydrological function began with a strategy for restoring the riparian corridors along existing canals connected to the Caobai River
Songzhuang’s design ensures that it is a comfortable city for all
Sustainable strategies are integrated throughout the city
Re-establishing the site’s hydrological function began with a strategy for restoring the riparian corridors along existing canals connected to the Caobai River
Songzhuang’s design ensures that it is a comfortable city for all
Inspired by the traditional Chinese Lihue courtyard structures, the COB prototype block is a flexible low-rise typology that encourages collaboration by integrating live-work, small-scale retail, light manufacturing, and exhibition programs
A section view of a creative cluster
Runoff from development is filtered through intermediate landscapes before returning to waterways, some of which provide storage for agricultural irrigation
A section view of the urban canal
At Songzhuang, the integration of agricultural fields to urban areas reduces the need for shipping produce across long distances to reach consumer markets, replacing traditional energy-intensive practices with more sustainable local eating habits
A section view of a creative cluster
Runoff from development is filtered through intermediate landscapes before returning to waterways, some of which provide storage for agricultural irrigation
A section view of the urban canal
At Songzhuang, the integration of agricultural fields to urban areas reduces the need for shipping produce across long distances to reach consumer markets, replacing traditional energy-intensive practices with more sustainable local eating habits
In a country where farmland is being lost in the name of development at an alarming rate, and where nearly one-sixth of existing arable land suffers from soil pollution, it is imperative that future growth seriously consider food security as a priority. The master plan for Songzhuang offers a model approach which shows that agriculture can coexist with development, as well as help to generate new economic opportunities.
Retail space, cafes, and other active street-level amenities line the urban canal
For more information contact Michael Grove.
