Tianjin COFCO Master Plan, Tianjin, China
Winner: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Award: Merit Award for Urban Design

The Tianjin COFCO Master Plan provides the framework for the redevelopment of a formerly industrial 15-hectare city center site in the heart of Tianjin along the Haihe River into a high-rise neighborhood of offices, retail, hotels and residences.

Composed of six adjacent urban blocks along the commercial corridor of Liu Wei Road, the linear site presented the challenge of uniting six individual development opportunities into one vision to revitalize the Hedong District. Designed with the latest advancements in district-wide heating and cooling, energy efficiency and water management systems, the project is a model of green development at the district, block and building scales.

Low-rise buildings shape the public realm at street level, while strategically arranged towers maximize view corridors and provide sunlight exposure to buildings and open spaces below. Respecting the historic nature of Tianjin and the low-rise development zone along the Haihe River, towers increase in height from the modest scale of riverfront buildings to the striking height of a centrally located, 350-meter landmark tower.

A balanced program of commercial, residential and public uses creates a prominent identity along the riverfront and attracts workers, residents and visitors to the area. The plan emphasizes connections between streets, transit stations and the Haihe River by crafting strong pedestrian networks that pass through all blocks, linking inner-block gardens to retail courts and civic plazas.

This long-term strategic plan for the area will guide the progress of this region, respond to its current and future needs and become a model of socially, economically and environmentally sustainable development.

See Powerpoint (pdf)

BACK