zizhu purple bay

LOCATION:

Shanghai, China

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

McCullough was invited by Gafcon to be the landscape architect for the Zizhu Hi-Tech Industrial City, a new urban innovation city in Shanghai, China. The project began as an education and technology hub adjacent to Shanghai Jiao Tong University and East China Normal University Minhang. Today, it is home to innovative technology corporations and research and manufacturers of various technologies. The 800-acre mixed-use community proposes an intricate open space system that compliments the urban fabric and supports the existing ecology. The design embraces the natural waterfront at the edge of the property and a man-made canal that cuts through the site by introducing programmatic elements such as a retail center, waterfront park, and nature walk, that take people to the water.

McCullough and Gafcon are collaborating on the project's first two phases, which include a lake, commercial district, luxury hotel, family entertainment park, arboretum, and artist community. McCullough was asked to study the gardens that will surround a luxury business hotel, which will be the "Purple Garden." The gardens will be located on an island at the perimeter of the Purple Lake and will span nearly 100 acres, connecting both sides of the Huangpu River with a world-renowned pedestrian-focused park system.

The anticipated outcome of the project is that it will be one of Shanghai's greatest modern environments, serving as an amenity for a luxury business hotel, the new town of Zizhu, and several other southern Shanghai districts. Some of the amenities and features of the Purple Garden will include the Sky Tram terminal station, an immersive interactive walk-through adventure, an executive leadership and team building facility, botanical gardens, and children's playgrounds and adventure zones. McCullough is currently in the planning process for the Purple Garden. Zizhu is bringing innovation, beauty, and ecological consciousness to Shanghai.