“A symbiotic approach that deploys vegetation at the center of the proposal”

The innovative design integrates flood control, wastewater treatment, nature restoration and public space together, transforms a lifeless concrete drainage into green that provides 0.7 million people a cool and pleasant escape, increases flood resiliency by 36%, saves 70% of wastewater treatment energy consumption. The nature-based solution tested in this pilot project is replicable throughout the city and the world.
Winner presentation to Green-Blue Network in China - Nature-based urban drainage infrastructure without winning authors present (l-r): Maria Atkinson, Chairperson of the Holcim Foundation (at podium); Magali Anderson, Member of the Board of the Holcim Foundation, Chief Sustainability and Innovation Officer of the Holcim Group; and Philippe Block, Member of the Holcim Awards jury Asia Pacific 2020.
The step-by-step process of transforming concrete drainage into green infrastructure using a nature based symbiotic design, to give water more space to increate flood resiliency, to remove the rich nutrients in the primary treated waste water through the biological process saving a lot energy, to follow the tide cycle to make waterfront more accessible, and create a urban nature that allow residents to have an immersive rich and pleasant spatial experience in the lush and cool glen.
By Kongjian Yu - Peking University & Turenscape, Beijing, China and
Ideas: Ecosystem Restoration, Nature-Based Solutions (NbS)
A project for the transformation of an existing infrastructure into a sustainable green-blue network for the city of Shenzhen.