Location:  Shanghai, China


Client:  Shanghai City Planning and Land Resource Bureau and Shanghai Jiading District Government

The plan for the Jiading New Town Corporate Headquarters Campus addresses the urban realities of the knowledge economy by creating a new “Informational City.” Since it is the intention of China’s Twelfth Five Year Plan to position Shanghai as a leading world financial center, and as Jiading is one of Shanghai’s three new town CBD centers, the purpose of the Jiading plan is to address the needs of a world network of industries that require a place within Shanghai’s rapidly urbanizing environment. The plan recognizes that the Jiading CBD must be linked to the overall Shanghai economy and that this economy is strategically linked to the international flow of information and commerce worldwide.

Spatially, the Informational City is defined by a) “space of flows” that are electronic communication, Wi-Fi and internet-connected which are predominantly non-spatial, not requiring site specific locations of propinquity, and b) “space of place” which draws upon social, cultural, and political references. New urban environments like the Jiading CBD need to accommodate both in the context of an action plan. Thus, the goal for the plan is to create a highly mobile environment that is flexible and adaptable while being rich in amenities and of a high quality of life to promote the creative exchange of knowledge and information in both formal and informal places.

The Informational City is configured to facilitate a 24/7 urban environment, with land uses and building design providing a vibrant amenity-rich hyper-active streetscape. A strong public pedestrian environment will work symbiotically with collaborative work environments to engender both formal and informal exchanges and encourage entrepreneurship and creativity. The plan emphasizes the importance of establishing world-class educational institutions at all levels in the CBD, and establishes environmentally sustainable principles for the urban infrastructure, buildings and open space.