The City of Shanghai sponsored an international design competition, in which Johnson Fain was the only US participant, to repurpose a formerly separate and secured site and incorporate it into the day-to-day life of the city. To replan the site, a decommissioned Naval Air Station just north of the Bund along the Huangpu River, the government’s competition brief required a presentation to city officials in Shanghai midway through a twelve-week schedule. Faced with no program provided by the organizers, the team developed three schemes with different programs and spatial frameworks for the midway presentation.

Each of the three schemes was built around a different organizing theme. The Knowledge City built upon the idea that education was a pre-requisite to a prosperous future and included the expansion of a nearby university and two additional universities. The Green City built upon concepts of resilient environmental planning, focused especially on China’s historic building code requirements for energy conservation and solar access for living space, providing for restored wetlands and water conservation measures. The Good Life City built on the idea that with increased prosperity the Chinese would have more leisure time for a broad range of leisure activities having to do with wellness, recreation, and entertainment. The Good Life City was selected by the Client, and was developed further for submittal, incorporating some of the elements of the other schemes such as the universities, and restoration of wetlands. Today, more than 20 years later, much of the plan has been built out.