Liuxiandong Vanke Cloud CityRealized

The Vanke Yuncheng project, which is marketed under the name ’Cloud City’ in the city’s Liu Xian Dong area is a new quarter in the making. Previously a low-level industrial site, currently it evolves into a new mixed use quarter. In Liu Xian Dong a new mix and concepts using market niches are being developed. Based on a masterplan of Urbanus, the area comprises of a construction area of 1.335 million square meters divided over 12 building plots and a number of retail outlets in public spaces. The new district combines middle and up market residential schemes, office and research buildings, retail space and a number of public parks.Our DY402 project is flanked to the north by a shopping centre, designed by Hong-Kong based ROCCO, to the north east by an office tower of WOHA from Singapore and on the western side by a partly sunken landscaped retail park which has been designed by local office Urbanus.

The shaping of the complex started with the (European) city block as an archetype. A combination of legal regulations on façade lengths, maximum building heights, land use requirements and the total program of 190.000 square meters lead to the ensemble of four stepping and folding towers on a shared perimeter base. The result is an iconic structure that our architectural expression of community.

The multiple functions and activities in the plinth of building create a connected neighbourhood that is embedded into the surroundings. The architectural articulation of the plinth, a continuous colonnade with varying height, strengthens this sense of connectivity

The careful placing of high and low volumes, openings and connecting views creates a housing ensemble with very high density as well as pleasant courtyards. The rich planting offers softness and shadow, so important in the tropical climate of Shenzhen

Living in the city is increasingly expensive for large parts of the population, especially for the young. This metropolitan project has new answers: high quality micro apartments with a range of communal amenities, places to meet, outdoor spaces on multiple levels