GSAPP Studio-X is collaborating with University of Hong Kong architecture students on concepts for the pedestrianization of Des Voeux Road in Hong Kong Central. Central is one of the densest and most congested urban areas in the world, and one of the districts in Hong Kong with the poorest air quality. Commissioned by the DVRC Initiative, a nonprofit coalition of organisations advocating for the transformation of Des Voeux Road Central into a pedestrian and tram precinct, this project investigates strategies for creating a new type of linear, catalytic public space in Hong Kong.

In one of the most rapidly urbanizing regions in the world, how has the superblock shaped the urban landscape of the PRD? With its unique history of large-scale urban development, especially during the past three decades, the PRD provides an abundant source of superblock projects for research and analysis. Hong Kong, with its influences rooted in a colonial past and with Great Britain, provided early models of superblock development that were easily adapted in the emerging cities of Shenzhen and Dongguan, and for new growth of historical cities like Guangzhou.

Studio-X BJ / Shenzhen 2015 Summer Workshop
Pingdi Low-carbon City
Directed by GSAPP faculty: Jeffrey Johnson + Adam Frampton
In collaboration with Shenzhen Design Center and Future + and Shenzhen University