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Winning entry for the Kaohsiung Urban Design Competition merges sustainability with revitalization

Kaohsiung Port Station Urban Competition

Architecture can be sometimes confused with the constructional elements of a space, but as a whole this expansive field embodies something more than that. The winning design proposal by De Architecten Cie. for the Kaohsiung Port Station certainly signifies the above statement. Rather than addressing the issue of building, this ambitious project is being envisaged to revitalize a whole 15.42 hectare spatial sector. The goal of the competition (as made clear by the Kaohsiung city government), was to create a connective section of urban fabric (between the Hamasen and Yancheng districts), in place of the existing dilapidated rail yards and associated structures.

Regeneration of city-scape forms an intrinsic part of urban design. But in this case, some of those rail structures are designated as historical buildings. So the architects had to ingeniously formulate a grand plan that would tread the middle ground between development of new elements and maintenance (with revitalization) of old elements. This dual objective of the proposal can be translated into the spatial design considerations taken by the architects.

Mixed use development: Coming to the introduction of new structures, the designers have thought of zoning a part of the site to mixed use development. This encompasses residential places, commercial structures and renovation/renewal of existing industrial buildings into galleries. As for revitalizing the old ‘essence’ of the site, the architects have conceptualized an expansive park to be the focal point of the whole urban sector. This longitudinal park along the linearity of rail lines will incorporate a historical museum that would cater to the cultural preservation of this old industrial site.

Enhanced pedestrian access: Now coming to the sustainable factor, the meticulous planning of this whole sector will allow an enhanced degree of accessibility to pedestrians, but at the same time would limit the flow of polluting vehicular traffic within the core design scope. Besides, efficient circulative pattern of vehicles have been shifted to the outskirts of the urban fabric. Furthermore, the orientation of buildings within the sector would accentuate upon the magnitude of effective cross ventilation and mitigation of direct solar gain.

Via: ArchDaily

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