Just off the Chinese coast of Hainan sits a large patch of brown earth breaking up an otherwise uniform stretch of blue water. While it may be a bit of an eyesore right now, the island, which is named South Sea Pearl Eco-Island, is destined to become a 250 hectare tourist destination complete with homes, hotels, attractions, and a port with enough space for two cruise ships to dock.
But that all comes later.
Right now, the island is as empty as a promise from Charles Ponzi or one of this year’s presidential candidates, and before any construction can actually begin, it needs to be determined who will design the master plan that will transform the island. As ArchDaily reports, that’s where Hainan Airlines Group’s international design competition comes into play.
The competition has been organized by China Building Center, which has selected former Chief Architect of Barcelona and Director of Guallart Architects, Vicente Guallart, to develop the strategic vision for the island. The goal is to create an urban development using the best available technologies with a focus on ecological principles to make a landmark for new urbanism in China, according to Guallart.
10 firms will present submissions and a winner will be selected by a jury comprising Aaron Betsky, Benedetta Tagliabue, Donald Bates, Sergey Kuznetsov, Peter Poulet, Horacio Werner, and Margarita Jover during the last week of August.
The 10 competing firms are:
- Foster + Partners
- Morphosis Architects
- Office of Architecture in Barcelona Carlos Ferrater Partnership
- Diller Scofidio + Renfrom
- IROJE Architects & Planners
- UNStudio
- KuiperCompagnons
- The Jerde Partnership Inc.
- CCDI
- Boston International Design Group, LLC
After the selection is made, construction on the island is expected to start in 2017. A tentative completion date of 2027 has also been set. Additionally, South Sea Pearl Eco-Island may not be a solitary development. Studies are currently underway to evaluate the region for other possible man made islands and existing islands off the coast of Hainan may follow the lead of South Sea Pearl Eco-Island and become more tourist-oriented.
Related Stories
Codes | Feb 9, 2024
Illinois releases stretch energy code for building construction
Illinois is the latest jurisdiction to release a stretch energy code that provides standards for communities to mandate more efficient building construction. St. Louis, Mo., and a few states, including California, Colorado, and Massachusetts, currently have stretch codes in place.
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 50 Public Library Architecture Firms for 2023
Quinn Evans, McMillan Pazdan Smith, PGAL, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and Gensler top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest public library architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 60 Performing Arts Center and Concert Venue Architecture Firms for 2023
Populous, DLR Group, Gensler, HGA, and Perkins Eastman top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest performing arts center and concert venue architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 70 Museum Architecture Firms for 2023
SmithGroup, Gensler, Ayers Saint Gross, Quinn Evans, HGA, and Cooper Robertson head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest museum and gallery architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Market Data | Feb 7, 2024
New download: BD+C's February 2024 Market Intelligence Report
Building Design+Construction's monthly Market Intelligence Report offers a snapshot of the health of the U.S. building construction industry, including the commercial, multifamily, institutional, and industrial building sectors. This report tracks the latest metrics related to construction spending, demand for design services, contractor backlogs, and material price trends.
Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2024
Top 80 Religious Facility Architecture Firms for 2023
Parkhill, FGM Architects, GFF, Gensler, and HOK top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest religious facility architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Modular Building | Feb 6, 2024
Modular fire station allows for possible future reconfigurations
A fire station in Southern California leveraged prefab, modular construction for faster completion and future reconfiguration.
Giants 400 | Feb 5, 2024
Top 30 Entertainment Center, Cineplex, and Theme Park Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, JLL, Nelson Worldwide, AO, and Stantec top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest entertainment center, cineplex, and theme park architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Feb 5, 2024
Top 90 Shopping Mall, Big Box Store, and Strip Center Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, Arcadis North America, Core States Group, WD Partners, and MBH Architects top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest shopping mall, big box store, and strip center architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Laboratories | Feb 5, 2024
DOE selects design-build team for laboratory focused on clean energy innovation
JE Dunn Construction and SmithGroup will construct the 127,000-sf Energy Materials and Processing at Scale (EMAPS) clean energy laboratory in Colorado to create a direct path from lab-scale innovations to pilot-scale production.
