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All images via Dezeen

What will the city of the future look like? If MAD architects have anything to say about it, urban centres will no longer resemble the concrete jungles of the industrial revolution. MAD and their design friends have come together to create a conceptual model of the Huaxi city centre of Guiyang, China, that brings nature into every consideration when building with the most modern technologies of the 21st century.

Says MAD:

“The city is no longer determined by the leftover logic of the industrial revolution (speed, profit, efficiency) but instead follows the ‘fragile rules’ of nature.”

According to Dezeen architecture and design magazine, the urbanization of Chinese cities over the past 15 years has been marked by “high-density, high-speed and low-quality duplication” that renders urban spaces “meaningless, crowded and soulless.” The Huaxi project aims to reverse this trend, creating a new reality for urban centres that encourages a more seamless connection between humans and the surrounding natural world. With 200 to 400 new Chinese cities being built in the next 20 years, this sounds like a great idea!

Working with Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning and Design Institute, Studio 6, MAD developed a masterplan for Hauxi city. They invited ten other international young architectural firms to Huaxi for a three-day workshop to learn about the area’s natural and cultural features, then charged them with creating their own design for their assigned part of the plan.

Design by MAD (China):

Mountain peaks serve as the backdrop to a structure that resembles rolling foothills. Windows and terraces pepper the building throughout, allowing for beautiful views of the surrounding country. Design by Serie (UK/India):

The building leans to one side to accommodate its sloping hillside site. Design by BIG (Denmark):

Design by Dieguez Fridman (Argentina):

Design by Mass Studies (Korea):

Drawings show the development of the final concept, a multi-level building with circular courtyards and terraces:

Design by HouLiang Architecture (China):

Close-up:

Design by Atelier Manferdini (USA):

This one resembles a growing crystalline structure, perhaps not unlike Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. Design by Sou Fujimoto Architects (Japan):

Close-up:

Design by Rojkind Arquitectos (Mexico):

Design by JDS (Denmark/Belgium):

Design by EMERGENT/Tom Wiscombe (USA):

For more pictures and building plans, check out the article over at Dezeen.

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