SUIVANT
2020
Green Handan Manifesto
Handan, China
The city of Handan, with a population of about 2.8 million people, is the centre of China’s Central Plains economic zone.
Famous for its historical and cultural heritage, the city of Handan is also a major centre of Chinese industry, under the influence of the Hansteel group, which has deeply impacted its territory.
The study develops an urban development strategy both adapted and flexible. The area concerned, which represents about a quarter of the surface area of the historic city, is made up of very heterogeneous built elements and an important industrial heritage. This heritage formed the starting point for the urban project, as did the geographical reality of the site, which guided the design process and the functioning of the new district.
The proposal does not seek to standardize, but rather to make a variety of elements coexist and interact to compose a new homogeneous territory. Above all, the project highlights the urban aspect of the industrial heritage: the rehabilitation and reuse of the site’s old roads in particular, define a new network for the district.
The study placed particular attention on the feasibility and phasing of the development of the area, as well as on soil depollution strategies. The intervention follows 4 main principles aimed at fostering the coherence of a functional and resilient city, deeply rooted in its time:
• The preservation and cultural enhancement of industrial heritage. The «Heritage Island» made up of former factories, transformed into places for culture, meetings and leisure, forms the backbone of the project.
• The enhancement of the landscape and the creation of new green spaces, including a large garden-park that runs through
the entire district, preserves existing trees, participates in the site’s decontamination and the enhancement of the estate
value.
• The optimization and development of water resources, including the development of the banks of the Qin River that runs through the site.
• The development of mixed, connected and flexible programs, based on the Hôtel Métropole concept developed by Dominique
Perrault.
1st Prize: The Third Hebei International urban planning and design Competition
• Location Hansteel East Industrial Plant, Handan, China
• Site area 8.66 KM²
• Authorized area for final implementation 1.0KM²
• Client
- Hebei Provincial Department of Housing & Urban Rural Development;
- Department of Natural Resources of Hebei Province
- Handan Municipal People’s Government,
- Handan Natural Resources and Planning Bureau
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