Project: Life Island
Architects: Penda China
Location: Shenzhen, China
Photographs by: Courtesy of Penda China
Life Island by Penda China
The isolation to curb the COVID-19 epidemic has confined us quietly at home for quite some time, allowing us to rethink the relationship between life, living space and nature. Here we present a design proposal for a residential development which may hopefully trigger off some new ideas about our future home.
Life Island is located in Shenzhen,overlooking Hong Kong across the sea. As a major gateway adjacent to Shenzhen Bay Bridge and the cruise homeport and a key node on the urban development axis of Shenzhen, it represents unlimited potential for future development.
The site backs onto few Mountains, enjoying an unblocked view of the sea. This ideal location between mountain and sea brings about exceptional landscape resources for the project. A super high-rise urban apartment rising up to 250m high will rise here for future urban elites.
Our design strategy, centering on the unique landscape resources, aims to create an urban green island joining nearby Mountains, draw buildings closer to nature, and provide a green and healthy living environment for future owners. So our design concept is “Life Island”.
Just as the English poet John Donn writes: “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…”
The island, at the same time, also connects the surrounding buildings with ground floor commerce, creating an urban slow traffic space convenient for pedestrians and enriching urban street facade and the commercial atmosphere.
Roof garden is designed with jogging tracks for people to exercise and relax during spare time. There is also a 200m long super infinity swimming pool, establishing a visual connection with the sea and offering a spectacular view for future owners.
250m in height, the building will be the highest future urban apartment in Shenzhen, offering unparalleled experience of urban altitude for owners.
In addition to rooftop greening, diverse public art installations are planned across the Life Island. Like art cells, they inject artistic charms into the environment.
The inspiration for main buildings comes from a local tropical plant, i.e., the palm trees. The fascinating organic shape is combined with clear mathematical logic, showing much resemblance to buildings. So in our design, buildings are expected to be “growing” from the earth.
The palm leaf structure offers 270 degree bay window views for each bedroom in the building, so that owners can truly live in harmony with the natural landscape of mountains and the sea.
The same design language is also be extended into the interior public space, and the lobby space is planned to provide leisure functions for owners. The basement lobby, F1 lobby and three-floor sky lobby can offer considerate and thoughtful home service for owners.
Apartment types are distributed by floor, with small and medium apartments on lower floors, duplex and penthouse on top floor. With modular design concept for building structure, interior spaces are open and flexible, which can be flexibly divided as needed by the owners. The sustainable design concept is reflected throughout from construction to operation. To realize the planned structural form, Penda China has also invited internationally renowned structural designer ARUP as technical consultant for successful implementation of the project.
Green sunlight room is designed inside the apartment so the owners can enjoy the fun of bath time. At the same time, the green landscape not only beautifies the space but also purifies indoor air, playing a vital role in regulating indoor microclimate.
Each bedroom features a bay window for 270 degree landscape view to maximize the views. The exceptional natural landscape not only enhances the owner’s living experience but also adds value to the buildings.
To enrich community culture, an art museum is planned on the ground floor where owners, especially their children, can be immersed in an artistic atmosphere even inside the community. Relying on Shenzhen’s scientific and technological resources, the art museum can work in collaboration with internationally renowned art institutions and schools to provide not only an art space, but also a think tank closely connected to the world by virtue of its innovative ideas and leading technologies.
The ground floor provides supporting commercial spaces, where space and art are seamlessly integrated via the unconventional design of spatial form, bringing unique commercial shopping experience to owners and citizens. A rich variety of supporting commercial facilities also make life in the community more convenient. The ground floor commercial space continues the green design concept and leads in sufficient natural day lighting. Besides, there are also many art cells implanted into the commercial spaces on the ground floor, each with different theme and landscape. This not only enriches the shopping experience but also creates a healthy indoor shopping environment in the commercial space.
Along with the evolution of the cities, the future commercial spaces will not only serve for shopping purposes, but also contribute to people’s spiritual life. The commercial spaces themselves, more like the living organisms, will be “breathing” and “growing” with people.
No man is an island, entire of itself. It is envisioned that, in the future, the island will not only be a green Life Island, but also a spiritual island for future urban life.
Given the impact brought by the epidemic to our daily life, the future residential buildings will more emphasize the integration of nature and built spaces, while creating green and healthy living environment will attract increasing attention from the general public. As architects, we are committed to exerting more efforts in creating green and healthy human settlement while pursuing architectural art.
-Project description and images provided by Penda China
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