BEIHAI OCEAN GATE: 1 CITY 6 EXPERIENCES
The Beihai Ocean Gate project is transformation on a gigantic scale. Changing the city from industrial to touristic means transforming the way people live and interact, so we needed to be sensitive in weaving the city’s past into its future, whilst ensuring all developments truly benefit locals as much as they benefit tourists.
Thus, we undertook an extremely comprehensive study into the city, examining Beihai’s tourism industry and future prospects, and learning residents and tourists needs.
We then looked at some of the world’s most successful waterfront cities as inspiration for turning Beihai into a ‘masterclass’ of waterfront city design.
We achieved this by creating six tourism destinations, all themed around the interaction between residents, tourists and water.
The Beihai Ocean Gate design flow is characterized by big data research, thorough localisation, and NDA design innovation.
1. Cruising City
The Cruising City is a full tourism and entertainment destination that concentrates the joys and delights of water into a singular lifestyle destination.
Thus, we placed a waterfall theme waterpark beside a cruise terminal, allowing guests to enjoy water both on and off the sea.
2. Esplanade
For the esplanade we started with the question ‘What are the key elements of a successful seafront mixed use development?’
We responded by creating an authentic waterfront lifestyle district where people can live, work and play by the seashore so we integrated seaview residentials alongside retail hubs, an events centre, and even a water show.
This then gives residents a full seafront lifestyle, all accessible within a few minutes walk.
3. Culture Pier
The Culture Pier is where Beihai’s urban culture meets the ocean: the city’s foremost design & arts district, clustered around Beihai’s most iconic waterfront observation deck
With its powerful design and stark structure rising out above the ocean, the Beihai Wings are an extraordinary icon for the city, set to be as representative of the city as the Opera House is for Sydney, or Burj Al Arab is for Dubai, icons sitting by the water that welcome visitors and give residents a landmark to be truly proud of.
4. Green Mile
The final stretch of the “longest sports park” in the world provides residents with an abundance of ecological urban facilities and amenities.
This is the culmination of the Urban Green River that is a physical manifestation of our long-term vision for active, sustainable living, where physical parks, trails, and canals network through the city, irrigating these concepts into the people and city itself.
5. Grand Canal
The Grand Canal is an authentic SOHO lifestyle district set along the canal, attracting the young and stylish who seek a modern lifestyle.
This area itself is a wharf, with moored boats gently rocking on the water, giving a fresh vibe to balmy nights which are perfect for gathering at the al fresco bars and restaurants.
6. Beihai Old Wharf
The Old Wharf brings Beihai’s traditional fishing culture into the modern era as we sensitively highlight it, turning this area into a vibrant 24-hour mixed-use district where visitors can wander at will and discover the city’s close connection to the sea.
Boutique hotels that social media savvy youth will love are created from converted warehouses, whilst a fishing culture edutainment hub sits at the scenic canal filled with fishing boats.
NDA Vision
To meaningfully transform the city, we needed to consider how transformation impacts on a human level; the pride residents feel as they see the iconic design on the Culture Pier, or the delight tourists experience when alighting onto a ship from the Cruising Pier.
That’s why the Beihai Ocean Gate project is equally bottom-up as it is top-down, at the crux of everyone’s interest we find a place of perfect harmony.