Once a largely rural country, China now has more than 100 cities with populations of over a million people, and all that building on former farmland has led to a major downside, flooding. But instead of constructing big barriers like others have done, China is turning back to nature for the solution, upgrading its cities so that they welcome the water rather than hold it back.
China is rebuilding the Great Wall of China. However, now they build not with stones, mortar, sand and rubble, designed to stop the enemy hordes. Nowadays they build with trees. Just like the wall erected many years ago, the world’s largest man-made forest should stop the enemy that China has been fighting for many years and which is no less dangerous than the problem of overpopulation. This enemy is the desert that occupies most of eastern China and continues to grow non-stop.
Zaha Hadid Architects recently broke ground on the Guangzhou Infinitus Plaza, a modern mixed-use campus that combines intelligent technologies with environmental sustainability. Designed with the sweeping curvaceous lines and futuristic appearance that the architecture firm is so well known for, the project is one of the final works architect Zaha Hadid worked on before her death early this year. The eight-story complex features a layout inspired by the symbol for infinity “∞” and integrates many green building systems, including rainwater collection and smart energy monitors.
Located in Baiyun New Town of Guangzhou, the 167,000-square-meter Guangzhou Infinitus Plaza will serve as the new headquarters of Infinitus (China) Company Ltd. The campus will comprise a collection of modern facilities that include a new global R&D center, a Chinese herbal medicine research and safety assessment center, as well as a corporate exhibition center and gallery. The buildings are arranged in a series of “infinite rings” wrapping around the central atria and courtyards to emphasize open communication, connection, and collaboration…
Read the rest of the article by Lucy Wang in Inhabitat.