MVRDV - City Rock Towers

City Rock Towers

City Rock Towers

City Rock Towers is a visually dynamic, mixed-density, pedestrian-scale development that integrates the area’s historic buildings and hybridized Shi Ku Men Li Long architectural styles into its high-rise residential and low-rise commercial building fabric. These celebrate Shanghai’s rich history while also presenting new possibilities for elegant, high-quality, and dense urban living. Comprising a range of dwelling types with spectacular views of the Huangpu River and the city, the towers offer a diverse, high-quality lifestyle. The urban tapestry that developed thereafter became not only a mixture of old and new, due to an exchange that was multidirectional, but also a colorful composition and fusion of traditional and international styles.

The architectural assignment demands a sophisticated answer to the question: 'how to mitigate between high-density urbanism in a historically low-density context.' 

A high-caliber urban development will offer quality at a variety of scales and celebrate the past while presenting a clear vision for future living.

"An interesting skyline is not enough. The contrast between the old and new is crucial for the design, and it's also the aim of the project. To create an interesting eyeline, we need an engaging ground floor. I believe the existing buildings, their urban structure, and their history will serve as the foundation for the transformations. However, some of the old ones are rather uninspiring. Thus, retaining their base features and transforming them into an interesting gallery of spaces is a promising strategy. The users will benefit from the preservation and reinvention of this layer."

The plot is historically significant as it lies just outside the original city walls and features one of the rivers that connect the city to the Huangpu River. The new CBD on the east side of the site creates a juxtaposition in which the architectural assignment demands a sophisticated answer to the question: 'how to mitigate between high-density urbanism in a historically low-density context.' The historic fabric of the site, including the articulation of an old river system and definition of the old roads, as well as the selective retention of historic buildings, serves to create order on the site.



This proposal challenges the typical 'towers-in-the-park' condition that this kind of density often creates by strategically positioning the towers in the two plots and then activating the commercial buildings around them. Commercial buildings and permeable 'walls' reflect the roofline of the historic forms to create a soft boundary that subtly protects residents’ privacy while also providing natural, park-like qualities that promote resident well-being.

By creating a matrix of urban values, we have been able to compare global and local examples of urban districts and villages. Thus, we conclude that the social and cultural value of a space is often determined by elements of which diversity, publicness, and human scale are driving elements. The above urban elements are present in the majority of urban fabrics around the world, but the key components are often the cohesion and adaptability of an area that determine the value of the area as a whole in the long term. Therefore, a holistic strategy is needed to create a distinctive urban experience.

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Credits

Architect
Founding Partner in Charge
Competition design team
Schematic design team
Project Coordination
Landscape Architect
Interior Architect
Graphic design
Visualisations

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