Looking forward to the Year of the Ox in China

As China prepares to welcome its New Year, we wish all of our colleagues, clients and partners there, as well as people of Chinese heritage around the world, a happy, healthy and prosperous Year of the Ox.

Chapman Taylor’s Shanghai studio has worked on some incredible projects across China in the twelve years since it was established, including large-scale retail and leisure developments such as Shanghai Global Harbor and Jiangnan Global Harbor, world-class theme parks like Global 100 in Hainan, urban developments such as at Jinqiao in Shanghai as well as interior design and refurbishments such as at the famous No.1 Department Store in Shanghai.

As China’s economy continues to grow, the country is investing in large-scale urban development on an extraordinary scale, with new cities being developed and existing ones expanded or renewed. Chapman Taylor is deeply involved in this phenomenon, masterplanning, designing and delivering large-scale projects across the country. Our projects are designed to be socially, commercially and environmentally sustainable, adopting, where appropriate, Smart City, 15-Minute City and Sponge City principles.

China is moving more and more towards integrated, mixed-use urban streetscapes. Chapman Taylor’s extensive experience in creating well-integrated mixed-use schemes, combining retail and leisure with public spaces, residential, transportation hubs and other uses, is leading to us gaining more and more work from local and national authorities as well as private sector developers.

Among our recent projects in the country, we have undertaken a number of very large masterplan competitions, including our design concepts for the 950-hectare Sanya Baopo Cultural and Sport District in Hainan, the 678-hectare Songzhuang Xiaopu Artists Town near Beijing, Qilong Innovation Park in Chengdu, a 140-hectare urban district in central Nanchong and, in collaboration with Martha Schwartz Partners, a coastal tourism resort at Xiyong Dapeng in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. Our 680-hectare masterplan for Liangjiang Innovation Zone in Chongqing is currently under construction.

Among other key Chapman Taylor projects in the country are the 1.2 million m² Lanzhou Global Harbor mixed-use development, the Shimao Ningbo shopping and entertainment centre in Zhejiang, Vanke Kunming shopping centre, progressing at speed in Kunming, Shiyan Shijibaiqian Mall, which is well-advanced on site in Hubei, “Future Hotel” in Chongqing, and the new Zhangjiang Gaoke Office Park in Shanghai, which broke ground in November 2020. We also recently won a design competition for Chengdong Elementary School in Wuxi.

In the second half of 2020, ZNC Shopping Mall, the interiors of which were designed by Chapman Taylor, opened to the public in Dongtai and Changchun Beihu Wuyue Square shopping centre, for which we again provided the interior design, also opened to the public.

Clients come to us for our skills and experience in particular areas, especially masterplanning, urban design, interiors and mixed-use schemes. We are also developing a presence in the transportation sector, particularly in railway and airport design.

Our 70-strong Shanghai studio expanded in 2020, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is a testament to the commitment, tenacity and collaborative spirit of our team there. We look forward to working on many more exciting projects, including in new locations across China, throughout the coming year.