The project has a total surface of 150,000 m² that includes nearly 900 housing units, a solar car park, a daycare center and a clubhouse.

This project will become a veritable mixed-use area in the emerging city of Zhengzhou in China.

The project is called Oasis 18 and is a part of the urban expansion of the J18 site led by The Oval Urban Forecasting Partnership. Adjacent to it will stand a museum designed by Tadao Ando; an art park designed by Mad architects. The Canyon Center will be designed by Nendo and the Taste 18 shop and Tsutaya Books will be designed by the Department of Architecture.

Sculpted by China’s multifaceted geology, our project echoes the country’s natural beauties such as the Young River, Mount Zhangjiajie and Mount Huang. The relationship between space and mass is defined by nature due to the erosion of the river. The shape of the material is defined by the natural and symbolic references; the natural landscape of the area infuses a sinuous language and rhythm into the neighborhood.

The architecture of the building is inspired by the cultural heritage of the Chinese pagoda. It is hierarchical, vertiginous and punctuated by repetitive columns. All these elements offer visual elegance and transparency.

A new vision of high-density living for future generations in this area is introduced by this 150,000 m² project. It offers a different kind of life from that offered by the conventional real estate market in China today. The aim is to provide more verticality and clarity; to create different lifestyles in different strata; to provide more opportunities for exchange between neighborhoods through collective spaces of different scales; and to promote a harmonious life between the landscape and nature in the neighborhood.

The buildings will be composed of 3 strata, which represent: the wind city, the floating city and the earth city. Each stratum has specificities and identifications that correspond to the uses of its future residents. The site will be largely vegetated, the landscape acting as a natural separation between public and private.