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The National Creative Cluster in Beijing was born from a radical question: is it possible for city and nature to no longer be in opposition, but parts of the same organism? The project responds with the concept of Urban Landscape – a new paradigm in which architecture becomes a metaphor for nature, not an alternative to it.
Located in the Tongzhou district, east of Beijing, in close proximity to the Grand Canal and the Songzhuang arts hub-the largest creative community in China the NCC takes the form of an archipelago of 7 creative islands surrounded by greenery, covering 2.800,000 sqm of cultural, residential, commercial and hospitality spaces.
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Urban Landscape: a new paradigm
The traditional city exists in opposition to the landscape. The NCC overcomes this contradiction: architecture does not import nature as decoration, but is generated by its own forces. Erosion, subtraction, layering – the principles of the natural landscape become design logic.
An archipelago sculpted by water and wind
Seven creative islands, each evoking the most iconic landscapes of Chinese tradition. Roads look like eroded canyons, surfaces interact with the environment to harvest energy and resources. Water-a founding theme in dialogue with the history of the Grand Canal-crosses and connects the entire system.
Silk Routes and the Grand Boulevard
Creativity as a program
The project outlines a rich and layered urban fabric: pedestrian paths, squares, and covered walkways that recall Beijing’s hutongs, but also Oxford Street, Parisian boulevards, and the quality of Italian streets. The main axis-the Grand Boulevard-is the aggregator of life and commerce, in the vertical density of the contemporary city.
Each island houses a specific functional polarity: the Hengtian Vogue and Culture Center, NCC Headquarters, Leading Headquarters. Cultural centers, fashion and creative spaces, artist residences, high-end hospitality. An ecosystem designed to attract, retain and grow creative talent on an international scale.
Sustainability and urban vision
NCC is not a neighborhood, it is a model. High density and high environmental quality coexist in a system designed to be replicable-a new standard of sustainable urban development for major metropolises in China and beyond.
