Where Tradition and Innovation Meet

Guangzhou Fangcun Huadi (Flower City), located in Southern China, is a former delta with a traditional horticultural legacy. With the recent rapid expansion of the horticultural industry, development diminished nature and polluted the environment. In response to The Guangzhou Government’s search to ameliorate this problem, West 8 developed a masterplan with a sustainable vision for Fangchun Huadi.

This development is designed to balance new residential and industrial areas with the restoration of the waterways and wetlands. It achieves this through an innovative hydrologic system, clear division of land uses, and urban planning. Additionally, an International Flora Expo Masterplan serves as a central point of interest and economic generator for the entire development.

Ecological Cleaning System and Distinctive Land Division

The Masterplan vision starts with the introduction of an ecological hydrological network which will stream along the gridline corresponding to the Guangzhou and Fushan Cities’ historical axis, the Canton axis. It will create a systematic land use for horticulture industry purposes, improve logistics and allow for keeping CO2 emissions low.

This strategy also helps to identify a robust structure for healthier urban development. West 8 proposes a zoning plan with distinctive divisions between horticultural and urban land uses. This involves a careful implementation of the new hydrological network while preserving the major existing infrastructure, historical monuments and recent housing development. Pocket parks and green inner courtyards within the city will provide shade and a riverside park with a bicycle lane will be introduced. The Guangzhou International Flora Expo, “Sensations” will be designed in the area that will eventually be transformed into a metropolitan park of Guangzhou: the Central Park of Huadi Island. All together a coherent recreation and mobility network is created consisting of boulevards, squares and parks, which fulfill both excellent access and a high quality of life.

International Flora Expo “Sensations”

The Flora Expo design consists of different theme areas: The compact core area, Flower Fields, Romance Gardens, Hidden / Secret Gardens, The Herbs Garden and Gardens of Sound. One of the key features will be The Palace of Flowers which is located at the centre point of the urban expo Canton axis. West 8 proposed a car-free green village to serve the Flower Expo as a service zone. After the Expo, the Village will stay with its legacy with museums, hotels and restaurants at the Central Park of Huadi Island as a living icon, where tradition and innovation meet.