Zhuhai, CUHK Studio

Re-programming The Cloverleaf

The challenge this studio posed, was designing a large-scale mat-building intended to serve as a bus station capable of accommodating over 300 buses, coupled with the integration of a marketplace catering to the local community. In addressing the complexity of this expansive project, a dual strategy was employed, combining both bottom-up and top-down design methodologies to seamlessly interconnect human and urban scales.

 

The studio, conducted as a traveling studio in collaboration with CUHK in Hong Kong, involved a visit to Zhuhai. Upon visiting the site, I personally studied and concluded that it presents a unique set of challenges. These challenges are characterized by the presence of extensive existing infrastructure, encompassing highways, tunnels, and a local train station, amidst densely populated residential buildings—a distinctive scenario specific to Zhuhai, Mainland China.

 

In response to these conditions, my proposal advocates for the extension of the current infrastructure onto the site to create an elevated structure for buses, intertwining with and ascending the cloverleaf configuration, an iconic infrastructure typology. Simultaneously, the proposal suggests a reprogramming of the cloverleaf footprint to transform it into a vibrant civic space for the marketplace. The intention is to perceive the existing infrastructure not as a hindrance to civic life but as an opportunity for its enhancement and flourishing.