Woods Bagot's Design for China Southern

Excerpted from http://www.frontop.com/sitecn/Blog/811.html
The largest carrier in Asia China Southern Airlines plans to build not just a new corporate campus, but an entire small city as its headquarters on the outskirts of Guangzhou. Named China Southern Airport City. The international architecture practice Woods Bagot (We created architectural rendering for its Chongqing D7 Project) is designing the master plan, after winning a competition that included Paul Andreu and Zaha Hadid (We have cooperated with Zaha Hadid for many projects on 3d rendering and architectural visualization). the project is scheduled to begin rising on a 988-acre site about four miles from Guangzhou's Baiyun International Airport as early as the end of this year.

On the ground, the Woods Bagot plan connects the two parcels of land with a bridge and light rail system that extends over the highway, but gives each area a set of distinct functions. "We put most of the airline's internal functions, like a training center, staff dormitories, and data center facilities on the east parcel," along with plenty of outdoor space, designed in collaboration with Hargreaves Associates and Sherwood Design Engineers, says Weng. "Most Chinese cities are very dense and very urban, but China Southern wants to create a human-scale campus, that's close to nature."

On the western parcel, the section closest to the bridge will include public functions, such as a media center, business hotel, outlet mall, and performing arts center. Manufacturing, operations, and research buildings will be clustered further north. Although Weng estimates it may take 10 years for China Southern to complete the project, the result is intended to be "a mini-city of their own, sustainable for long-term growth."