Jury comment
This speculative proposal provides a holistic approach to a coastal tourism region near Shenzhen that is impacted by climate change. Negotiating environmental, economic, social and cultural aspects of the region through a long-term, multifaceted and multi-scalar strategy, the project is underpinned by a strong reading of the site’s ecology and an exploration of how new infrastructures and tourist facilities can shape more resilient landscape systems. Collaborating with an engineer, the landscape team has developed hybrid approaches to infrastructure that support tourism while defending the coastline against typhoons. The jury commends the proposal’s critique of the region’s existing tourist economy and the alternative approach developed, which involves community management of the local industry and the landscapes that support it. Overall, this project demonstrates the thinking that landscape architects can bring to complex landscapes undergoing climate-related change in the coming decades.
Xichong Coast Recovery Plan applies to Xichong, Shenzhen, China.
Project credits
Landscape architect and urban designer Hassell Collaborator Mott MacDonald Imagery Hassell
To view all the winners of the 2021 National Landscape Architecture Awards, go here.
