CLOUD CITY

The project presents lifestyle and public spaces suspended in the air, comprising an IT industry cluster, commercial, leisure, and cultural facilities. Each civic amenity provides a profound identity and acts as a catalyst for small and big businesses. The overall scale is broken down into individual units and a large variety of locations develop a unique environment for interaction and creativity. Each communal area is connected with a park that acts like a green communication network in symbiosis.

As an integral part of the urban ecosystem, the proposal also has the ability to harvest rainwater and produce power from the sun, wind, and algae. In addition, it stores carbon and filters particles from the air while housing sanctuaries for wild plants and food production modules. By implementing these mechanisms, the architects were able to place shelters throughout the exterior terraces in order to place visitors, residents, and workers in close proximity to nature, leisure, and healthier lifestyles.

The project was designed by architects Urban Future Organisation (UFO) and CR-design, who commented: “Cloud citizen is as much a strategy for how to build future cities capable of giving back more to the environment than they cost, as it is a singular iconographic mega building complex with an identifiable and striking skyline giving character and hope to the vision of a greener future enabled by human enterprise.”

Cloud Citizen was awarded the highest prize in the Shenzhen super city competition.