Seoul Biennale
Maximum Sharing = Minimal Footprint. NAAU in collaboration with mars architects and rmit architecture has developed a speculative proposal for the future of the Taihu urban agglomeration in China. Lake Taihu, east of Shanghai, is rapidly urbanizing. The seven cities draped around the vast ecological reserve are expanding into a contiguous urbanity with a population that rivals greater Shanghai. Land preservation and resource efficiency become crucial goals for this rural-urban systems at the heart of the Yangtze River Delta. However, as monocentric cities rapidly morph into multi-nodal systems traditional planning models such as the ‘compact city’ collapse
ZERØ CITY 
explores the planning of a circular metropolis as a rare intermediary stage between a linear and networked city emerging around Lake Taihu. Within the geographic confines of the ring, traditional nodal expansion can give way to a model of rural-urban integration. A sharing model is introduced that
mediates land use collectively. A state of liminality is promoted in which future growth is consolidated around natural emerging urban ribbon enveloping the lake. ZERØ CITY offers a radical planning alternative for metropolitan fields where growth should be mediated by the commodification of green space and carbon sequestration. Both conceptually and strategically ZERØ CITY puts land us optimization back in the hands of the planner as phallocentric systems proliferate. The installation is currently being exhibited at the 2019 SeoulBiennale of Architecture and Urbanism: Cities Exhibition
Doomsday Scenario
Over the last 30 years, Taihu has undergone exponential urban growth. It has expanded from a collection of towns and villages, to become a sprawling metropolis with a surface area greater than Shanghai. As car usage and transit networks have unfolded it has grown greater and greater in scale. If we continue to expand in this way, by 2050 the lake will be completely encircled in city. Throughout history Lake Taihu has been known as a site of extraordinary natural beauty. As we enter an age of dwindling resources and planetary change driven by fossil fuel consumption, it is critical to question whether there are alternative .urban forms that can limit sprawl, and consolidate growth around dense and vibrant urban cores
PROPOSED
Taihu XL presents an alternative vision for the region. The series of 7 cities and urban clusters than ring the lake have been connected along existing and planned transport corridors to create a circular networked city. Growth is consolidated around urban ribbon enveloping the lake. In a future where carbon pollution must have a monetary value we have created a no build zone of reforested land that is inaccessible to the population. By dramatically limiting the land available for urbanization we have created a series of urban cores that demonstrate how extreme urban consolidation can create new models .of urban form through negotiation and mediation
Su Zhou
Su Zhou is the most famous city in the Taihu region. It is known for its preserved historical core, and network of canals. As the city expands, we propose the consolidation of this growth into an ultra dense mixed use ring that surrounds the historical center. This urban form creates a thin urban veneer that allows for growth, while preserving .traditional urban form and access to amenity
Nan Xun
The area around Nan Xun in the south east corner of the lake is the least populated part of the region. It is currently a collection of small towns and industrial hamlets. This corridor will grow substantially as planned high speed rail connections are built over the next 15 years. To limit the impact of sprawl we proposed an ultra thin band city which is limited to a zone of 1km either side of the rail line. The city is contained by green space on either side. The city is so thin it is possible to see .through it to the green corridor on the other side
Hu Zhou
Similar to Hu Zhou, Chang Shing is a medium scale city with an emerging technology and manufacturing sector. In this vision we propose an ultra compact city limited to a tightly footprint. In shrinking this city, much of the industrial land that surrounded the city has been removed converted to green space. Rather than sending industry away we imagine a future in which clean industry and manufacturing two point oh can be brought back to the heart of the city. We image a future we’re .living a making are functions that can coexist
Chan Xing
Chan Xing is a small city located on the western shore of the lake. It is currently a tourist destination. It is renowned for its preserved natural parkland, tea production and clean water. As high speed rail connections improve, we image a future for Chan Xing as a central business district for west Taihu. In the future this city will accessible from Shanghai in less than one hour. We have planned a ultra dense urban core around a commercial center fully .integrated into the existing high speed rail node
Yi Xing
The land between Yi Xing, Wu Xi, and the city of Wu Jin to the north west is dotted with farms and small villages. Rather than build a city where there is none, this area should be retained as productive agricultural land. In our model we have sought to preserve and maintain traditional farming practices. And to consolidate industrial agriculture around existing micro urban nodes which take the form of vertical farming towers. This creates a future where the impact of food production on natural eco systems is contained, and where low density organic farming practices can coexist with the high intensity.farming required to feed a growing population
Wu Jin
The land between Yi Xing, Wu Xi, and the city of Wu Jin to the north west is dotted with farms and small villages. Rather than build a city where there is none, this area should be retained as productive agricultural land. In our model we have sought to preserve and maintain traditional farming practices. And to consolidate industrial agriculture around existing micro urban nodes which take the form of vertical farming towers. This creates a future where the impact of food production on natural Eco systems is contained, and where low density organic farming practices can coexist with the high intensity.farming required to feed a growing population
Wu Xi
Finally, we travel to Wu Xi. The fastest growing city in the region, Wu Xi is a former industrial hub that is transitioning into information city. To prevent the city sprawling, urban growth is consolidated to the former brown field industrial land that runs through Wu Xi. The city is zoned into a series of functional bands that are laminated together to ensure functional mix and diversity. In an ultra dense urban future, amenity is preserved through the creation of public green space and parkland bands that run through the city, allowing breathing room for intense urban environments as well as .social and community connectivity within the city