guallart architects proposes ‘self-sufficient city’ in china for a post-COVID era

barcelona-based studio guallart architects presents its winning competition entry for the design of a self-sufficient, post-COVID city in china’s xiong’an new city. the works seeks to define a new standard of urban life in the era following the coronavirus pandemic, one that can be applied as a raw model in different cities around the world. entitled ‘the self-sufficient city,’ the timber project introduces a new type of urban model — a hybridization of traditional urban blocks of europe, the contemporary towers of china, and the productive farming landscape. this new urban environment offers a single place in which occupants can live, work and rest, and produce resources locally while remaining connected globally. this type ensures a full life even in prolonged periods of confinement.

all images courtesy of guallart architects

guallart architects conceives its ‘self-sufficient city’ as an accumulation of layers — defining a range of functional needs for human life at different scales, from the home, to the building, to the community. organized in four blocks, the structure will be built of mass timber with passive design solutions. a mix-use program includes apartments, residences for all generations, offices, swimming pool, shops, food market, kindergarten, administrative center and a fire station. each building will be covered by greenhouses that will allow for the daily harvest of produce, enclosed beneath sloping roofs which collect solar energy. 

all the apartments of guallart architects’ proposal will feature a large south-facing terrace, serving as the primary space of leisure during long periods of confinement. likewise, the units will offer ‘telework’ spaces, creating social networks at neighborhood-scale for the exchange of resources. along the ground floor, small co-working digital factories will offer occupants a lab of 3D printers and rapid prototyping machines to design and fabricate small objects for daily use. the project overall will comprise an internal metabolic system, integrating energy and food production, recycled water, and material reuse to promote a distributed model for urban management.

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project info:

project title: self-sufficient city

architecture: guallart architects

location: xiong’an new city, china

status: competition winner, ongoing