2009 VA ASLA Awards

Analysis & Planning Professional - Apollo Agricultural & Ecologiical Development Zone Master Plan

 

Merit Award 

Project:  Apollo Agricultural & Ecological Development Zone Master Plan
Landscape architect: Hill Studio, PC
Client: The Carver Company
Sub-Consultants: Ben Johnson, ASLA, Tom Hammett, Jim McKenna

China's unparalleled economic growth places enormous pressures on rural land adjacent to expanding urban areas. The provincial capital city of Hangzhou is a major growth center in eastern China and much of the nearby rural land is being devoured by sprawling condominium communities serving the needs of the China's new executive class. the client sought a new development model that would preserve agricultural lands, peoples and traditions, while facilitating the development of the property's high value residential and commercial sites.

The master plan placed ten functional program areas on the site connected by existing roads and trails, improved fields and forests (reflecting historical land patterns), and bio-engineered water treatment infrastructure. The collaborative work effort created an exciting master plan and accompanying document that could be used to interest public officials and guide development.

The master plan accentuates pedestrian interaction with the use of walking paths and connectivity that brought diverse uses and peoples together while decentralizing the importance and use of automobiles once visitors arrived to the site. Agricultural and ornamental vegetation was selected within soils and cultural context and to actively assist in remediation of agricultural and human biological waste.

The plan preserves crop production near and within the urban and suburban community, thus reducing costs and timelines by reducing transportation distances to Hangzhou and surrounds, resulting in greater availability, choice and freshness of foods. This is accomplished while creating a beautiful, seasonally changing physical environment in which people wish to live, work and visit.

The Apollo plan distinguishes itself from the status quo in China by offering a plan serving the needs of farmers, urban retirees, agronomists, university educators, the hospitality industry and wealthy homeowners in an environmental and socially responsible multi-use community. We believe this plan may offer a favorable model for new development in the United States.

Jury comments:
- Very thorough research
- Research really informed the design
- Holistic view of solving regional design challenges