The lands that surround Shanghai are fundamental to the agricultural economy of the region, and it is their agrarian characteristics that we associate with this landscape. The area is home to towns and villages emerging out of this landscape and the canals that service them.

The development brief sought a scheme that would "bring back the awareness of natural evolution of man-made habitats, inspire a new paradigm of city development, one that is neither urbanism nor suburbanism, and provoke a dialogue between Chinese heritage and contemporary living."

Our approach was transformational — using the spatial patterns intrinsic to the existing settlement forms to extend the cultural practices of residents while accommodating the changes required to meet the needs and technologies of modern living.

The project had four design objectives:

One, to let the water generate the urban landscape. Two, to use the potential of a 'deep' fabric to provide a high density, mixed height development. Three, to introduce new services and infrastructure in ways that intensify the canals as landscape. Four, to introduce vehicular access in ways that do not dominate the form of a canal town.