The lack of green spaces and parks has become a common lament amongst most city dwellers in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. The area of trees per capita (square metre per person) is lower in the country’s largest city—home to more than 8 million people—than in its capital, and even lower when compared to […]
Metro Manila Traffic
For years, Metro Manila has been notorious for its severe traffic congestion. It is as if immense gridlock has been ingrained into the capital’s identity. Based on the latest Traffic Index Report by TomTom, Manila is ranked 18th among 404 cities with the worst traffic in the world. This is surprisingly good news as it […]
The Longest Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge in Flanders, Belgium: Cycle Bridge over the A201
With a total length of 710 metres—a deck 510 metres long and sloping approaches of 200 metres—the new bridge will be a striking feature in the urban landscape when it is completed and open for use in 2024. Architectural studio ZJA, part of the consultancy consortium MoVeR0, produced the architectonic design for the cycle bridge […]
Cakra Selaras Wahana (CSW): Articulating a Lost Roundabout
Jakarta may be known for its modern cityscape, but it is in fact one of Southeast Asia’s oldest capital cities at 495 years old—perhaps ‘buried’ under rapid development. Its historic past is only legible to those who know how to ‘read’ the urban fabric. However, those who visit the area of Kebayoran Baru are likely […]
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MRT Kota Station: Catalysing a Historic Node
One of the much-anticipated transportation projects in Jakarta is the mass rapid transit (MRT) expansion. First opened to the public in March 2019 after six years of construction, the railway’s first phase spans 13 stations across South and Central Jakarta, passing through the metropolis’s largest business districts. Serving over 60,000 commuters daily on average, the […]
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Jiaxing Train Station by MAD Architects
Competing to outdo one another, China’s train stations tower over its cities like grand palaces, surrounded by large main roads, imposing viaducts and often empty plazas. But instead of pursuing monumental architecture, Beijing-based MAD Architects asks if it is possible for urban train stations to be constructed at a more comfortable, human scale; to be […]
Taichung Green Corridor by Mecanoo
Boasting extensive urban planning experience, Delft-based architecture firm Mecanoo transformed a 1.7-kilometre-long disused railway track crossing downtown Taichung, the second most populous city of Taiwan—which once served as an important catalyst for the growth of the old city—into a dynamic linear park offering walking and cycling paths. Running alongside the Green River, the people-oriented green […]
Bryant Lu
A recent study has reported that Hong Kong has the best public transportation in the world.1 The worldwide ranking public transit sub-index based its findings on the volume of traffic, network density and infrastructure quality, while also including measures of how well cities are maintaining mass transit networks and number of commuters using them. “It’s […]
Elisa Sutanudjaja
“Macet!”, meaning traffic jam, is an exclamation too often heard in Jakarta’s streets. It is no simple matter to unravel transportation issues in Indonesia’s most populous metropolis. Over 11 million people reside in the 660-square-kilometre land area, seeing an additional 7 million workers commuting from satellite cities each weekday. During peak hours, it is common […]
TODTOWN by Ronald Lu & Partners
TODTOWN is a pioneering sustainable transit-oriented development in mainland China that integrates a multifunctional urban space with a mega transport interchange. This 432,000-square metre development comprises a Grade-A office tower; shopping mall; hotel; serviced apartments; high-end residences; generous public spaces; and other ancillary facilities—all connected to the Xinzhuang MTR interchange station. A major design concept […]
Chiwan by Ronald Lu & Partners
The expansive eco-development reorganises the spatial relationship between Nature, culture and the city. The once-exploited hillside has been carefully restored through the planting of new trees and water features, linking the urban space through a high line park, a wide-reaching TOD network and a landscaped courtyard. Set within the southern Shekou Peninsula, in a former […]
Unipark by Ronald Lu & Partners
Unipark is Zhuhai’s first flagship transit-oriented development (TOD) project, and Ronald Lu & Partners’ (RLP) first TOD project in the city. Its conceptual inspiration came from its location by the riverfront of Qianshan River—the architecture features three high-rise towers flanking the shopping mall, evoking the sails of a ship. Through parametric design, RLP was able […]