The port’s former cargo inspection areas and parking lots will be transformed as the ‘collaborative innovation’ area comprised of scientific research centres and laboratories as well as a conference centre to host lectures, talks and events that promote the exchange of ideas and collaboration.

The ‘port living’ district will be located next to Fulin station of Shenzhen’s metro at the north eastern end of the masterplan and will encompass residential developments, schools, sports and recreational facilities as well as shopping and dining amenities for those working within the science park.

With its base grid established by Shenzhen’s existing street layout to the west, the masterplan’s central spine is a wide pedestrian boulevard that connects its two primary public gathering spaces: the civic plaza at Fulin metro station in the north east and the large public square in the centre of the administrative hub at the Huanggang interchange in the south west. A radial secondary grid centered on theses plazas further sub-divides the districts into clusters and creates additional circulation routes for functionality.

The design accommodates the future expansion of the research studios and laboratories via shared podiums and bridging skywalks connecting with adjacent buildings. In addition to the two primary civic plazas, each smaller cluster of buildings has its own ‘nucleus’ of an outdoor communal square ensuring spaces for nature are integrated throughout the masterplan that will also create a green belt of parklands and wetlands along the Shenzhen River.