TRANSFORMING THE "WORLD FACTORY"
Designing for a [post]industrial Shenzhen
MA SZHUSETTS MNFTifE
OF TECHNOLOGY
by
Mingxi Zou
Bachelor of Architecture
Tongji University, 2012
JUL 0 1 2014
LIBRARIES
SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURE STUDIES
AT THE
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
JUNE 2014
0 2014 Mingxi Zou. All rights reserved.
The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic
copies of this document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created.
Signature redacted
Signature of Author:
Signature redacted)
Department of Architecture
May 22, 2014
Certified by :
Miho Mazereeuw
Assistant Professor of Architecture & Urbanism
Accepted by:
Signature
redacted
Thesis Supervisor
Takihiko Nagakura
Associate Professor of Design and Computation
Chair of the Department Committee on Graduate Students
2
Mingxi Zou
TRANSFORMING THE "WORLD FACTORY"
Designing for a [post]industrial Shenzhen
Mingxi Zou
SMArchS (Architecture & Urbanism)
Supervisor
MIHO MAZEREEUW
Assistant professor of Architecture & Urbanism
Department of Architecture, MIT
Reader
BRENT D. RYAN
Associate Professor of Urban Design and Public Policy
Department of Urban Studies and Planning, MIT
RAFI SEGAL
Lecturer of Architecture & Urbanism
Department of Architecture, MIT
Transforming the "World Factory"
3
4
Mingxi Zou
TRANSFORMING THE "WORLD FACTORY"
Designing for a [post]industrial Shenzhen
by
Mingxi Zou
Submitted to the Department of Architecture on May 22th, 2014 in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Masters of Science in Architecture Studies
ABSTRACT
Keywords: post-industrial, urban change, Shenzhen, China
China has been known as the "world factory" ever since it opened up to the global economy.
This has led to a vastly sprawled, monotonous industrial urbanism, where urban environment has
become a spatial product rather than a living city. However, just as Western post-industrial cities
have experienced, some Chinese cities are currently going through a deindustrialization process
due to reasons such as rising labor costs, rising land costs and new environment laws.
Shenzhen, which is a manufacturing center in South China, currently has a 30-45% factory vacancy
because companies are leaving to cheaper areas, either in inland China or other countries. Yet, it's
not a declining or shrinking city; it is seeking to transform from a manufacturing center to a more
diverse production environment with upgraded industries.
As the first Special Economic Zone in China, Shenzhen is a city under the influences of both
socialist ideology and capitalist market forces: on the one hand, the city has a centralized planning
system that guides the overall structure of urban development; on the other hand, Shenzhen has
been rapidly "produced" under dynamic market forces, with a clear priority of economic growth.
The consequence of this conflict is the inconsistency between the city's master plan and its actual
urban form, especially in the aspect of land use. Since the master plan cannot keep pace with socioeconomic changes, it always fails to guide urban transformations in urban changes.
Built on Shenzhen's current urban change and its special political background, this thesis aims
at developing a dynamic urban design method for Shenzhen's current deindustrialization and
industrial upgrading process in order to guide urban transformation while allowing for flexibility
to accommodate uncertainties and changes.
Thesis Supervisor: Miho Mazereeuw - Assistant Professor
6
Mingxi Zou
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to express my gratitude to my thesis committee
and my friends. Without their guidance and encouragement, this
thesis wouldn't be possible.
To my advisor Miho Mazereeuw, for your incredible guidance in
the past two years, and for having faith in me. I see you as my
mentor, my friend, and my family.
To Brent Ryan, for clarifying my thoughts and pushing the thesis
forward.
To Rafi Segal, for your insightful and honest critiques.
To Alexander d'Hooghe, Michael Dennis and Julian Beinart, for
showing me how fulfilling it is to be an urban designer.
To my dear friends at MIT for making my life here so much
easier and much more fun: Fei, Ana, Phebe, Dicle, Shaoyi, Jihak,
Dessen, Xing, George, Bin, Adi, Kobi, Kyle, Barry, David.
To my best friend Su, for always inspiring me.
To my parents, for being the best parents in the world.
Transforming the "World Factory"
7
8
Mingxi Zou
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
China, the "World Factory"
Post-industrial China
Shenzhen Deindustrialization
SHENZHEN: A CITY OF LEGENDARIES
The first Special Economic Zone
Pearl River Delta, a regional manufacturing powerhouse
Rapid Urban Development and Master Plan "Evolution"
"Economic-led" Urban Form
Industrial Urbanism Typologies
Huaqiangbei: a case of bottom-up urban development mechanism
Conflict and Challenge
13
16
20
26
27
29
31
36
38
40
LONGHUA: A CHANGING INDUSTRIAL URBANISM
Context
Site Mapping
44
46
Main Actor - Foxconn
Site Survey
47
48
DESIGN: A DYNAMIC DESIGN METHOD FOR URBAN CHANGE
Post-industrial Urban Transformation Vision
52
Design Strategy for a Prototypical Industrial Urban Patch
Rules for Mix
53
54
Generating Process
Alternatives under Different Urban Conditions
Site Strategy
Development Process
Diagram of Relationships
56
65
68
70
82
Afterword
88
Illustration Credits
Bibliography
93
95
1
PROLOGUE
This chapter examines the urban context of China as the "world
factory" and the post-industrial change it is facing currently. It
further looks at what this change has led to the urban environment
of Shenzhen, which has been a major manufacturing center in
South China. Built on the facts and projections of Shenzhen,
the thesis proposes that an urban transformation mechanism is
needed for Shenzhen's current urban change.
10
Mingxi Zou
Transforming the "World Factory"
I1
Fig 1.1 EdwardBurtynsky 's photo of a Chinesefactory
12
Mingxi Zou
China, the "World Factory"
PROLOGUE
In 2006, in the documentary "Manufactured Landscapes", Edward
Burtynsky showed images of a Chinese factory where hundreds
of thousands of people dressing in identical clothes and working
in large and monotonous factories. It is striking because these
places - where things are made - are usually "invisible", and not
considered to be part of our cities. Yet, this kind of environment
is common in a lot of Chinese cities and has resulted in a special
industrial urbanism in China.
China has been known as the "world factory" ever since the
country opened up to the global economy in 1979. Since that
year, companies from all over the world started to set their
manufacturing plants in China, taking advantage of its cheap
labor and land; and soon suppliers also congregated around
assemblers, forming efficient industrial communities. Now,
China is the world's largest manufacturing power, and accounts
for a fifth of global manufacturing. It produces televisions,
computers, smart phones, steel pipes, clothes, shoes and almost
any other things that one can think of. The factories in China have
made so much and so cheaply that they have curbed inflation in 1 "Manufacturing:The End of Cheap
many of its trading partners.'
China I The Economist."
What this has led to is a vastly sprawled, monotonous industrial
urbanism, where urban environment has become a spatial product,
rather than a living city. For urbanism as such, everything follows
efficiency and the role of urban designer is almost negligible
because the traditional urban rules (public space, street facade,
diversity, etc.) don't apply here.
Transforming the "World Factory"
13
Fig 1.2 Inside a Chinesefactory
14
Mingxi Zou
Fig 1.3 A dormitory in a Chinesefactory
Transforming the "World Factory"
15
q_10
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Fig 1.4 Global manufacturingGDP
change
Fig 1.5 Forbesnews
2 "The Services Sector: The PostIndustrialFutureIs Nigh I The
Economist."
Post-industrial China
However, from the experience of the western postindustrial cities,
we have learned that industries are inherently unstable due to the
rapidly shifting global economy. The stories of those once "steel
city" or "motor city" have been told many times. These western
post-industrial cities have either became shrinking cities, or have
found a way to revive relying on new service industries; either
way, the main industries that used to support these cities have
gone. Now, the same story might be repeated by Chinese cities.
Move Over, Michigan, China Is
The World's Next Rust Belt
0, i%Sh1IA dA L .
l- hv ,
16
Mingxi Zou
As a matter of fact, the era of China as the "world factory"
is coming to an end. Due to a series of reasons such as rising
labor costs, rising land costs and new environmental and safety
laws, companies in coastal cities are leaving to cheaper areas.
In the year of 2013, China's GDP of industry and services
(which include transport, wholesaling, retailing, hotels, catering,
finance, real estate and scientific research, among other things)
are getting very close. 2 Daniel Bell defines post-industrial society
as a certain stage of society's development when the service
sector generates more wealth than the manufacturing sector of
the economy.3 By this definition, China is about to enter a postindustrial era officially.
Among the reasons that have led to deindustrialization in
Chinese cities, the most important one is labor. Labor shortage
has contributed to a major wage rise; last year, urban wages were
up 14.3% in the non-private sector and 18.3% in the private
one. In addition to wage rise, workers have become restive, as
3 Bell, The Coming ofPost-Industrial
Society; a Venture in Social
Forecasting.
4 "Move Over; Michigan, ChinaIs
The World's Next Rust Belt IForbes."
shown from strikes to suicides. The world largest electronics
manufacturer - Foxconn Technology Group, which employs 1.2
million workers in China, drew the world's attention because
of its suicide event: between January and November in 2010,
eighteen Foxconn employees attempted suicide due to high
pressure and monotony of their work. With the pressure from
both rising wages and suicide events, Foxonn decided it had to
automate. Last year, this electronics assembler had 10,000 robots
in China; and it is planned that in 2014, there will be a million
of them making products for Apple, Nokia, Microsoft, and
Sony, among other brands. This will change China's industrial
landscape completely, since automation essentially eliminates
the advantages of China as a manufacturing powerhouse of the
world.4
%share of China's GDP from:
Fig 1.6 China'sGDP of industry and
services
INDUSTRY
50
50
45
SERVICES
30
19
1994
I
I I
2000
I2
20102012
2005
2010 2012
Transforming the "World Factory"
17
Shenzhen Deindustrialization
The fact that China's entering a post-industrial era has the most
significant impact on several early developed, manufacturing
centers. Shenzhen, which has been a manufacturing center in
South China, currently has a 30-45% factory vacancy because
companies are leaving to cheaper areas, either in inland China
or other countries. Apart from factory vacancy, as a latest survey
shows, Shenzhen also has the largest amount of vacant land in
Guangdong province, even though land price in Shenzhen is
extremely high
.'
Companies moving out have become a common phenomenon
in Shenzhen. They are "forced" to leave due to the high costs in
Shenzhen; another factor that has accelerated this large scale of
leaving is the industrial agglomeration effect: when some of the
companies start to leave, the overall industrial environment will
decline, which will lead to more companies to leave. Therefore,
it's only reasonable to assume that this trend of factories moving
out will become even more drastic in the near future.
Among the companies that are left or are planning to leave,
most of them belong to relatively old industries; the industry
types that have the most companies leaving are mechanics,
instruments, toys and plastics. Base on a survey last year, most of
5 Shenzhen Statistics Bureau,
Shenzhen Statistics 2013
6 Shenzhen Statistics Bureau,
Shenzhen Statistics 2013
the companies are moving to Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhongshan,
Heyuan, among other places in province, or to Hunan, Jiangxi
and Jiangsu provinces; few of larger companies choose other
countries as well, such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.6
When companies leave, the factories are either left abandoned,
or waiting to be rented. They become "dead" areas in the city
because nobody go there anymore. Furthermore, these old
factories occupy large pieces of land, which is extremely valuable
in Shenzhen, but they cannot facilitate new industries without
20
Mingxi Zou
being completely reconfigured.
Even though a lot of factories are leaving, Shenzhen is not
a declining or shrinking city yet, because it still has a mature
market environment and a strategic location. The city is seeking
to take this opportunity to upgrade industry by bringing higher
value added industries such as biotech, advanced manufacturing,
high technology, among other things; with appropriate urban
reconfiguration, those abandoned areas can be revived by new
industries with appropriate urban reconfiguration. Without doubt,
this deindustrialization and industrial upgrading process will
bring essential changes to Shenzhen's urban environment, and an
urban transformation mechanism is needed for accommodating
the current urban change.
?
INS
"-"
.-
Jau
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.
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'E,
-O
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Fig 1.9 Shenzhen current urban
change condition
I memo" -i
- --N
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I
EI ME=-111INN
MEN
1M oile?" is
I
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.. a
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30-45%
FACTORY VACANCY
INDUSTRIAL UPGRADING
TEXiLE
ELECTRONICS
TOYS
ENERGY
SHOES
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING
OPTCAL
BIOTECH
Transforming the "World Factory"
21
2
SHENZHEN
A CITY OF LEGENDARIES
analyses Shenzhen's historical and political
background, and its urban features in relation to its special
background. From the analysis, the main challenge for urban
design in the current urban transformation is summarized as a
This chapter
guidance for the design proposal in the following chapters.
22
Mingxi Zou
Transforming the "World Factory"
23
1964
1960
1956
1952
19E
1976
1972
1968
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40 C
.20.0
CC
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--
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by landlords and
introduced peasant
'landownership.
Focusing on Soviettyle development of
ieavy industries.
I
I
SOCIALISM IDEOLOGY
24
Mingxi Zou
REF
POCY"
FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN
ownership of land
190
~
1 he first SEZ
established in order
to attract foreign
investment.
I
Urb
eat
I sec
|it's
........
180c0
1~
~~~
__
__
,W 0
1 00C 0 C3
(f)
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1984
1992
1988
1996
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P
CAM
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ENTVPIS rA
ca
ePiaeetrrs
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th Tp,
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-
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E _
wsWrdeooy
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itel
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inorort
UompWete0
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_
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0hn
CE byth
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--
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0
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0rvt
n
_-
.)
L 4_
J
2008
-
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-
.0
2004
2000
in th
ic
0,rtlglzd
ot som eoof.t
its'
inta inenivs
Up
aos
-
C
L - -
UNDE
MAKE
-
- -
-
-
ECNM
Transforming the "World Factory"
25
The first Special Economic Zone
SHENZHEN
Shenzhen is a city located in Guangdong province, southern
China; it's legendary started at the year of 1979, when it became
China's first Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Built on the concept
of Export Processing Zones and Free Trade Zones found in other
less developed countries, the SEZs are zones that are designed
to provide foreign enterprises with lower taxes, reduced tariffs,
more modern infrastructure, flexible labor and wage policies,
and less bureaucracy. Three other cities that were selected as
SEZ around the same time were Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen.
I Kleinberg, China's "Opening" to
the Outside World
Fig2.1 China industrialization&
urbanizationtimeline
Fig2.2 Diagram ofpower structure
change in 1979 Economic Reform
SEZ establishment was part of a market-based economic reform
initiated by leader Deng Xiaoping. The intention of the economic
reform is to stimulate China's economic development through
breaking down the power of central government and encouraging
the influences of global capitalism. Rather than dividing the
world into socialists and capitalists, or exploiters and exploited
as it used to do, China started to engage in trade and investment
relations with every kind of countries to increase its national
productive capacity.1 This economic reform is instrumental to
China's rapid industrialization and urbanization afterwards.
PRE-REFORM
POST-REFORM
STATE-LED
DEVELOPMENT
MARKET-BASED
DEVELOPMENT
ANTICOMMERCIALIZM
DISPERSED
NVESTMENT
COMMUNIST
IDEOLOGY
NATIONAL
SECUITY
--------
TRANSPORTATION
COMMERCIALIZATION
{
TECHNOLOGY
INDUSTRIAL-
CAPITAL
EMPL
IZATION
CENTRAL
LOCAL
GLOBAL
STATE
GOVERNMENT
CAPITALISM
)ECONOM6
REFORM
OPEN DOOR
OYMENT
Pearl River Delta, a regional manufacturing powerhouse
Fig 2.3 PearlRiver Delta regional
map
Shenzhen was selected to be the first Special Economic Zone
because of its strategic location: it is located in Pearl River Delta
region, adjacent to Hong Kong, close to Macau and Guangzhou.
Because of the positive market influences from its neighbors
(especially Hong Kong), it developed into a manufacturing
powerhouse within a short period. In the early days, companies
in Hong Kong set their manufacturing plants in Shenzhen
because of cheap labor and tax incentives; soon after, attracted
by Shenzhen's mature industrial environment, more and more
manufacturing companies from all over the world also came to
Shenzhen; later on, suppliers also congregated around assemblers,
forming efficient industrial communities.
Transforming the "World Factory"
27
Currently, not only Shenzhen has been developed into a
manufacturing center, its adjacent cities - Dongguan, Fuoshan,
Shantou are also known for their manufacturing might. In overall,
Pearl River Delta produce 80% of shoes for US export, 60% of
all commercial clothing production in the whole world, 40%
of global pc hard drives production and 25% of manufacturing
exports globally.
PLANNING
1982 MASTER PLAN
1986 MASTER PLAN
11,000,000
9,000,000
POPULATION
7,000,000
5,000,000
3,000,000
1,000,000
10,000
30,000
NUMBER OF
FACTORIES
50,000
1980
I
1985
~
1j
~
1.990
Rapid Urban Development and Master Plan "Evolution"
Within 30 years, Shenzhen has grown from a small fishing
village with 30,000 people to a mega-city with a population of
14 million. Same as most of other Chinese cities, Shenzhen has a
central planning system; meaning that Shenzhen's overall urban
development is mainly guided by master plan. The master plan
of the city has been updated four times because its actual growth
always outpaces the city planner's prediction.
1982 SEZ's initial Master Plan
The first plan proposed a multi-center-cluster-belt
urban
structure, composed of Nantou Cluster, Luohu-Shangbu Cluster
and Shatoujiao Cluster; naturally, these three clusters were
developed into the first industrial areas in Shenzhen. A main road
-
Shennan road from west to east, connected the three clusters.
1996-2010 MASTER PLAN
Fig 2.4 Shenzhen growth timeline
2010-2020 MASTER PLAN
FLOAT POPULATION
NUMSEROPPACTORIES
1986 Master Plan: urban expansion acceleration
The 1986 master plan has a structure of a belt-shape spatial layout
of five development clusters: Nantou, Huaqiangbei, Futian,
Luohu and Shatoujiao. They each have a different program
distribution: some of them are industrial clusters; some consist of
both industrial and other programs. At this stage, green corridor
(including rivers, orchards or open spaces) were developed
within the urban space to promote quality of life.
1989 Master Plan: development of the whole territory
The rapid growth of industrial output led to a revision of the
spatial structure only three years later. It was proposed that the
SEZ area would be the city center and the construction areas
would extend outwards to the non-SEZ gradually. At this time,
there had already been some manufacturing enterprises moving
from the early SEZ areas to periphery areas which have looser
regulations and lower land prices.
1996-2010 Master Plan: a hierarchical city network
This plan proposed that future development could no longer take
place in a random state, but along the western, central and eastern
axes to form a "hierarchical city network". Nine development
clusters and six independent towns would form the constructed
areas in Shenzhen.
2010-2020 Master Plan: future intensification
In July 2010, the original SEZ boundary was extended to the
whole city territory, meaning the land resources of the previous
2 Huang andXie, "The Plan-Led
UrbanForm: A Case Study of
Shenzhen."
30
Mingxi Zou
non-SEZ will have more development potential; therefore, urban
intensification areas that were outside the original SEZ will be
the main focus of development at this stage.2
"Economic-led" Urban Form
In the aspect of urban form, Shenzhen shares the characteristics
of other "special zones". Keller Easterling describes zone
urbanism (including the Free Trade Zone, Foreign Trade Zone,
Special Economic Zone, Export Processing Zone, among other
variants) as repeatable and infrastructural.3 It is a machine like
capital enclave, rather than a living city that has evolved naturally
through time; therefore, zone urbanism typically consist of
monotonous urban forms with hardly any public realm. Usually,
this kind of zone urbanism is only part of a city; in Shenzhen's
case, the zone itself is a city. The followings are three examples
3 "Zone: The Spatial Softwares of
of Shenzhen's urban features that are related to its fast economic Extrastatecraft:
Places: Design
development because of its special zone identity.
Observer "
Transforming the "World Factory"
31
Fig 2.5 Urban village
0
0
RURL , A
4,
RR LA
0=ue
Fig 2.6 Mega block dimension
-I--
I
1500 M
Fig2.7 Diagram of spontaneous
mfr ofprograms(redrepresents
industrial,gray representsresidential
andcommercial)
Urban villages are unregulated residential areas that house cheap
labors. As Shenzhen expands, rural land was transformed into
urban land for urban development. In this process, some rural
villages were encompassed by new development, forming urban
villages.
Mega block is also a strategy that helped accelerating urban
development: the block size in Shenzhen can reach as large as
1,500 by 1,500 meters, so that at the early stage of development,
the city only provided the most basic infrastructure and left other
secondary roads and facilities for the private sectors to develop
for themselves.
Spontaneous mix of programs phenomenon is because master
plan of the city can not keep pace with Shenzhen's development
speed and always lead to inconsistencies between the plan and
the urban form in reality. Many areas were planned with clear
divisions between different programs, but turned out to be a mix
of industrial, residential and commercial programs.
Transforming the "World Factory"
33
Fig 2.8 Map of Shenzhen ' industrialland
34
Mingxi Zou
Transforming the "World Factory"
35
Industrial Urbanism Typologies
3 Shenzhen StatisticsBureau,
Shenzhen Statistics 2013
In overall, industrial land occupies of 32% of Shenzhen, which is
higher than most industrial cities.3 Another characteristics that's
worth mentioning is that comparing to other typical industrial
cities where there are clear divisions between industrial land and
other areas, in Shenzhen most industrial land is dispersed patches
mixed with other programs due to its fast development.
Fig 2.9 Shenzhen industrialurbanism
timeline
1977
1984
De-collectivizing agriculture
INDUSTRY OWNERSHIP
Household-responsibility
system
Private business allowed
SOE: STATE OWNED ENTERPRISE
CoE: COLLECTIVELY OWNED ENTERPRISE
FOE: FOREIGN OWNED ENTERPRISE
Foreign investment allowed
Decentralization of State Control
Small-scale Privatization of SOE
POE: PRIVATELY OWNED ENTERPRISE
INDUSTRIAL URBANISM
S-*
-C
W-
RK----NG UN-
SQE WORKING UNIT
COMPANY TOWN
Even only within 30 years, industry typologies have changed a
lot due to different ownership policies. The following timeline
shows the industrial policy evolution and the main industrial
urbanism typologies for each period.
1993
FOE
COE
2005
Privatization acceterated
>SO E
4W
A
17q 4 1
e44
k*i*--
WV
aimumn
L
E
ijI:::
MI
71 -
r-.-;:
- ; -
will
--- --L-------SPONTANEOUS MIX
INDUSTRIAL
PARK
Huaqiangbei: a case of bottom-up urban development
mechanism
Among all the industrial typologies, Huaqiangbei is a case of
bottom-up urban development mechanism. It was transformed
from an industrial land into a successful commercial area mixed
with remaining industries without official planning, and got
justified later through adjusting zoning plan.
It's located in central area of Shenzhen, and is one of the oldest
areas in the city. In early 1980s, Huaqiangbei developed quickly
as a manufacturing zone specializing in small electronic goods.
Since it is close to Futian CBD, Shennan Road (a main road in
Shenzhen) and Hong Kong border, in 1990s it attracted a large
amount of commercial activities. By 2000, hotels, apartments,
restaurants and department stores entered the area, drawn by its
Fig 2. 10 Huaqiangbei
00
38
Mingxi Zou
strategic location. Nowadays, it has developed into the largest
wholesale and retail electronics marketplace in China.4 The story
of Huaqiangbei is a typical market-led urban transformation,
and the flexibility of Shenzhen's urban development helped it
transformed into the current successful Huaqiangbei.
4 Zacharias, "The Role of Urban
Planningin the Spontaneous
Redevelopment of Huaqianbei,
Shenzhen."
Fig 2.11 Diagramof Huaqiangbei's
transformation
STAG E 1
STAGE 2
STAGE 3
COMMERCIAL
-INDUSTRIAL
STAGE 4
Transforming the "World Factory"
39
Conflict and Challenge
How to deal with the conflict between control and flexibility
will be the major challenge for designers in facing the current
urban change - deindustrialization and industrial upgrading in
Shenzhen. On the one hand, Shenzhen's economic success was
partly because due to loose regulations, urban environment was
able to be flexible enough to accommodate changes and stimulate
development (as shown in the example of Huaqiangbei); while at
the same time, the flexibility is also a failure of the city's master
plan as it always fails to guide urban environment in urban
changes and have to react afterwards by adjusting itself. This has
led to a problematic urban environment since control of order,
public realms and relationships between programs cannot be
guaranteed. The goal of the design proposal in following chapters
is to seek a dynamic design mechanism for urban change in order
to guide the urban environment while allowing for flexibility to
accommodate uncertainties and changes.
CONTROL
MASTER PLAN
TOP DOWN URBAN TRANSFORMATION MECHANISM
+
FLEXIBILITY
i
"HUAQIANGBEI"
BOTTOM UP URBAN TRANSFORMATION MECHANISM
40
Mingxi Zou
Transforming the "World Factory"
41
3
LONGHUA
A CHANGING INDUSTRIAL
URBANISM
This chapter consists of researches of the selected site - Longhua.
It examines the actors, urban form and conditions of changes in
order to understand the current issues on the site.
42
Mingxi Zou
Transforming the "World Factory"
43
LONGHUA
Context
Selected site is in Longhua district; it is well connected to central
city and has dispersed patches of diverse industries. The size of
the site is 5km by 5km, almost half of the land is occupied by
industrial land.
Fig 3.1 Site location
Longhua district was incorporated into SEZ (Special Economic
Zone) in2010. Before that, itwas developedwith loose regulations.
This have led to a quite random distribution of different programs
on the site. Apart from industrial patches, there are also urban
villages of various sizes. The existing infrastructure is well
maintained and is currently under heavy use from both flows of
people and goods. The highway running from south to north is
one of the major transportation spines connecting Shenzhen to
Dongguan, which is another manufacturing intense city adjacent
to Shenzhen. However, the infrastructure on site also isolate
different areas, leaving disconnected mega blocks.
The industry types on the site ranges from large electronic
company compound like Foxconn, which is the world's largest
44
Mingxi Zou
electronics manufacturer, to small single building textile or
shoe factories. Right now, small and medium old industries are
starting to leave due to the pressure from high costs; Foxconn
is also planning to shrink its size from a 0.5 million people
campus to 50,000 people campus, leaving mostly research and
market departments. At the same time, attracted by the city's
new incentives and mature market opportunities, high valueadded industries (including biotech, advanced manufacturing,
high technology and energy) are seeking to enter. However, the
uncertainties concerning both leaving and coming industries
make urban reconfiguration hard to proceed.
Fig 3.2 Site photos
Transforming the "World Factory"
45
Site Map
The urban form of the site mainly consists of large factory
buildings (dark gray) and other surrounding residential and
commercial buildings (light gray). There are a river, a pond
surrounded by forests and a metro station; these landscape and
transportation nodes currently, or has the potential to attract and
gather people.
Fig 3.3 Site map
---------------------
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Fig 3.4 Collagephoto of Foxconn
Longhua campus
Main Actor - Foxconn
Foxconn Technology Group is the largest electronic manufacturer Fig 3.5 TheEpochTimes news
in the world. It manufactures products including iPad, iPhone,
Kindle, BlackBerry, PlayStation 4, Xbox One. With headquarter
in Tucheng, Taiwan; it has manufacturing plants all over the
world. Foxconn has 13 factories in nine Chinese cities, more than
in any other country. Its largest factory is in Longhua, Shenzhen,
where nearly 500,000 works are employed.'
Foxconn Longhua campus is more than just factories, it is almost 1. "Foxconn - Wikipedia, the Free
a city: it has its own supermarket, restaurants, dormitories and Encyclopedia."
playground. More than half of the workers also live in the 2. "Kosmograd: The Ballet of iPod
campus; they rarely leave the campus because the campus can City."
already fulfill all of their basic needs.
In 2010, Foxconn Longhua campus drew the world's attention
because of its suicide events: between January and November,
eighteen Foxconn employees attempted suicide due to their high
pressure, low wages and the monotony of their work.
3. "Foxconn' Move InlandLeaves
Shenzhen ' Future Ambiguous
Society IChina IEpoch Times."
Foxconn's Move Inland leaves Shenzhen's Future
Ambiuous
With the pressure from Shenzhen's rising labor costs and the
suicide events, Foxconn Technology Group is officially leaving
Pearl River Delta. It has started a new manufacturing plant in
inland China - Zhengzhou to replace the production line in
Shenzhen.3 Without doubt, Foxconn's moving will greatly
influence the future of Shenzhen and Longhua.
Transforming the "World Factory"
47
Site Survey
Base on the information from a detailed online map, a site survey
concerning building types and industry types is conducted
to further discuss vacancy scenarios for the following design
proposal.
41j
4r#
.
--j
6-10 FLOOR
_____
'-luU
NO: 127
AREA: 225,300
~r
3-5 FLOOR
NO: 578
AREA: 1,343,215
-IF
1-2 FLOOR
NO: 185
AREA: 549,481
Fig 36 Map of building type
48
Mingxi Zou
l /\_____
">XN~
\KY
Till,'
m1j2
an
K; ir
cz4 7'
/
/
SOFTWARE, BIOTECH,
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING
NO: 57
.4V4
'7
ELECTRONICS, LOGISTICS
NO: 493
J
__
AREA: 1,508,618
TEXTILE, MECHANICS
NIP
NO: 340
AREA: 549,049
Fig 3.7 Map of industrialtype
Transforming the "World Factory"
49
4
DESIGN
A DYNAMIC DESIGN METHOD FOR
URBAN CHANGE
This chapter consists of a design proposal for Longhua's urban
transformation. Built on researches and analysis in previous
chapters, this thesis argues that a dynamic urban design method is
needed for Shenzhen's ongoing deindustrialization and industrial
upgrading process in order to guide urban transformation while
allowing for flexibility to accommodate uncertainties and socioeconomic changes.
50
Mingxi Zou
Transforming the "World Factory"
51
Post-industrial Urban Transformation Vision
DESIGN
Due to the current post-industrial urban change, the following
transformation should be brought to the site:
- Mix working and living programs
Rather than only have manufacturing plants, the site should
accommodate other programs including offices, logistics,
commercial and residential, in order to establish a mature postindustrial working and living environment.
- Insert new public realms
New public realms should be inserted to the site, which currently
only consists of isolated and private territories.
- Integrate isolated urban patches
More than just bringing in diverse elements to the site, there
should be different interactions between these elements.
MANUFACTURING
PRIVATE
O,
RESIDENTIAL
COMMERCIAL
PRIVATE + PUBLIC
0
ISOLATION
INTEGRATION
OFFICE
MANUFACTURING
LOGISTICS
Design Strategy for a Prototypical Industrial Urban Patch
As seen from Shenzhen's typical urban development, static master
plan with clear formal divisions couldn't work with constant
changes and uncertainties, and therefore left a spontaneous mix
of urban elements. The strategy of this project is to develop a
dynamic design mechanism that allows for a mix of diverse
elements with flexible rules for public realms, different scales,
programs and building types. An parametric model is developed
in order to achieve the designed relationships.
iily~
Transforming the "World Factory"
53
Rules for Mix
In the post-industrial urban transformation process, there are four
rules for public realms, different scales, programs and building
types to control the relationships between all the mixed elements.
a. Public Realms
Public realm parcels are close to larger urban public network
while dispersed from each other; there are accesses connecting
them. Public realms consist of public space, parks, institutions and
public programs that can be shared by surrounding development.
PUBLIC REALM
b. Scale
Larger scale parcels are located near infrastructure while smaller
parcels have a closer relationship to public realms.
SCALE
54
Mingxi Zou
c. Program
The organization of programs can be categorized into 3 types
of mix: work cluster (manufacturing, office and logistics),
live cluster (residential and commercial) and work live cluster
(office, residential and commercial). The distribution of the
clusters depends on their relationships to remaining factories:
work clusters are closer to remaining factories since they can
share the same public realm.
PROGRAM
d. Building
Buildings should face the public realm of the cluster they belong to.
BUILDING TYPE
Transforming the "World Factory"
55
Generating Process
The following drawings demonstrate the generating process of
one prototypical industrial patch from its existing condition to
a post-industrial working and living mixed urban environment.
STEP 0
A typical industrial patch
STEP 1
When deindustrialization
happens, some companies will
leave.
Large parcel subdivision
Reconfiguration of the urban patch starts with large parcel subdivision of 100 by 100 meters.
STEP 2
Large parcel subdivision grid
STEP 3
I<
Available large parcels
(without remaining factories)
Select large public realm parcels
Among the available large parcels, public realms are selected base on their relationships to larger
urban public network (metro station, city parks or monumental buildings). New public realms
consist of public space, parks, institutions and public programs that can be shared by surrounding
development.
STEP 4
Relationship to urban public
network
STEP 5
Select the first large public
realm parcel
STEP 6
Select the second large public
realm parcel. The criteria is
that it is close to urban public
network while dispersed from
other selected public realm
parcels.
STEP 7
Select the third large public
realms parcel. The amount of
public realm parcels is 20% of
the available parcels.
STEP 8
All selected large public realm
parcels
Select large private parcels
Large parcels that are close to roads are selected for large private parcels. The rest are left for
medium and small parcel development.
STEP 9
Relationship to road network
STEP 10
Selected large private parcels
STEP 11
-x
Large public realm parcels and
private parcels
Medium parcel subdivision
For the rest of the land (including parcels that were not available in large parcel subdivision and
parcels that were not selected for public realms or private development), it get subdivided again
by a grid of 50 by 50 meters.
STEP 12
Medium parcel subdivision
grid
STEP 13
Available medium parcels
(without remaining factories)
Select medium public realm parcels
Medium public realm parcels are selected base on the same criteria as large public realm parcel
selection.
STEP 14
Select the first medium public
realm parcel
STEP 15
Select the second medium
public realm parcel
STEP 16
Select the third medium public
realm parcel
STEP 17
All selected medium public
realm parcels
Small parcel subdivision
The rest of the land are subdivided into small parcels (25 by 25 meters) for private development;
they are close to selected public realms so that public realm interfaces would have a mix parcels
of different scale.
STEP 18
Small private parcels
K:
Public realm network
Public realm parcels are connected with each other, forming a secondary public access system in
the existing industrial mega block.
STEP 19
From the selected public
realms, they are connected with
two other public parcels that
are closest to them.
STEP 20
K
These connections are
transformed into accesses base
on the parcel division.
STEP 21
The parcels are revised to leave
the accesses.
Program distribution
The organization of programs can be categorized into 3 types of mix: work cluster
(manufacturing, logistics and offices), live (residential and commercial) cluster and work live
cluster (residential, commercial and offices). One cluster consists of one public parcel and the
private parcels that are close to it. The distribution of the mix types depends on their relationship
to remaining factories: work clusters are closer to remaining industries because they can share
the same public parcels.
STEP22
Relationship to remaining
factories
STEP 23
3 mix type
LIVE
WORK
*
a
REIETA COMERCIA
LIVE & WORK
STEP24
For each type of mix, program
distribution can be flexible
within certain ranges.
Building types
Buildings should face the public realm parcel in their cluster.
STEP25
Buildings
Alternatives under Different Urban Conditions
Through the above design method, urban design itself becomes a
dynamic software that can deal with different urban conditions.
No matter in reality how many factories leave, or how many
new factories enter, the resultant urban elements will keep the
designed relationships: large parcels are close to roads, public
realms are close to urban public network, work clusters are close
to remaining factories...
In this way, urban design won't fail to guide urban environment
changes because it can react to different scenarios. The following
drawings are examples of alternative results under different
urban conditions.
Transforming the "World Factory"
65
WORKING+
70%
INDUSTRY REMAINING
40%
INDUSTRY REMAINING
20%
INDUSTRY REMAINING
LIVING
... .......
....
.
...
WORKING + LIVING
WORKING+
K
LIVING
Site strategy
Currently. -3 most important elements on the sites are: the river. the
forest and the mnetro station. These landscape and transportation
nodes currently, or has the potential to attract the most people
Thle calculated public netwxork consists of paths that will b
used the most in order to get to those three locations f-rm the
industrial patches. This public network will lead the public realm
oa
t
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7
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INDUSTRY REMAINING
In the first phase, some factories in the old industry patches leave. For new development at this
phase, more work related programs are brought in due to its mature industrial environment.
70
Mingxi Zou
Development Process
In order to discuss how the dynamic design mechanism can operate on the site, the design proposal
is taking one scenario as an assumed deindustrialization process. The scenario is based on a vacancy
simulation with 2 parameters - building type and industry type.
Due to the flexibility of the dynamic design mechanism, urban reconfiguration ofthe site can happen
while the factories leave, rather than waiting for the area to be emptied out; the parameters of "new
design" can be adjusted base on the actual deindustrialization condition. The new development for
different phases have different emphasis on work or live related programs
RESIDENTIAL
COMMERCIAL
OFFICE
MANUFACTURING
LOGISTICS
75
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Transforming the "World Factory"
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In the second phase, large part of Foxconn area is abandoned; New development consists of an
equal mix of work related and live related programs.
72
Mingxi Zou
RESIDENTIAL
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Transforming the "World Factory"
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74
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90
Mingxi Zou
Transforming the "World Factory"
91
92
Mingxi Zou
Iliustration Credits
Chapter 1
Figl.1 http://www.terryking.us/photoalbum/v/china/workers/
ChinaWorkers--O1.jpg.html?g2_imageViewslndex=2
Fig 1.2 http://www.blissful-wisdom.com/inside-chinas-factorylife.html
Fig 1.3 http://www.oneinchpunch.net/2007/07/02/endlessassembly-lines-and-giant-cafeterias-inside-chinas-vastfactories/
Fig 1.4 http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.IND.MANF.
CD/countries?display=map
Fig 1.5 http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonchang/2012/12/09/
move-over-michigan-china-is-the-worlds-next-rustbelt/
Fig 1.6 http://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2013/02/
services-sector
Fig 1.7 http://www.economist.com/node/21549956
Fig 1.8 Image by author
Fig 1.9 Image by author
Chapter 2
Fig 2.1 Image by author
Fig 2.2 Lin, Red Capitalism in South China.
Fig 2.3 Google earth
Fig 2.4 http://www.sztj.gov.cn/nj2012/indexce.htm
Fig 2.5 Image by author
Fig 2.6 Image by author
Fig 2.7 Image by author
Fig 2.8 http://www.szpl.gov.cn/
Fig 2.9 Image by author
Fig 2.10 Image by author
Fig 2.11 Image by author
Transforming the "World Factory"
93
Chapter 3
Fig 3.1 http://www.szpl.gov.cn/
Fig 3.2 http://newsfeed.kosmograd.com/kosmograd/2010/06/
the-ballet-of-ipod-city-1.html
Fig 3.3 Image by author
Fig 3.4 Image by author
Fig 3.5 http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/chinanews/foxconns-move-inland-leaves-shenzhens-futureambiguous-40566.html
Fig 3.6 Image by author
Fig 3.7 Image by author
94
Mingxi Zou
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