First prize

KuiperCompagnons and its partners has been awarded the first prize for the Zhejiang outstanding urban and rural planning 2017 for Xiaojia River Countryside planning , Ningbo, China.

In recent decades the booming Ningbo economy has resulted in rapid industrialization and urbanization. Besides economical growth and increase of wealth and prosperity, this fast urbanization also result in challenges to create liveable cities for the Ningbo citizen.

This conceptual strategy describes a new perspective for this green rural part within the urbanisation of the city of Ningbo. The plan aims to protect the environmental and cultural heritage and simutaneously improves the social economic position of the people in the project area. The strategy builds upon the existing unique identity of little villages, agriculture economies and water related communities. By developing new economies and ecologies with respect of the existing networks we have secured an integrated development approach for the area as a model for rural urbanisation. Key to our approach was to develop this area as the sponge for this district of the city. This new impulse, that is adding to the existing qualities, will make this part of the city attractive for visitors and citizens for Ningbo, and for the local population.

We have been able to implement integrated concepts with our Dutch and local partners. This co-creation leads to a balanced sustainable strategy that has been awarded with this prize.