Construction sea defence wall East Dike Shenzhen

East Dike, our redevelopment of Dapeng’s coastline is nearing the next step of completion. Three water smart landscapes at Changhu, Yangmeikeng Lagoon and Pengcheng are all but finished and will be officially opened October 1st. KCAP+FELIXX developed the ‘Triple dike strategy’, a multifaceted dike system that allows for an integrated approach towards the climate adaptive reorganization of the shoreline. Water safety strategies are connected to eco-development and nature restoration and create a resilient framework of different landscapes that make smart connections between the mountains and the sea. Dapeng’s cultural resources and natural settings have fostered the development of tourism, within a vast expending metropolitan area with about 20 million inhabitants. The application of the triple-dike provides a framework to enhance these existing qualities while unlocking potentials for growth. The Changhu, Yangmeikeng and Pengcheng villages all originate from fishing communities. To minimize the infrastructural impact, connectivity from the water is enhanced. Our research, design and engineering of the interconnected mountain and marine landscapes boost the local ecological functioning. This strengthens the environmental resilience of the villages and helps these communities to live, work and grow with (rising) water, instead of fighting against it.

We are proud to announce that East Dike Shenzhen has been selected for the 2021 Architizer A+Awards in the Architecture +Water category. Together with Felixx our project presents a ‘Triple dike strategy’ to make Shenzhen's East coast ‘typhoon-proof'. The multifaceted dike system allows for an integrated approach towards the climate adaptive reorganization of the shore. We connect water safety strategies to eco-development and nature restoration, creating a resilient framework that accommodates social and economic growth. Congratulations to our clients and collaborators: Water resource bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, China Resources Land Urban Operation Management, Felixx Landscape Architects & Planners, Shenzhen Hope Design, CCCC Water Transportation Consultants and Deltares.  Congratulations also to the #PopularChoiceAward winners, Watershed in Seattle by Weber Thompson, and the Special Mention, Snail Bay Center by kris lin International Design.  Photography: DUO Architectural Photography - Hongduo Zhuo

Architizer is celebrating "the year's best buildings and spaces," and our 'Triple Dike Strategy' for East Dike has been shortlisted for the prestigious award in the category Architecture + Water! Together with Felixx Landscape Architects & Planners, we developed an integrated approach towards the climate adaptive reorganization for the 130km long shoreline of Shenzhen, and now we need your help to win.The project integrates water safety strategies with ecological shoreline restoration, seawall construction, landscape, and public space remodelling. It recreates the tourism identity of Dapeng and promotes local economic development. On the premise of ecology and safety, it combines local culture with the geographical environment and shows the coastline's beauty and diversity.Want to know more about our strategies in making Shenzhen's East coast 'typhoon-proof'? You can find the project's page here.You can vote for the Popular Choice Award (category Architecture + Water) until Friday, June 25th here (register for free).

The city entrance of Amersfoort is being transformed into a green boulevard with remarkable building ensembles alongside. The development plan by KCAP already radically improved the post-war neighborhoods by connecting them safely with a grade separated crossing, with an outstanding swim and sports complex from VenhoevenCS architecture+urbanism. When fully realized, the plan delivers about 820 much-needed residences, of which a large part are affordable. With the recent delivery of 165 houses by de Alliantie and Moke Architecten, the eastern composition of 4 towers is now completed! Along the Valleikanaal an ecological park designed by MTD Landschapsarchitecten is realized which extends onto the green decks between the towers. The project is part of a comprehensive approach by de Alliantie and Gemeente Amersfoort to improve and renew these neighborhoods into vibrant and livable city districts for Amersfoort.  You can find a video on the construction process here.

Very proud that our Triple-Dike project in Shenzhen (CN) won third prize at Rethinking The Future 2021!Team KCAP+Felixx developed a new dike typology considering the local and social context of the existing coastal communities. The project integrates water safety strategies with ecological shoreline restoration, seawall construction, landscape, and public space remodeling. It recreates the tourism identity of Dapeng and promotes local economic development. On the premise of ecology and safety, it combines local culture with the geographical environment and shows the coastline's beauty and diversity.According to the jury, East Dike is "a visionary project" and is "[…] defining new architectural language[…]". Congratulations to our clients and collaborators: Water resource bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, China Resources Land Urban Operation Management, Felixx Landscape Architects & Planners, Shenzhen Hope Design, CCCC Water Transportation Consultants and Deltares. 

Earlier this month, we received the gold certificate of the Eurasian Award for East Dike Shenzhen, our shared project with Felixx Landscape architects and planners.For eighteen kilometers of coastline, KCAP+Felixx developed a multifaceted dike system, the ‘triple dike strategy’. The design is an integrated approach towards the climate adaptive reorganization of the shore. Water safety strategies are connected to eco-development and nature restoration to create a resilient framework for social and economic growth in the area. In May 2020 the demonstration zone at Yangmeikeng was taken into use. The entire redevelopment is expected to be completed in 2021.The project has already received a lot of international recognition and was often shortlisted. We are happy to see it now winning in the Urban Development category of the Eurasian Awards 2020. Find out more about the project.

KCAP and Orange Architects are working in a consortium with A.Len Architectural Bureau in St. Petersburg, Russia, to transform a former railway yard on Ligovsky Prospekt into a new residential district with communal facilities, retail and extensive greenery. Linear parks and landscaped boulevards that follow the historical railway tracks are at the origin of the new urban framework and will offer the backdrop for a high quality living environment, where the buildings are characterized by industrial aesthetics. KCAP+ORANGE Architects in consortium with A.Len Architectural Bureau prepared a proposal for the territory planning of the former Tovarno-Vitebskaya railway yard in the south-eastern part of the grey belt of St. Petersburg. This project is a continuation of the Glorax Development's Ligovsky City neighborhood development project, where the first residential complex is already in operation while the second one is nearing completion. The area under consideration, 30 hectares, is well connected to city. In the North, in close proximity to the site, is planned to build a metro station "Borovaya". The global goal of the project is to create a new attractive residential district of St. Petersburg, designed for 8600 people, with its own commercial and social infrastructure. The plans include restaurants, cafes, leisure facilities, street retail, service companies, sports facilities, four kindergartens, one primary and one secondary school, underground and surface parking lots. The Chairman of the City Planning Council, V. Grigoriev, defined the project as a positive example of resuming international design in the city: “The participation of renowned architects from all over the world has always contributed to the development of St. Petersburg.” The carefully planned intervention is an adaptive re-use that promotes new urban life, based on a mix of historical and modern structures and on the contrast between large and small scale solutions. The industrial morphology of the area, with the rails ...

Last week, the demonstration zone of East Dike Shenzhen was officially opened by Mr. Huang Min, vice mayor of Shenzhen, accompanied by Mr. Zhang Liwei, head of the Water Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality. As from May 1st , the demonstration zone is open to the public, welcoming visitors and serving local residents. East Dike is located in Dapeng, a mountainous peninsula in the direct proximity of Hongkong and Shenzhen. In 2018, the typhoon Mangkhut damaged the coastline to various degrees. In 2019, team KCAP+FELIXX has been selected to develop the plans, restore the coastline and raise protection standards. With the ‘Triple Dike strategy’, the team developed an integrated approach towards the climate adaptive reorganization of the 130 kilometer long shore. In the concept, water safety strategies are connected to eco-development and nature restoration and merged with social and economic growth. On a 500m long strip in Yangmeikeng, the performance of the proposed nature-based strategies for the sea wall are tested and materialization principles are explored and refined. The realization of this demonstration zone is the first milestone in the construction of 18 kilometers of embankment to be completed by 2021. Strategic projectsFor 6 villages along the shore, all originating from fishers’ communities, the strategy is turned into strategic design projects, creating unique and site-specific realms. The ‘Triple Dike’ is composed of three development zones, carefully embedded in the local conditions and responding to the specific future needs of every village. The small-scale identity will be protected and their different characteristics reinforced. Village Dongshan is situated in a quiet bay, allowing the embankment to be designed as a green park, merging the mountains and the sea. Guanhu is a creative and cultural district. The dike performs as a vivid green beach boulevard, a backbone that unites existing functions with new recreational facilities. Moonbay is ...

East Dike Shenzhen is shortlisted for the World Landscape Architecture Awards 2020, nominated as laureate in the Eurasian Prize 2019-2020, currently exhibited in Roca Gallery London’s exhibition 'Sea Change: Flood Resilient Architecture for the 21st Century' and selected for the ‘water as leverage’ exhibition of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam up from September 2020! The project team enjoys the appreciation of the international experts and juries. Up from May 1st, the demonstration zone of Shenzhen’s Eastern seawall reconstruction project will be open to the public, welcoming visitors and serving local residents. We look forward to see and hear their responses too! East Dike is commissioned by the Shenzhen Water Bureau and designed by KCAP + Felixx in cooperation with China Resource Group, Hope Landscape & Architecture and China water transport planning & design institute.

The first 500m demonstration zone Yangmeikeng of East Dike Shenzhen is almost realized. It forms the base for the six strategic realization projects along the 18 km of coastal reinforcement that KCAP + Felixx  developed to restore the coastline of Shenzhen and raise protection standards against extreme weather. With the design competition just won in the summer of 2019, this partial completion is a great achievement by everyone involved! After the visit of our client Water Resources Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality last weekend, final works are now being completed to be ready for the official opening to public on May 1st.

The construction of our East Dike project in Shenzhen is progressing rapidly. In order to ensure protection against storm surges in the near future, hard work has been done on site on the realisation of the primary flood defence wall. Only half a year after winning the design competition by KCAP + Felixx and in less than three months of construction work, the raw construction of the sea wall of the demonstration zone has already been completed. The project translates the necessity of coastal protection into development potential. Thus the multifunctional structure safeguards and reinforces the ecological value and identity of identified subareas of the Dapeng peninsula.

Construction work of our project East Dike in Shenzhen is progressing fast and the design is taking shape. Team KCAP + Felixx is supervising the construction process on site together with our client and LDI team. This week,  we were happy to welcome our client, the Water Resources Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, lead by director Zhang and director Zhao, at the construction site of Yangmeikeng demonstration zone to present the work in progress. Meanwhile, the design of all six areas was presented to the representative committee of the Shenzhen People's Congress and Shenzhen Ocean Bureau. The design of those areas will now progress towards the final design stage. We are looking forward to see the finishing of the demonstration zone in Yangmeikeng in beginning 2020!!

The construction of Inntel Hotel Marina Beach The Hague has reached its highest point. This was officially celebrated on the construction site on November, 22nd. The 4-star hotel will become a new icon on Noordelijk Havenhoofd in Scheveningen. It rises on an important spot at the end of the beach boulevard where the boats from the sea enter Scheveningen harbour. On this all-sided location, the building symbolizes the movement of sails in the wind with its façade. From each perspective, it will show itself with a different shape and impression. Now the building height has been reached, works on the façade will follow. The hotel is estimated to be completed in 2021.

Our residential project OASSIS in Crissier is nearing completion fast. The facade of one building has been finished and the first apartments were delivered. The project is set in the heterogeneous and quickly developing outskirts of Lausanne with great views on Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc. Final delivery of the project is scheduled for spring 2020. Time to celebrate!

KCAP + FELIXX have won the international competition for the redevelopment of the 130-kilometer coastline of Dapeng, a green peninsula in the bay between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. In September 2018, the typhoon Mangkhut damaged the infrastructure of the peninsula to various degrees. An international competition was launched to develop a plan to restore the coastline and raise protection standards against the more frequent occurrence of extreme weather events. KCAP+FELIXX developed the ‘Triple dike strategy’, a multifaceted dike system that allows for an integrated approach towards the climate adaptive reorganization of the shore.  Water safety strategies are connected to eco-development and nature restoration. This creates a resilient framework for social and economic growth. For 32 kilometers of coastline, KCAP + FELIXX is developing this concept into six strategic implementation projects. Realization starts this year, and is expected to be completed in 2021. TRIPLE DIKE The triple dike moves away from a generic protection wall along the coast, towards the creation of three development zones, carefully embedded in current conditions and responding to the specific future needs of every single area. The 1st ‘outer’ dike zone increases the resiliency through wave attenuation, erosion reduction and the enhancement of sedimentation. The 2nd ‘middle’ dike is an elevated embankment, to stop the storm surge and the water pushed up by the waves. It’s not a big wall but a multifunctional zone: an exciting hilly park, an elevated waterfront with urban promenades, a tidal park or even a public building. The 3rd ‘inner’ dike is a hybrid structure which manages the rainwater following the principle of a sponge city. All runoff from adjacent villages and mountains is buffered, delayed and temporarily stored in rain-parks, raingardens, wet forests, wetlands and green streets. A PRODUCTIVE RESILIENCE STRATEGY Dapeng is a mountainous peninsula with lush forests, intersected by riverbeds and creeks, ...

  The new neighbourhood “Aeschbachquartier” in Aarau, a town with 22.000 inhabitants between Zurich and Bern, has been completed. KCAP Architects&Planners designed the masterplan of the neighbourhood and realized several buildings, Studio Vulkan planned and built the outdoor spaces. The Aeschbachquartier is a mixed quarter for living and working in a central location. Through its change of scale within the project, it mediates between the urban density at the railway station and the delicate, green residential neighbourhoods. The diversity of typologies, architectural designs and uses generates a dynamic location for a wide variety of user groups, residents and visitors to the city of Aarau. A prominent tower marks the entrance of the neighbourhood and of the Aeschbach promenade that leads between urban commercial and residential buildings to the central Oehlerpark. Along Aeschbachpromenade, the historic Aeschbachhalle is located, which was restored as an iconic neighbourhood centre and event location, and flanked with studios and urban lofts. Oehlerpark functions as a hinge to the purely residential areas of the project, which serve as a transition to the existing quarters with urban villas and terraced houses. The project was realised by real estate developer Mobimo. While all exterior spaces were designed by Studio Vulkan landscape architects, the architectural tasks were assigned to three different offices in order to guarantee the diversity of the neighbourhood. Schneider & Schneider Architekten designed and realised the symbolic GastroSocial Tower with the adjacent commercial building and four urban villas at the park. Gmür & Geschwentner are responsible for two residential and commercial buildings in the urban core, which they built together with Caretta & Gitz. The majority of the buildings are designed by KCAP, including the terraced houses and the urban villa in the south, the large urban villas by the park built with b+p baurealisation, and the renovation and extension ...

The Aeschbachquartier in Aarau, planned by KCAP Architects&Planners and Studio Vulkan Landschaftsarchitekten, was officially opened on April 4 by real estate developer Mobimo. Events for the public will take place on Saturday, 6 April. KCAP designed the master plan of the neighbourhood and realized most of the buildings, Studio Vulkan planned and executed the outdoor spaces. The Aeschbachquartier is a mixed residential and working neighbourhood in a central location. It bridges the gap between the urban density at the railway station and the delicate, green residential quarters. The diversity of typologies, architectural designs and uses generates a dynamic location for a wide variety of user groups, residents and visitors to the city of Aarau. A prominent tower marks the entrance to the quarter. The spacious Aeschbach promenade leads between urban commercial and residential buildings to the central Oehler Park. This functions as a hinge to the pure residential area and to the surrounding context. The park is bordered by a series of town villas, each of which houses several households, and in the background by terraced houses. The historic Aeschbachhalle is also located on the Aeschbachpromenade, restored as a quarter centre and event location and supplemented with studios and urban lofts. While the entire exterior spaces were designed by Studio Vulkan landscape architects, the architectural tasks were assigned to three different offices in order to guarantee the architectural diversity of the quarter. Schneider & Schneider Architects designed and realised the symbolic GastroSocial Tower with the adjacent commercial building and four city villas by the park. Gmür & Geschwentner are responsible for two residential and commercial buildings in the urban core. The majority of the buildings stem from by KCAP, including the terraced houses and the city villa in the background, the large city villas by the park and the renovation and extension ...

The building permit for The Student Hotel Delft is approved and the site preparations are starting. The construction of the hotel on this central location on the foresquare of Delft central ctation is an important step of the of the Nieuw Delft area development. The programming and open character of the building will make a great contribution to the liveliness of the area around the station. The Student Hotel is a hybrid hotel concept that combines high-quality hotel functions with high-quality short- and long-stay facilities, such as a gym, bar-restaurant, library, gaming and lounge areas, classrooms, meeting rooms and co-working areas. These functions are combined in a building ensemble consisting of a varied plinth volume with two towers on top. All public hotel functions are located on the ground floor, the hotel rooms on the upper floors.  

10 years after winning the competition (MEP) for 'Parc du Simplon' in Renens, the first buildings are standing and the construction of the appartements and offices is progressing quickly. The first inhabitants will soon be moving in. The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) are transforming many station areas in Switzerland, one of which is in Renens-Entrepôts. The KCAP masterplan creates a mixed neighbourhood including apartments and office spaces, a high school, hospitality, and retail. While the school building is in service since September 2017, the former ‘silo bleu’ transformed into a student housing tower will welcome its first inhabitants in February. Now, also the construction of the residential and office buildings has started. Our masterplan creates two noise barriers; a row of office buildings towards the rail tracks, and long-drawn residential buildings with public ground floors towards the street. In between them, a series of urban villas is set in public and semi-public spaces. https://parc-du-simplon.ch/ http://silobleu.ch/de/  

Construction of block 6 of the Golden City in St. Petersburg is rising. Block 6 is one of the first two buildings within the masterplan ‘Golden City’ in St. Petersburg next to the International Sea Terminal designed by KCAP + Orange at Vasilievsky Island that is under construction. Block 7 has just had a sales kick-off of the apartments and design works on block 8 have started.