Shenzhen Universiade I-Park.
Longgang District
- Year
- 2023
- Site
- Longgang District
- Program
- Sport + innovation district
The client & the
question they asked.
The Longgang District Government of Shenzhen, one of China’s fastest-growing innovation centers, launched an international design tender to transform the Universiade i-Park site into a landmark ecological and cultural destination within the Shenzhen–Hong Kong International Science and Education City.
Positioned within a rapidly developing district anchored by new educational, cultural, and sports institutions, the project reflects the municipality’s ambition to elevate environmental quality, strengthen urban identity, and attract global talent.
The client sought a future-oriented urban park that would integrate ecological restoration, smart infrastructure, and public life while supporting Longgang’s transformation into a global center for research, culture, and innovation.
The brief, in
specifics.
The competition called for a comprehensive landscape and urban strategy capable of redefining the site as an ecological and intelligent urban park that responds to the district’s rapid growth.
The design needed to enhance environmental performance, improve accessibility, and create a vibrant public space that supports cultural exchange, recreation, and scientific research.
Key objectives included integrating low-carbon infrastructure, strengthening connections to surrounding ecological corridors, and introducing smart technologies that enhance user experience and operational performance. The park was envisioned as a multi-dimensional landscape—one that connects city and nature, supports biodiversity, and establishes a distinctive civic identity for Longgang District.
- Year
- 2023
- Site
- Longgang District
- Program
- Sport + innovation district
- Status
- Competition
- Size
- ~180 hectares
- Role and disciplines
- Design ConsultancyArchitectureMaster PlanningLandscape ArchitectureUrban Design
An intelligent landscape where ecology, technology, and public life converge to shape Shenzhen’s future. A new model for the intelligent city—where landscape performs socially, ecologically, and technologically.
The outcomes —
what we designed.
The proposal transforms the site into an integrated urban park defined by the concept of the “Longgang Cloud Nest,” a symbolic and spatial framework inspired by Shenzhen’s surrounding mountains, ocean, and atmospheric landscapes.
The design establishes a layered environment that merges leisure, culture, ecology, and innovation into a unified civic experience. A multi-dimensional forest park creates immersive connections between landscape and architecture through biophilic strategies that extend from the ground plane to elevated environments, supported by a network of intelligent greenways and ecological corridors that enhance accessibility while strengthening biodiversity and environmental performance.
At the center of the project, an urban view platform and sky gondola introduce a new civic vantage point, offering panoramic views of the city and reinforcing connections between the park and Longgang’s future development. The “Cloud Trail,” an intelligent mountain pathway system, weaves through the landscape to create immersive recreational and educational experiences while linking surrounding urban districts through a continuous network of movement.
Ecological restoration strategies preserve native plant communities and introduce biological-themed trails that support research, education, and environmental stewardship. Together, these interventions position Universiade i-Park as a next-generation civic landscape—one that integrates technology, ecology, and public life while shaping the evolving identity of Longgang District.
The team that
made it.
Work completed while Andy Lantz served as Co-CEO, Partner, and Global Creative Director at RIOS. Atlas Lantz Studio acknowledges the collaboration, leadership, and shared authorship of the RIOS teams who developed the design with him.
Andy Lantz · Jason Shinoda · Chenliang Ma · Rongxin Tang · Danny Ortega · Haoran Liu · Simone Lapenta · Jenny Myers · Stan Su