Background

The rapid development of technology and popularized digitalization is imperceptibly influencing the evolution of cities.As a new trend and an inevitable choice of this era, the “Intelligent Revolution” led by technology and innovation is sweeping all over the world and transforming looks of and life in the city. Urban public environment, as the ‘common home’ of city dwellers, needs to be built by a collective effort. Public facilities are significant to secure the comfort and safety of people's daily life. The topic of the competition is “A New-tech Led Intelligent Urban Life”, with a focus on how new technology will improve urban life by taking public facilities as the object of design, aiming at soliciting creative design proposals all over the world.

The Second “Natian” Cup International Design Competition is sponsored by Suqian Municipal People’s Government, organized by Suqian Urban Planning Bureau, CBC (China Building Centre) and Urban Environment Design (UED) Magazine. This competition is open to professional designers and college students from the fields of urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture, art design and relevant disciplines at home and abroad, besides, interdisciplinary practitioners, new-tech and new energy research institutes are also welcomed to participate. Participants are encouraged to select the site and do researches on their own will within the city of Suqian. However, the design should be adhere to the current development of the local area. The subject and topic can be self-determined, but the feasibility of the design should be justified. After jury review, winning entries have the possibility to be implemented in compliance with municipal standards.

Theme of the Competition and Interpretation

A New-tech Led Intelligent Urban Life

The competition aims to discuss the merging point between various new technologies, city infrastructure and citizens’ daily life, with the trans-boundary model of “New-tech +”to stimulate more practicable and unique designs. Public spaces, facilities and citizens’ daily life will be the main focus of this competition. Through the transformation of the mundane object in daily life, it is to effectively improve the convenience and safety of the city, enhance people’s sense of identity and reduce the cost of city’s operation and maintenance. The ultimate goal of this competition is to offer citizens with a better living environment and artistic experience.

Jury Chairman

YANG Baojun

National Engineering Survey and Design Master, President of China Academy of Urban Planning & Design, Professorate Senior Urban Planner. Candidate of "National Hundred, Thousand, and Ten Thousand Talents Project" expert, awarded as "Outstanding Mid-aged Experts". Executive President of UPSC (Urban Planning Society of China), Chairman of Academic Committee of Comprehensive City Planning, UPSC

Introduction of Suqian

Suqian

Suqian is located in north Jiangsu Province, with an urban area of 8,555 sq.km., a population of 5,800,000, and three counties and seven districts under its jurisdiction. As the crossroad of the Huaihai Economic Belt, the Coastal Economic Belt and the Riverside Economic Belt, Suqian enjoys prominent economic location that makes the city rank among the Top 100 Economic Powers of China. Known as the hometown of Xiang Yu (232 BC – 202 BC), the Great Conqueror of the Western Chu Dynasty, Suqian is a dynamic historical city. Thanks to its attractive natural landscape, it has been reputed for the vast lakes and dream-like farm fields and acclaimed as a pure land in east China and the largest oxygen bar in the regions of the Yellow River, Huaihe River and Haihe River.
Centering on developing the eco-city, the local government exerts focused efforts to make Suqian a green city, a garden city with colors and a sponge city. These efforts have been successively rewarded with such honorary titles as National Garden City, National Greening Model, Top-10 Green City in China, The Most Ecologically Competitive City in China, National Sanitary City, Chinese Outstanding Tourism City and the China Habitat Environment Prize, etc., making ecology the most precious urban resource of Suqian.