Tall & Urban News

The new Xili Transportation Hub is set to represent a major development for the Chinese city of Shenzhen. With construction set to begin within the next year, the plan, currently in the SD phase, includes Xili Station, a centrally located high-speed rail terminal building. The complex will serve as Shenzhen's main west hub, linking Nanshan to several key urban development areas. The facility is one of seven new stations planned for Shenzhen, and will have a service capacity of 1.3 million passengers per day.

Prospects for the city’s gradual westward development are bright, particularly with respect to Xili Hub's functions and location. Despite its potential, the existing area infrastructure poses some problems. In particular, the pedestrian network and arterial and elevated roads threaten to turn congestion into a major issue. The site’s two main axes include an urban axis that connects the transit center in the north with the city center in the south, while the residential axis connects the western business area with the eastern residential area. Rather than favoring any single axis, designers adopted an "L" shape for the architecture to create a network connectable in all four directions.

Southeast and northwest flow lines are sloped and intertwined to create a new topography, with the new station lying at their intersection point. Ribbon Park lies atop the structure, a landscaped area filled with greenery, public spaces, and a pedestrian network which connects to the city’s neighborhoods. The station's symbolic north-to-south orientation also blends into the city in an east-to-west direction, guiding urban bustle to its top and eliminating the station’s boundaries in both form and function.

As the city has expanded, local woodlands, wetlands, and agricultural land area have declined sharply, increasing urban heat effects. As part of a mitigation effort, more than 100,000 square meters of new green space will be created within the project to support the lives and activities of Shenzhen’s inhabitants, while providing a foundation for the restoration of the area’s unique former ecosystem. The north side transit mall is set to begin construction in December 2023, followed by the start of station construction. Total development completion is expected in the near future.