AQSO arquitectos office. The satellite image of the city of Pengshui shows the confluence of the rivers and the expansion of the city on both sides of the mountain.

Starting from a territorial analysis of the municipality, this intervention covers an area of over 3,000 hectares. The project includes both the urban planning of new districts and a special report for the regeneration of the city centre.

Luis Aguirre
Ruan Dan
Lv Jin Huan
James Tendayi Matsuku
Diego LaguĂ­a
Liu Xiao Pu
Zhang Zhang

Area: 3.000 Ha.
Location: Pengshui, China
Client: Local government of Pengshui
In collaboration with LKS IngenierĂ­a S. Coop and GP&D

AQSO arquitectos office. Aerial view of the city of Pengshui in Chongqing. The strategic urban regeneration plan developed by AQSO aims to improve the city's quality of life.

Pengshui is a city of about 100,000 inhabitants, located in the Chinese municipality of Chongqing. In the latest years, this urban centre has experienced an extraordinary increment of population, mostly driven by the recent improvement of the public infrastructures and of the regional economic policies. Indeed, within the next ten years, it is foreseen a dazzling 200% population growth.

AQSO arquitectos office. Town planning map of Dianshui District. This is an expanding area of the city with a diverse and sustainable urban fabric.

From the beginning, the city’s development has been strongly affected by the local, rugged topography. The overall shortage of flat land is the main reason for the uncontrolled process of urban densification in the city centre: a density which later has spread as a sprawl in the nearby valleys; a fragmented and polycentric structure of five separate neighbourhoods.

AQSO arquitectos office. The strategic plan for the city centre defines the land uses, special conservation areas and the main infrastructures needed to revitalise the city and clean up the city.

The intervention starts with a territorial analysis of the municipality to determine the economic factors driving the urban growth, and the relationship between the capital and the adjacent towns. The metropolitan area will be divided into several zones marked for new development: the most important are Boajia, Changtan and Dianshui.

AQSO arquitectos office. This detailed urban mobility study aims to establish stairs and lifts to improve pedestrian circulation and regenerate the sloping urban fabric.

The masterplans of these neighbourhoods are always designed considering the connection with the main city: especially the hierarchy of the mobility system, and the urban density of the territory. The result is the model characteristic of a new, different city, where residential typologies adapted to slopes and irregular grounds.

AQSO arquitectos office. Three-dimensional view of the urban fabric of the city. Green areas, stairs, ramps and lifts for public use are proposed to overcome the slope of the land.

On the contrary, the intervention in the centre is thought as a process of urban regeneration. The self-built housing process that took place on the slopes has resulted in highly densified zones. The project starts with a deep study of the urban fabric to propose the opening of new roads, insertion of public spaces and comprehensive land use optimization.

AQSO arquitectos office. Urban plan showing assigning different levels of protection to buildings in a conservation area. Urban planning document showing listed buildings and land use.

This strategic plan is also completed with other specific interventions for improving the image of the city such as the treatment and regeneration of the riverbanks, (affected by seasonal changes in water level), or the proposal of certain public buildings in strategic areas to become driving forces in the regeneration process.