Luijiazui financial zone, China

China's rapid development has seen major changes to the landscape and built environment. Nowhere is the pace of change more evident than in Shanghai's Pudong financial zone, a new economic hub for which Halcrow provided a range of urban design and master planning expertise.

The brief was to facilitate Shanghai's development as an international financial centre. Considering the district as a whole, we delivered a spatial layout to integrate offices and commercial premises, residential property, transport links and public spaces, A key hurdle was the tendency for commercial areas to lose their vibrancy and ‘bustle' outside office hours. Our master plan tackles this challenge through carefully interlinked spaces and public areas, encouraging a range of uses at various times.

By 2010, Pudong will be home to more that 600 financial institutions, generating over 200,000 jobs and giving rise to almost 20 per cent of the region's gross domestic product. We're confident that the built environment will reflect and promote economic growth, creating jobs and amplifying prosperity for Shanghai's residents.

Recognising the sensitive balance between preservation and progress, we aim to create spaces that integrate elements from the past while creating modern, dynamic areas for the future.

Our work in Pudong reflects the wider transition in China, and the contrast between old and new. Directly opposite the new financial development, separated by the Huangpu River, the Bund represents China's colonial past. Our regeneration master plan scooped first prize in an international design competition and has resulted in an enhanced historic centre, showcasing the city's refurbished world heritage buildings.