International Competition of Conceptual Design for Meilin Mt.-Yinhu Mt. Eco Leisure Bridge, Shenzhen6 min read

Background

While experiencing a critical transition period in ecological civilization construction and high quality development, Shenzhen now faces a prominent conflict between urban construction and ecological protection. Meilin Mt. and Yinhu Mt., the largest mountain forest and green space clusters in the downtown core, offer the main destinations for three million citizens in the surrounding areas to enjoy recreational climbing and embrace nature via country trails. They play a significant role in the city’s ecosystem and the urban service functional system.

In the earlier years, Meilin Mt. and Yinhu Mt. were completely disconnected due to the construction of Meilin-Guanlan Road, and no pedestrian link was left. In the past three decades since its opening to traffic, Meilin-Guanlan Road has brought great changes and huge social benefits to the surrounding areas, while at the same time, it also posed noticeable adverse impact on the eco-environment of both mountains and public leisure activities. The dissected Meilin Mt. – Yinhu Mt. ecological landscape area also adds to the difficulty of biodiversity protection as it worsens the fragmentation of the ecological landscape, and cuts off the paths for animals to forage, mate and migrate. Hikers have to take quite a long detour to climb across the mountains, which is time- and energy-consuming and goes against the advocate for regular outdoor leisure activities.

Meilin Mt.-Yinhu Mt. Eco Corridor, accommodating the “one ridge” as in the “one ridge, one belt, and twenty corridors” layout proposed by Shenzhen’s Mountain-Sea-City Integration Plan, is the main corridor that runs through all ecological patches in the central part of the city. It is of great ecological significance to securing and improving biodiversity, guaranteeing species migration and gene exchange, and building a continuous, complete ecological security pattern in central Shenzhen. Spanning over the Meilin-Guanlan Road, Meilin Mt.-Yinhu Mt. Eco Leisure Bridge serves as the north gateway to showcase the image of Futian District. Through creatively planned connections, it will reflect the harmonious relationship among animals, plants and human from different perspectives, further meet the demands of citizens for suburb hiking, sightseeing and leisure activities, upgrade the regional urban spaces, and demonstrate the concept of ecological civilization construction in the new era.

 

Location Overview

The Project is located at the mountains of Meilin and Yinhu in the north of Futian District, Shenzhen. As a node in close adjacency of Futian Central District, it will connect the Meilin Mt. Country Park on the west and Yinhu Mt. Country Park on the east.

Peripheral Conditions of the Project

Bird’s-eye View of the Project Site

 

Design Contents and Site Location

The Competition includes both the Eco Leisure Bridge and the underground culvert into its design scope to create a multi-level and multi-purpose eco bridge.

The Project is sited between Meilin Mt. and Yinhu Mt. to link up the mountaineering country trails of the two mountains. It is close to the valley catchment area while evading the protection scopes of the underground culvert, the high side slope, the high-voltage lines, Xincai Tunnel and metro lines 4 and 6. The specific location of the Project may be determined by the design team after research and analysis, with consideration given to ecological protection, bridge modeling and landscape design needs. The underground culvert is currently an underpass leading to the valley catchment area.

Site Location of the Bridge

 

Registration

• The open call sets no threshold in terms of qualification certificates. All local and international design teams (independent legal entities or other organizations that can independently bear civil liability) with relevant design experience are eligible for the registration. Consortium bidders (both domestic and abroad) are allowed. Individuals and teams of individuals are not acceptable.
• The design firm shall provide the corporate registration certificate, design license certificate or relevant documents of the same effect. Design firms headed by the same individual or whose shares are directly held by the same individual or have a direct holding relation are not allowed to register for the Competition at the same time.
• In view of the composite functions of this project, the design team should include professionals (or specialized consultants) in architecture, bridge, ecology, landscape, etc., who shall have corresponding work and project experiences.
• Members of consortia should meet the following requirements:

1. Members of a consortium are not allowed to register twice for the Competition by their own name or via another consortium in the name of another firm.
2. The members should sign a legally effective Consortium Agreement, and specify the division of work between the members at this stage, the proportion and way of distribution of the design fee, etc.

• The chief designer directing the project and consultants shall attend the milestone presentation meetings. Should the chief designer present during the Competition be inconsistent with the one specified in the Application Documents, the Host has the right to disqualify the team from the shortlisting and competition.

 

Schedule

Time	Activities
Stage I Open call
Aug.26, 2022	Release of preannouncement
Oct.10, 2022	Release of official announcement
By 16:00, Oct.18, 2022	Design teams to complete information registration at https://jinshuju.net/f/EYkm9P
By 16:00, Oct.27, 2022	Deadline for registration, i.e. deadline for submitting electronic file of Registration document and early concept proposal at https://jinshuju.net/f/EYkm9P ,and the hard copies of Application Documents
Nov.1, 2022	Selection Panel to shortlist 5 design teams for subsequent conceptual design stage
Stage II Conceptual design
Nov.8, 2022	Site visit and Q&A meeting
Nov.15, 2022	Deadline of clarification; design teams to e-mail questions to e-mail box [email protected], which shall serve as the only mailbox to take questions. Any email received by other mailbox will be regarded as invalid and will not be replied
By 16:00, Dec.8, 2022	Provision of conceptual design submissions
Dec.9, 2022	Evaluation meeting
Stage III Design finalization

The Host to finalize recipients of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Prizes

Note: The schedule above is subject to Beijing Time. The Host may, in view of the COVID-19 situation, duly reschedule the time and the ways to conduct site visit and Q&A meeting and evaluation meeting as may be necessary.

 

Honorariums and Bonuses

Prize	Bonus
The First Prize (1 winner)	CNY 700,000 each (tax inclusive) (about US$96,640)
The Second Prize (1 winner)	CNY 500,000 (tax inclusive) (about US$69,030)
The Third Prize (1 winner)	CNY 300,000 (tax inclusive) (about US$41,420)
Recipient of honorarium (2)	CNY 200,000 each (tax inclusive) (about US$27,610)

 

Design Contract

The Host and the Co-organizer will select one design proposal for implementation from the winning design proposals based on the experts’ review comments and other actual conditions. If the design scheme submitted by a design team is finalized as the one for implementation, the design team will be awarded the design contrac (the specific work scope and contents are subject to the design contract finally signed).

The design consulting fee is charged as per 10% of the design fee in the budgetary estimate approved for the Project.

 

The announcement is published on AIMIR’s website now. If you want to know more following details regarding to this competition, please feel free to contact AIMIR. What’s more, you’re more than welcome to touch base with us if you need architectural visualization.