von Gerkan, Marg und Partner – a large city on the East China Sea is being planned by the renowned, globally operating Hamburg architects office gmp – von Gerkan, Marg and Partner. Lingang New City is the name of the project to be implemented in several stages on the periphery of the 13-million-inhabitant metropolis of Shanghai, which is experiencing enormous growth in population and industry. The port city of Lingang New City – 800,000 people are to be housed here – has a unusually captivating concept. A circular lake 2.5 kilometres in diameter will form the main focus of the city with eight kilometres of lake walks and a beach right in the centre. Cultural institutions and leisure areas are located on an island. www.gmp-architekten.de
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GTZ – Germany is also involved in achieving sustainable infrastructure and better living conditions in large cities through its development cooperation effort. In the capital of Colombia, Bogota, for example, a new chapter in transportation history has been written with the support of the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ). The metropolis of seven million has reduced car traffic in the city and installed pedestrian zones, cycle tracks and parks. The modern Rapid Transit bus system in which the lines run on a separate lane (photograph) has become a model of sustainable inner city transportation. The concept has also proved persuasive for other metropolises – including Cairo. www.gtz.de
Alfred Herrhausen Society – Urban Age is the name of the project supported by the Alfred Herrhausen Society, the international forum of Deutsche Bank, and the London School of Economics (LSE), which have been focusing on the future of cities since 2005. Urban Age examines the problems of megacities at international conferences, bringing together architects, urban planners, scientists and politicians. Themes such as traffic, security, governability and sustainable business in urban centres are the focus of the network’s discussions and work. Model projects by organizations geared to improve the situation in large cities receive the Deutsche Bank Urban Age Award. www.urban-age.net
Siemens, BASF, LAVA – A green, eco-city in the desert: Masdar City is the name of the gigantic project begun in 2008 in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. It consistently relies on renewable energy sources and pursues an ambitious objective: to be the world’s first carbon-neutral city. The master plan for the approximately six-square-kilometre eco-metropolis was drawn up by British top architect Lord Norman Foster. The Stuttgart architects office LAVA – Laboratory for Visionary Architecture is responsible for the design of the central City Plaza. German companies like Siemens, BASF and E.ON, and large research institutes such as Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft are cooperating on technology transfer. The German-Arab Masdar PV company in Erfurt is building a photovoltaic plant that will serve as a pilot installation for Abu Dhabi. www.masdar.ae
