Changzhou 120o East Longitude Street

OBERMEYER has won the first prize in the international urban design competition for the Changzhou 120o East Longitude Street. The 120o Longitude is the datum line of Beijing Time and Changzhou is the only city by which the downtown is crossed through.

The design concept is defined by lines, points and cuttings that form an axis system, serving as backbone for the landscape and urban key points. The nine key points, aligned on one axis, are inspired by the nine planets of the Solar System. In the south the business centre extends to the north with an open-air shopping?centre and large leisure and visiting areas. For the sake of accessibility, a convenient and safe slow-traffic system is designed with mainly pedestrian roads above ground and underpasses for the through traffic. The design aims to create a theme block with mainly tourism, innovation and leisure combined with shopping, entertainment, office and habitation so that a unique and vivid pedestrian block of Changzhou is realized.