1. Concept

GBD is on the connection line to the future of China. It is placed on the south bank of the Thonghui River along Chang An Avenue, only a 20 minute drive from Tian An Men Square in the centre of Beijing. Located in the east of the new map of Beijing and contained within the great Gaobeidian cultural area, GBD with is various cultural forms and activities, will be the embodiment of a new kind of urbanism in China. GBD is the space for experimentation, modernity and openness in Beijing.

GBD covers a total area of 450.000m2 and is divided into six areas: 1) GBD 500m3 Design District Phase 1, 2) Flagship Store Street, 3) Qingming Shanghe Street, 4) Peach Blossom Island, 5) Creative Land and 6) Business District. The six areas will be built in six consecutive stages from 2007 to 2010.

Welcome to take part in the creation of GBD and design the future of China.  

2. Objectives

Beijing has become a global centre for arts, creativity and commerce. The influx of foreign visitors and the ever-increasing number of young, successful Chinese has generated a demand for retail and leisure of international standards. Concordantly, the growth of the city has created a need for sustainable building projects.

Gaobeidian area where is located GBD Art District is a fast developing leisure area with a rich history, located only a ten minute drive from Beijing’s Central Business District (CBD). The GBD building site is circled by woods and cut through by a canal; an expressway surrounds the area, connecting it to the surrounding city and at the same time defining it like a fenced community. The vision is to open up the area in respect of its historic status, to make full use of its natural resources and to create a sustainable art district linked to the city, where the rich flavours of Beijing’s art community are combined with top quality living, business and leisure spaces.

The first phase of the GBD Art District will be a combination of regenerated, old factory buildings and newly designed high-end buildings in a green and diverse atmosphere, offering density, but rejecting height.

The architectural challenge will be to design an area that combines private rooms for creating art and living with extrovert rooms for exhibition, business and commerce; to combine regenerated old storage buildings with cutting-edge new architecture; and to combine a green atmosphere with business and retail. We hope that the reconstruction planning will bring a diversified prosperity and quality of life, and unite an active artistic scene and a creative atmosphere with business and commerce of the highest standards. We believe that art, life, commerce, creative design in themselves have inherent ecological harmony.

The first to move in will be galleries and studios, followed by retail shops, places of leisure, and office spaces of organizations engaged in the creative industry.