宜宾位于中国四川省，地处三江交汇处，是历史著名的长江第一城。目前城市人口约80万人的这座小型城市，是两条高铁线路的交汇点，距离成都、重庆、昆明和贵阳等一线城市仅需1小时行程。宜宾叠粹是一个综合性开发项目，位于宜宾的新城市中心，项目基地面积超过60公顷。

宜宾与多座发达城市紧密连接，拥有不过于大量的人口以及迷人的自然风光，这对于设计打造一个让都市与乡村和谐共融的总体规划——中国未来城市发展的一个潜在模型，是个理想的实践场地。在现行已有的网格布局上，我们的设计可以如何同时发挥宜宾的现有资源和未来潜力？

项目场地两侧分别衔接着青山与都市，这带来融合自然与城市发展两者特质的机会，可构想打造一个融合方案、一座公园城市。在这个总体规划中，建筑、自然及公共空间形成层带肌理沿东西向起伏的地形伸展，这个多层次交叠的组织模式，如同中国传统山水画中的叠景，与此同时形成一个可让各层带各自独立开发的系统。由此产生的总体规划条理清晰，并具有高辨识度。

层带间通过一条公共轴线贯穿联系，串联山峰、新开发片区以及现有城市广场的这个轴线，成为项目的一个主要连接纽带。这个轴线以多座独特的地标建筑，展现这片长江流域城市的丰富多样性，包括其产业、历史文化区以及日常活动。这些地标共同构筑体现这座城市精粹的宜宾枢纽门户。

所有这些元素，都促使宜宾的这个新城市中心成为交通导向发展的一个新模式，一个兼具本地性与国际性、功能性与独特性，结合城市与自然特质而建的新型模范。

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Yibin in China’s Sichuan province, where two river branches join with the Yangtze River, is historically known as the First City of Yangtze River. Currently with a population of around 800,000, the small city at the junction of two high-speed railways will be only 1 hour away from first-tier cities, including Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, and Guiyang. Yibin Essence Layers is a mixed-use development on an over 60 hectare site at Yibin’s new city center, in front of a new high-speed railway station backed by the Qixing Mountain.

Well-connected to developed cities, yet not overpopulated and having proximity to the enticing nature, Yibin is an ideal site for designing a masterplan in-between the urban area and the countryside – a potential model for China’s future development. With an existing grid plan already in place, how can our design address both the current context and potential of Yibin?

The site is situated at the threshold between the mountain and the city, which offers an opportunity to envision a hybrid condition – or a Park City – that combines qualities of nature and urban development. In the masterplan, layers of buildings, nature and public spaces alternate along the rugged terrain running east-west. The layering model evokes traditional Chinese landscape paintings, while ensuring a system that offers autonomous development of each layer. The resulting masterplan is coherent with a legible identity.

The layers intersect with a public axis – the main connector between the mountain, the new development and the city’s existing civic square. This axis captures the diverse conditions along the Yangtze River Valley – its industries, historical districts, and daily activities – in the form of unique landmarks. Together, these landmarks create the Yibin Hub that manifests the city’s essence. 

All these elements define Yibin’s new city centre into an alternative transit-oriented development model – one that is local and global, functional and distinctive, built upon conditions of nature and the city.