Dapeng is a natural green peninsula with a 130km shoreline stretched around it, located in the bay between Hongkong and Shenzhen. In September 2018, typhoon Mangkhut damaged the peninsula’s infrastructure to various degrees. An international competition was launched to develop a plan to restore the coastline and raise protection standards against the more frequent occurrence of extreme weather events.
KCAP+FELIXX developed the ‘Triple dike strategy’, a multifaceted dike system that allows for an integrated approach towards the climate adaptive reorganisation of the shore. Water safety strategies are connected to eco-development and nature restoration. This creates a resilient framework for social and economic growth. For 18 kilometres of coastline, KCAP + FELIXX is developing this concept into six strategic implementation projects. The realization started in 2019 and is expected to be completed in 2022.
The triple dike moves away from a generic protection wall along the coast towards creating three development zones, carefully embedded in current conditions and responding to the specific future needs of every area. The 1st ‘outer’ dike zone increases the resiliency through wave attenuation, erosion reduction, and sedimentation enhancement. The 2nd ‘middle’ dike is an elevated embankment, to stop the storm surge and the water pushed up by the waves. It’sstrat not a big wall but a multifunctional zone: an exciting hilly park, an elevated waterfront with urban promenades, a tidal park or even a public building. The 3rd ‘inner’ dike is a hybrid structure which manages the rainwater following the principle of a sponge city. All runoff from adjacent villages and mountains is buffered, delayed and temporarily stored in rain parks, rain gardens, wet forests, wetlands and green streets.
Dapeng is a mountainous peninsula with lush forests intersected by riverbeds and creeks, connected to the sea with fantastic sandy beaches and impressive rockeries. It offers an extraordinarily lush and green environment in direct proximity to Hongkong and Shenzhen. Along the shore, several small villages originate from fishing communities.
Dapeng’s cultural resources and natural settings have fostered tourism development within a vast expanding metropolitan area with about 20 million inhabitants. The application of the triple-dike provides a framework to enhance these existing qualities while unlocking the potential for growth. The small-scale identity of the villages is protected by locating new developments within the existing boundaries. Each village’s specific character is strengthened to amplify the rich variation of recreational facilities. To minimise the infrastructural impact on the island, connectivity from the water is enhanced. An interconnected mountain and marine landscape boost the ecological functioning of the peninsula.
Landscape Architecture: Felixx
Other designers involved in the design of landscape
KCAP, Deltares Hope Landscape & Architecture, China Water Transport, Planning & Design Institute
Project location: Dapeng, Shenzhen, China
Design year: 2019
Year Built: Ongoing
Designers: Felixx /
