Tianjin, a sizeable city near Beijing, has a rich heritage of late 19th- and early 20th-century residential architecture, particularly within the foreign concessions at the edge of the old city. This local architecture inspired our designs for the residences at Zero Island, where some 50 two- and three-story houses will be built on 9.3 hectares at the south end of a man-made lake, connected to the shore on either side by two bridges. Our plan proposes a central elliptical green ringed with freestanding townhouses, in the spirit of London's residential squares. A second ring road conforms to the island's irregular coast, maximizing dramatic views across the lake. Radial roads offer small parks. A continuous public path along the waterfront leads to a marina at the north end of the island and a clubhouse to the south.
