Shanghai Lilong Tower Urbanism: towards an Urbanism of Parametric Preservation

Abstract

This paper describes a design approach for a new urban building typology for Shanghai utilizing a set of parametric design techniques to arrive at an alternative solution to current models of urbanization. The goal in this approach was to find a solution that is adaptable and sensitive to the urban environment and has the capacity to preserve historic urban street patterns. The approach included an understanding of the historic urban fabric of Shanghai, a respective plot analysis and the development of a computational method to produce a new urban type. The parametric set-up was build upon an analytical workflow with integrated feedback procedures that informed the design exploration and resulted in multiple design solutions.