Diller Scofidio + Renfro Wins Chinese Eco-Island Competition

Diller, Scofidio + Renfro has been selected as the winners of the international South Sea Pearl Eco-Island competition.

The competition — hosted by Haikou Municipal People’s Government, organized by HNA Infrastructure, coordinated by HNA Design and CBC(China Building Centre) and lead by chief consultant Vicente Guallart, former Chief Architect of Barcelona — saw 10 leading international firms compete for the design of an 250 hectare eco-tourism hub on a newly constructed island in the Haikou Bay of Hainan, which will contain housing, hotels, tourist attractions and a port with capacity for two large cruise ships.

Beating out runner-up proposals from Foster + Partners and Morphosis, Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s winning proposal was selected after several rounds of voting by the jury, which comprised of leading architectural figures including Aaron Betsky (USA) and Benedetta Tagliabue (IT).

Diller Scofidio + Renfro Project

The jury found the strength of the project was that it was singular and clear in realizing the Ecoisland as a whole. It would create a beautiful, iconic form rising naturally out the landscape, recalling the volcanic caldera of the area, and shape the island into a continuous structure that would be an extremely efficient compaction of resort, retail, and housing. The project leaves the rest of the island as a place for aquaculture and agriculture, recreation, resort living and cultural facilities. This proposal is one for a truly a human-made island that celebrates all that makes such water-bound places so attractive and beautiful, while contributing to our understanding of deep, intrinsic ecology.

Read more comments about other projects here.

The winner has been selected by a jury comprised of leading architectural figures including Sergey Kuznetsov, Chief Architect of Moscow and Deputy Head of the Moscow Architecture and Urban Planning Committee.