Project Ordos 100, China

In Mongolia Autonomous Region called Inner Mongolia, which is a large part of northern China, world-unique urban architectural project Ordos 100 has started. The project has had the objective to build one hundred villas from different hundred architects and studios from around the world. Their selection has been entrusted into the hands of legendary Herzog & de Meuron.

So far, Ordos Desert area in Inner Mongolia was covered with just sand dunes. Recently, it was decided to plan a brand new city here and name it Ordos. The site already has a new urban plan and first buildings began to grow. The project Ordos 100 is a part of this big city planning and its aim is to build on more than 100 thousand square meters 100 unique residential villas.

However, this is not the typical construction of a satellite, which we know from all over the world. The Chinese company Jiang Yuan Water Engineering invited famous Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron to whom it gave the task to select around the world 100 architects or architectural studios, that have each proposed their super modern villa proposal for the area.

All 100 architects from 27 countries around the world have already went in the past year to Ordos desert, directly to pre-prepared location to see 1000 meter square parcel, where each of designers suggests its own villa. Developer envisages two phases of the project. In the first one, that was already opened this year, 28 houses will be built and in the second the remaining 72 villas.

Gradually, projects, named after the numbers of parcels that are planned in the first phase, are presented. Among the lucky ones, whose villas will be built this year, are included, for example, the architectural studio nArchitects, Rocker-Lange and MOS from the USA, Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena, or Swiss studio Luca Selva i Territorial Agency.

From the urban point of view this is a typical family houses housing intended for rich clients. Uniqueness of the projectblies in the design of each house, which will form the character of the place.

The question is whether this kind how to make an urban environment is the right way, because in this case the quality of the environment depends on the quality of architecture of buildings and not on the quality of urban design. But it is true that in recent years we have seen this type of urban design increasingly.