Heart of Minghu
- Client
- Ningbo Urban Construction Investment Group, Ningbo Jiangshan Wanli Real Estate
- Services
- Architecture, Masterplanning
- Sector
- Masterplan
- Location
- Ningbo, China
A transit-anchored masterplan for Ningbo’s expanding lakefront district
Ningbo Eastern New Town is one of the Yangtze River Delta’s most active urban growth zones. The Heart of Minghu sits at the core of this expansion, occupying a 432,600m² site on the lakefront anchored by a multi-line transit interchange. Benoy’s high-density, transit-oriented masterplan is designed to activate the lakefront, support commuter flows, and set a benchmark for regeneration in the region.
432,600m²
A layered commercial and civic strategy
The transport interchange anchors the masterplan, extending connectivity to the surrounding business district and transforming the site into a mobility-led urban core. A “mall + elevated street market” hybrid development introduces vertical commercial space with layered retail and improved pedestrian flow.
Five programme clusters are arranged along the lakefront and view corridors: the transit-oriented commercial district; offices; lakeside resort retail; luxury hotels; and premium residential communities. A sky canopy, elevated observation decks, underground water street market, and a pedestrian and cycling bridge build a relationship between built form and the district’s ecological edge.
Rooted in regional identity
The materiality and façade expression draw from regional cultural motifs and local natural textures, guided by the concept of “harmony between landscape and city, symbiosis with nature”. The waterfront landscape strategy delivers continuous public access, biodiversity support, and long-term environmental resilience, weaving ecology into the architectural fabric rather than treating it as a separate layer.
