KCAP + FELIXX make Shenzhen’s eastern coastline ‘typhoon-proof’

East Dike is located in Dapeng, a green and mountainous peninsula in the direct proximity of Hongkong and Shenzhen. In 2018, the typhoon Mangkhut damaged the coastline to various degrees. In 2019, team KCAP+FELIXX was selected to develop the plans, restore the coastline and raise protection standards. With the ‘Triple Dike strategy’, the team developed an integrated approach towards the climate adaptive reorganisation of the 130 km-long shore. In the concept, water safety strategies are connected to eco-development and nature restoration and merged with social and economic growth. On a 500m-long strip in Yangmeikeng, the performance of the proposed nature-based strategies for the sea wall is tested and materialisation principles are explored and refined. 

The triple dike moves away from a generic protection wall along the coast, towards the creation of three development zones, carefully embedded in current conditions and responding to the specific future needs of every single area. The 1st ‘outer’ dike zone increases the resiliency through wave attenuation, erosion reduction and the enhance¬ment of sedimentation. The 2nd ‘middle’ dike is an elevated embankment, to stop the storm surge and the water pushed up by the waves. It is not a big wall, but a multifunctional zone comprising an exciting hilly park, an elevated waterfront with urban promenades, a tidal park or even a public building. The 3rd ‘inner’ dike is a hybrid structure which man¬ages the rainwater following the principle of a sponge city. All runoff from adjacent villages and mountains is buffered, delayed and temporarily stored in rain-parks, raingardens, wet forests, wetlands and green streets. 

Dapeng is a mountainous peninsula with lush forests, intersected by riverbeds and creeks, connected to the sea with fantastic sandy beaches and impressive rockeries. Along the shore, several small villages originate from fishing communities. Dapeng’s cultural resources and natural settings have fostered the development of tourism, within a vast metropolitan area with about 20 million inhabitants. The application of the triple-dike provides a framework to enhance these existing qualities while unlocking potentials for growth. The small-scale identity of the villages is protected by locating new developments within the existing boundaries. Each village’s specific character is strengthened to amplify the rich variation of recreational facilities. To minimise the infrastructural impact on the island, connectivity from the water is enhanced. An interconnected mountain and marine landscape boosts the ecological functioning of the peninsula.

For six villages along the shore, the strategy is turned into strategic design projects, creating unique and site-specific realms. The ‘Triple Dike’ is composed of three development zones, carefully embedded in the local conditions and responding to the specific future needs of every village. The small-scale identity will be protected and their different characteristics reinforced. 

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