SHANGHAI & SHENZHEN, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- One of China’s largest new master planned developments currently underway is in Shenzhen, the 1.25 square kilometer (309 acre) OCT Bay, an innovative urban center with first-of-its-kind ecological and nature components.

As a new urban cultural and entertainment destination, OCT Bay is already attracting crowds of people well ahead of its formal opening, due to its existing and unfolding urban amenities, entertainment components, public plazas, park-like setting and ecological aspects.

A project of the Overseas Chinese Town (OCT), OCT Bay’s key components that are complete or nearing completion include the North Shopping Mall and International Club, East Water Town, Cultural Museum, Exhibition Center, Aqua Performance Theater and Palm Beach. As a significant consumer attraction with an engaging waterfront connection, its major shopping center will anchor plans for the property’s formal opening later this year. OCT Bay’s final components, a major spa center and a resort-style residential community, are also underway.

The master plan team for the project includes OCT, project architect LaGuarda Low & Associates and the SWA Group. Internationally-acclaimed architects LaGuarda Low designed the majority of the buildings and structures in OCT Bay. SWA Group, one of the world’s leading landscape architecture, planning and urban design firms, provided site design for the project, including extensive collaboration on creating the eco-park and innovative wetland habitat.

Globally-renowned architects designed three of OCT Bay’s structures that are now complete. Zhu Pei is the architect of a striking, cloud-shaped museum in the north area and also the Exhibition Center in the east area. Richard Meier is the architect of the OCT China Club, an elegantly-designed private facility for commercial services, ecological sightseeing, fitness and relaxation.

“OCT Bay demonstrates the focused vision of Overseas Chinese Town and their dedication to the innovative planning needed to create communities that balance culture, entertainment and commerce with recreation, habitat and ecology,” said David Thompson, Managing Principal of SWA Group in Shanghai. “Their years of experience as industry leaders in entertainment, leisure, community development, art, culture and creative innovation have positioned OCT to create this model of ecologically responsible urban design focused on modern lifestyles. OCT Bay is becoming a major public civic space for the people of Shenzhen and a model for development in China.”

OCT Bay boasts many firsts for the country: The first international waterfront shopping complex, the first large-scale multimedia water show theatre, the first high-end cultural and commercial exhibition center, the first five-star flagship cinema and world-class office and hotel facilities. Every year, the OCT Carnival, the OCT Dragon Boat Festival, the OCT Harbor International Music Festival and other large-scale events will all be staged onsite.

OCT Bay was also conceived to provide a unique urban ecological preserve, in the form of the OCT Wetland park links together with the OCT theme park group, the Binhai Seaside Promenade, and the Hongshulin Mangrove Forest conservation area to form a large scale eco-tourism complex. The 685,000 square-meter wetland and nature preserve provides habitat for dozens of species, and is considered China’s only inner-city coast mangrove wetland. Admission is free, and OCT Wetland will manage the number of visitors to protect the habitat. Year-round access includes ecological education components, bird-watching pavilions and eco-tourism facilities. Palm Beach, a new man-made beach, is now open to the public.

For more information on OCT Bay, visit http://www.octbay.com/category.aspx?NodeID=107. A web-gallery of images can be found at http://www.swagroup.com/webgalleries/OCT/.

SWA Group (www.swagroup.com), established in 1957, is an international landscape architecture, planning and urban design firm. SWA has offices in Sausalito, CA, Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, CA, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Shanghai and the United Arab Emirates. Since its inception, SWA Group has worked in over 60 countries, and its projects have garnered more than 600 awards.

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