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East Dike is located in Dapeng, a 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 has been 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 reorganization of the 130 kilometer 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 are tested and materialization principles are explored and refined. The realization of this demonstration zone is the first milestone in the construction of 18 kilometers of embankment to be completed by 2021.

Strategic projects

For 6 villages along the shore, all originating from fishers’ communities, 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.

Village Dongshan is situated in a quiet bay, allowing the embankment to be designed as a green park, merging the mountains and the sea. Guanhu is a creative and cultural district. The dike performs as a vivid green beach boulevard, a backbone that unites existing functions with new recreational facilities. Moonbay is built on a mountainside, overlooking the sea. The embankment acts as a balcony, overlooking the bay, connecting the village to the floating fishing restaurants. Shayuyong is a gateway port, designed as a robust and rocky embankment park. For Pengcheng with its beautiful beaches and as important touristic attraction, the reinforcement of the coast is turned into an attractive beachpark. Yangmeikeng is an exposed village along the coast, within an ecological and marine protection zone.

Demonstration zone, Yangmeikeng

The three protective zones of the ‘Triple Dike’ in Yangmeikeng strengthen its exposed character, turning the village into a contemporary fortress. The design evades the introduction of a grant metropolitan scale and supports the organic village life. A rich collection of places boosts the further growth of the local culture.

The first zone is formed by a collection of ‘rain-gardens’, as part of the communal space. The lush vegetation of trees and shrubs blends with the adjacent mountains and offers covered and shaded places. The gardens collect and infiltrate rainwater and wave overflow. The middle zone is composed of a sequence of shifting walls, with different heigths. They create a plazas and sheltered terraces on different levels, connected by a scenic walk. The third protective zone consists of ‘wave-gardens’, mitigating the impact of the flow during storms. They are planted with robust beach vegetation and rocks and offer places for picnicking and to enjoy the view on the beach. Walls and pavement blend in with the sandcolor of the beach. The materialization illustrates the characteristics of the three dike zones: more delicate materials are used for sheltered places, robust and solid elements are used for the exposed zones.