Woods Bagot has won the international competition to design China Southern Airport City, a 400 hectare mixed-use development set on the Liuxi River, in Guangzhou, China — edging out bids by global design houses such as Zaha Hadid and Airport de Pari with Paul Andreu.

The City design, which totals 3.8 million square meters will provide a gross floor area that equates in scale to just over 7 Barrangaroo’s (Sydney), 1.5 Dockland’s (Melbourne) and 9 City Link’s (Perth) in development area.

The master plan will expand the airline’s traditional corporate headquarters to an urban scale, blending business and manufacturing uses with lifestyle and residential components. This new active district will support China Southern Airlines’ brand and continued leadership as Asia’s largest airline.

The firm said the process brought together the best talent from across its global studio, adding that for the Australian and Asia-Pacific region, the win signifies a continued commitment to build a solid partnership between China and Australia.

They noted the win comes following the announcement from Tourism Australia and China Southern Airlines to help realise the potential of travel between the two countries in mid 2010.

Woods Bagot's proposed masterplan exploits the potential of economic integration of functional elements against the aspiration for a transformational staff and visitor experience. Set amongst natural settings, the plan is to create a new international landmark in China for workplace culture.

Kirsty White, Senior Associate, Woods Bagot, commented: “Transport, travel and communication is at the forefront of a connected city The rise of these ‘concentrated-cities, where a variety of commercial, retail, residential and community facilities are present are seeping into the Asia Pacific urban landscape, where the success will hinge on smart urban design and essentially, an efficient use of resources.”

The China Southern Airport City master plan organises the neighbourhoods into three precincts and deems a somewhat ‘concentrated city’ approach.

With a growing portfolio of aviation projects, and in response to sturdy market conditions within the Asia Pacific region, Woods Bagot have embarked on developing a centre of excellence in Australia, to deliver “world class solutions for not only existing projects, yet to also respond to the substantial number of airport and rail projects planned across the country”.

James Berry, Director Transportation & Infrastructure at Woods Bagot said:

“The expansion in the Asia Pacific region was a major growth area for Woods Bagot and the recent project wins are a testament to this, as well as an indication that further growth is to come in the Middle East and central Asia region.”

On April 18 to 20, 2012, James Berry has been invited to deliver a paper to global aviation industry leaders at this year’s Passenger Terminal EXPO in Vienna. Titled “The Future of Airport Design” the paper is part of the on-going Woods Bagot Airport Research Programme (WARP Speed) that is undertaking research into the trends shaping the future of airports across the globe.