The Wormhole
A high-functioning public space that weaves a living, green canopy to symbolically link two cities.
PlanetWork’s entry for the Hong Kong - Shenzhen Plaza international design competition was a public space envisioned as a living system. Located in a new waterfront business district, the brief called for a grand plaza that would celebrate the bond between the two cities, with a high-speed rail station operating just below. The challenge was two-fold: how to physically embody such a powerful symbolic link, and how to create a usable public space in a tropical climate where intense heat and humidity deter outdoor gatherings.
Inspired by the efficiency of natural ecosystems, we designed a green canopy to envelop a raised plaza, creating a cool, shaded environment that would provide relief from the urban heat island effect. Like a tropical forest, the canopy's folding geometry creates a cadence of light and shadow, using shading, natural ventilation, and evaporative cooling to make the public space not only beautiful but fundamentally high-functioning.
The canopy's form was efficiently achieved by stringing a lightweight cable net between a series of structural rings, spaced every 100 meters, which provided a continuous growth surface.
This continuous, folding surface—a three-dimensional Möbius—led us to a powerful symbolic idea: an Einstein-Rosen bridge, or "wormhole," where space-time folds to create a link between two points.
This innovative, logic-driven approach allowed the architecture to become a physical and symbolic manifestation of its purpose, linking Hong Kong and Shenzhen with a memorable, high-functioning public space. While the scheme was not selected, the competition allowed us to explore bold ideas, with satisfaction derived from solving a complex set of problems with surprising results. Wormhole revealed that systems thinking can lead to highly creative outcomes. We are confident our method delivered the site’s true, highest potential, ensuring no value was left on the table.
