SOUTH

SEA

PEARL

ECO-ISLAND

The South Sea Pearl Eco-island will be a destination prototype for international, cruise–based eco–tourism along the revived maritime Silk Route. Although positioned globally, the island’s eco-design incorporates the local and the regional by referencing the culture of Hainan and Haikou, by addressing local demands for additional leisure and recreational landscapes, and by creating a transit nexus - cruise, ferry, and inter–island light rail–in the South China Sea.

The concept of the eco-island as prototype for eco–smart, biophilic living involves mitigating the effects of the high urban metabolism of Haikou, and accommodating global eco–tourism initiatives. The design of the island, conceived as part of a future three-island eco–archipelago and a resilient breakwater system for Hainan’s coast, plugs into existing tourism networks. However, rather than creating an extension of Haikou, the island will be a bridged outlet, extending the city’s limited shoreline, and offering a rejuvenating retreat from its urbanism.

The island’s principal organizing element is the Caldera - an iconic ridge that fuses architecture, landscape, and infrastructure. Traversing the island at its mid–line, this spine delineates a diverse set of conditions on the northern harbor side and the southern water side, the north dedicated to landscape and cultural activities, and the south dedicated to water–based experiential and recreational activities.