Foster + Partners’ masterplan for a large, historically important site in the centre of Wuhan, China, has been granted planning permission. The upcoming Yuexiu International Financial City will establish a new district.

The design team studied the area’s history, the scale and form of its buildings, streets and public spaces, and mapped the different communities around Wuhan. The 147,000-sq m scheme includes a series of office and residential towers, as well as a hotel and public spaces.

The aim is to create a walkable, highly permeable new part of the city – the volume of traffic has been reduced and the majority of vehicles have been relocated below ground to create a network of pedestrian streets, with road widths kept to a minimum.

“Our aim has been to create a new urban model for Wuhan – a unique and exciting new destination, with a sustainable mixture of commercial and residential uses, but which feels familiar and of its place. Rather than create an enclosed ‘city within a city’, we have stitched this new quarter into the surrounding streets. It will have a distinctive new identity, but one that is inspired by local architecture, history and culture,” said Luke Fox, Foster + Partners’ senior executive partner and studio head.