As Beijing’s second embassy district, historically Sanlitun was the place where many different cultures and people interacted. Not surprisingly, over the years the subdistrict developed a mix of foreign restaurants, bars, hotels, clubs shopping, residential, offices and all the associated accoutrements of a vibrant entertainment district. Sanlitun along with the old city hutongs and the 798 arts district are among the few dense, pedestrian areas in the otherwise vast and unsuited for walking Beijing therefore drawing significant foot traffic.

The site of BAM’s proposed intervention is Gongtibeilu (Worker’s Stadium North Road) – a major arterial road running east-west through the city, dividing the Sanlitun entertainment district into northern and southern portions. East-west automobile traffic dominates the road, while north-south pedestrian traffic dominates the intersections. The western bounds of the design scope is Xindonglu. There at the intersection with Gongtibei two new metrolines are under construction which will draw more visitors to the region and increase the already over-crowded foot traffic in the region.

Currently lighting, signage, CCTV, electricity all utilize different street poles creating significant urban clutter. BAM creates a branded landscape by unifying the poles and other disparate urban furniture elements, from bollards to trash cans and future metro entries. The unification into a common language extends beyond and even proposes police and service personnel outfits.

Focal element of the design is the bustling intersection of Sanlitun Nan, Beilu and Gongti, where the heavy auto-traffic and pedestrian flows intersect. Working with transportation consultant Systematica, BAM developed a series of workable scramble cross options, which apart from solving some of the congestion issues, create a landscape icon that promotes the importance of walkability in a vast city heavily reliant on the automobile.

BAM went beyond the brief and designed uniforms for the Sanlitun police as well featuring checkered neckties.