On March 12, the Department of Transport of Guangdong Province reposted and China Transportation News published a full-page report on the construction of the Guangzhou Eastern Intermodal Transportation Hub by Guangzhou Communications Investment Group. This marks the renewed focus of national industry media on the Guangzhou Eastern Intermodal Transportation Hub. OBERMEYER, in collaboration with the Guangzhou Design Institute and Guangzhou Transport Planning Research Institute, worked out the innovative concept of "Hub as the City" and undertook the overall planning and design of the project.

The Guangzhou Eastern Intermodal Transportation Hub, a productive service-oriented national logistics hub, is not only a key project listed in the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)' s 2021 Major National Projects Catalog but also a priority initiative under China’s comprehensive transportation hub construction program. By leveraging the Zengcheng West Railway Station and a robust hub-based collection and distribution network, the hub is building a ‌China-Europe Railway Express Assembly Center‌, a ‌"Dual-Use for Normal and Emergency Scenarios" Suburban Mega-Warehousing Base‌, a ‌National Cold Chain Logistics Base‌, and an ‌E-commerce Distribution Center‌, It is also accelerating the development of modern circulation system platforms and advanced manufacturing supply chain management service platforms to strengthen integrated logistics and industrial supply chains.

OBERMEYER, in collaboration with the Guangzhou Design Institute and Guangzhou Transport Planning Research Institute innovated the concept of "Hub as the City" and undertook the overall planning and design of the project.  In-depth studies covering approximately 19 square kilometers of the hub and its surrounding urban areas were conducted. For the 4.5-square-kilometer core functional zone, an overarching vision of "Integrating Landscape with the Hub, Advancing Intelligent Transport." was proposed. This vision addresses three core themes—function, order, and development—while advancing a practical and actionable framework across four dimensions: industry-city integrated development, efficient and smart hub operations, landscape-blended hub new city, and guiding principles for plot development.

Advance Integrated Development with Surrounding Regions to Establish a Hub Economy Pilot Zone

‌Located in the Guangzhou eastern center‌, a core industrial agglomeration area, the Guangzhou Eastern Intermodal Transportation Hub is within a region that encompasses two national-level development zones—Guangzhou Development District and Zengcheng Development District. This area has formed multiple 100-billion-yuan industrial clusters in electronics and information manufacturing, automotive and auto parts manufacturing, and chemical raw material manufacturing, and it hosts approximately one-quarter of Guangzhou’s high-tech enterprises.

Adjacent to the hub are two critical urban functional zones—Guangzhou Science & Education City and Sino-Singapore Knowledge City. The plan integrates surrounding industrial resources to establish a "production-research-service cluster" for logistics in their converging areas, enhancing functional synergies. This serves as a strategic breakthrough to outline development pathways. In the near term, the focus will be on developing core logistics capabilities, delivering world-class industrial supply chain services, and establishing an integrated service hub that encompasses industrial logistics, air logistics, rail logistics, highway logistics, urban distribution, cold chain logistics, and emergency support. In the long term, expansion will introduce logistics-extended industries, deploying innovation R&D, technology commercialization, and complementary business services to build a holistic logistics ecosystem and cultivate the hub economy pilot zone.

Secure and Efficient Freight Collection-Distribution System Underpins  Open-Access Logistics Hub

For logistics hubs, a safe and efficient collection and distribution system is crucial for ensuring operations. OBERMEYER designs urban roads based on traffic demand forecasts and traffic operation assessments. It provides both short-term and long-term plans for different traffic flow organizations, establishing a safe, efficient, seamless, and balanced traffic collection and distribution system. Combined with systematic traffic management optimization measures, it maximizes the safety and smoothness of logistics transportation within and outside the area.

Eco-Friendly Modern Logistics New City

Surrounded by gentle hills and dotted with mountain ponds, the area boasts a superior ecological foundation. Guided by the principle of "ecology-first" spatial planning, the scheme preserved the original topography, including key mountains and reservoirs, to create a "corridor-node" blue-green network. This design distinguishes the Eastern Logistics Hub with a "high-aesthetic" ecological landscape—unlike conventional logistics parks—achieving harmonious coexistence between ecology and industry.

‌"Two Guidelines + One Manual" System for Refined Guidance and Control in Hub Construction

‌In this project, the team innovatively introduced the "Two Guidelines + One Manual" system – comprising an Urban Design Guideline, Architectural Style Control Guideline, and Standardized Building Typology Catalog – which collectively form a development control and guidance framework for the Eastern Intermodal Transportation Hub. This system ensures that the masterplan transcends conceptual blueprints and achieves tangible implementation:‌

    Urban Design Guideline‌: Establishes ‌seven regulatory element systems‌ tailored to site conditions and hub functionality, enabling refined development guidance for ‌seven units‌through parcel-level controls.

   Architectural Style Control Guideline‌: Defines ‌5 core categories with 23 sub-controls‌, specifying design parameters for building massing & volumetry, façade composition, roofscape treatment, ground-floor interface design, materiality & chromatic schemes.

  Standardized Building Typology Catalog‌: Deriving from the Architectural Guideline, it provides ‌three modular warehouse prototypes ‌compliant with current design codes, serving as replicable benchmarks for subsequent plot-level developments.

OBERMEYER remains committed to professionalism, advancing the construction of the Guangzhou Eastern Intermodal Transportation Hub and accelerating the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's modern circulation system. By fostering an international-domestic dual-circulation logistics network and supporting the new logistics paradigm, OBERMEYER provides solid foundations for realizing the vision of "Smooth Flow of Goods" worldwide.