Overview
Located in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, the future GTSI permanent campus is within walking distance of Changlingpi Station of Shenzhen Metro Line 5. The campus construction site covers an area of 16.21 hectares (40 acres), with a total construction area of 190,415 m² (2,049,610 sq. ft.). The campus is surrounded by beautiful natural environment — mountains on three sides with Tiger Rock Creek running through it. Based on the site’s mountainous and valley landscapes, the campus planning and construction makes full use of its original natural elements and adapt to local conditions.
The permanent campus project aims to create an academic Shangri-La amid a modern metropolis, and practice sustainable approaches that incorporate Shenzhen’s unique geographical and climatic characteristics to develop a first-of-its-kind, near-zero-carbon campus occupied by high-standard green, healthy, and living buildings. As such, this “resilient campus” is built to mitigate potential natural hazards, is quickly navigable in case of emergencies, and provides abundant flexible space as GTSI continues to grow.
Overall Planning
The overall campus plan revolves around the student-centric philosophy of education and adopts a "one axis, three zones" layout. The academic zone, along with residential areas on both sides, are connected by a public landscape axis. Planning of the academic zone factors in features and needs of GTSI's existing five major academic programs, and follow the principles of unified design and organic integration, thus effectively promoting interdisciplinary studies, academic integration, and human interactions.
Near-zero-carbon Campus
To achieve the goal of a "Near-zero-carbon campus," the campus planning and construction process will integrate green, low-carbon concepts from initial design, to construction and maintenance. By applying reasonable strategies and technology implementation methods and integrating technology upgrades and knowledge-sharing campaigns in later stages, the campus will gradually reduce carbon dioxide emissions through a step-by-step approach. The campus will have a high-performance green building system with an overall renewable energy utilization rate of over 30%, forming a multi-energy complementary and high-efficiency energy system. In addition, the campus landscape will be constructed based on the existing natural resources to increase the carbon sink in multiple dimensions. Currently, the estimated campus carbon emission level in China is approximately 21,700 tons/km²/year, with a per capita carbon emission level of around 1.17 tons/person/year. This means the estimated carbon emission level has moved past the "peak carbon" phase and enters the "carbon neutrality" phase. The campus construction project has been approved as the first batch of near-zero carbon emission pilot projects in Shenzhen, and has passed phased acceptance. After completion, the campus will strive to obtain relevant certifications such as "Three-Star Green Campus" and "Near-Zero-Carbon Campus."