On June 18^th, USTB organized a stage report on the overall planning and design of the USTB Xiong’an Campus. Mr. WANG Changshu, Director of the Infrastructure Division of the Department of Development Planning of the Ministry of Education, Mr. WU Guoqiang, Deputy Director of the School Planning and Construction Center of the Ministry of Education, Mr. ZHAI Wei, Deputy General Manager of Xiong’an Group, Ms. PAN Haixia, Deputy Director of the Xiong’an New Area Planning and Construction Bureau, Mr. YIN Huiliang, President of the Xiong'an Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Planning and other related officials; Mr. WU Guilong, Chancellor of USTB, Prof. YANG Renshu, President of USTB, Mr. ZHENG Anyang, Vice Presidents of USTB, and Prof. YAN Xiangbin, Vice Presidents of USTB, heads of relevant functional departments and representatives of teachers and students attended the meeting. It was presided over by Mr. JIN Rendong, Deputy General Director of the project.

The meeting

President YANG Renshu addressed the meeting

Prof. YANG Renshu, President of USTB, delivered a speech on behalf of USTB. He briefly introduced the history of USTB’s development and achievements over the past 70 years and clearly pointed out the direction of USTB’s future in innovative development and talent cultivation through an in-depth interpretation of the spirit of President XI Jinping's important reply letter to senior professors at USTB. He stressed that the planning and construction of the USTB Xiong’an Campus should balance the relationship between traditional heritage and modern innovation, the new and the old campus, the present and the future, so as to perfectly integrate the traditional culture of the Beijing Institute of Iron and Steel Technology with the contemporary characteristics of USTB Xiong’an Campus from four aspects: function, layout, style, and details. He also pointed out that the construction of a first-class university and the Xiong’an Campus are the two dreams of USTB, and that a first-class campus is an important carrier to serve the construction of a first-class university, to breed masters in the building, and to strive for first-class in the tangible environment and invisible atmosphere. He said that with the joint efforts of all parties, a planning and design plan that is satisfactory to the major creators, recognized by teachers, students, and alumni, and praised by the community will be formed.

The experts of the seven shortlisted top design teams presented their work individually to the meeting via video or on-site and answered questions from the experts. Based on an in-depth understanding of the overall planning proposal, each design team dug deep into USTB's history and cultural traditions, and meticulously analyzed the spatial layout and style characteristics of the existing campus. They extracted a large number of landmark buildings and elements that reflect USTB inherent values, combined with the planning requirements of the Xiong’an New Area and the geographical conditions of the proposed campus site, and incorporated modern, green and low-carbon design concepts to present the preliminary concept of the overall campus planning in the form of effect drawings.

Experts gave comments and recommendations

After the report, USTB organized a seminar for the exchange of expert opinions. The participating leaders and experts unanimously agreed that the preparation of the campus overall planning program was solid and effective, and the design team’s report was effective and of high quality. The progress and the preliminary program have basically met expectations. Meanwhile, the participants gave a number of valuable suggestions on the position, design concepts, space layout, functional settings, the needs of teachers and students, and the construction cost.

Chancellor WU Guilong delivered the concluding remark

In conclusion, Mr. WU Guilong, Chancellor of USTB, expressed his sincere gratitude to the participating leaders and experts for their guidance and the hard work of the design team and implored all parties to continue to support the USTB Xiong’an Campus planning and construction work with concern and guidance. He said that the Party Committee of USTB attaches great importance to the construction of the Xiong’an Campus, taking the construction of the Campus as a major opportunity, an important carrier, and a key project for the Double First-class construction, improving the comprehensive strength and achieving significant development. In the previous stage, under the strong leadership of the Ministry of Education, with the strong support of all parties and the extensive participation of teachers and students, the preliminary work of the Xiong’an Campus has achieved milestone results. In the next stage, USTB will comprehensively and carefully sort out the experts' opinions and suggestions, and provide timely and accurate feedback to the design team to ensure that the design wishes are accurately realized. We will further clarify the status of the main university, based on the long-term development vision and the aspirations of teachers and students, embody the future development layout of the school in the campus planning and design.

Group photo

The solicitation for the USTB Xiong’an Campus master plan was launched in May this year and seven renowned design teams from home and abroad were shortlisted. According to the work schedule, we are all looking forward to the final design proposals that the teams are expected to submit by the end of July.

Draft: MA Qing

Revision: CHENG Mingyuan