Chongqing
重庆

Digital and Intelligent Transformation of Industrial Design
工业设计的数智转型

Abstract

Nestled in the upper Yangtze River basin of southwestern China, Chongqing—a mountainous megacity of 32 million residents—has emerged as a global design hub. Designated a UNESCO Creative City of Design in 2023, it exemplifies how systemic design can overcome spatial constraints and reinvent industrial paradigms in hyper-dense urban environments.

Chongqing's design awakening began with the revitalization of its industrial heritage. The 2006 conversion of the Chongqing Steel Plant into a heritage park preserved iconic 100-meter smokestacks while integrating digital light art, pioneering China's industrial tourism design. Similarly, the 2017 Eling Print Factory transformed WWII-era cliffside workshops into a vertical architectural museum, using 'folded space' strategies to boost cultural consumption in Yuzhong District by 240%. These efforts crystallized a 'multi-dimensional regeneration' methodology that leverages vertical elevation differentials as design assets.

After UNESCO recognition, Chongqing accelerated its 'digital design+' strategy. The Xiantao Data Valley, costing 13 billion yuan, aggregates tech giants like Huawei and Alibaba to develop AI-powered mountain city design platforms simulating utility networks in complex terrain, reducing infrastructure costs by 18%. Additionally, the city reengineers its ecological foundation through design, achieving 100% stormwater retention in Jiangbeizui Financial City via rooftop farms and vertical greening.

Chongqing's most radical innovation lies in democratizing design processes. Jiulongpo District employs VR tools for resident co-design of aged communities, yielding 23 iconic public spaces like cliff elevators and rooftop sports fields. The Sichuan Fine Arts Institute's 'Yangtze Art Project' collaborates with fishers to convert abandoned boats into floating galleries, embedding ecological art into the Yangtze National Cultural Park narrative.

This city of a 0.94 hill-to-built-area ratio demonstrates that design transcends industrial upgrading—it is the meta-language for governing megacities. From digitally resurrecting industrial relics to reimagining agricultural branding, Chongqing pioneers a global experiment: when extreme topography collides with ecological imperatives, design innovation rewrites humanity's covenant with mountainous landscapes.

摘要

重庆，这座雄踞中国西南长江上游的山地超大城市，以三千年巴渝文化为基因，在陡峭 的崖壁与奔腾的江水中淬炼出独特的“垂直设计哲学”。作为国家中心城市与“一带一路” 关键节点，其 8.24 万平方公里土地上集聚着 3200 万人口，却在 2023 年以“全球最年轻设计 之都”身份入选联合国教科文组织创意城市网络。这一殊荣不仅标志着重庆完成从老工业基 地向设计驱动型城市的蜕变，更开创了山地城市通过系统性设计破解空间约束、重构产业逻辑的全球范式。

重庆设计产业的觉醒始于 21 世纪初的工业遗产再生运动。2006 年，重庆钢铁厂旧址改造为工业遗址公园，保留百米高烟囱与炼钢设备，植入数字光影艺术，开创中国工业旅游设计先河；2017 年鹅岭二厂文创园将抗战时期印刷厂转型为立体山城建筑博物馆，以“折叠空间”设计激活 72 处崖壁厂房，带动渝中区文化消费增长 240%。这些实践催生出“多维更新”方法论——将山地城市的垂直高差转化为设计资源，在 0.6平方公里的十八梯传统风貌区，设计师利用 187 米海拔落差构建“云梯”步道系统，使明清吊脚楼群落与当代玻璃廊桥共生，年接待游客超千万人次。成为设计之都后，重庆加速推进“数字设计 +”战略。投资130 亿元建设的仙桃数据谷，集聚华为、阿里巴巴等企业开发山地城市智能设计平台，其“数字孪生系统”可模拟 8D 地形中管网布局，使基础设施建设成本降低 18%。

当前，重庆正以设计重构“江城”生态本底。全国首个山地海绵城市指标体系指导下，江北嘴金融城通过屋顶农场与垂直绿化设计，实现雨水 100% 滞蓄利用；轨道交通 9 号线穿楼而过的李子坝站，以“站桥一体”设计获全球交通创新奖，日均疏导 8 万人次客流。更具突破性的是“设计民主化”进程：九龙坡区通过 VR 技术让居民参与老旧社区改造方案投票，诞生 23 个悬崖电梯、屋顶运动场等奇观式公共空间；四川美术学院发起的“长江艺术计划”，组织渔民将废弃渔船改造为浮动美术馆，使生态艺术成为长江国家文化公园的核心叙事。

这座被江河切割的山地之城，正以设计为杠杆撬动多重维度变革：从重工业遗址的数字重生到农业品牌的全球化叙事，从立体交通网络的空间革命到社区微更新的民主实践，重庆证明设计不仅是产业升级工具，更是超大城市治理的元语言。