Groundbreaking community which set a new standard of residential development in China.

Planning & Streetscape 

Luxehills has established itself as not only the premier residential address in Chengdu, the gateway city to China's bustling western provinces, but as a new standard for residential development in China.

A fully integrated community, Luxehills occupies roughly 300 hectares in the southern part of Chengdu. It provides a variety of housing types, a commercial center, schools and clubs  surrounding an 18 hole golf course. Luxehills includes approximately 1200 freestanding villas, 2400 lowrise condominiums & stacked townhouses as well as workforce housing and several highrise residential towers as well as various clubs and recreational facilities..

Working closely with the developer for more than a decade, James Nicolay established the project's landscape character from the project's inception through its completion in 2018. Luxehills "Park-like" streetscape was conceived as extending the open character of trees and grass from the golf course's fairways to the roadside and residential areas of the project. The project's landscape character is a signature of Mr. Nicolay's more than decade-long commitment to the project.

Unlike most projects in China, the golf course at Luxehills winds through the community rather than concealed behind walls of buildings. Views from the roadways offer vistas into the golf course as well as optimizing the number of golf-front and golf-view residences. Road alignments, positions and grading were modified to take fullest advantage of the open space amenity of the golf course. 

The character of the streetscape was designed to feature an overstory of tall, dark evergreen Shandong and Bischofia trees with a rich understory of shrubs & groundcovers in cool, soothing greens to contrast the bright greens of fairways and lawn areas.  Mulan, Yulan, Gwei Hwa  and Jacaranda trees provide seasonal accents of color and variety against the dark foliage of the  evergreen backdrop. Ginkgo, Trident Maple and Japanese Maple trees provide cool season color against Chengdu's overcast skies. Throughout the project's decade-long buildout, mature trees were transplanted and stockpiled around the golf course perimeter and re-used as various areas were developed. The "Park-like" landscape character is not limited to only the project's main roadways and golf course but extends into the numerous private residential precincts within the community.

Ultimately, Luxehills is a residential community development, and selling villas, townhouses and condominium units remained the client's objective. By working closely with the developer's team, Mr Nicolay helped to create design solutions which optimized the unique attributes of the site, its buildings and its golf course. The success of the project was measured not only in the almost immediate sell-out of each residential increment and ever-increasing values, but equally by the enjoyment residents have by living in this community. .

In addition to the financial success for its developers and the satisfaction of its residents, Luxehills has garnered more than forty awards - from architecture, landscaping, golf to community planning, marketing and operations.