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    Dezeen’s Global China exhibition spotlights cultural collaboration

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    Models, sketches and photos of works by architects and designers including Neri&Hu, Büro Ole Scheeren, Paul Priestman and FOG Architecture feature in Dezeen’s Global China: Connecting The World Through Design exhibition in Shanghai.

    Taking place during the World Design Cities Conference (WDCC) in Shanghai last month, Global China: Connecting The World Through Design showcased work by both Chinese and international architects and designers that bridge east and western ideologies.
    The exhibition space is designed by FOG ArchitectureThe exhibition features the work of six architecture and design studios, which were selected by Dezeen to demonstrate the breadth and depth of interesting work being completed in China.
    Featuring models, sketches, photography and films, the exhibition aims to demonstrate how international collaboration and cultural exchange can foster innovation while showcasing China’s influence as a growing design power.
    FOG Architecture presented a model of To Summer flagship store in BeijingThe exhibition space, designed by FOG Architecture, featured a series of architecture models on a central table, with hanging graphic boards hanging from a curved rail for visitors to look through.

    Three models from Chinese architecture studio Neri&Hu occupied the centre of the table, including Waterhouse at South Bund, Tsingpu Yangzhou Retreat and Nantou City Guesthouse, that focus on adaptive-reuse and historic preservation.
    Neri&Hu presented three of their most well-known projects”We believe that urban fabric and architectural memory should be preserved with a critical approach that exemplifies the zeitgeist within the specificity of context,” said the Shanghai-based studio.
    “Our built works show the possibility of creating unexpected spatial experiences in historic buildings, giving them new life.”
    The twisted Tencent Helix is one of Ole Scheeren’s highlighted projectsBüro Ole Scheeren also presented three models, the Axiom, Tencent Helix and Shenzhen Wave, that best represent the studio’s futuristic vision for China’s urban landscape.
    AIM Architecture created AIM City, a curated collection of the studio’s projects that form an experimental city concept for renewal and innovation.
    AIM Architecture created an utopia urban city focused on renewal and innovation”Every street and building are reimagined, offering unexpected moments and fresh possibilities, embodying our vision of continuous urban evolution,” said the studio.
    “Past, present, and future merge in a dynamic landscape of regeneration and sustainability.”
    Paul Priestman showcased his latest Viewpoint conceptBritish transport designer Priestman presented his latest work Viewpoint, a sightseeing ship where all passengers would have undisrupted views of cityscapes. Also on display are hydrogen powered locomotives concept Inter-Freight as well as his previous designs for China high-speed trains.
    Chinese furniture designer Min Chen presented a bench called A Piece of Wood, that used Chinese traditional kite frame made of bamboo with the shape informed by airplane wings. His work is known for its modern expression in traditional materials and craftsmanship.
    Min Chen presented a bench that utilises Chinese craftsmanshipFOG Architecture presented ToSummer Flagship in Beijing Guozijian, which was crowned Interior Project of the Year at Dezeen Awards China last year. Others on display are HCH Showroom for Shanghai Fashion Week and Cycle Cycle Portable Bakehouse, which was longlisted at this year’s Dezeen Awards.
    The photography is by Xiaobin Lyu.
    Global China: Connecting The World Through Design exhibition ran from 27 to 30 September on the third floor of Dingbo Building as part of World Design Cities Conference 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
    Media partnership
     
    Dezeen curated the Global China: Connecting The World Through Design exhibition for WDCC as part of a media partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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      Ma Yansong picks six highlights from his Blueprint Beijing exhibition

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      Architect Ma Yansong, the curator of Blueprint Beijing, a feature exhibition exploring the future of the Chinese capital at the 2022 Beijing Biennial, shares six of his highlight installations from the show.

      Ma, the founding partner of Chinese architecture studio MAD, invited 20 architects and artists of different generations from around the world to present their visions for the future of the city of Beijing in a variety of mediums including architectural models, installations, photography and videos.
      Blueprint Beijing is the feature exhibition at the inaugural 2022 Beijing Biennial curated by MAD’s founding partner Ma Yansong”Blueprint Beijing is a comparative study of history and the future of Beijing and the world,” Ma told Dezeen.
      “We compiled a compendium of seminal events, people and ideologies from around the world that have vividly explored the theme of ‘the future’, such as Archigram, Oscar Niemeyer and many more, that have had a significant impact on current architects, and have influenced changes in Beijing’s urban planning in relation to major events.”
      “The works of several creators selected here traverse the dimensions of time, space and geography, and their personal creative imagination has brought distinct significance to the exhibition,” he added.

      Twenty architects and artists from around the world are invited to re-imagine the future of the cityThe exhibition also presents material taken from historic archives about eight architects and collectives that have showcased visionary ideas, as well as four Chinese science fiction films with historic significance.
      Here, Ma has selected six of his highlights from Blueprint Beijing for Dezeen:

      Restaurant Inside the Wall, by Drawing Architecture Studio, 2023
      “The Restaurant Inside the Wall installation is presented as a graphic novel, with a restaurant hidden inside the wall as the protagonist. Drawing Architecture Studio (DAS) transformed the graphic novel into a spatial experience in order to strengthen the absurd and suspenseful atmosphere of the story, by collaging and connecting the real elements of various street stalls.
      “Drawing from the observation of urban spaces in China, DAS has discovered a lot of unexpected pockets of wisdom embedded in everyday urban scenes, and roadside ‘holes in the wall’ are an example of this. This installation adds a microscopic daily footnote to the grand avant-garde urban blueprint for the future.”

      Filter City & City as a Room, by Peter Cook from Cook Haffner Architecture Platform, 2020-2022
      “In this installation, Peter Cook dissects two of his drawings – Filter City (2020) and City as a Room (2022) – into elements that concentrate on sequences.
      “Cook utilizes his signature strategy of creating concept drawings that remain connected to the built environment, while also moving towards a new future-looking ‘hybrid’, particularly interiors, that can be created from fragments of drawing and images.
      “As a result, viewers can transcend from distant observers into participants.”

      Liminal Beijing, by He Zhe, James Shen and Zang Feng from People’s Architecture Office, 2022
      “The installation of Liminal Beijing, created by People’s Architecture Office, connects the city of Beijing in different time and space. It features a knot of radiant, winding, and rotating tubes that can be interpreted as pneumatic tubes transporting documents in the 19th century or the hyperloops developed today, representing the link between the future and the past.
      “Modern life would not be possible without the hidden system of ducts that deliver heating, cooling, and clean air. Air ducts in Liminal Beijing are made visible so they can be explored and occupied, and are presented as missing fragments of space and time.”
      Photo is by Jerry ChenAstro Balloon 1969 Revisited x Feedback Space, 2008, by Wolf D Prix from Coop Himmelb(l)au, 2022 edition
      “This installation was realized by combining two of Coop Himmelb(l)au’s previous works: Heart Space – Astro Balloon in 1969 and Feedback Vibration City in 1971, which were first shown in this form at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2008.
      “The resulting installation is a cloud-like, semi-transparent and reflective floating space that translates visitors’ heartbeats into a lighting installation.
      “Throughout its practice, Coop Himmelb(l)au has presented numerous futuristic ‘architectural’ prototypes of dwellings which are responsive to the sensibilities and activities of their inhabitants.”

      Beijing In Imagination, by Wang Zigeng, 2023
      “Chinese architect Wang Zigeng illustrates two city models that were informed by visual imagery of mandalas on the floor and ceiling of the exhibition space, expressing the tension between the ideal city and the chaos of the real world — a parallel reality of both the present and the future.
      “He believes Beijing is the embodiment of ancient cosmologies and an ideal city prototype through the ritualization of urban space – the establishment of political and moral order as a highly metaphorical correspondence between human behavior and nature.”

      Pao: A Dwelling for Tokyo Nomad Women II, by Toyo Ito, 2022 Beijing edition
      “This installation explores what living means for city dwellers in a consumerist society. Even today, half of the population living in Tokyo are living alone, and having a place to sleep is all one needs. Pao is a light and temporary structure that can be dissolved in the buzz of the metropolis.
      “This is a new edition of Toyo Ito’s previous work Pao: A Dwelling for Tokyo Nomad Women. By recreating the installation in Beijing while coming out of a global pandemic, Ito hopes to provide a space for visitors to reflect on the excessive consumerism that has continued to dominate the present.”
      The Photography is by Zhu Yumeng unless otherwise stated.
      Blueprint Beijing is on show at the 2022 Beijing Biennial Architecture Section at M WOODS Hutong in Beijing until 12 March 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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      Cheng Chung Design creates restaurant within brick art installation in China

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      Hong Kong architecture studio Cheng Chung Design has created a restaurant and exhibition space within the cavernous interiors of a brick art installation in Mile City, China.The restaurant, named 50% Cloud Artists Lounge, occupies one of several distinctive structures in Dongfengyun Town that evoke a giant cluster of termite mounds.
      Cheng Chung Design’s (CCD) interior is deliberately pared-back to retain focus on this unusual building, while also forming a backdrop to the artwork that is exhibited throughout it.

      Top image: the restaurant occupies a cavernous brick building. Above: it resembles a giant cluster of termite mounds

      “It was to be not only a restaurant but also an art space with an exhibition area,” said CCD’s founder, Joe Cheng.
      “It aims to serve as an exhibition hall for various cultures and arts, providing a space for the public to get close to and enjoy art,” he told Dezeen. “You can see original art throughout the entire space.”

      The entrance is marked by a curving steel doorway
      The brick structure within which the restaurant is located was created by local artist Luo Xu and made without any steel reinforcements or nails.
      The interiors of the other buildings in the cluster, also designed by CCD, have been transformed into a multi-functional hall, an art gallery and a hotel.

      Steel panels guide visitors inside
      CCD marked the entrance to the restaurant by a trail of curving steps that lead to an arched door and a series of curving steel panels.
      This is modelled on the nearby Honghe Hani Rice Terraces – a system of historic terraces used to grow rice – and designed to add an “artistic touch” that is complementary to the colours and sinuous form of the building.

      The restaurant layout responds to overhead skylights
      Inside, the layout of the restaurant’s bar, chairs and tables responds to the curves of the structure and the positions of round openings carved into its roof.
      As the walls of the building could not be decorated, this is intended to draw visitors’ attention to the light that filters in through the skylights and onto the bricks and creates patterns throughout the course of the day.

      Patterns of light across the brick walls are the focal point
      “Light is an essential element in the space,” said CCD. “Guests can experience the change of light in every minute.”
      “All design elements are arranged based on light and under skylights. Natural light tells the passage of time throughout the day, and creates diversified spatial experiences,” the studio added.

      Woven lampshades help softly filter light
      Furniture is kept simple throughout, with cool colours and curved bodies that complement the form of the building.

      Cavernous brick vaults define Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum in China

      These are teamed with large woven lampshades that softly light the room, alongside art-deco style partitions that were used to loosely divide the space.

      Furniture is kept simple throughout
      The artwork throughout the restaurant ranges from bespoke furniture to larger sculptures designed by CCD and produced by an artist called Qi Songtao.
      This includes an abstract, cloud-like piece and a metallic, woven artwork that mimics a human head.

      A cloud-like sculpture is among the featured artwork
      Elsewhere in China, Studio Zhu-Pei also created a series of sweeping, red-brick structures to house the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum.
      Located in the city of Jingdezhen, the museum’s cavernous buildings are all unique in size and are designed to recall the forms of traditional brick kilns.

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      O-office Architects transforms abandoned factory buildings into Chinese tea museum

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      O-office Architects has converted several buildings on a tea plantation near Guangzhou, China, into a cultural centre featuring a rooftop garden wrapped in bamboo screens.As part of the (Re)forming Duichuan Tea Yards project, local firm O-office Architects was tasked with revitalising three disused buildings at the plantation in the Gaoming District of Guangdong Province.

      O-office Architects has converted three factory buildings into an exhibition space
      The site in Duichuan Village was established as a tea plantation in the 1950s and comprises more than 300 acres of gently rolling hills dotted with small lakes.
      O-office Architects was approached to help transform three factory buildings into an exhibition space in 2017, after the tea yard had been abandoned and fallen into disrepair when the demand for its tea declined at the start of the 21st century.

      The buildings are decorated with bamboo screens. Photo is by Huang Chengqiang

      The exhibition space is located at the heart of the reestablished production facility, which will soon begin harvesting its first new crop of Duichuan tea.
      The renovated buildings now contain exhibits offering visitors a historic overview of Duichuan tea culture, alongside a fine-dining restaurant and the tea yard’s offices.

      A new stone podium wrapping the buildings frames views of the landscape
      The three 1980s edifices are situated on a small island in an artificial reservoir that also contains woodland, with low-rise former workers’ housing nestled amongst the trees.
      Exposed concrete structures and narrow-framed steel windows were retained to evoke the buildings’ industrial heritage. The architects also sought to enhance the connection between the former production spaces and the surrounding plantation.

      The complex is surrounded by several ponds and trees
      “We tried to find a simple spatial prototype for the reconstruction of the site to load the envisioned cultural settlement,” said the architects in a project statement.
      “The design gradually approached a concept of the mixture of ‘pavilion’ and ‘podium’,” the studio added. “We tried to evolve the prototype of the ‘pavilion’ into a settlement that encompasses production and detour.”

      Roof gardens are connected by bridges
      To house the main cultural and public spaces dedicated to the history of tea production, a new podium made from blocks of dark local granite was constructed around the base of the existing buildings.
      This structure functions as a viewing platform and contains openings that redefine the relationship between indoor and outdoor spaces, lending the facility a more porous and welcoming character.

      The podium is composed of blocks of dark local granite
      New roof gardens on top of the three factory buildings are connected by bridges so visitors can traverse the site whilst taking in aerial views of the plantation.
      The garden courtyards are lined with bamboo screens that also extend onto staircases at the corners of the buildings. The stairs connect the rooftop with the stone viewing platform, creating a route that leads visitors all the way around and over the site.

      The factories’ original concrete structures are exposed inside
      “This connection creates a vertical yet horizontal promenade that wraps around the original production space,” the architects pointed out.
      “We hope this tour can evoke a sense of ‘in search of a lost time’ [whilst] at the same time acting as a response against the rapid industrialisation of modern urban and rural areas.”

      O-office Architects reinterprets traditional Chinese courtyard house in concrete and steel

      The blending of the industrial buildings with the plantation is enhanced by landscaping that includes several ponds and trees that reach through apertures in the stone podium.

      The new podium contains public spaces
      O-office Architects was established by He Jianxiang and Jiang Ying in Guangzhou in 2007. The firm works on projects across various scales, from urban design and architecture to the exhibition and furniture design.
      Several of O-office Architects’ projects focus on renovation and conserving the architectural history of the Pearl River Delta. It previously worked on a residence inspired by vernacular courtyard houses found in the region.
      Photography is by Zhang Chao unless stated.
      Project credits:
      Architect: O-office ArchitectsClient: Midea GroupDesign team: He Jianxiang, Jiang Ying, Dong Jingyu, Huang Chengqiang, Zhang Wanyi, Cai Lehuan, Wu Yifei, He Zhenzhong, He Wenkang and Peng WeisenStructural consultant: Situ Ying, Luo Qiyao and Luo JiajieM.E. consultant: Bun Cong M&E DesignV.I. Design: TheWhy art x design

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      BLUE Architecture Studio adds U-shaped glass box to Shanghai coffee shop

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      Beijing-based BLUE Architecture Studio has renovated the % Arabica West shop in Shanghai’s Xuhui district, adding a glass box and a courtyard to open the cafe up to the surrounding neighbourhood.The studio’s aim for the 50-square-metre renovation was to break the boundary between the commercial space and the street.
      To do so it designed a U-shaped glass box, which contains the coffee counter, till and preparation area, in place of a regular facade. The box is surrounded by a courtyard-style seating area.

      Top: a glass box instead of a facade opens the cafe up. Above: trees in the cafe courtyard make it blend in with the street

      “The space is completely opened up to form a small courtyard around a U-shaped glass box,” the studio said.
      “Curved glass doors that can be completely opened, and ground materials that extend in from the outside.”

      Customers sit on built-in cement benches
      BLUE Architecture Studio also took the minimal style of % Arabica’s shops into consideration when creating the design, which has been shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2020 in the restaurant interior category.
      “The use of materials continues the brand’s consistent minimalist style, using white paint and plain cement as the keynote,” BLUE co-founder and architect Shuhei Aoyama told Dezeen.
      “Green plants become the protagonist of the space, blurring the boundary between indoor and outdoor.”

      The studio used white and grey hues to create the minimalist design
      Built-in cement benches along the walls provide seating space, while green plants were used to enhance the courtyard feel and create a dialogue with the Chinese parasol trees that line the street.
      “The shops make part of their commercial space outdoor and contribute to the city street,” Aoyama said.

      The coffee shop is located in the Xuhui district in Shanghai
      “Although the commercial area of the shops is smaller, they create a rich three-dimensional street space experience, so that people’s life can truly relate to the urban space,” he added.
      An air conditioning system was installed at the outdoor lounge area, as well as an air curtain machine at the entrance, to create a “more pleasant experience” in both winter and summer.

      DooSooGoBang restaurant in South Korea references Buddhist practices

      BLUE Architecture Studio was founded by Japanese architects Yoko Fujii and Shuhei Aoyama in Beijing in 2014.
      The % Arabica West coffee shop will compete against four other restaurant interiors in the restaurant interiors awards category, including the Embers restaurant in Taipei that features a “vortex” of cedar planks and South Korea’s minimalist DooSooGoBang restaurant.
      Photography is by Eiichi Kano.

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