The Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture 2013 rethinks China’s industrial past
December 13, 2013
By Catherine Shaw, Design
December 13, 2013
The Shekou Industrial Zone in Shenzhen may not seem the most likely place to house a biennale devoted to design. But given the event’s ‘Urban Border’ theme, this industrial port is in fact perfectly positioned – literally and figuratively – to host a fascinating debate on global urban issues at the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (UABB). The urban design biennale’s fifth edition is presented at two separate venues: an old warehouse at the city’s industrial port and the former Guangdong Float Glass Factory, a short bus trip away.
UABB curator and creative director Ole Bouman enlisted a team of local and international designers to transform a four-hectare derelict industrial site into the biennale’s main venue, the former glass factory. ‘We didn’t have much to do,’ he says. ‘It was all about cherishing its existing beauty and qualities.’ Central to the revitalisation is a dramatic Guggenheim-esque spiral staircase and an ‘urban farm’, that echoes the Hong Kong vernacular. More...