December 3, only three days left before the opening. The exhibition venues are undergoing dramatic changes every hour. It would certainly be a great shock if you could go to visit the venues these last few days in person, seeing such amazingly speedy construction (called “Shenzhen Speed”).
5-1 Ready, go!
Two taxi drivers who participate in the “100 Days of Stories” have already started off. They left Chongqing on December 2 and drove to Shenzhen. At the same time, there are other taxi drivers from five cities in the Western China joining this project. During the biennale, they will pick up passengers for free in between different exhibition sites by their own taxis, while sharing the delightful development and changes of their home cities.
The driver is cleaning his taxi before the journey
5-2 Billboard rebuilding – Proposal 1
Is it a bit surprising if you see this billboard? In this proposal, participating team BAU (Mathieu BORYSEVICZ+James BREARLEY) turns the common billboard into a simplified drawing with nothing but lines. These lines would show a pleasantly surprising effect when it gets dark. You could check it out at Shenzhenwan Avenue in Nanshan district.
5-3 Billboard rebuilding – Proposal 2
“Double Happiness” is the participating work from French architect group Bureau des Mésarchitectures. By turning a billboard into a swing on which the public can play, are they looking for a balance between commercial interest and public interest?
5-4 The most mysterious work
What on earth is this stuff? Can you recognize it? However it is really appealing. No wonder our exhibition designer Liang Jingyu puts it as the most mysterious work in this year’s biennale, quoting the words from French Philosopher Gaston Bachelard, “We go back from the dream in the midnight to these houses, unnoticeable but with a value of shells. When we reach the end of sleeping maze or when we arrive in the deep sleep area, we might realize the immemorable things from pre-human time periods.”
5-5 The most fast-developing work
Such a fast growing “tree” cannot be found anywhere else. “Madular Pavilion” by Dutch architect studio Maurer United Architects is turned into a ‘’forest” overnight.
5-6 “Public Trailer” is ready for Shenzhen people
feld72 has completed three public trailers. Some citizens out for running at night have tried the trailer called “City Boxing Spot”. In the coming few days, feld72 will bring these trailers traveling around Shenzhen, making them into a moving playground. You may probably encounter them soon.
5-7 Where is this ship heading for?
Taiwanese participant Liu Kuo-Chang puts this ship onto the top of “Shenzhen Civic Square Blueprint”. Such a small fishing boat was once the mainstay of Shenzhen. Besides fishing boats, what else have diapered with them?
5-8 The footprint got a different colour!
The work by Ma Yansong / MAD has lots of playful elements. The black big footprint looks more lovely when covered red. Since it is made from soft plastic, it is quite comfortable to sit on. During the exhibition, lots of toys will be placed on the huge footprint for children to play with.
5-9 Roulette is almost done
By American art group Franceschini + Allende/Futurefarmers, the participating work People’s Roulette is about to spin. Some kids there can’t wait to give it a try.
5-10 Closed wall turns into a park
“Red Line Park” by Architect studio Open Architecture aims to turn the boundary walls of gated communities into a linear park. This would help solve the problem of public space shortage without using too much city space. Why are these communities closed to the public? It lowers the city efficiency, and security is still not assured. This topic is really worth discussing.
5-11 Artifact: Curtain Walls
This is the participating work by sciSKEW Collaborative. Audience could climb on it when it is done. The design looks abstract but in fact is an ongoing research. sciSKEW aims to initiate an approach to the tension between architecture and ornament and the distinction between structure and envelope.
5-12 Small children, small city
This work is made by the British participating group DRDH in collaboration with children from Shenzhen. Every piece of the “model city“is made by their little hands. They are not neat but quite adorable. The picture below shows parts of the work.
5-13 “Walking on Water” by Japanese artist Hideyuki Nakayam has already been set up with black stones.
