Ultralight Centrifugal Pavilion / Clavel Arquitectos

© Cristóbal Palma

Architects: Clavel Arquitectos – Manuel Clavel Rojo
Location: Shenzhen,
Collaborators: Ricardo Carcelén González, Diego Victoria García, Robin Harloff, Rafael de Giles González, David Hernández Conesa
Client: 2011 Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture
Completion: December 2011
Total area: 150 sqm
Photographs: Cristóbal Palma

Maillen Hotel And Apartment / Urbanus

© Wu Qiwei

Architects: Urbanus
Location: Yanshan Road, Shekou, Nanshan District, , China
Project Designers, Design Director: Meng Yan, Zhu Jialin
Architecture Design: Zheng Ying, Huang Zhiyi, Yao Xiaowei, Zuo Lei, Liu Xiaoqiang, Yie Peijun, Li Da, Shen Yandan, Ji Yuyu, Zhang Zhen, Liu Liu, Liu Zirong, Xia Miao, Yuan Yi, Guo Donghai
Landscape Design: Xing Guo, Wei Zhijiao, Ding Yu, Cedric Yu, Li Jing, Huang Yihong, Liao Zhixiong
Client: China Merchants Real Estate Co. Ltd.
Completion: 2011
Site Area: 13,198 sqm
Floor Area: 21,540 sqm
Photographs: Wu Qiwei

Nanshan Wedding Center / Urbanus

© Meng Yan & Wu Qiwei

Architects: Urbanus
Location: Nanshan Distrit, , China
Design Director: Meng Yan, Zhu Jialin 
Project Director: Zhang Zhen, Fu Zhuoheng, Wei Zhijiao
Architecture Designers: Wang Jun, Yin Yujun, Hu Zhigao,Li Qiang, Zhang Xinfeng 
Landscape Designers: Liao Zhixiong, Lin Ting, Yu Xiaolan, Liu Jie
Collaborator: Guoqun Studio (Interior Design); Shenzhen Keyuan Construction Group co.,Ltd (Curtain wall Design)
Client: Construction Bureau of Nanshan District
Completion: 2011
Site Area: 3,002.5 sqm
Floor Area: 977.5 sqm
Photographs: Meng Yan, Wu Qiwei

House of the Tree / Kokaistudios

© Charlie Xia

Architects: Kokaistudios
Location: , China
Architecture Modification: Filippo Gabbiani, Andrea Destefanis
Interior Design: Filippo Gabbiani, Andrea Destefanis, Sherry G, Zoe Lee
Client: China Resource Land (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd.
Area: 616 sqm
Project Year: November, 2011
Photographs: Charlie Xia

CEIG Testing & Assessment Research Center / LYCS Architecture

Courtesy of

LYCS Architecture won an invited competition for a 32,000 sqm testing and assessment research center in the city of . It is a mixed-use building including offices, residential and commercial. The project conceptually begins with the traditional Chinese urban design idea of a ‘miniature city’ and divides the site into 10 equal volumes. Then, the volumes are aligned corresponding to the scattered programs across the landscape. More images and architects’ description after the break.

YanPaiXi Village / Regional Construction Studio

© Gao Xuexue

YanPaiXi Village, designed by , is located in Guzhang County, Western Hunan. The houses in the village are surrounded by terraces which were built along the mountain and are divided into a number of large and small blocks by channels which are generated by nature. The society is steady and the residents are sincere and honest. Inspired by this village, the device attempts to explore an inter-growth prototype by implanting this “light” model in an urban and rural space. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Gizmo / STUDIO UP

© Miljenko Bernfest & Marko Salopek

Architects: Lea Pelivan + Toma Plejić / STUDIO UP
Location: Shenzhen,
Project team: Irena Bakić, Josipa Baričević, Nikola Brlek, Luka Cvitan, Jelena Martić, Marko Salopek, Hana Svatoš-Ražnjević, Vanda Trifunović
Collaboration: Velcon Projekt: Albert Pavlović, Veljko Nižetić, Lidija Nizić, Marko Sardelić (cosntruction design)
Photographs: Miljenko Bernfest, Marko Salopek

Tri-Colonnade / SO-IL / Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale

Check out this great video by SO-IL about their spatial facade for the Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale.  Referencing the 1980 Venice Bienale where 20 architects collaboratively designed a “facade” that challenged the notions of an individual and collective expression, SO-IL has taken a similar approach for their 2011 work.  The firm, no doubt, is used to challenging the accepted norms of architects and architecture – case in point, their Pole Dance for MoMA PS1 - and this Biennale proposal marks a distinction between the facade as a flat symbolic representation, and the use of the facade to actually become a spatial and experiential element. “It is high time to revisit this canonical exhibition of post-modernism. 40 years after our predecessors expanded the territory of the architectural discipline into the experience of time, we continue to believe that growth and innovation are limitless if a new territory of spatiality can be defined,” says Jing Liu of when reflecting on the intention this installation.  With ’s prismatic paneled “colonnade” of marble tiles backed with mirrors, visitors can experience a changing depth of the installation and discover new spaces while wandering through it.

‘And then it became a city…’ Film Series at the 2011 Shenzhen & Hong Kong Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture

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‘And then it became a city…’ is a film series featured at the 2011 Shenzhen & Hong Kong Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture. The Biennale is curated by Terence Riley and just opened last week – on view in through February 18, 2012. And then it became a city… shows the everyday life and activity of six planned cities under sixty years old. The cities featured include Gabarone, Chandigarh, , Almere, Las Vegas, and Brasilia. More trailers on the films about their corresponding cities can be viewed after the break.

Video: Ultra Light Village / Clavel Arquitectos, by Cristobal Palma

Architectural photographer Cristobal Palma shared with us this short clip of the Ultra Light Village installation by Clavel Arquitectos, on view at the Shenzhen Civic Square. This is part of a series of installations for the 2011 Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Urbanism / Architecture Biennale, open until February 18th, 2012.

More videos by  at ArchDaily:

Finland´s Participation at Shenzhen Hong Kong Biennale for Urbanism and Architecture

Courtesy of Shenzhen Municipal Government

From December 8th to February 12th at the OCT Contemporary Art Terminal, the cities of Shenzhen and are hosting the 7th Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture and this year, Finland will be participating in the biennale for the first time. Participants in the biennale include the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Design Forum Finland and the Newly Drawn project, which represents young Finnish architects.

The event takes a stand on modern phenomena in , which is urbanising at an ever increasing pace. Running from December 2011 until February 2012, the biennale examines different aspects of urbanisation, including case studies of cities less than 60 years old, an exhibition on the development of urban public transport and current construction projects in Shenzhen. More information on the event after the break.

CDB Tower & Minsheng Financial Tower Competition Proposal / Saraiva + Associados

Courtesy of Miguel

For the International Conceptual Design Competition of The Two Towers – CDB Tower & Minsheng Financial Tower, Saraiva + Associados focused on a unique and harmonious force, along with a modern and innovative approach to create a building of intense character. The essence found in this project was the result of an international competition in which Saraiva & Associados reached the six finalists: The Two Towers in . More images and architects’ description after the break.

CLC & MSFL Towers / REX

© Luxigon

REX shared with us their proposal for two of China’s major financial institutions, CLC and MSFL, which chose to consolidate their new headquarters on a single site within ’s CDB. Although the planning regulations permit tall buildings on the site, the maximum allowable building area and the proposed combination of offices and retail seemingly dictate a perfunctory tower-and-plinth scheme. Instead, CLC’s and MSFL’s offices are organized into two highly efficient blocks with: an ideal 9 meter distance between core and façade; an entirely flexible, column-free plan; the largest floor area allowed by code and urban design requirements; and an efficiency ratio of 80%. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Shenzhen Archive Towers / Jaeger and Partner Architects

view from plaza

Jaeger and Partners Architects’ design for the Archive Towers recently received a Design Excellence Award in the AIA Chicago 2011 Design Awards program. This competition scheme was acknowledged in the Unbuilt Design Award category. ’s Meiling District resides between City Center and new north railway station, forming an urban center with the Archive site at its heart. Creating an authentic urban space, the design unifies four parcels (city blocks) by removing dividing streets. Circulation is re-organized, thereby harnessed, by introducing a perimeter one-way street system. The enlarged spatial boundary establishes an appropriate scale and symbolic relationship with the City Plaza. More images and project description after the break.

Two Financial Towers / MA2

Courtesy of

The design of the Two Towers, by MA2 in collaboration with CZ Visual Architecture, is a series of manipulated manifolds that construct a dual vertical lattice with angled surfaces. The towers radiate vertically deriving from a multi-sided body, diamond shaped, molded, intended for diversity, complexity, and robustness in form. Elongated diamond bodies functions as a poly-operational structure that addresses flows of energy, circulation, dynamic composites, both aesthetically and material make up. More images and architects’ description after the break.

International Skyscraper Competition Winning Proposal / ADEPT and Urbanus

Courtesy of ADEPT and Urbanus

The winning design of a large international architectural competition, ‘The Two Towers’, was recently announced in Shenzhen, . The team selected to design this new Shenzhen landmark – comprising 100.000 square meters in total – is a constellation of ADEPT (DK) and Urbanus (CHN) with VSA (HK), Max Fordham LLP (GB) and CCI Architectural Design Co, LTD (CHN). The jury meeting was hosted at the Shenzhen Municipal Planning Building with Pritzker Prize winner Thom Mayne as chairman of the jury. More information on the competition winners after the break.

Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture


The Organizing Committee of the Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale Of Urbanism\Architecture announced the program for the fourth edition of the Biennale, which takes place December 8 to February 18 and is organized by the Chief Curator of the 2011 Biennale Terence Riley.

Selected from an international call for proposals, Mr. Riley is the first non-Chinese curator for the & Bi-City Biennale Of Urbanism\Architecture. Riley is an architect and partner in the architectural firm K/R, and the former director of Miami Art Museum. As the Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art New York, he played a key role in overseeing MoMA’s 2004 expansion project. More information on the event after the break.

Wisdom Plaza / MAPA

Courtesy of MAPA

Architects: MAPA
Location: ,
Project Team: Hoo Khuen Hin (Leader), Lim Ching Tung, Armando Atiencio, Ma Wei, Wu Xijia, Gao Chunyang, Liu Changxin
Client: Shenzhen Zhonghe Industry
Project Year: 2011
Project Area: 160,000 sqm (Total GFA)
Photographs: Courtesy of MAPA

China as Architectural Testing Ground

Photo by low.lighting - http://www.flickr.com/photos/low-lighting/

The emergence of on the global economic stage has been discussed at nauseum in myriad publications. But this emergence has had an impact on the world of architecture, providing a testing ground where architects can experiment with new ideas about sustainability and urban growth. These new ideas have been realized in recently completed structures, and more are just beginning construction or have been proposed for the future. More on these new buildings after the break.

Steven Holl Architects’ Horizontal Skyscraper Wins American Architecture Award

Courtesy of

Steven Holl Architects recently received an American Architecture Award for 2011 for the Horizontal Skyscraper-Vanke Center in , China.The awards, administered annually by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Center for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies honor ‘new and cutting-edge design’ and aim to promote ‘the best of new architecture and urban design.’ More on the project after the break.

Update: Shenzhen Stock Exchange by OMA

©

The NASDAQ equivalent Shenzhen Stock Exchange by OMA, continues to progress forward nearing completion. The latest photographs of the new building, which poses a strong representation of capitalism in China, highlight the robust exoskeletal grid and the and complexity of construction.

“For millennia, the solid building stands on a solid base; it is an image that has survived modernity. Typically, the base anchors a structure and connects it emphatically to the ground. The essence of the stock market is speculation: it is based on capital, not gravity. In the case of ’s almost virtual stock market, the role of symbolism exceeds that of the program – it is a building that has to represent the stock market, more than physically accommodate it. It is not a trading arena with offices, but an office with virtual organs that suggest and illustrate the process of the market.”

- OMA

More construction photographs of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange after the break.