As the only biennale requiring an international visa to cross from one side to the other, the architecture and urbanism event hosted every two years by Shenzhen and Hong Kong inevitably addresses the issue of boundaries. And since the curators for the 2013 edition come from far-flung places—Holland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and China—it’s logical for visitors to think of this year’s overall theme, “Urban Borders,” in global terms. But urbanism—like politics—ends up being local, a point made by a group of protesters at the opening of the Hong Kong portion of the biennale. More about that at the end of this story.
Two anchors of the Pearl River Delta, Hong Kong and Shenzhen offer distinct but complementary forms of urban development. Once a colony of Britain and now a “special administrative region” of China, Hong Kong straddles both sides of a magnificent harbor and has long served as one of the busiest ports in the world. Shenzhen represents a different kind of urban condition, having grown from a fishing village with about 30,000 residents in 1980 to a mega-city of more than 10.5 million today. Established as a “special economic zone” by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979, Shenzhen has flourished as a cheap manufacturing center for exporters based in Hong Kong. Now it is moving beyond its industrial roots to become something much more complex, opening a shiny new stock exchange building by OMA in October and a huge airport terminal by Studio Fuksas in November.
You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.
Unlimited access + premium benefits for as low as $1.99/month.