Taro Igarashi | Architectural Walk 11: Shenzhen Museums Confronting Rapid Urbanization
Taro Igarashi visits Shenzhen's MOCAPE, Shenzhen Bay Culture Square, and Shenzhen Museum to examine how the city's architecture and art exhibitions address rapid urbanization.Summary
Taro Igarashi visited Shenzhen, a city that rapidly developed from a fishing village into the "Silicon Valley of Asia," and explored its cluster of museums. Shenzhen features major projects by renowned architects like Norman Foster and Fumihiko Maki, and as a UNESCO City of Design, it boasts rich exhibitions on architecture and urbanism. MOCAPE (Museum of Contemporary Art and Planning Exhibition), designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au, showcases the city's vision, development plans, and architectural projects intended for citizen consensus. The Shenzhen Bay Culture Square, designed by MAD Architects with signage by Kenya Hara, hosts high-quality special exhibitions reflecting its pride as a design city. Meanwhile, the newly established Shenzhen Museum features contemporary art exhibitions focusing on the Shennan Avenue and permanent exhibitions chronologically detailing the city's history since its designation as a Special Economic Zone, illustrating both the light and shadow of its rapid growth. Through these venues, Igarashi observes how Shenzhen confronts its rapid urbanization by representing its transformation through architecture and art.
(Source：artscape)