Now in its 5th edition, the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism / Architecture (UABB) is the only biennial exhibition in the world to be based exclusively on the themes of urbanism and urbanization. The Biennale is co-organized by Shenzhen and Hong Kong, two of the most intensely urban cities in the world, where political and economical contexts have shaped unique urban dynamics.
The Hong Kong Biennale is led by Chief Curator Prof. Colin Fournier along with Joshua Lau and Allen Poon of TETRA and Travis Bunt and Tat Lam of URBANUS. As reported earlier, the Shenzhen edition will be curated by Ole Bouman and Team Li Xiangning + Jeffrey Johnson.
As Asia’s leading architecture, design and planning event, it will exhibit work by leading international and local design professionals and engage in a three month cultural dialogue that will include satellite exhibitions, performances, fi lm screenings, forums, workshops, guided tours and lectures.
The Biennale "will be informed by the singularity of Hong Kong but it will not be primarily about Hong Kong, just as the Venice Biennale is not about Venice: it will be about the cities of the world, making use of the unique bi-city setting of the Biennale as a platform to address global issues in a visionary and critical way."
ArchDaily will be present at the opening of the Shenzhen edition to bring you all the insights of the event.
Curatorial statement below:
BEYOND THE URBAN EDGE: “THE IDEAL CITY?”
Beyond the edge of the city we know lies the city we dream of, the city we long for but never reach, the “ideal city”.
At the edge, the old rules of the city loose their hold, allowing it to reinvent itself, redefi ne its values and create new forms. The edge is never far away: the city of our dreams might be here and now, close to us, nesting within the familiar confines of our towns, transforming them from the inside, a city within the city, the boundary between the known and the unknown being conceptual rather than physical. What do we most desire from our cities and from their architecture? What are our current interpretations of the ideal city? Is the question still relevant? Is Hong Kong an ideal city? If not, what would it take to become one? And for whom?
We are inviting a wide variety of exhibitors to respond to these questions. Their diverse observations and proposals will form the substance of the Biennale. The participants will include architects, urbanists, philosophers, artists, fi lm makers, musicians, choreographers, theatre directors, writers, critics, poets, scientists… A wide range of media will be used: texts, drawings, models, photographic images, fi lm, installations, full-scale pavilions, etc.
Our proposal for the Hong Kong side of the Biennale will be grounded in its polarity with Shenzhen, within the broader contexts of the PRD and mainland China, but it will be international in its scope: it will be informed by the singularity of Hong Kong but it will not be primarily about Hong Kong, just as the Venice Biennale is not about Venice: it will be about the cities of the world, making use of the unique bi-city setting of the Biennale as a platform to address global issues in a visionary and critical way. It will be site-specifi c, with a pivotal physical presence in Hong Kong, and transcend this specifi city by establishing its presence in virtual space. It will be here and everywhere, topic and un-topic, manifested through publications, radio, television, web sites, blogs and various social media, drawing inputs from a broad spectrum of participants and aiming to reach a wide audience.
Colin Fournier
Chief Curator
Joshua Lau & Allen Poon (TETRA) / Tat Lam & Travis Bunt (URBANUS)
Executive Curators
