shenzhen & hong kong biennale of urbanism\architecture 2011

compilation of images from the 2009 shenzhen & hong kong biennale of urbanism \ architecture

terence riley has been appointed chief curator for the 2011 shenzhen & hong kong bi-city biennale of urbanism\architecture (SZHK). he will be the first international curator for the biennale which started in 2005. in its fourth edition, the biennale will run from december 11, 2011 – february 10, 2012.  the vernissage will be held from december 8 – 10, 2011.

shenzhen civic square, main venue for the shenzhen & hong kong biennale

about the biennale the shenzhen & hong kong bi-city biennale of urbanism \ architecture began in 2005 as a response to the fast progress of urbanization and architectural activities in china, particularly shenzhen and hong kong. the biennale is the first to focus on urbanism as an ongoing theme to explore issues of the city as an active agent in contemporary culture.

the shenzhen & hong kong bi-city biennale is the only architecture biennale that broadens its focus beyond the realm of architecture to consider urbanism and various aspects of growing cities as significant factors for international progress. shenzhen (a city that was developed as the first special economic zone for the people’s republic of china in 1980) and hong kong are seen as international crossroads and serve as an ideal location for the focus on the dynamics between cities and architecture.

shenzhen civic square

terence riley is a founding partner of k/r (keenen/ riley), an architecture studio known for its design for art museums and galleries, including the master planning of the 100 acre-site of the museum of art, design and the environment (murcia, spain) and a complex of four new museums in hangzhou, china.  most recently, riley was the director of the miami art museum where he led the institution through the design phase of a major expansion; an innovative waterfront design by herzog & de meuron.  before, he was the philip johnson chief curator of architecture and design at the museum of modern art, new york.  there he organized exhibitions of well-known figures including rem koolhaas and bernard tschumi, and scholarly retrospectives on ludwig mies van der rohe and frank lloyd wright.

terence riley (left) chief curator of the 2011 SZHK biennale and sun zhenhua (right) chief director of the biennale

you can view designboom’s report from the 2009 shenzhen & hong kong bi-city biennale of urbanism \ architecture.

architecture creates cities create architecture, without end the program for the upcoming biennale, which will be announced in 2011, incorporates characteristics particular to the sites of shenzhen and hong kong, and will be made of a series of exhibitions, both indoors and outdoors. it will include exhibitions produced specifically for the biennale, such as case-studies of cities that are less than 60 years old, an exhibition that explores the development of various forms of urban transportation and recent projects being built in shenzhen. it will also include critically renowned expositions and presentations of historically significant materials, many seen for the first time in asia, organized in collaboration with a series of institutional partners. in addition, a series of international invitational exhibitions will be presented providing a platform for innovative practices. a curatorial team is being assembled and will be announced in the upcoming months. 

according to terence riley: ‘the full program is still being developed but our idea is to create a paradigm that considers the cyclical growth pattern of urban sites such as shenzhen, where cities create architecture, architecture creates cities, and how this process continues without end. at a time when sustainability is imperative, the idea of describing an open process that takes into account its own renewal and constant evolution is essential.’