Articles by Collin Chen

Nearly 50 years ago, Shenzhen was little more than a market town, evolving today into one of the largest and most important cities in southeast China. Continuous urbanization and development have rendered construction sites a symbol of the urban landscape. Building parts, stacked materials, and interior systems unwrapped and waiting to be assembled stage themselves as if temporary art installations, a tribute to the honesty and brutality of the city’s inner belly as a living machine.

The Bund stretches, Yan’an East, Suzhou Creek, Baidu Bridge, Huangpu River, and the market that foreigners often visit ten miles long. This financial center of the whole country and even the Far East has experienced a century of vicissitudes, endowing the North Bund with the color of past and present. When I stand here and look far away, the openness at a glance, the flashy swaying cup, the calmness created by the space, the elegant and calm temperament, Jingcaixuan is as magnificent as pearls, how can crystal clear be self-admiration.

The pursuit of flight has always been a fantasy of humans over the course of history. From Leonardo da Vinci’s sketch of the ornithopter to the first bi-plane test flight across the Hong Kong airspace in 1911, humankind went through countless unceasing trials, setbacks and failures. This artwork is inspired by the mechanics of the flying machines. Installed with a pair of double-stack flapping wings and bicycles’ mechanical system, the Ornithopter perches on the lawn, casting flickering shadows to create an enjoyable shaded public space. It interacts with the public and lets them experience the journey of restless hard work in realising one’s dream.

Cheers Burger, one of the most talked-about restaurants in Shanghai, is Atelier A’s new project. With the studio’s signature simple and practical style, the restaurant has become an unexpected hit. Cheers Burger is located at the crossroads of Yanqing Rd and Changshu Rd in the old town area, where many independent restaurants and boutiques unfortunately closed down during the pandemic. Recently, a large number of new shops opened in their place, fashionable and flamboyant, yet appearing incongruous in the old town. Therefore, the studio aims to keep the old and battered look of the original building without too much interference, in order to make it consistent with its environment. The project embodies Atelier A’s philosophies of designing for practicality, respecting the history of the building, and not decorating for decoration’s sake.

Background
This project was carried out under the “2021 Nanshan Co-build Gardens Program” jointly initiated by Shenzhen Green Foundation, Shekou Community Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy, led by Nanshan Urban Management And Law Enforcement Bureau. Most of the gardens under the program are on the ground floor facing streets, but our site is on the roof of a 6-storey apartment in an urban village. We see three major difficulties in this project. The first, the open roof is separated from the urban traffic network, which is good for creating a relaxing space where time flows slowly like an “oasis in the city”, but the isolation from the ground also makes it difficult to create a community space where people naturally gather. The second, the initial budget for the project is only enough to build a small garden of less than 150-square-meter, which is too small to be an independent space attracting the community. The third, due to the strong sunlight on the exposed roof in Shenzhen during the day, a sunshade canopy is necessary in order to allow people to stay comfortably, but it is difficult to obtain building permission for the canopy from the urban management department. With these difficulties, we began to think about how to make this roof a new community place where people would like to gather.

Through this renovation, a building that is about to be demolished has been preserved. This building has been given a new life and has become the only place for the village to attract tourists. This is a practice trying to discuss the revitalization and reconstruction of the countryside. This project gave the villagers a new understanding of architecture: a place that can bring new life to the village. Yaoli Village Courier station is located in Yaoli Group, Longdou village, Shuibei County, Shaowu City, Fujian Province. This renovation project was designed and constructed simultaneously. It only takes 3 months from receiving the design task to the completion of the construction.