HONG KONG.
The world’s most visited architecture exhibition, the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, has opened in the city of Shenzhen, southern China. The “Eyes of the City” section was curated by Carlo Ratti (Chief Curator), Politecnico di Torino and the South China University of Technology (Academic Curators). It aims to start a critical discussion on the impact of new technologies on cities – from Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) to algorithmic design, from autonomous mobility to facial recognition. The exhibition will stay open until March 2020.
“Eyes of the City” features over 60 projects from leading architecture firms as well as from research centers and emerging practices, selected through a 12-month long “open-curatorship” process. All projects were entirely fabricated in Shenzhen – with open-source blueprints available for download online. Most works engage new technology on the exhibition premises – including a facial recognition system that powers the info points designed by Dutch office MVRDV (a custom sticker by The Cooper Union team, however, allows visitors to “opt out” of the system).
The venue for “Eyes of the City” is the expansive high-speed railway station of Futian, which was transformed into an exhibition space that invites visitors by using tactics reminiscent of those employed in malls or duty-free shops. Graphic design by Mieke Gerritzen mimics station signage and guides willing passersby inside the exhibition, surprising them with unexpected architecture and design installations. A 1-kilometer-long infographic developed by Northeastern University professor Paolo Ciuccarelli on backlit walls encircles the space, presenting key data about the exhibition and the “open-curatorship” process. 
Photos: Carlo Ratti.
