The hub of last year’s Beijing Design Week, 751 D-park returned with a host of strong exhibits, made even more impressive in part because of its dramatic industrial setting. In addition to the independent work turned out by smaller studios, the government-backed Beijing Design Week brought together design-minded corporate, schools and national participation, with most of them situated in this creative cluster.
Displayed in the outdoor spaces and linked by the use of bamboo, the subtly lit Public Spaces installation by Beijing architecture firm Crystal Design and raw beauty of Bamboo City by the students of Tsing-Hua University together with University of New South Wales added even more character to the backdrop of disused boilers and rusty cranes.
The heavy-gauge steel shipping container home of Lvshe Design blended in so well it was easy to miss – until someone activated the third generation design’s automated kitchen and bed extensions.
Inside the cavernous halls of 751, old tanks were put to good use: as stairwell galleries for Floating Utopia, a multi-faceted living proposal whose organic shape is inspired by ornamental Taihu stones, designed by Li Daode of dEEP Architects, or as a theatrical stage for the 360-degree, 3-dimensional Live Tank animated film brought in from Korea.
Installed in an old water drum, the Nike Flyknit Collective feather pavilion designed by Taiwanese architecture firm Miniwiz was an interactive installation with an intricate pulley system that responded to movement through a loom similar to that of those used to construct Nike’s high performance running shoes.
Another notable presentation was (un)Made in China: architecture undone in P.R.C curated by Cannon Design. It presented client-discontinued projects like the Dalian football stadium, won in competition by UNStudio in 2009, offering an insight into architecture commissions in the country.
Also catch our Beijing Design Week report on Dashilar and Caochangdi
