○ As China’s first special economic zone, Shenzhen is full of vitality thanks to innovation and opening to the outside world. If we are asked to describe Shenzhen with only one word, the answer would be “production”. “Production” represents where the city has been standing. Starting from low-end manufacturing thirty years ago, Shenzhen has now become a city boasting a great number of globally-renowned sci-tech companies. Its history of development is a linear intersection of occasionality and inevitability. The city has conducted a great many positive trials on the new civilization. And there are numerous intrinsic coincidences regarding its clash with the new civilization. The production of commodities, no matter they are real commodities or virtual goods, will inevitably have a certain kind of interaction with space. As the products manufactured in Shenzhen change, the production of space of the city has also experienced a process of alienation, namely, an unconventional, non-traditional process of space production.
○ We are now experiencing the 4th technological revolution. Just like the previous industrial revolutions, while advancing the productivity level and producing more goods, this revolution is also bringing about new challenges to the social development. Our infrastructure, production logic and social fabrics are all undergoing changes. Our critical discussion about the current urban issues are aided by predictions of the future and the experience and contemplation which these predictions generate.
○ This exhibition will begin with five cases: Shenzhen-Hong Kong Entry and Exit Border Controls, Shenzhen Hi-tech Zone, Huaqiangbei, Xiasha Square, and Dafen Village. These unique spatial prototypes illustrate the unconventional production process. Urban planners, architects and artists will create five scenarios for the future of Shenzhen, namely, sociology, science and technology, infrastructure/environment, urban planning/architecture, and art. They will imagine the future of Shenzhen, reflect on urban issues, and foretell the future living environment.
