○ Course Background
This course is the postgraduate design studio for the GBA Lab in the Fall semester of 2025/26. In this semester’s curriculum, the first half focuses on large-scale urban research and conceptual proposals for the Futian Central Area. The second half shifts toward selecting specific sites within the central area for urban or architectural design, guided by a problem-oriented approach. Design proposals are required to engage with declarative themes such as form and politics, landscape urbanism, spatial narrative, and infrastructure, and to further develop these ideas through tectonic and spatial refinement, supported by models and drawings.
○ Urban Research and Exploration
During the urban research phase, students developed an understanding of the historical evolution and geographical context of the central area, while directly experiencing the public spaces along the axis. This process included systematic reading of historical documents, examination of past design proposals, on-site field investigations, pedestrian questionnaires, and interviews. Based on field observations and visual documentation, students analyzed current patterns of spatial use along the central axis, examined relationships between public spaces and surrounding buildings, identified key issues, and proposed strategic directions for future development. Through urban design and public space interventions, the research ultimately addressed the central question: why does the central axis lack everyday quality?
○ Public Space & Architectural Design
The mid-term research ultimately converged on the theme “Shenzhen Axis Voice: A Citizen-Filled Blank,” exploring the spontaneous, decentralized, and often paradoxical everyday activities emerging along the axis. Through this lens, students examined why spaces explicitly designed for public use have failed to integrate into daily life.
The research identified a substantial amount of idle space distributed along the axis. In response, students propose architectural interventions that unlock latent spatial potential, reconnecting grassroots, self-organized activities with the formal structure of the central axis.
Looking ahead—ten, twenty, or even thirty years into the future—citizen-driven activities will organically and gradually “digest” the built environment constructed over the past three decades that has yet to fulfill its intended functions. This ongoing process will transform the central axis into a more cohesive, truly citizen-owned urban spine—a genuine heart of the city shaped by everyday life.
Students
Mingkai Li
Junping Lu
Jiaxing Xiao
Zhenyu Lin
Instructors
Doreen Heng Liu
Ken Chen
Yu Yan
Si Liu
Mid-Review Jurors
Weiwen Huang
Weijun Tang
Final Review Jurors
Bing Shao
Ke Song
