Newman Huo

A special exhibition, "Upgrade Strategy: International Invitational Exhibition on OCT-LOFT Concept Design," opened in the northern area of OCT-LOFT in Overseas Chinese Town (OCT), Nanshan District on Saturday.

The exhibition, which will run until Oct. 30, invited five internationally acclaimed architectural design firms, including Bernard Tschumi Architects, Dominique Perrault Architecture, MVRDV, Urbanus Architecture & Design, and Sou Fujimoto Architects, to offer thoughts on the renovation of the northern area of OCT-LOFT into the OCT Contemporary Art Museum.

As well as being a research and academic exhibition, it is also an experimental and practical one. Shenzhen OCT-LOFT Culture Development Co., Ltd, a company affiliated with OCT Group, will select the best proposal from those submitted from the five participating architectural design firms, and put it into practice, turning OCT-LOFT into a first-rate creative cultural park.

At the InterContinental Hotel in OCT on Sunday, architects from the five architectural design firms lectured on their proposals for renovating the northern area of OCT-LOFT into the OCT Contemporary Art Museum and explored different strategies for the active protection of old industrial buildings in the district.

The second phase of OCT-LOFT, the northern area, has been created from renovated factory buildings in the eastern part of OCT since 2007, following the successful operation of the park's southern area.

OCT-LOFT's southern area, the first phase of the park, was inaugurated with the establishment of the OCT Contemporary Art Terminal (OCAT) in 2005.

Dates: Through Oct. 30

Venue: B10, northern area, OCT-LOFT, Wenchang Road South, OCT (华侨城文昌南路B10展馆)

Buses: 21, 26, 32, 54, 59, 101, 105, 109, 121, 204, 209, 223, 234, 327, 328, 350, 370, 390

Metro: Hua Qiao Cheng Station (Overseas Chinese Town Station 华侨城站), Exit A