Cao Zhen caozhen0806@126.com “Superposition Cities: 2020 Qianhai Future Urbanism/Architecture Exhibition,” as a subvenue of the eighth Bi-City Biennale of UrbanismArchitecture (UABB), is being held at the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone. As the first academic exhibition held in Qianhai, the exhibition has three sections: “Back to Future” and “Qianhai Superposition” at the Qianhai Kerry Center, and “Instant City” outside the Qianwan Metro Station. With Cheng Yani and Feng Guochuan as curators and Li Wenhai, Zhu Xiongyi and Wang Mengmeng as co-curators, the exhibition features archive photos, videos and model structures in the fields of architecture, urban planning, landscape design and art by more than 150 exhibitors from 20 countries and regions, a review of Qianhai in the past 10 years and a preview into its future. It is the first time for the exhibition to be organized by a Hong Kong-funded enterprise, which reflects Qianhai’s characteristic of Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation. “We hope this exhibition could present Qianhai’s experience to Shenzhen which aims to be an influential creative hub in the world, and spark creative ideas for the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area,” said Xie Huihui, vice director of Qianhai Cooperation Zone Authority. In the “Back to Future” section, Archigram, a British avant-garde architectural group formed in the 1960s, showcases archive photos and videos of its concepts and past projects. The group is neofuturistic, anti-heroic and pro-consumerist, drawing inspiration from technology to create a new reality that is solely expressed through hypothetical projects. Peter Cook, one of its founders, told a forum in Qianhai on Dec. 18 that “We hope Shenzhen and Qianhai continue to be keen to explore and develop in the most interesting and adaptive ways.” At the exhibition, young architects, artists and local students also display their imaginative models to envision a future city. In the “Qianhai Superposition” section, six top architectural design firms — Foster + Partners, Field Operations, gmp, MVRDV, OMA and Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners — showcase more than 50 projects and future-city research projects. In the past 10 years of Qianhai’s founding and construction, multiple influential architecture firms around the world have been competing for projects here. The exhibition features the advanced architecture and urban planning ideas applied in Qianhai, as well as a blueprint of the future urban construction of Qianhai. At the Dec. 18 forum, MVRDV co-founder and principal architect Winy Maas said: “Shenzhen has its own unique origin, culture and way of development. The city is a lab for the future and Qianhai is a good starting point.” Colin Ward, senior partner of Foster + Partners, stressed that a city should not only be built by architects and urban planners, but also by talents from other fields, so cross-disciplinary cooperation is key to innovation. Other firm heads also discussed the “vertical city” concept in architecture at the forum. Outside the Qianwan Metro Station, several public artworks are scattered on a lawn as the “Instant City” section of the exhibition, forming a delightful echo to the skyscrapers in the neighborhood. Dates: Until Feb. 6, 2021 Venue: Qianhai Kerry Center, Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone (前海深港现代服务业合作区前海嘉里中心) Metro: Line 5 or 9 to Qianwan Station (前湾站), Exit D | 