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Contemporary Chinese at Center for Architecture

An opening night party will be held tomorrow, February 26 from 6pm-8pm.

Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 2/25/2008 12:00:00 AM

On the heels of the Chinese New Year, the Center for Architecture marks the Year of the Rat with two new exhibitions devoted to contemporary Chinese architecture. "Building China: Five Projects, Five Stories" and "Co-Evolution" will bow together tomorrow, February 26 at the center, located at 536 LaGuardia Place in New York. An opening party will be held from 6pm-8pm.

"Building China: Five Projects, Five Stories," running through May 31, highlights five recently completed projects from emerging Chinese artists. The goal of the exhibition is to use each work's complexities to illustrate the modern realities of architecture in the rapidly-developing nation. Projects include the Dafen Art Museum in Shenzhen and the Cultural Revolution Timepiece Museum in Sichuan, both completed last year.

"Each of the five projects selected for this exhibition serves as an architectural ambassador, representing modern China," says curator Wei Wei Shannon of People's Architecture Foundation, a non-profit organization that uses architecture to help strengthen US/Chinese relations. "These visionary designers draw upon thousands of years of art and culture, and actively guide China forward into finding the 'voice' of its new era. Ultimately, the combined work of these architectural pioneers will play a part in forming China's new national identity."

"Co-Evolution," the result of a partnership between the center and the Danish Architecture Centre, runs through April 12. Curated by Danish architect Henrik Valeur, the exhibition features collaborations between Chinese university students and professors and young architects from Denmark who aim to address China's global challenges.

"In order for the impact of China's exponential rate of growth to be successfully absorbed by the planet, the international architectural community must follow Denmark's lead," say Rick Bell, executive director the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter, which funds the center's exhibitions. "Increasingly, we see that international collaboration is an indispensable aspect of sustainability."

From top: A statue of Mao Zedong in the Cultural Revolution Timepiece museum; the Dafen Art Museum in Shenzen.

Images courtesy of Iwan Baan