A social space for multifunctional hospitality
Shenzhen is a city that was founded only 40 years ago, the area however has been inhabited for hundreds of years and has a military history of more than 600 years (1394 A.D.). This awareness should be much more part of the cultural identity of this tech metropolis. I therefore consider Dapeng an anchor point in the historical awareness of Shenzhen. The fort village that is just a few steps away from the sea forms an interesting contrast with the surrounding leisure environment of the seaside resort and the urban typology around it.
KAPKAR / DPF-4B is an installation that has been designed with location specific elements from Dapeng Fortress as the starting point. It uses the reinterpretation of local building elements. The buttresses of the granary, the stacking of architectural wooden structures in Chinese architecture, and the faint gable roofs that are everywhere present there. Also the elegant wooden mortise and tenon joint signs, present in historical architecture. These four elements have been brought together in a new futuristic appearance that with its orange color, derived from the work clothes of the cleaners of Dapeng, forms a fascinating contrast with the historic environment.
location: Shenzhen, China
dimension: 3.03 x 5.72 x 2.5 m
material: metal, acrylic glass, lights, paint
exhibition: 8th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\ Architecture Shenzhen official Sub-Venue ‘The Sea of Time’
December 12, 2019 / March 29, 2020
venue: Dapeng Fortress Jiaochangwei Area
curator: YangYong, Shangqi Art, Shenzhen
technical drawings: Denis Bacal, Den Haag
visual sketch design: Ami Boerbooms
manufacturing: Liao Weding, Shenzhen
photography: Li Yiting/ Studio Frank Havermans
video: JiaoJiao Li
8th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture Shenzhen 2019
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The futuristic constellation derived from existing elements appears to work like a magnet. From the first minute on children break free out of the arms of their parents and run immediately towards the installation and climb on it.
Some of them use it as a stage to act as if there is no audience, inspired to perform something out of their own mind. Six children at the same time is no exception and there is always room for one more. Families use it as a lunch place, a décor for a happy portrait and some take a seat to chat or check the cellphone. KAPKAR/ DPF-4B is a social space for multifunctional hospitality.
Among others with: Xu Tan, MAP Office, Francis Sollano, Asma Kazmi and Xu Liang.
Elements from the past have been placed back in the environment in a transformed way and give a completely different perspective on the local building culture. With a reminisce about the past it experiences imagination of the future. The installation is located in front of the old granary in the heart of the ancient village, at the entrance of the exhibition. It is a hub between inside and outside. In the evening the object gives a soft mysterious light, a beacon in the darkness.
