Is it Shanghai's romance? A street design experiment: plastic door curtains in convenience stores are made into installation art and appear next to residential buildings
Across the wall from Lane 151 on Nanchang Road, there is a curved corner garden. These days, a semi transparent house has been built in the open space of the garden, with colorful lines outlining white clouds, green trees, birds, and a cat hidden in a corner. The "house" extends to two symmetrical doors of red brick residential buildings, with triangular eaves and round glass windows carved out. The outer wall of the folk house bends half a circle here like a wave, and the shadow of wutong pulls out a long shadow on the wall.
"This is the romance that only exists in Shanghai." The night before yesterday, with a light rain, young people still came to check in. In the ongoing Xiaohongshu Design Week event, the designer launched several outdoor installation designs on this small road, and discussed the relationship between design and daily life with surrounding exhibitions, workshops, etc.
However, in the eyes of surrounding residents and office workers, although the design is novel and interesting, it lacks a sense of daily life. "What we hope to leave behind is not a few check-in photos, but coordinates for long-term interaction."
What is needed for the romance of Shanghai's neighborhoods nowadays is a fleeting glance or a silent nourishment?
At night, cyclists pass by the exterior walls of residential buildings covered with art posters
Walking on Nanchang Road, the design posters on the exterior walls of residential buildings on one side of the sidewalk are elegant in color, but the artistic sense still attracts people's attention. Looking up, you can also see the sheets hanging from the windows of residential buildings. "There is a subtle conflict and fusion between the artistic atmosphere and the atmosphere of life." Qiao, who works in art education, is also a frequent visitor to this small road. It is adjacent to Huaihai Road, where many historical buildings stand. Six small and micro public spaces often hold various exhibitions, and there are countless coffee shops, taverns, and clothing stores. As one of the series of activities of the Shanghai Tourism Festival in Huangpu District, the Xiaohongshu Design Week, which was first opened to the public this year, has set up multiple check-in points here, and several public facilities in the street gardens are part of it.
In the street garden next to Lane 165 of Nanchang Road, semi transparent materials are stacked and suspended in mid air, cut into an arched room. Glass wind chimes hang from the arch, as if raindrops are about to fall. Rainy nights give this device a unique charm: water vapor condenses at the end of the arch material, refracting the bright lights around it into a soft state; Standing among them and looking towards the road, it's like appreciating a colorful painting surrounded by clouds and mist. During his study abroad in the UK, Qiao also came into contact with many contemporary art works. "Compared to common metal or stone urban sculptures, Shanghai is very avant-garde in its ability to place installation art made of unconventional materials in daily neighborhoods."
At the corner of the street, the bronze statue of Tagore is also surrounded by a semi transparent house and patterns of birds, white clouds, and flowers. Architect and artist Xia Murong, who participated in the design and production of this series of installations, introduced that the inspiration came from Tagore's "New Moon Collection". In recent years, she has been devoted to creating picture books and pays tribute to Swiss painter Paul Klee, who is currently exhibiting at the UCCA Edge in the Shanghai space of the UCCA Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, with these hand drawn patterns that are as clumsy and bright as children's drawings. "I hope to connect the residents and pedestrians passing through here with Tagore's poetry and Paul Klee's paintings."
The "Rain House" designed with inspiration from Tagore's poetry
However, this poetic and picturesque atmosphere may not be felt by everyone. At 10:30 in the morning, the flower shop on the street corner had not yet lit up its display windows, and the small tavern that was laughing and laughing at night was still closed. The workers who are repairing the Nanchang Building have arrived at the garden in the street with their lunch, using chairs available for rest as tabletops for eating. They occasionally looked at the semi transparent arched room within reach, "unable to even block the rain.". Aunt Chen, who lives nearby, stopped to take a picture, and couldn't help feeling the transparent material
Nearby construction workers have lunch outside the block installation
Xia Murong once participated in the design and renovation of the "current residence" on Yanping Road. This creative park, transformed from an old factory building, features a minimalist style of pure white architecture and symmetrical geometric lines, attracting many citizens and tourists to check in, attempting to capture a "cool and orderly feeling". Compared to the clear functional positioning and style preset of commercial spaces, public spaces need to be more inclusive. In Qiao's eyes, such spaces and installations are aimed at an uncertain "other", which is not entirely everyday, nor just for showcasing to tourists.
"After the unlucky telephone girl on Huaihai Road, do you still remember any urban public sculpture or installation?" Some industry insiders engaged in urban public space planning research admit that behind the controversy over the recent exorbitant price of sculptures in some cities, people's perspectives are constantly expanding and their aesthetics are constantly improving, and concrete sculptures are no longer enough to attract people; Overly avant-garde topics may bring traffic, but breaking away from life can actually bring troubles to residents; If it can only meet the needs of residents, it is likely to become another mediocre work. "The phone girl is remembered by everyone, and it is also the story behind it and its association with urban history."
Xia Murong describes the "pain" of architecture through a case of illness
"Buildings without pain are not worth trying." On the Xiaohongshu Design Week forum, Xia Murong used a specific case to analogize the "pain" needed for space: during a medical visit, she saw a boy preparing a furry blanket for his girlfriend. So she also bought one herself and carried it with her child when they were seeking medical treatment. In the eyes of some participants, such "pain" comes from two aspects: solving objective physiological needs and bringing emotional healing and comfort.
Qiao also recently discovered that the minimalist style, which was once popular online, is undergoing changes due to the influx of merchants and their increasing popularity. Within the originally pure white background and line framework, the display windows of different merchants seem to be filled with colors, creating exquisite images. "The public space in the neighborhood is the same, there is no need to rush to fill it up, but to maintain a richer range of possibilities." In Aunt Chen's eyes, the residents of Nanchang Road "have seen the world", "how many exhibitions and things have been held and let go are all good, not necessarily fixed, the neighborhood also needs to be left blank." From the spacious tea houses with door curtains to the coffee shops decorated in dark green, and even the small pubs that project a sci-fi feel, in her eyes, it does not conflict with the residential buildings with old-fashioned bicycles with horizontal bars. The Shanghai neighborhood has its own tolerance.
Rhubarb Duck's Second Visit to Hong Kong Attracts Many People to Check In
Many cities have been constantly trying to introduce different art installations in public spaces. The giant rubber duck created by Dutch artist Hoffman has traveled to multiple cities around the world since 2007. When it reappeared in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong this year, it unexpectedly came in pairs. MTR stations and double decker buses have launched check-in points, and even the accidental leakage and drying of a yellow duck has increased the topic. In cities such as Paris, London, and Amsterdam, with different art exhibitions or festival activities, various types of installation art emerge in public spaces and street communities.
The installation on Nanchang Road was originally planned to have only 5 days for exhibition. With the increasing number of visitors, it is expected to extend the street appearance time. In Xia Murong's eyes, urban renewal is not only about spatial redesign, but also about becoming a stage and an art museum. "When light and shadow fall, people are willing to go back and forth."
