The largest solo exhibition from MAD Architects and the month-long Festival of Design in Shanghai are among the architecture and design events taking place in China featured in Dezeen Events Guide this month.
Other events taking place this month in China include an exhibition in Hangzhou documenting Renzo Piano's work at OōEli – his first completed project in China and an exhibition exploring green design by Dutch architecture studio MVRDV.
Green Factory: MVRDV and The Why Factory
19 September to 31 December 2023, Hangzhou
Dutch architecture studio MVRDV partners The Why Factory – a research institute launched by the studio's founding partner Winy Maas – to showcase an immersive exhibition.
Green Factory presents a cityscape covered in forestry at the O2 Museum, reflecting the natural elements MVRDV has incorporated into 250 of its projects.
These projects in the exhibition envision a world with more plants, water, animals and biodiversity, including the Spijkenisse Library of the Dutch Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hanover, the Valley skyscraper in Amsterdam and the soon-to-be-completed Hangzhou oil refinery factory.
Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Living Buildings
29 September to 19 November 2023, Hangzhou
Architecture practice Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) hosts an exhibition at the art venue OōEli, the firm's Pritzker-winning, first completed project in China.
The exhibition features Atlantis, 2022, an island model that includes all 114 projects completed by RPBW, which took the studio two years to design and produce.
Also on show at the exhibition are a documentary by filmmaker Jonathan Goodman Levitt exploring five of RPBW's buildings and a video interview with architect Renzo Piano.
Ma Yansong: The Flowing Land
29 September to 17 December 2023, Shenzhen
MAD Architects presents its largest-ever solo exhibition in Shenzhen, which includes 52 projects that span the studio's 20 years in the industry.
The exhibition aims to explore the interactivity between the city, community, architecture, humanity, nature and the imagination of a future urban space.
Over half of the display has never been made public before, including concept art, research documents, diagrams and visual documentation.
14th Shanghai Biennale: Cosmos Cinema
9 November 2023 to 31 March 2024, Shanghai
Following the theme Cosmos Cinema, the 14th Shanghai Biennale explores how the relationship between humans and the cosmos will affect all lives on Earth.
Curated by New York City and Berlin-based artist Anton Vidokle, over 80 designers and artists from China and around the world showcase their work.
Established in 1996, Shanghai Biennale is the first international contemporary art biennale in mainland China. It has been organised by Power Station of Art since 2012, which also serves as the biennale's permanent space.
West Bund Art and Design
9 to 12 November 2023, Shanghai
As one of Asia's most influential art fairs, West Bund Art and Design celebrates its 10th year in 2023, hosting more than 120 galleries from around the world, including Europe, North America and Asia.
Amongst the galleries, Hauser & Wirth, Ota Fine Arts, Pace Gallery, ShanghART Gallery, White Space and White Cube have taken part in the fair since its first edition.
The four-day event takes place at the West Bund Art Center in Shanghai.
Festival of Design 2023
10 November to 10 December 2023, Shanghai
Festival of Design returns to Shanghai this year with a series of talks, exhibitions, film screenings, workshops and a forum.
Under the theme of "再 RE-", which means "again" in Chinese, the programme aims to "embrace the communal aspect of design to be inclusive, interdisciplinary, and innovative" while reassessing the value of design post-pandemic.
Speakers at the festival include architects and designers Anders Byriel, Shay Alkalay, Boonserm Premthada, Mark Lee, Liu Yichun, Jo Nagasaka, Simon Frommenwiler, Eva Prats, Ricardo Flores and Jurgen Bey.
Organised by Design Republic, the festival prioritises providing free access to the public.
As part of the event, Dezeen is hosting the "How to establish a Chinese design narrative" talk on 14 November at Design Republic's Shanghai showroom, 511 Jiangning Road.
Dezeen is a media partner for Festival of Design 2023.
Wearable Interface
11 to 30 November 2023, Shanghai
Wearable Interface is an immersive exhibition developed by Chinese digital art studio UFO Lab that aims to challenge understandings of digital media and the physical body.
A circular space will be covered in LED screens, creating an immersive theatre that invites visitors to interact with the screens as if they are part of the physical body, blurring the boundaries between humans and machines, physical and virtual worlds.
Founded in 2010, UFO Lab is one of the earliest digital art studios in China that explores the chemistry between art, design and technology.
About Dezeen Events Guide
Dezeen Events Guide is our guide to the best architecture and design events taking place across the world each year. The guide is updated weekly and includes virtual events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks.
Inclusion in the guide is free for basic listings, with events selected at Dezeen's discretion. Organisers can get standard, enhanced or featured listings for their events, including images, additional text and links, by paying a modest fee.
In addition, events can ensure inclusion by partnering with Dezeen. For more details on inclusion in Dezeen Events Guide and media partnerships with Dezeen, email eventsguide@dezeen.com.