NAI @ Shenzhen Biennale 2011

Over recent years, the Shenzhen biennale in China has become one of the most important architectural biennales in the world. The fourth edition of the Shenzhen & Hong Kong bi-city biennale of architectureurbanism took place from 8 December 2011 until 10 February 2012. The biennale invited Netherlands Architecture Institute director Ole Bouman to create a Dutch pavilion at one of the main venues. This request resulted in the exhibition Housing with a Mission,  on Sino-Dutch collaboration in social housing, which was awarded the Organizer Committee Award.

'Housing with a Mission' displayed design solutions for affordable housing that were developed as part of a joint Dutch-Chinese project. The collaboration was interesting for both parties: The Netherlands will have the opportunity to share their expertise in housing and China has challenging work for architects. The designs will be realized in 2012 in Beijing by the Chinese project developer and NAi partner VANKE.

Dutch architects have been working in China for some time. How does their presence affect Chinese architecture? How do the architects benefit from working with the Chinese? Can their joint efforts provide solutions for problems in Chinese society? The exhibition 'Housing with a Mission' provided answers to these questions and showed visitors the process that international collaborations go through to find a common language. 

Matching Dutch and Chinese Architects 

Housing with a Mission' is the product of NAi's matchmaking programme in which Dutch architecture expertise is matched with international community projects. With this background in mind, NAi selected five Dutch architecture firms (NL Architects, Arons en Gelauff architecten, NEXT architects, KCAP and BARCODE Architects) and five Chinese architecture firms (Urbanus, Standard, NODE, O-Office and CAFA University) for this project, which consisted of developing new concepts for high-quality affordable housing . 

Ant Tribe 

The housing is intended for a group of people in China that is often overlooked: graduates with a low income, also known as 'ant tribe'. The starters, who often live in poor conditions, are actually very important for society because they constitute a large group of highly educated people who are not afraid to speak up. China's future is in their hands. It's crucial that this group stay in Beijing, which is why good housing is a high priority for the Chinese government. There is also a lot of opportunity here for project developers and architects.

The exhibition Housing with a Mission focused on the process of working together to find a common language, but also showcased the low living conditions in which low income graduates are living today and what their improved housing of tomorrow might become.