In 2002, Ai Weiwei, Herzog and de Meuron, and 17 architects gathered to design small pavilions with loose programs to populate a new park on the north bank of a river. The pavilions' overall them is of fantasy, dreams, and transformation. Ai Weiwei's desire was for children and students nearby to grow up in this environment and how that will change their views and China's, both domestically and internationally. Ai Weiwei and Fake Design designed the Ai Qing Culture Park across the river from the park as well. After Ai Weiwei's controversal arrest, the park has not been maintained or preserved and has fallen into disrepair.
The architects include: Till Schweizer, Christ & Gantenbein, Tatiana Bilbao, HHF, Liu Jiakun, Wang Xing Wei & Xu Tian Tian, Buchner Brundler, Ding Yi & Chen Shu Yu, Wang Shu, Ai Weiwei, Toshiko Mori, Erhard Kinzelbach, Fun Design Consultant, Fernando Romero/LAR, Herzog & de Meuron, Michael Maltzan, & FCJZ.
They designed, respectively: The Welcome Center, Ancient Tree, Exhibition Space, Baby Dragon, Tea Room, Toilet, Manager Room, Internet Cafe, Coffee House, Archaeological Archive, Newspaper Stand, Multimedia Room, Restaurant, Tea House, Reading Space, Book Bar, & Multifunctional Space.
Style/Period
People's Republic_access of China (1949 CE - Present)
Source
Godel, Addison. "China 2011: Architecture and Urbanism in the 21st-Century Supercity." Knowlton School of Architecture. December 2011.
