The 2015 Shenzhen-Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture officially opened on December 4. MAD participated in the "Pearl River Delta 2.0" exhibition with the "Future Sea Forest Island" and attended the roundtable forum on December 5 with the theme of "Pearl River Delta 2.0 and Experimental Spirit: Possible Third Storm", discussing with other exhibitors the solutions to the problems faced by future urban development in the Pearl River Delta region. Taking Qianhai, Shenzhen as the research object, the "Future Sea Forest Island" proposed by MAD is a public space with a single-line connection channel to the opposite bank city. It exists in a non-urban, non-utopia form and is a land art work that confronts the replicated reality.

Existing reality: expansion to the ocean is the way of urban sprawl

Shenzhen Qianhai was once a "forgotten land", but as the "backbone" of the Pearl River Delta, connecting Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, this geographical advantage destined Qianhai to be reclaimed and developed. In the postmodern society that uses high density to exchange for economic balance, Qianhai has become another version of Manhattan. The square box representing capital is infinitely replicated and stacked vertically. As human desires expand, the Qianhai line is invading the ocean.

Since the 1990s, Shenzhen Bay has occupied sea area due to land reclamation, which has led to a decrease in tidal volume in the bay, weakened seawater dynamics in the bay, and a natural siltation rate that is faster than the self-healing capacity, resulting in pollution and siltation. Compared with Shenzhen Bay, the future water cycle of Qianhai is not optimistic.

Realistic ideal: a poetic resistance to reality

“Future Sea Forest Island” is MAD’s fantasy of resistance to the future reality that Shenzhen Qianhai Bay is about to face. Just like Central Park in downtown New York, it stands in the sea with great contrast, poetically confronting the Qianhai Development Zone on the opposite bank. In order to ensure that the area around “Future Sea Forest Island” is not affected by water pollution, MAD opened up the existing reclamation area on the west side of Qianhai Bay to ensure smooth water circulation in the area, thus building this reclamation area into a land art work with only a single-line connection channel to the opposite city. Only by giving up transportation and returning to the original state of movement can you enter.

The "Future Sea Forest Island" is a paradise for humans to escape from modern civilization. There is no reality here. All natural things such as wind, rain, sea and mountains are processed by information technology, providing a new virtual wonderland. In other words, man-made is nature here. It is also a communist community that has nothing to do with economic development. It proposes free and open social rules and encourages creative leisure methods.

Exhibition Information
MAD Future Sea Forest Island
2015 Shenzhen-Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture—“Pearl River Delta 2.0”
Time: December 4, 2015—February 28, 2016
Location: Shenzhen Former Dacheng Flour Mill and Warehouse No. 8 (Second floor of the main exhibition hall, intersection of Shekou Harbor Avenue and Songhu Road)