A Structure of Feeling
On a New Generation of Architects in China
On the eve of the Aedes exhibition opening, the talk brings together the participating architects and experts from Germany to reflect on the profound transformations currently reshaping China.
Dali Transformer Factory Theatrical District, Dali, Yunnan, CN, 2023. © Xiazhi
Date: Thu., 02.07.26, 18:30
Place: Aedes, Christinenstr. 18–19, 10119 Berlin
Registration: www.eventbrite.de
The event will take place in English. Admission is free.
Introduction
Twenty-five years ago, Aedes presented TUMU, an exhibition that brought a generation of young independent Chinese architects to international attention for the first time. A Structure of Feeling builds on that legacy, turning its gaze towards a new generation working under changed conditions.
The title draws on Raymond Williams’ concept of the ‘structure of feeling’: a shared experience in the process of becoming, which resists straightforward description. The exhibition follows the traces of that shared experience, making them legible through concrete works — as a snapshot of shifting architectural practice.
This accompanying talk brings together perspectives on the adaptive reuse of existing structures, the transformation of rural areas, and emerging forms of spatial production at a moment when a period of rapid expansion in China is giving way to a more differentiated mode of development. The discussion situates these positions within a broader international context.
Programme
Welcome and Introduction
Dunya Bouchi, Aedes Berlin
Gao Changjun (Kris), Curator, Shanghai
Short presentations
- Bu Xiaojun & Zhang Yingfan, Atelier Alter Architects, New York/Beijing
- Fan Beilei, genarchitects, Shanghai
- Meng Fanhao, line+ studio, Hangzhou & Shanghai & Hong Kong
- Liu Kenan, Atelier XÜK, Shanghai
- LiuYang & Xu Dan, DL Atelier, Beijing (tbc)
- Shui Yanfei, Yanfei Architects, Shanghai (tbc)
- Qi Shanshan, Studio QI Architects, Hangzhou/New York
- Zhuang Ziyu, BUZZ | Büro Ziyu Zhuang Architects, Beijing/Shanghai/Berlin
Discussion
- Gao Changjun (Kris), Curator, Shanghai
- Erhard An-He Kinzelbach, Founder, KNOWSPACE, Berlin / Professor, Department of Architectural Design and Building Construction, Bochum University of Applied Sciences
- Eduard Kögel, Curator and Urban Planner, Berlin
- Binke Lenhardt, Co-founder and Partner, Crossboundaries, Beijing / Frankfurt a. Main / Professor Sustainable Design, Faculty of Architecture, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Dortmund
- moderated by Jacopo Benedetti, Assistant Professor, Tongji University, Shanghai / Academic Editor of A Structure of Feeling
Followed by a preview of the exhibition A Structure of Feeling and a get-together
