Description
In this workshop, participants will delve into the historic Peace Hotel in Shanghai, renowned for its nine distinctive, country-themed suites. Inspired by J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned World (1962) and his semi-autobiographical novel Empire of the Sun (1984), the workshop challenges students to reimagine these suites in a future where climate change has reshaped the urban landscape.The Drowned World imagines a future in which rising seas have turned much of the Earth into a submerged, tropical expanse, where cities become surreal lagoons filled with decaying skyscrapers.
In the workshop, participants will use this futuristic vision to reinterpret one of the nine country suites (China, Japan, India, England, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, or the USA), imagining how each suite might transform in a submerged Shanghai. How would these spaces reflect the effects of climate change? How would cultural themes in each suite adapt within this post-apocalyptic, yet lushly aquatic environment?
Participants will be supported by AI as a design tool to generate visual references and inspirations, blending AI-generated imagery with hand-crafted objects and recycled materials to build each room’s model.
This final 3x3 montage of models will reflect a dynamic reinterpretation of the Peace Hotel, where each room merges fantasy, future thinking, kindness and resilience. The workshop will also collaborate with Swatch Art Peace Hotel and Fairmont Peace Hotel for exclusive site visits and exhibitions.
| Period | 10 Feb 2025 → 14 Feb 2025 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Workshop |
| Location | Suzhou, ChinaShow on map |