Yunpeng Xu

Space in Flux

The Luohu Port on the border between Shenzhen and Hongkong encapsulates the history of the interaction between China and the outside world. From British colony to Japanese annexation, to the frontier of economic reform, to the ongoing twin city relationship, the bridge had witnessed every significant change between the two cities. Taking on the opportunity of a projected border renew program, I am looking to explore the possibility of turning the entry port into a cultural hub that exhibits the history, current, and future of the two cities. 

A bridge is a transitional space that pushes users through it. An opera house is a destination that asks users to stay. The thesis explores the possibilities of border crossing bridge conditions and forms of architecture to embody them. What are the topologies of a border crossing bridge? How can separate spaces interact with each other under the framework of given restriction? How can we utilize these conditions to create a space that’s open to narratives like the stage and scene setting of an opera house.  

Flux means the action or process of flowing or flowing out, let it be travelers, spectators, stories and memories, or visions of future. A bridge becomes not only a transitional space that funnels people through it efficiently, but also a destination where people are prone to linger, a scene setting in the opera house where stories are told, and a venue of greater possibilities.