Architecture on the move: Urban and architectural design in Inner Mongolia

Abstract

In Ordos, located 80 minutes' flying time west of Beijing, a new city is being built from scratch. With an expected population of 150,000 inhabitants by 2020, this development will test the idea of what it means to be Chinese in the twenty-first century. Interestingly, the cultural industries have become a part of the urban program. Located in the northeast of the city, the Ordos Cultural Creative Industry Park will become a testing ground for different intertwining aspects of the cultural industries in China. A part of the development is already unique: throughout the first half of 2008, 100 international architects from 27 different countries were invited to Ordos in order for each to design a 1000 square metre villa in the desert. This article discusses the creation of the Ordos Cultural Creativite Industry Park from different angles, touching upon the urban discussion in China, the policy of cultural industries, the establishment of creative business districts and the experience of foreign architects operating in China.

Acknowledgements

In the context of ORDOS100, MovingCities has acted as embedded architects. While the term could be applied to many historical interactions between journalists and military personnel, it first came to be used in the media coverage of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In order to find new ways of reporting on the state of the contemporary city, MovingCities drives on the philosophy of embedded architectural journalism, travelling to, reporting from and engaging with those places where architecture and cities are questioned, in the making or absent.

This paper draws from former analysis and writings developed around the subject that were published by Bert de Muynck/MovingCities in MARK Magazine (NL), Perspective Magazine (HK), Urban China (CN), ArtForum (CN) and the MovingCities website throughout 2008.

Notes

1. A few examples of the worldwide media attention generated through ORDOS100 include ‘Xanadu 2.0’ (Urbane China [CN], January 2008); ‘Herzog Picks 100 Architects for Inner Mongolia Housing Project’ (Building Design [UK], February 2008); ‘DRDH to Design Mongolian Villa’ (The Architects' Journal [UK], March 2008), ‘Young Residential Architects Invade Mongolia’ (Architectural Record [US], March 2008), ‘Dawn of New Century: Ordos100’ (Urbane China [CN], April 2008), ‘In Inner Mongolia, Pushing Architecture's Outer Limits’ (New York Times [US], May 2008) and ‘Ordos 100’ (Icon [UK], June 2008).

2. Depending on the source of the targets, figures regarding the size of the development and number of inhabitants for the new district vary. A general tendency is that the new district will have a size between 150 and 200 square kilometres and is intended for a population of between 150,000 and 200,000 inhabitants.