WEIRD ARCHITECTURE

Artistic Project & Achitectural Research

carried out in Shanghai (Mar-Aug 2017)

during the Swatch Art Peace Hotel 6-months Artist Residency

continued in Italy and completed in February 2018

Swatch Art Peace Hotel (Link){https://www.swatch-art-peace-hotel.com/virtual-museum/Matteo-Biella-64}

Weird Architecture can be regarded as a rather recent phenomenon resulting from the Deng XiaoPing's opening-up and reforms process (改革开放 gaige kaifang), but in my view it can be traced back to when China firstly opened to foreign trade and western culture (1840).

From that moment until the proclamation of the PRC (1949), Weird Architecture has been shaping Shanghai with new layers of weirdness that depended on Shanghai continuous strive for being the center of attention and the center-point of commerce.

Weird architecture was called for a stop during a symposium in Beijing in 2014, but in my view it should be promoted and encouraged, especially when innovation, experimentation with new materials, implementation of cutting-edge solutions etc etc... are put forth because of the desire to build a new so called weird building.

The project ultimately aims at celebrating the Weird Architecture of present & past Shanghai as a compelling phenomenon that brought advancements and advantages in terms of reputation and image of the city but also as an intrinsic necessity for the future of the city and architecture.