2024 World Architecture Festival (WAF) announced the shortlist, 751 D·PARK Sound Installations designed by PILLS was shortlisted in the category of Future Projects: Experimental. World Architecture Festival (WAF) is the world's largest and most reputable festival and live awards competition dedicated to celebrating and sharing architectural excellence from across the globe. 616 entries were received for this year's WAF, and a total of 395 entries were shortlisted after being evaluated by international jury members. In 2020, PILLS Studio was commissioned by Beijing 751 Park to collaborate with producer Yadong Zhang to create a set of sound art installations for the park. We utilizes four principles of sound - transmission, echo, visualization, and environmental sound to create a series of speakers, including a dragonfly, a fox, a rabbit, a hedgehog, and a rabbit, which are implanted in the space. This series of speakers bridges the connection between space and sound within the site, becoming a dynamic, interactive sound field , creating a comprehensive experience of auditory, visual, and tactile senses for people. The industrial park has transformed from producing goods to a place that generates stories and carries meaning, serving as a unique spatial form and a living fossil of collective memory in the city.

On April 30th, the “A Vision of Co-Habitation | 2024 Shenzhen Public Building Achievements Exhibition" officially opened at the Shenzhen Civic Center. Zhang Liwei, Vice Mayor of Shenzhen, Academician Meng Jianmin, Director Li Zhuo and Ouyang Ying of Bureau of Public Works of Shenzhen Municipality, visited to provide guidance. The exhibition, organized by Bureau of Public Works of Shenzhen Municipality, curated by Wang Zigeng, and designed by PILLS, saw collaboration with various entities including Shanghai Fengyuzhu Culture Technology Co., Ltd., Silkroad Visual Technology Co., Ltd., SURE Design, and Far East Photovoltaic Technology (Guangdong) Co., Ltd., to present multi-level design displays and exchange forms. Themed “A Vision of Co-Habitation," the exhibition showcased public architecture cases closely related to people's livelihoods such as education, healthcare, culture, and water affairs. It highlighted Shenzhen's efforts and achievements in humanistic care, sponge city construction, digital intelligent construction, and the application of green and low-carbon technologies. While reviewing the history of Shenzhen's public construction, it aimed to inspire people's imagination and expectations for a harmonious future life.

On March 21, 2024, the 9th Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB) Won the United States MUSE Design Awards Platinum Award, the highest Award in the Exhibition & Events Category. The MUSE Design Awards is an international competition aimed at recognizing outstanding creativity in the design field, enhancing the standards of the design industry, and encouraging and stimulating designers' creativity. Andong Lu, Zigeng Wang, and Aric Chen were appointed as chief curators, and PILLS Studio was the business entity of the curation team. Against the background of the global climate crisis and the ecological shift in urban development models, the 9th UABB focuses on “Urban Cosmologies” as the theme, responding to the important role of urban and architectural design in this systemic change, reflecting on the relationship between humans and nature, and showcasing a complete urban ecosystem.

After years of preparation, the PILLS website (www.pills.com.cn) is officially launched! Our official website presents dozens of projects, hundreds of news, and dozens of articles and publications of the studio as an archive, making it the most comprehensive information platform about PILLS.

On February 8, 2024, the 9th Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB) won the Best Building & Story of China Award for the annual events sector. Andong Lu, Zigeng Wang, and Aric Chen were appointed as chief curators, and PILLS Studio was the business entity of the curation team. Against the background of the global climate crisis and the ecological shift in urban development models, the 9th UABB focuses on “Urban Cosmologies” as the theme, responding to the important role of urban and architectural design in this systemic change, reflecting on the relationship between humans and nature, and showcasing a complete urban ecosystem. In the “List of Creativity 2023-2024” released at the Best Building & Story of China Award, 50 noteworthy “creators” were listed in four dimensions: space, brand, event, and character/institution. This list is not only an award recognition but also an observation and co-creation of the current phenomenon of diverse and symbiotic creators and the trend of creativity.

The selection results of the IDA International Design Awards in the United States have been officially announced. PILLS Project “Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base City Showroom Design" won the “2023 IDA International Design Awards - Silver Award". The IDA (International Design Award) is one of the most authoritative international design awards in the United States, aimed at recognizing and promoting visionary design works and uncovering emerging talents in the five major fields of architecture, interior, product, graphic, and fashion design. The Super Headquarters Base is located in the core area of Qianhai, Shenzhen, and is of great exemplary significance for building a future urban super core. The design of the Super Headquarters Base City Showroom combines technology and circulation to create a spatial narrative, utilizing interactive models and multimedia devices to create an immersive experience with multiple senses. It guides emotional rhythms with light, space, and materials to accommodate diverse exhibitions. The plan flexibly utilizes cutting-edge visual language to express urban concepts and values, create an atmosphere, construct narratives, and depict the blueprint of Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters as the urban gateway in the construction process of the Greater Bay Area, showcasing the achievements of Shenzhen's urban construction.

The inD Guangzhou Art Book Fair was held from 2024 January 11th to 14th at Guangzhou Future Society. PILLS was invited to exhibit two books, “An Underground Guide to Sewers" and “This Way Madness Lies." Digital branding Aifanyi, global knowledge Feng Lei, and Dirty Pixel co-host the inD Art Book Fair. We want to collaborate with the public to use experimental art publications as a medium to carry out marginal creativity, discovering and exploring more unknown creative fields. PILLS collaborates with Utopia on the new book “An Underground Guide to Sewers - The Folding History of Underground Cities," translated by Zigeng Wang and PILLS Studio. The book combines over 400 images related to sewers and presents the intricate story of humanity's transition from filth to civilization over 6000 years through high-density visual materials. “This Way Madness Lies - The Past and Present of Mental Hospitals," reviewed by Zigeng Wang and PILLS Studio. This book tracks the history of mental illness and its treatment through the story of the Royal Hospital of Bethlehem in the UK. It outlines the evolution of mental illness treatment institutions represented by Bethlehem from the 18th century to the 21st century in terms of architectural design, treatment methods, management systems, and external relations.

On December 25, 2023, PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited to deliver a lecture on “Colloids, Capsules, and Electricity" in the Frontier of Architecture Course Series at Tongji University. This lecture delves into the shifting landscape of contemporary manufacturing, focusing on production economics, automation, enclosed environmental control, synthetic materials, simulacrum, electricity power, screen applications, and technological optimism. The lecture ranges from case-by-case comparisons of everyday products such as sneakers, cell phones, and automobiles to in-depth analysis of spaces such as space capsules, shopping malls, factories, and theme parks, combined with visual juxtapositions of mass media contents from social media, illustration, film, and television, to map out a technological context and cognitive framework that is undergoing a dramatic transformation at the moment. The speaker intends to divert the disciplinary attention of architecture toward the latent changes yet to be reflected in education and practice and suggests that our age calls for a different kind of idea for architecture. Based on observations and critical thinking from these areas, the speaker draws a potential vision toward a new architectural future akin to Disneylization.

In December 2023, PILLS chief architect Zigeng Wang and researchers Jingyi Liu and Canqi Mu were invited to share a lecture series titled “Eisenstein and Architectural Montage” at the Montage Research Project of the China International Design Museum. This lecture series was shared within the “Content and Illustration” course at the School of Innovative Design, Chinese Academy of Fine Arts. Several Russian Montage experts in the field of history and art were invited for exchange. The course of “Eisenstein and Architectural Montage” is divided into three chapters: the first part introduces the definition of montage based on Eisenstein's films. The second part explores Eisenstein's understanding of architectural design from his literature. The third part discusses the influence of artist Piranesi on Eisenstein's ideas and Eisenstein's inspiration for later architects such as Bernard Tschumi and Le Corbusier. The course covers architectural examples such as the Glass House, the Acropolis of Athens, the canopy base relief of St. Peter's Basilica, the Manhattan Transcript, and the theory of Architectural Promenade.

The 28th session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) was held in the United Arab Emirates from November 30 to December 12, 2023. This conference is a milestone in global climate governance, bringing together world leaders, climate change opinion leaders, green innovation enterprises, and international mainstream media to seek specific solutions to address climate change. PILLS was invited by the Vanke Foundation to participate in the planning and completion of the “Meeting Mei Hao" - Meisha Carbon Neutrality Community Flash Event held at the Biosphere No.3 Solution Hall. Based on the multiple limitations of venue and exhibition conditions, we have chosen to use three-dimensional books as the basic concept of this exhibition. Through various methods such as models, videos, images, and sound devices, we vividly present the low-carbon practices of the Meisha Community in Yantian District, Shenzhen. We hope to make the on-site audience feel that “carbon neutrality is not the goal in itself; the goal is a better life" through sustainable exhibition design.

The London Design Awards, an internationally renowned design award, recently announced winner list. In 2023, the competition attracted over 2800 entries from 45 countries. The PILLS space design for the Wu Jian'an Large Solo Exhibition: “The Huge Sand Dunes are the Bed of the Sea" stood out and won the highest honor in the Interior Design category - the Platinum Award.  This solo exhibition is a largescale personal exhibition organized by artist Wu Jian'an at the Silk Road International Art Exchange Center in September 2021. PILLS was invited to be the spatial designer for this exhibition. The plan created a surreal field in a more than 1000 square meter exhibition hall, with a five-meter high sand dune, black ocean, endless mirror, rising and setting sun. Together with the artist's works, they completed a dream, the eternal cycle of reincarnation.

On November 12-19, 2023, PILLS Studio went to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha for collective team building (learning), visiting and inspecting excellent buildings and exhibition projects such as Dubai World Expo City, Qatar National Museum, and Islamic Art Museum.

On November 5th, during the exhibition “Renzo Piano Architecture Studio - Living Buildings," the “From Building to Living: Concerto of Craftsmanship & Humanities" architectural forum series was held in the Art Museum BY ART MATTERS in Hangzhou. PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited as the host of the roundtable discussion on “Architecture Affects Life." Forum guests also include Renzo Piano, founder of Renzo Piano Architecture Studio; Francesco Bonami, director of the Art Museum BY ART MATTERS; as well as Chen Chen, Qian Hu, Heng Kang, Hao Lu, Wenyu Lu, Xiaodu Liu, and others. They shared their unique insights on architecture and cities, architecture and life via lectures, discussions, and other forms.

On November 5th, Zigeng Wang, the curator of the 9th Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB) of Shenzhen and Hong Kong and the host architect of PILLS, was invited to attend and deliver a speech in the “The Future Path of Sustainable Ecological Innovation" forum at the 2023 International Youth Sustainable Innovation Summit. This forum is held at the Carbon Neutrality Experimental Park of Shenzhen Dameisha Vanke Center, with the theme “Innovation Empowers the Future." It brings together 100 creators worldwide who have made outstanding contributions and had exceptional influence in sustainable innovation, providing innovative solutions to address environmental and sustainable development issues. Zigeng Wang shared in the lecture how the curation team of the 9th UABB broke through the initial government's “dual carbon" proposition and responded to the theme of “sustainable development" with a broader concept of “interest generation," reflecting on the relationship between humans and nature.

In October 2023, PILLS won the second prize in the solicitation of design proposals for the “Tencent Dachan Bay Public Art Project" (the first prize vacant). The Tencent Dachan Bay project is located in the urban core area of Qianhai Bay, Shenzhen, and is positioned as an “Internet Plus" future science and technology city. In this context, PILLS was invited to complete a public art project design proposal for Dachan Bay, including exhibition planning, artwork recommendation, cost estimation, and post-operation planning. PILLS proposes to construct a Tencent art-sharing platform through multiple organizational methods, connecting Tencent's internal technical strength with external art resources and empowering Tencent's technology incubation and product innovation. The design intends to upgrade the strategy of art intervention in cities through multiple modes of digital and real integration, bringing a fully connected future to Dachan Bay. Technology becomes tangible through art planning and design based on the concept of “Cosmologic Symbiosis, Connected Together." Public art fields are used as carriers to show Tencent's scientific and technological image and social responsibility as an Internet enterprise to the public, creating a dynamic area with scientific, technological, artistic, and humanistic feelings.

On October 20th, DP LAB (Dongpeng Innovation Laboratory) and Fiber/áunn Museum jointly launched the second round of the Sustainable Green Building Initiative “WAKEN RE: THE 2ND MINE" in Foshan, Guangdong. PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited to participate in the “Remains of Time and Urban Renewal" theme forum. Forum guests include co-founder Qian Hu of the ISOZAKI + HuQian Partners, co-founders Yijing Xu and Neil Mclean Gaddes of SANS Studio, and curator Changjun Gao. They shared case studies and perspectives on urban factory renewal from their respective professional perspectives.

On October 10th, 2023, the results of the “2023 Hainan Island Scenic Route Key Stations Planning and Design International Competition" were announced. PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited as a final critic. He attended the award ceremony along with experts in the field of architectural design, such as Baofeng Li, Kecheng Liu, Jiwei Sun, and Bin Zhang.

On October 12th, PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited to attend the “Ma Yansong: Landscape in Motion" forum series, titled “The Publicity of Cities and Buildings," held at the Experimental Theater of Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning. The MAD Architecture Partners hosted the forum. The attending guests include Yansong Ma, founding partner of MAD Architecture; Rongyuan Zhu, former vice chief planner of China Academy of Urban Planning and Design; Xiaodu Liu, director of Shenzhen Pingshan Art Museum; Zigeng Wang, PILLS host architect; and Heng Liu, architect of the NODE Architecture & Urbanism. During the forum, guests engaged in roundtable discussions on the creation power of cities, communities, and buildings, expanding the topic of architecture to various aspects of urban public life.

On October 8, 2023, PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited to attend the “FCJZ 30 Years” seminar held on the 9th floor of the Longfu Building in Beijing. The event was hosted by Kai Cui, an academician of the CAE Member and chief editor of the Journal of Architecture. Shu Wang, president of the School of Architecture and Arts of China Academy of Fine Arts and founder of amateur architecture studio; Cundong Li, secretary-general of China Architectural Society; Jiakun Liu, architect in charge of Jiakun Architectural Design Firm; Weimin Zhuang, academician of the CAE Member, professor of the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University; and Xiangning Li, dean and professor of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University (online) delivered speeches successively, paying tribute to and congratulating on the 30-year history of the FCJZ studio, At the same time, we also hope that this review and discussion activity can stimulate more in-depth thinking on architectural practice, culture, and education during the current transformation period of urban development in China.

On October 5, 2023, the “Space, Art, Curate - Public Art Forum" was held in Beijing's 751 Park. PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited to give a lecture on “Installation, Space, and Biennale: Several Methods to be Involved in Urban Publicness". This forum aims to build a cross-disciplinary communication and cooperation platform for art and space managers, researchers, and practitioners to jointly explore how to create diverse spatial values through public art, activate spatial vitality, and promote the construction of urban and rural cultural ecosystems. In this speech by Zigeng Wang, he shared representative works from PILLS Studio, such as the “Cosmologic Symbiosis" performance installation at the 9th Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB) Opening Ceremony and the conceptual design of the 751 Park sound installation, in response to the issue of how to use spatial art to reflect narrative and artistic topics.

Invited by the “Education and Discussion" public education section of the 751 International Design Festival, Mi Yan, the editorial director and publisher of ELLE DECORATION, planned and hosted a special forum with the theme of “The Careness of Design." PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited as a guest speaker at the forum. Zigeng Wang believes that when facing the question of “how to create the careness of technology in the digital age," designers should think about “making art an incubator for enterprises, rather than a burden for enterprises." He mentioned Tencent's Dachan Bay public art project as an example to explain what “the careness of technology" can bring to Dachan Bay.

The 13th 751 International Design Festival “Inheritance and Return” FUTURE PAST was held from September 27th to October 6th at the 751 Park in Beijing. The PILLS sculpture series “Relationship” was invited to participate in the exhibition. This design festival has invited Naiyi Wang and Tianchong Xue as curators. The theme exhibition “Narratives of Love” is hosted by the 751 International Design Festival and jointly supported by the School of Design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and the International Federation of Art and Design Schools (Cumulus). Our work is a subtle observation and empathy of existing objects in the city, based on the relationship between the two unseen objects in daily life, to express the complexity of interdependence and constraints in emotional relationships.

From September 2023 to September 2026, Professor Zigeng Wang was appointed as a specially invited course supervisor at the Institute of Beautiful China at the Central Academy of Fine Arts for three years.

On September 22nd, the “Jean Prouvé: Crossing Design Boundaries" global tour opened. This special exhibition invited outstanding architects, designers, and artists such as Zigeng Wang, Yujie Luo, and Yanfei Shui to use nine of Jean Prouvé's iconic chairs as the medium for secondary creations. The “Biao Zhun Chair" was co-created by PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang and MotivMfg brand founder and fashion designer Guanglun Gu. Zigeng Wang attended the opening ceremony of the special exhibition and the academic forum for research sharing. The creation of the “Biao Zhun Chair" features layering and stitching pieces of blue workwear typical in the 1960s to 1980s China. The Layered fabrics were then solidified using resin. Echoing the industrial “standards" innovated a hundred years ago in Jean Prouvé's chair with the “standards" of the Chinese collectivist era. The compressing layers of fabric, similar to the “thousand-layer sole," not only imparts a unique texture distinct from conventional board materials but also pays homage to the daring experimentation with the new technology of “composite laminated boards" in the furniture industry a century ago. After stripping the paint from the chair's steel structure, the two collaborating studios' employees from PILLS and MotivMfg conveyed their thoughts on “what defines the Chinese standard and how it differs from Western standards" through graffiti-style engravings on the chair. These expressions provide diverse perspectives on the disparities and intersections between cultures and eras. Through the Standard Chair, we aim to foster a dialogue that transcends culture and time.

The installation “Living Together,” designed by PILLS Studio for the 9th UABB Opening Ceremony, has been longlisted for the 2023 Dezeen Awards Installation Design Category. The Dezeen Design Award is one of the world's largest and most authoritative annual design competitions, aiming to recognize the world's best architecture, interior, and design projects, along with outstanding creative organizations and individuals. It has become an essential benchmark for measuring excellent design internationally. This year's award received over 4800 entries from 94 countries. Sixteen projects have been shortlisted for the installation design category. “Living Together” is a spherical structure with nine large lantern installations. The design of each group of lanterns is based on the cone at the bottom of the fermentation tank in the brewery, and the surface is covered with nine patterns, including land, vegetation, and animals. This device is coordinated with the opening ceremony dance performance, where dancers gather and combine the scattered “petals” in various corners of the venue in different ways, becoming the main form of the performance. The immersive performance format introduces the relationships between various exhibition areas and integrates the audience's viewing experience with the interaction between actors and exhibits. The performance echoes the theme of this year's UABB by aggregating it into a complete form, which is the harmonious coexistence of people and all things. We gather strength within the city and embrace diverse values throughout the city. The gathering of nine themes implies the journey of the ninth UABB and expresses the collaboration and friendship between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

On September 5, 2023, Zigeng Wang, founder and host architect of PILLS Studio, was invited to give a lecture on “Identity and Relevance: My Recent Work" at the 2023 Academic Salon of Chongqing University School of Architecture and Urban Planning. Guest speakers included General Manager and Chief Architect Dongzhu Chu of Chongqing Design Institute Co., Professor Yuzhen Yang and Haoyan Wei of Architecture at Chongqing University, and Hao Long as the lecture host. In his speech, Zigeng Wang started with “identity" and presented representative cases of PILLS's recent practices from multiple dimensions, such as film history consultants, artists, curators, and designers. Through the analysis of various works such as the movie “Hidden Man," “Two Mickies," “1994", the “Venice Shougang Centenary Achievement Exhibition," and the “9th Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB) of Shenzhen and Hong Kong", he actively explored the possibility of producing narrative and speculative multimedia spaces from different perspectives in the fields of architecture, art, and installation.

On August 26, 2023, the National Art Fund's Art Talent Training Program, “Art Museum Virtual Curatorial Talent Training," invited Zigeng Wang to give lectures to the students. Zigeng Wang is the associate professor of the School of Architecture, Vice Director of the Department of Architecture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and host architect of PILLS Studio. The Central Academy of Fine Arts is mainly responsible for undertaking teaching arrangements. It cultivates high-level practical curators through theoretical lectures, investigation and research, workshops, and other training activities through multi-dimensional, cross-disciplinary, virtual, and realistic course content and training methods. Zigeng Wang explains PILLS's concepts in recent fields such as architecture and space, art installations, and exhibition design, exploring the cross-media practice of space and exhibition through his own experience and his PILLS studio.

On August 3, 2023, Zigeng Wang was appointed as an expert and curator for the China Pavilion project at the 2025 Osaka World Expo in Japan. The World Expo is a large-scale international exhibition that brings together multiple countries or international organizations to showcase the achievements of humanity in social, economic, cultural, and technological fields. The Osaka World Expo in Japan, with the theme of “Building a Future Society and Imagining Tomorrow's Life," will be held from April 13 to October 13, 2025. The Chinese Pavilion of this World Expo will focus on cultural exhibitions and activities, further promoting cultural exchanges, civil friendship, and people-to-people exchanges between China and countries worldwide, including Japan, and promoting common progress of civilization through exchange and mutual learning. Zigeng Wang will participate as an expert and curator in the curation and exhibition design of the China Pavilion project at the World Expo.

On the evening of August 11th, PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited to participate in the opening dialogue of the artist James Jean's solo exhibition “Eternal Spiral III - James Jean." The conversation revolves around the theme of “Narrative into the World," where Zigeng Wang and James Jean engage in discussions on exhibition concepts, artist creative techniques, and the impact of AI on design and art. The next day, James Jean's first large-scale art museum solo exhibition officially opened at the Shenzhen Sea World Culture & Arts Center.

On August 7, 2023, the pre-evaluation of the "2023 Hainan Island Scenic Route Key Stations Planning and Design International Competition" was held in Haikou. Zigeng Wang, founder and host architect of PILLS, was invited as a critic. After careful voting and discussions by the judging panel, three route key stations and fifteen participating units were finally selected.

Recently, the “9th Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB) of Shenzhen and Hong Kong", curated by Zigeng Wang, founder and host architect of PILLS, has been shortlisted for the “Urban Innovation Award" at the 2nd Sanlian City for Humanity Awards in 2023. This Award includes five sub-awards: Public Space Award, Architectural Contribution Award, Community Development Award, Eco-Friendly Award, and Urban Innovation Award. The “Urban Innovation Award" aims to recognize projects that actively explore the social significance and humanistic care in cities with experimental and innovative qualities, including space design, public art, and urban events. Against the background of the global climate crisis and the ecological transition of urban development patterns, the 9th UABB, with the theme of “Urban Cosmologies," responds to the important role of cities and architectural design in this systemic change, rethinking the relationship between humans and nature, and presenting the whole living city. The 9th UABB invited 318 exhibitors from 15 countries to participate, presenting 239 works. These works explore the close relationship between life and the environment, diverse ecological perspectives, interdisciplinary dialogues and experiments, as well as the continuous innovation and action of urban and architectural practitioners under environmental protection concepts. It focuses on global issues such as urban climate and ecological changes while addressing everyday topics such as current lifestyles and stray animals, collectively exploring new prospects for future cities.

On July 21st, the Project Achievement Report of the Chikan New Area Cultural Architecture “Overseas Culture: Future Chikan New Landmark" was successfully held. The People's Government of Kaiping City, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province, and Shanghai Fengyuzhu Culture and Technology jointly initiated the project. It is the world's first international empowerment program for overseas cultural architecture. Eight groups of renowned architects, led by academician Jingtang He from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, were invited to participate in designing the “Chikan New Area Cultural Architecture Cluster" with eight spiritual buildings. PILLS founder and host architect Zigeng Wang was invited to be responsible for the architectural design of the Situ Library, one of the eight buildings. Zigeng Wang reported on the current design of the Situ Library building. The design concept extracts the Lingnan courtyard's unique gap spaces, structural networks, and indoor-outdoor relationships. It creates a pleasant learning and quiet thinking environment through rational planning and natural elements.

On July 8th, the Ningbo Cuiping Mountain Architectural Culture Festival and the “Historical Town · Rehabilitation and Topophilia - Exhibition of Works by Emerging Architects" were held at the Baozhu Tower in Cicheng. The exhibition was co-curated by Hao Wang, co-founder and host architect of Yiren Construction Architecture Studio, and Zigeng Wang, founder and host architect of PILLS Studio. PILLS showcased their works, including the “Yuncheng Wugu Shisi Restaurant," “Yangzhou Sanwan Park 'The Forest Library' Canal Study Room," and “MotivMfg Brand Store." The Cuiping Mountain (Cicheng) Architectural Culture Festival and the “Historical Town · Rehabilitation and Topophilia" dialogue between architecture and culture were held simultaneously. Hao Wang and Zigeng Wang jointly served as the overall planners of the event. Zigeng Wang gave a speech titled “Installation, Space, and Biennale: Several Means to be Involved in Urban Publicity," exploring innovative approaches to the revitalization of the ancient city. He also discussed how contemporary people, land, and architecture can establish new models and envision the future in revitalizing the ancient city of Cicheng.

Recently, a new book, “An Underground Guide to Sewers," was officially published in collaboration between PILLS and the Utopia. Zigeng Wang and PILLS Studio were invited to complete the translation work of the book. “An Underground Guide to Sewers" combines over 400 image materials related to sewers, including rare historical photos, exciting paintings, and precious archives such as construction drawings and hand-drawn maps from major museums. With plenty of visual materials, it presents the winding story of humanity's transition from the filthy to civilization over 6000 years.

On the afternoon of June 20th, PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited as one of the judges for the final review of Tsinghua University Graduate Design Studio II, Spring Semester 2022-2023, along with Weiwen Huang, Shi Zhou, Dan Luo, and others. Professor Weiguo Xu from Tsinghua University guided the course, and the final review was held at the Tsinghua University Shenzhen International Graduate School. Graduate students from the School of Architecture and the Future Habitats Research Institute presented their excellent defense of the “Human Migration Plan: Mars Settlement Design." Zigeng Wang and others commented on the results of the “Mars Settlement Design" course from perspectives of architecture, digitization, and future living.

On June 11th at noon, PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited to attend the “Design Shanghai” forum and deliver a speech on “Urban Cosmologies, Cosmologic Symbiosis: Two Cases of Public Art Curation,” exploring in depth from multiple dimensions regarding how to“recreate” happiness through design. This year's“Design Shanghai" was held at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition Hall. As one of the important sections of the exhibition, the design forum focused on the theme of “Beyond Sustainability Lies Re-creative Design: Design for Wellbeing." It brought together leading designers from China and abroad to present their forward-thinking ideas and insights into the future via design thinking and vision.

On June 7th, the final review and award ceremony of the “New Life | Canal Spirit" Sanwan Park International Construction Architecture Design Competition was successfully held in Yangzhou. PILLS and NODE Architecture & Urbanism jointly won the second prize in the competition. The design takes inspiration from the book “Yangzhou Cruising Poetry." It combines the water installation“Floating Lantern Pavilion" with different buildings on the waterfront, including “The Forest Library," “The Leaf House," and "Dancing Symphony". These elements interpret various functions and scenes, triggering diverse activities and collectively illuminating the spiritual memory of the canal. Just like in ancient times, when visitors took a boat trip on the lake to admire the scenery on both shores, this design allows people to experience Yangzhou's famous gardens, local custom, and landscape during the journey.

On May 27th, the 2nd Forum on the “High-Quality Development of Public Buildings," hosted by the Shenzhen Municipal Architectural Services Administration and the Baoan District Architectural Services Administration, was held at the Shenzhen International Exhibition Center during the Shenzhen Creative Week. The event was divided into two forums: “Smart City" and “Beauty of Art," focusing on core topics such as “Public Art" and “Culture/Education/Healthcare" in public buildings. Architect Zigeng Wang, the chief curator of PILLS, was invited to deliver a speech on “Installation, Space, and Biennale: Several Methods to be Involved in Urban Publicness." Via three case studies, namely “1994", “Nine-Tiered Pagoda," and “Urban Cosmologies," he explored the integration of public art and public buildings. He also discussed how the power of public art can imbue cities with deeper cultural meanings and promote its application in urban design.

On May 17th, PILLS Studio welcomed its second cute pet member, the German curly cat “Secretary”, following the first cute pet “Director”.

On the evening of May 13th, the CCTV News reported on the 2023 Shenzhen International Fisheries Expo. The Expo was curated and designed by PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang, and PILLS Studio is responsible for the curation and overall design of the “Shenzhen Fisheries Development Planning and Construction Exhibition." Tsinghua University Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd. is responsible for content planning, and Shanghai Fengyuzhu Cultural Technology Co., Ltd. is responsible for on-site implementation. The three units work together to challenge and break through traditional exhibition planning and spatial design, showcasing the blueprint of Shenzhen's fisheries with museum-level standards. At the same time, the exhibition aims to further stimulate the attention of fisheries practitioners and the general public to marine ecology and the concept of the “big food chain" through the platform of the first Shenzhen International Fisheries Expo, jointly looking forward to a future with sustainable development in the deep blue.

On May 12, 2023, the National Social Science Foundation of China's major project in the field of art “Theoretical and Practical Research on Chinese Architectural Art" and the Contemporary Chinese Architecture and Culture Academic Seminar, were held at the Zhudian Brick Cultural Museum in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province. Zigeng Wang, as a member of the research group, attended the expert discussion session of the “Contemporary Chinese Architecture and Culture" academic seminar. The School of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University and the Academic Committee of Architectural Review of the Chinese Architecture Society jointly organized this conference. The conference invited experts from multiple domestic and foreign universities and institutions, including Tongji University, Tianjin University, Southeast University, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Newcastle University, University of Sydney, City University of Hong Kong, Editorial Department of Journal of Architecture, and Editorial Department of Times Architecture, to participate in presentations and discussions. The attending guests from different disciplines, such as architecture, art, philosophy, and literary criticism, explored the dynamic relationship and future development direction of architecture, art, and culture in the contemporary Chinese context from multiple perspectives.

The 2023 Shenzhen International Fisheries Expo will be held at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center (Futian) Hall 1 from May 11th to 13th. Shenzhen Fisheries Expo is a high-standard, high-level global fisheries event. The “Shenzhen Fisheries Development Planning and Construction Exhibition" will be held at the venue's central location. PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited as the chief curator and exhibition designer of the Fisheries Expo. PILLS Studio is responsible for the curation and overall design of the “Shenzhen Fisheries Development Planning and Construction Exhibition." Tsinghua University Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd. is responsible for content planning, and Shanghai Fengyuzhu Cultural Technology Co., Ltd. is responsible for on-site implementation. The three units join forces to challenge and break through traditional exhibition planning and spatial design, showcasing the blueprint of Shenzhen's fisheries with museum-level standards. The exhibition presented four chapters in a series: “Farming at Sea in Great Tide," "Ecological Sustainability," "Go to the Deep Blue Sea," and “Shenzhen in the Future". Through dozens of representative exhibits and audiovisual works, combined with multimedia interactive devices, it leads people to explore how Shenzhen has transformed from the traditional “farming and fishing" lifestyle to a modern capital of fisheries, creating a new immersive “fishing" cultural experience. At the same time, with the platform of the first Shenzhen International Fisheries Expo, the exhibition aims to further stimulate the attention of fisheries practitioners and the general public to marine ecology and the concept of “big food chain," jointly looking forward to the future with sustainable development in the deep blue.

On the afternoon of May 10th, Zigeng Wang, the host architect of PILLS, was invited to attend the “Curating in China" forum and the annual meeting of the Curatorial Committee of the China Artists Association in 2023. He gave a speech on the theme “Urban Vitality: Curatorial Overview of the 9th Urbanism\Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB) of Shenzhen and Hong Kong". The forum, held at the Wuhan Art Museum (Qintai Hall), with the academic theme of Curating and Cultural Empowerment, consisted of four sub-forums with the topics of “Biennale and Urban Development," “Curating and Rural Revitalization," the “Curatorial History Value of Wuhan City," and the “Curatorial Power Inside and Outside the City." In his lecture, Zigeng Wang focused on explaining the exhibition logic and formation process of the 9th UABB.

Recently, PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited as a final judge for the “Seeds Project: Education Program for a Sustainable Future" along with artist Minghao Cao, Jianjun Chen, professor Xiaoyang Chen at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, director Jie Lu of the Institute of Contemporary Art and Sociology at the China Academy of Art Cross-Media Art College, and chief editor Ying Ye of “The Art Newspaper (Chinese Edition)." On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of its founding, “The Art Newspaper (Chinese Edition)" launched the “Seeds Project: Education Program for a Sustainable Future" in collaboration with the China Academy of Art Cross-Media Art College, initiating a collaborative learning project called “Xiangshan School." The project focuses on the ecological and environmental issues faced by humanity and all living beings at present. It openly recruits proposals for artistic works from art creators who are currently studying at major universities in China. The selected participants will engage in collaborative learning experiences at the Xiangshan Campus of China Academy of Art. Their work proposals will be published as a thematic album by “Art News/Chinese Edition."

On May 7, 2023, Xkool Technology, which is deeply involved in building intelligence, held the “Enjoy AI with Xkool" new product launch event and the AI Building Future Summit in Wangjing, Beijing. The forum was hosted by Ms. Wanyu He, founder and CEO of Xkool Technology. PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited to participate in the forum. He discussed his views on the development of artificial intelligence and the construction industry in the context of the AI 2.0 era with Weixin Huang, associate professor of architecture at Tsinghua University, and Quansheng Xu, head of Beijing Institute of Architectural Design.

The PILLS project “Nine-Tiered Pagoda PSFO Exhibition" received a special mention in the category of Cultural Exhibition Space at the Architizer A+Awards. The Architizer A+Awards is one of the most significant awards in the world, dedicated to promoting and recognizing the best architecture and product designs each year. This year's competition received over 5,000 entries from 96 countries, with a winning rate of less than 4%. The “Nine-Tiered Pagoda PSFO Exhibition" design concept is based on the works of the art group  PSFO. The design takes inspiration from the digital composite portrait “Mr. Zheng" by  PSFO. “Mr. Zheng" is a combination of facial features from five artists, creating a non-existent “individual" via the collage of “collective" facial features. Correspondingly, PILLS combines five typical collectivist spaces (bathroom, canteen, screening room, barber shop, bathhouse) and symbols related to “objects," nesting them in a blue corridor space of a tube-shaped building. This design connects the exhibition needs of different media works by PSFO. The parallel mirrors at both ends of the corridor create an illusion of infinite extension within the limited space, creating a playful space that abstracts the content.

On the evening of April 11th, PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited to give a lecture at the School of Art and Design at Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology for the public lecture series on “Contemporary Architectural Design Theory." The course was hosted by Fei Che and planned by Fanyu Meng. It invited well-known scholars in the industry to participate. Zigeng Wang's lecture, titled “Exhibition, Topics, and Publicness," used his works to expound and analyze the publicness of contemporary architecture. He explored the possibilities of using art to enhance urban public spaces and the involvement of architectural design in urban construction.

Recently, the “20 Picks of the South” annual selection was officially launched by Da Bian Lu. Zigeng Wang, the host architect of the 9th Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB) of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, also the host architect of PILLS, was selected. The “20 Picks of the South" list is released every spring. It aims to highlight the position and value of the southern region and to create the spirit and atmosphere of southern art with rationality and persistence. Zigeng Wang was selected for the 2022 list due to his outstanding performance in the 9th UABB. As one of the host curators, he was praised as: “a curator that danced with the magical space of Jinwei Brewery, using the charm of spatial drama, while also grasping, judging, implanting, narrating, and commenting within it. He presented an exhibition narrative that was balanced and progressive, showcasing the energy and wisdom of a curator who takes the city as his field.”

On the afternoon of March 28th, Zigeng Wang, the host architect of PILLS, was invited to attend the “Future Chikan: Ancient and Modern, Chinese and Foreign" Urban Architecture Art Forum and the launching ceremony of the Chikan New Area Cultural Architecture Project. Under the guidance of the Kaiping Municipal People's Government, the event was hosted by the Kaiping Chikan Ancient Town Cultural Tourism Development and Construction Management Committee and the Chikan People's Government, undertaken by Shanghai Fengyu Building Culture and Technology Co., Ltd. Experts, scholars, architects, and artists, together with leaders from Jiangmen City and Kaiping City, conducted research and investigation on historical buildings in Kaiping, providing suggestions and ideas for the future development of urban architecture in Chikan and witnessing the launch of the Chikan New Area Cultural Architecture Project. In the subsequent architectural co-creation, Zigeng Wang, Jingtang He, Heng Liu, Yichun Liu, Fanhao Meng, Lei Zhang & Xiaohua Lei, Ming Zhang, and Ziyu Zhang will each design one of the eight buildings in the Chikan New Area, collectively envision the future of Chikan.

On the afternoon of March 26th, the closing ceremony of the 9th UABB was held at the main venue, Yuehai City·Jinpi Brewery Conference Hall. Min Huang, member of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and Executive Vice Mayor of the Municipal Government, and Youpeng Wang, Vice Chairman of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Director of the Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau, attended the closing ceremony. The “Cosmologic Dialogue" section won the “Organizing Committee Award" of this year's UABB. The “Cosmologic Dialogue" combines artistic exhibition design with professional topics to establish a multi-perspective approach to exploring urban development. The section features rich exhibition content, with clever and comprehensive utilization of industrial heritage spaces. Through a dialogue mechanism, it seeks a new balance between humans and nature in the development of cities through interdisciplinary discussions.

On March 24th, the final review and achievement seminar of the “On Office" workshop of the 9th Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB) of Shenzhen and Hong Kong was held in a combination of online and offline formats. The workshop was initiated by Professor Minan Wang, the chief curator of this year's UABB. The PILLS host architect, Zigeng Wang, and young scholar, Jia Weng, served as academic planners. In the mid-term review in January 2023, the 18 team members presented the migration of office elements between the material and virtual worlds through text, images, VR, AR, interactive games, and other methods. In this final report, each team shared their final results. Mentors and guests such as Zigeng Wang, Minan Wang, Zhiyang Zhang, Guochuan Feng, Fanhao Meng, Chi Shen, Wanli Mo, Yujun Yin, and Ziyu Zhuang provided comments and engaged in lively discussions on the results.

On March 15th, 2023, the joint review and award ceremony for the first and second seasons of the “Youth and Sea" Xiangshan Coastal Island Invitation Competition was successfully held in Xiangshan, Ningbo. The three-month invitational competition for young and emerging architects came to a successful conclusion. Zigeng Wang was invited to serve as the principal judge of the competition and, together with six other judges, announced the outstanding design proposals for the site, witnessing the final results of the conceptual proposal stage.

From March 8th to 12th, the 2nd edition of Design Miami / Podium X Shanghai, A Made in House production, was held at Zhang Garden in Shanghai. Zigeng Wang, the host architect of PILLS and the chief curator of the 9th UABB, was invited to participate in the forum “Building a Sustainable Future". The forum invited interdisciplinary practitioners from different fields to engage in dialogue, focusing on experimental topics such as the integration between future living scenarios and ecosystems, the impact of new materials on old regulatory frameworks, and the intimate relationship between digital computing applications and daily life.

The 9th edition of the UABB is featured on the cover of the January/February 2023 issue of The Art Newspaper (Chinese Edition). The issue includes an introductory article titled “The 9th Evolution of UABB: Another Bay Area Landscape Emerging from the 'Urban Habitat'", which shares with readers the exploration of “how to coordinate the relationships between people and communities, buildings, and natural ecosystems in a post-urban environment, embarking on the imaginative cohabitation."

The PILLS Studio has officially entered the Xiaohongshu and Instagram platforms, and we will continue to share our design concepts, creative inspiration, and project achievements with more people through the media. We sincerely invite you to follow us. Thanks for your support.

On March 4th, the host architect Zigeng Wang was invited to participate in the “Emerging Scholars Forum: Fluid Ecologies" and delivered a speech. The forum, hosted by scholars Jia Weng and Wanli Mo, focuses on the exchange of materials, energy, and information in architecture. While emphasizing the constantly flowing and changing media in architecture, the forum seeks to fundamentally rethink the relationship between construction and materiality through keynote speeches and round table discussions, and to explore a more free, diverse, and equal way of existence beyond Western culture.

On March 4th, “Xiaohai Wu: Intranquil Nature” opened at the IOMA Art Center. Xiaohai Wu was once named one of the “Top Ten Most Promising Artists of the Year.” The exhibition is curated by Zikang Zhang, the director of the Art Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. The exhibition is academically hosted by Dian Fan, the president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. The exhibition includes over 230 artworks of various forms; all centered around the theme of “nature”. It is Xiaohai Wu's largest solo exhibition to date. PILLS was invited to be responsible for the spatial design of the exhibition. The exhibition layout follows the artist's artistic trajectory and incorporates the concepts of “maze”，“horizon”，“horizon” and “curtain.” It reveals a unique exhibition path to visitors, leading them to contemplate the essence of “viewing” while experiencing the artworks on “nature.”

Recently, the book “This Way Madness Lies - The Past and Present of Mental Hospitals” from the “Sick Rose” series was published and produced by Ideal Country, with PILLS participating in the review work of the book. The book traces the history of mental illness and its treatment through the story of the Bethlehem Royal Hospital in the UK. The author examines the evolution of psychiatric treatment institutions, represented by Bethlehem, from the 18th century to the 21st century in terms of architectural design, treatment methods, management systems, and relationships with the outside world. The book includes over 600 images, showcasing the astonishing imagination and creativity of the patients through precious documents and visual materials, as well as artworks created by patients from different periods. It subverts people's inherent understanding and powerfully demonstrates their existence as living individuals rather than stigmatized symbols.

On January 13th, the concluding exhibition of the first-year Beijing Art Biennale 2022, “Blueprint Beijing” opened, curated by architect Yansong Ma and co-organized by MAD Architects. On February 24th, Zigeng Wang was invited to attend the first forum event of the exhibition, along with curator Yansong Ma, host Lei Zhao, and forum guests Hu Li, Chen Liang, and Feng Zang. Under the theme of “Idealism,” they collectively responded to the curator's question about the “Future” of “Beijing” and conducted a more in-depth analysis of the exhibition itself through open discussions, marking the beginning of the manifesto of “Beijing Blueprint.”

On February 11th, Zigeng Wang, the host architect of PILLS, was invited to participate in an interview for the Shenzhen Radio and Television Financial Life program “Fashion and Design.” In the program, Zigeng Wang shared his experiences as a designer, artist, and curator in various exhibitions, as well as his thoughts on the possibilities of architecture in participating in exhibitions, intervening in art galleries and public spaces from different perspectives. The program was broadcast on the Bay Area Financial Life platform.

On the afternoon of February 8th, the forum “The Radiant City | Building a Future City with Architecture and Arts" was held at the Shenzhen Guangming Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. The forum was organized by the Shenzhen Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau Guangming Administration, hosted by Shanghai Fengyuzhu Cultural Technology Co., Ltd., and co-organized by Shenzhen OCT Culture and Sports Industry Management Co., Ltd. Zigeng Wang, the host architect of PILLS, was invited to be a guest speaker and delivered a speech titled "Topic Writing: Exhibition, Discourse, and Publicness." In his speech, Zigeng Wang shared the creative process of commissioned projects such as the Disney China Tour Exhibition “Mickey Gene" and the solo exhibition “Pure Politics". He also discussed the curatorial ideas for the 9th Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB) of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. He believes that public projects are often like “topic writing" - sometimes there are themes and material limitations, and sometimes the space has already been defined. This special state is a test for creators to gradually turn restrictions into their own things and convey their own thoughts, bridging the expression of artists and architects.

On February 5th, Phoenix TV's “Dream Building Worldwide” released a themed report on the 9th UABB. In this episode, “Dream Building Worldwide” narrates the exhibition of the 9th UABB and the story behind the Jinpi Factory (formerly known as the Luohu Jinwei Brewery), responding to the question of “how to create a vibrant city?" through exhibitions at this year's Shenzhen Double, and explore various major events currently happening globally: climate change, conflicts and wars, food and energy crises.

In early November 2022, the “On Office” workshop selected 18 members from a pool of 80 applicants from various professional backgrounds around the world. Their backgrounds include architecture, historic preservation, media studies, literary studies, media art, geographic information systems, computer science, and others, providing a fertile ground for interdisciplinary exchange in studying office elements. The mid-term symposium of the workshop was held online on January 14-15th. Workshop mentors Zigeng Wang, Minan Wang, Yang Li, Jiawei Jiang, Wanli Mo, Tao Han, Zheng Tan, Beichen Yang, and Zhiqi Zhang provided comments and discussions on the interim research results of the groups. Based on their own experiences and knowledge backgrounds, the groups provided unique research perspectives and presentation methods for each element. In the mid-term review, they used text, images, videos, VR, AR, and even interactive mini-games to showcase the migration of office elements between the material and virtual world under the influence of remote work. Their collaboration and communication organically transformed the original research framework into a more networked structure.

On January 13, 2022, the concluding exhibition “Blueprint Beijing” of the first Beijing Art Biennale was unveiled at the Beijing M Woods Hutong (Qianliang Hutong Museum). This exhibition is curated by architect Yansong Ma and co-organized by MAD Architects. The theme “Blueprint Beijing” focuses on two perspectives: “historical memories” and “future fantasies.” Twenty domestic and foreign architects, including Peter Cook, Ito Toyo, and Eric Owen Moss, are invited to create architectural models, installations, images, and more. Zigeng Wang's work “Imagined Beijing” is exhibited. The work “Imagined Beijing” imitates the design of the Altar City and forms two possible urban model diagrams through two different transformation methods. It expresses the tension between the ideal city and the mixed real world. The former is imagined, harmonious, orderly, and hierarchically structured, while the latter is expressive, diverse, and mixed.

On December 27th, PILLS's work “Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base City Showroom Renovation Design" was Selected as One of the “24 Most Popular Interior Works in the Interior Category” by Gooood in 2022. The project concept is derived from the predecessor of museums - the Cabinet of Curiosity, which organizes the exhibition logic around the display of “objects” and gives form to the urban concept and values, serving as a dynamic background for urban development. Through cutting-edge visual language, immersive presentation methods, and interactive spatial experiences, the urban concept and values of the Super Headquarters Base are shaped and staged. Sound and dynamic images seamlessly integrate into the scene, providing supplementary explanations of the exhibits and their historical background. They also break away from the conventional narrative and create a sense of timing and drama. The exhibition depicts the blueprint of the Super Headquarters Base as a city gateway in the construction process of the Greater Bay Area, showcasing the achievements of urban construction. With an international perspective, forward-thinking mindset, and innovative design, exhibition space has been created to meet the requirements of the super headquarters base with high-level planning and high-standard construction. Together, they bear witness to Shenzhen, a vibrant metropolis full of opportunities, becoming a globally influential benchmark city in the near future.

In 2022, Zigeng Wang, the chief curator of the 9th UABB, invited the fashion brand STAFFONLY to develop a customized UABB Uniform for the curatorial team and exhibition staff. STAFFONLY took inspiration from the architecture of the main exhibition venue of this year's UABB, the Jinwei Brewery, and combined it with the sustainable theme of the factory city to explore new design concepts, showcasing the work attire style in the new industrial fashion. Zigeng Wang believes that consumer brands can express their concern for sustainability through the exploration of a new model. "Universal Uniforms" provides us with an example of this approach from the dimensions of materials and design. Additionally, Zigeng Wang shared his thoughts on the relationship between clothing and architecture. He believes that “in a broad sense, architecture provides a shelter for human behavior, while clothing protects the body. Both offer various forms of support and maintenance for actions. The boundary between architecture and clothing is ambiguous regarding material application, especially as contemporary architecture explores more flexible materials such as fabrics. Architects cultivate an aesthetic system focusing on material space and structural sensibility, allowing them to approach new creations conceptually.”

On the evening of December 18th, the opening ceremony of the 9th UABB, “Living Together," featured a performance in the main exhibition hall. “Living Together" was designed and directed by Zigeng Wang, the chief curator of this year's UABB and the host architect of PILLS. He created an art piece that is a large-scale sphere installation composed of nine groups of “petals." Each petal is created based on the conical shape of the brewery fermentation tank bottom, covered with patterns representing nine urban cosmologies, including land, vegetation, and animals. These installations are scattered throughout the main exhibition hall and are collected, merged, and assembled into a complete spherical installation by the dancers. The performance aims to create harmony and coexistence among all living beings, emphasizing mutual respect and coexistence. By combining art installations with dance, the immersive performance introduces the relationship between various exhibition areas to the audience, blending the viewing experience with the interaction between the performers and the exhibits, conveying the interaction between humans and living beings. “Living Together" showcases the inclusive value of a city that gathers diverse forces, expressing the deep friendship between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Such friendship was cultivated during the nine sessions of UABB, elevating this year's opening week activities to a climax.

On December 18th, Zigeng Wang, the chief curator of the 9th Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB) of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, also the host architect of PILLS, hosted and participated in the “Past Curators" forum at the main exhibition hall of UABB. This forum invited curators from the previous eight sessions, including Hanru Hou, Xiangning Li, Heng Liu, Xiaodu Liu, Qingyun Ma, Jianmin Meng, Yan Meng, Ning Ou, Yong Zhang, Aaron Betsky, Alfredo Brill-embourg, Carlo Ratti, Fabio Cavallucci, Hubert Klumpner, Jeffrey Johnson, Ole Bou, as well as the current session curators, Andong Lu, Zigeng Wang, Bokang Chen, along with Aric CHE. They comprehensively reviewed and summarized the growth process of UABB from exploration to maturity, retrospectively evaluated the development history of the exhibition, and analyzed the significance and value of the biennale as a large-scale public cultural event in terms of new concept sharing and urban development promotion.

On December 17th, Zigeng Wang, the chief curator of the 9th Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB) of Shenzhen and Hong Kong and the host architect of PILLS, participated and delivered a speech in the “Youth UABB" forum of the UABB opening week, titled “PRD 3.0: Balance is Diversity!" The forum was hosted by Heng Liu, the curator of the Youth UABB section, who introduced the cross-disciplinary, integrated, and innovative works of the participating artists. The chief curator of the 9th UABB, Andong Lu and Hubert Klumpner, the chairman of the academic committee, Yuxing Zhang, and architect Shen Zhuang, along with other guests, explored how to face the complex challenges of spatial development through interdisciplinary research and practice, together envisioned a future urban landscape that is more balanced, green, resilient, and with greater potential for sustainable development.

On December 17th, Zigeng Wang, the chief curator of the 9th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (UABB) of Shenzhen and Hong Kong and the host architect of PILLS, hosted the “Cosmologic Dialogue" forum in the opening week of the UABB. In the “Cosmologic City" section, nine groups of architects participated, including Chen Chen, Li Hua, Han Li, Tianying Li & Haotian Zhang, Yichun Liu, Wenyu Lu, Yansong Ma, Yan Meng, and Bin Zhang. They depicted Shenzhen from nine perspectives beyond human beings: space, plants, sound, air, energy, waste, soil, water, and household appliances. PILLS created a spatial riddle based on these nine microcosms, called the Preface Unit, as a prelude to revealing each group's work. The “Cosmologic Dialogue" forum invited the participating artists in this section to deliver speeches, solving the nine micro-urban universes beyond human perspective and discussing the future of cities in the context of climate change. In the discussion session, they shared the perspectives of architects regarding how to surpass the inherent boundaries of the current status and seek a new balance for the co-development of humans, living beings, and nature in cities.

On December 16th, Zigeng Wang, the chief curator of the 9th UABB Exhibition and the host architect of PILLS, was invited to host the “Do, Imagination Community" dialogue and "Do It" opening forum during the UABB Opening Week. The 9th UABB “Do It - Co-habitats" section showcased the designs of over 40 Chinese architects and artists through a 50-meter exhibition wall, forming an imaginative community. The forum invited Hans Ulrich Obrist, Dan Cao, and others to discuss the “Do It" project and its scalability and openness, as well as individuals' perception and imagination of urban space in the rapid changes of cities and environments.

On December 16th, Zigeng Wang, the chief curator of The 9th Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB) of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, also the principal architect of PILLS, was invited to attend the opening forum of the “Repeated Sound" dialogue and the “Sound of the Cosmo" section of the UABB exhibition. The forum's guest speakers include Yang You, Xingyu Li, Anding Zhang, Zigeng Wang, and Zheng Lu. This forum explores the intersection and inherent unity between sound and architecture. It discusses the relationship between cities, sound, and art. At the same time, as a medium that co-constructs the human ecological system, the art of sound discusses how it evolves and changes in the modern construction of cities and public spaces. It also discusses how it influences the construction or memory of a city as a retrospective archive.

On the afternoon of December 10th, the 9th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (UABB) opening ceremony was held at the GDH City · Jinpi Fang, Luohu District, Shenzhen. Guests who participated in the ceremony included Hong Kong Chief Executive Jiachao Li, Shenzhen Mayor Weizhong Qin, Vice Mayor Hua Zhang, Vice Chairman of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee, and Director of the Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau Youpeng Wang, the Municipal Government Secretary Shengyuan Gao, District Mayor Defan Fan of Luohu District People's Government, Chief Curators Andong Lu and Zigeng Wang, etc. The 9th UABB is co-curated by PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang, architecture and urban planning scholar Andong Lu, and curator Aric Chen. Following the principle of “City as Biennale, Exhibition is Action," the Biennale is divided into five main sections: “Urgent Question," “More-than-human Adventure," “Cosmologic Dialogue," “Co-Living Lab," and “Common Action." It also includes six special sections: “Sound of the Cosmo," “Cosmo Library," “Cosmo Suit," “Circular Creation," Shelter for Urban Animals," and “Art Museums Partnership." Additionally, there are three themed pavilions: “UABB Pavilion," “Hong Kong Pavilion," and “Luohu Pavilion," as well as a permanent exhibition called “Making On Site." The Biennale focuses on contemporary cities' green and sustainable development, exploring urban strategies in the context of global climate change and seeking a harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

On November 29th, the 11th issue of the “We Were There" podcast will focus on the theme of “Art Museum: Understanding art is not important; what matters is how to treat beauty." Zigeng Wang has been invited to discuss the specific location of “Art Museum," starting from the “transformation of the art museum's space" to the “changes and trends of modern art museums," and finally extending to the "relationship between art museums, cities, beauty, and the future." It will explore questions such as “How are art museums created?" "What significance do art museums have for individuals?" and "How should we perceive the landscape and visualization of art museums and their exhibitions?”

On November 27th, UCCA Lab collaborated with PILLS to present the Mercedes-EQ Public Art Project in Zhangyuan, Shanghai. The project aims to evoke the audience's perception of the vitality of all lives through the language of art, leading them to embark on a journey through time and culture. In the constant cycle of looking back and moving forward, the project hopes to move towards a harmonious integration of humanity, technology, and nature. Named “Tidal Seas," this project envisions Zhangyuan as a fertile sea carrying the memories of a century-old city. Marine coral organisms inspire the art installation's overall design and incorporate the Mercedes EQS's streamlined body. The sleek structure spreads throughout the courtyard, presenting vigorous growth. The installation uses traditional lantern craftsmanship, restoring the organic form of the digital model. At night, the lights' intensity and rhythm simulate living organisms' breathing rhythm. The interplay of light and shadow shines through the blue fabric, complemented by starry lights dotted along the structure's lines. In the changing rhythm of inhalation and exhalation, it seems like a vast marine life awakens from the ocean's depths, inviting the audience to enter its body and perceive the warmth and vitality of “things" with their bodies.

On November 21st, PILLS chief architect Zigeng Wang was invited to serve as the guest speaker of the sixth lecture on “Architecture and Modernity" in the 2022 graduate program of Architecture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. The speech revolves around the theme of “City as Biennale, Exhibition is Action" and takes the 9th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture as the background to discuss the curation mode of architectural exhibitions, as well as the significance of exhibitions in promoting the discipline of architecture and urban renewal. Zigeng Wang emphasized in his lecture that contemporary architectural exhibitions and curations are not only an event-based practice and visual presentation but also gradually become an essential driving force for contemporary architectural criticism and cultural space. As an external form of architectural research and criticism, architectural exhibitions provide a genealogy and historical traces of the development of architecture, enabling us to reconstruct this field's political, mechanical, and disciplinary landscape.

PILLS was invited to design a booth for the “THE 8 X JEFF KOONS Limited Edition Collection" during the 2022 West Coast Expo. This global limited edition 99 sports car combines BMW's advanced manufacturing technology and artist Jeff Koons' pop art symbol, making it a “work of art that can run on the road" and a precious work that can become a museum collection. PILLS correspondingly created a display field for “THE 8 X JEFF KOONS", integrating the energy of time and space, aggregating light and color, and presenting the potential of works to break through the boundaries of art and technology, creating culture and commerce in all aspects. We select pop symbols such as explosions and stripes on the body painting and translate them into spatial devices so that JEFF KOONS' painting is no longer flat art but an abstract pop art energy that flows away from the canvas towards reality. The sports car was surrounded by a bright yellow color, creating a three-dimensional and explosive geometric tunnel. The tunnel blooms on the side facing the audience, symbolizing the infinite possibility of breaking boundaries and heading toward the future.

On November 8th, the “Future Community & Everyday Life" Forum and the 9th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture Hangzhou Promotion Conference were held in the Hangzhou Central Reception Hall, with PILLS chief architect Zigeng Wang invited to attend. The forum was hosted by GAD “Views." Andong Lu, a professor at Nanjing University and the 9th Shenzhen Biennale Exhibition Chief Curator, was the academic host. Jianmin Meng, an academician of the CAE Member; Yuhui Jiang, a professor at East China Normal University; Yansong Ma, the architect in charge of MAD; Ming Tong, a professor of Southeast University; Jiajing Zhang, the founder of Gaomu Affairs Institute, and other guests were invited to discuss the theme of “Future Community & Everyday Life." This forum is based on the “Co-living Lab" section of the 9th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture, focusing on the “relationship" between people, life, space, and architecture. Through multiple perspectives, such as architecture and philosophy, it explores the problems arising from China's current urban transformation and provides insights and methods for developing future communities.

On October 22nd, the “One Word, One Me" activity series, “TRUE: Ideal Architecture," was successfully held at Shenzhen Station. PILLS chief architect Zigeng Wang was invited to engage in a dialogue with Tao Meng, the director of Midea Building Technology Research Institute, and Heng Liu, the chief architect of Nansha Original Design Architectural Studio, on the theme of “Innovative City, Finding a Place to Live Together," providing a forward-looking perspective for Shenzhen's sustainable development potential as an “innovative city." Zigeng Wang uses the 9th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture “Urban Cosmologies" as a case study to explain the relationship between humans, nature, and cities at the micro level, as well as how humans and all things reside harmoniously on Earth from a macro perspective. Technology must develop toward “a kind human environment and society." In this year's Shenzhen Biennale, many activities explore the needs of ordinary people through research and care for their lives.

On October 15th, the recruitment of the “On Office" workshop for the 9th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (UABB) was launched. The workshop was initiated by Professor Minan Wang from the Chinese Department of the School of Humanities at Tsinghua University, with PILLS Studio chief architect Zigeng Wang and young scholar Jia Weng serving as academic planners. Tao Han, vice Dean of the School of Design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts; Yang Li, Professor at the School of Art at Peking University; Wanli Mo, Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University, and Zhiqi Zhang, founder of the “Random Fluctuation" podcast, serve as co-mentors. Under the continuous development of information technology and the emergence of remote work as a new form of knowledge-based work, the “On Office" workshop aims to reinterpret the connection between remote work and the material world from the perspective of media archaeology. It discusses how the functions and forms of office elements shuttle between reality and virtuality and how their materiality constrains the process of digitalization in all aspects. Researchers will conduct research in groups such as pipelines, plants, documents, workstations, screens, electrical appliances, flat surfaces, feng shui, etc., during a 4-month workshop. The research content is presented in the form of books, and a public discussion activity is held during the closing ceremony of the 9th UABB.

On October 13, 2022, the “International Design Competition for the Cross-Shiting River Bridge" was hosted by the Deyang Tianfu Jingcheng Management Committee, which opened a public recruitment for designers worldwide. PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited as a reviewer with Guangsheng Feng, Vice Chief Engineer of China Railway Bridge Bureau; Xiaofei Jiang, Partner of NEXT Architecture Firm; Yi Liu, Chief Architect of China Southwest Design and Research Institute; and Bing Zhong, Vice President of Architecture Design at AECOM China. During the recruitment period, a total of 117 valid applications were received from dozens of teams, including large and medium-sized domestic design institutes, excellent architectural design firms at home and abroad, and emerging design teams. The competition has an online exposure of over 1 million and has received support from over 130 media and institutions.

On the evening of September 27th, the first promotional event of the 9th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (UABB) was held in the A18 Fashion Corridor of Beijing 751D·Park. Based on the theme of “Urban Cosmologies" in this year's UABB, two round table dialogues were set up for the Beijing Promotion Conference, with the topics of “City and Exhibition" and “Art and Daily Life." The conversation is based on the “Cosmologic Dialogue" section of this year's UABB and extended by the “Special Section." Taking into account the specific context of Beijing, by presenting a diverse worldview of humanity, living beings, and all things, the conversation aims to rethink the inherent understanding of the relationship between cities, humans, and nature. Cancan Cui, Han Li, Zhe He, Tao Han, Ying Long, Yichen Lu, Rong Zhou, Fei Che, Yang You, Sha Zhu, Tianchong Xue, Mengsha Zhao, Chuan Tian, Jun Fei, and others (arranged in order of appearance) were invited as special guests to attend the promotion event and engage in interdisciplinary cross-generational dialogue. In addition, due to epidemic control measures, guests such as Aric Chen, Li Hua, Xiangning Li, Xinggang Li, Yunfeng Lin, Heng Liu, Jiakun Liu, Xiaodu Liu, Andong Lu, Yansong Ma, Wei Pang, Zhouping Qingshan, Min An Wang, Hui Wang, Mingdan Yan, Li Zhang, Yonghe Zhang, Yuxing Zhang, Zhiyang Zhang, Rong Zhao, Rongyuan Zhu, Ziyu Zhuang, etc. (sorted alphabetically by their surnames, in no particular order), participated in this promotion event through video recording and expressed their blessings to this year's UABB.

On September 22nd, the second season/sixth episode of “Tipcity" invited the two main curators of the 9th UABB, Zigeng Wang and Andong Lu, as well as architect Guochuan Feng, to share first-hand fresh news about curation to the audience.

In 2022, the first Chinese store of the Nordic professional outdoor brand Peak Performance settled in Sanlitun. UCCA Lab specially invited Swedish artist Jesper Nyrén, architect Zigeng Wang, and PILLS studio to create a public art installation with an enclosure function for the first store of Peak Performance in China. This device is based on Jespe Nielen's painting “Untitled (Fold III)." The device extracts the triangular elements from the painting and combines them with the geometric features of the brand logo, transforming the mistakenly perceived space in the painting into a continuous “mountain" shape. PILLS chose the Peak Performance 2022 Autumn/Winter color card as the basic color for filling the triangular surface in the design and cleverly incorporated the brand logo into the triangular surface collage at the corner of the bumper, showcasing its brand history originating from high mountains. This work uses the language of art and architecture to convey an aesthetic and experience that breaks through the inherent visual framework to the audience in public spaces, redefining its significance and role in urban life by blurring the functionality of enclosure and display.

On August 24th, Shenzhen held the first press conference of the 9th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (Shenzhen) (hereinafter referred to as “UABB"). Qiang Ding, secretary general of the Shenzhen Biennale Organizing Committee and vice director of the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources; Guangyong Huo, vice district mayor of Luohu District, Shenzhen; Yuxing Zhang, director of the 9th Biennale Committee; Andong Lu, as well as Zigeng Wang, chief curator of the 9th UABB provided updates and answered questions from news reporters. Yun Wu, vice minister of the Municipal Propaganda Department and director of the Municipal Government Information Office, held the press conference. This press conference is also the first urban cultural event of the year to be held in the press conference hall. During the meeting, the theme of the 9th UABB was officially announced as “Urban Cosmologies." The main exhibition venue is located in GDH City · Jinpi Fang (Kingway Brewery Industrial Heritage), Luohu District, Shenzhen. This is the first time that the main exhibition venue of UABB has landed in Luohu.

The renovation of PILLS's new site was completed on July 28, 2022, and the PILLS studio officially settled in 751 D·Park, Chaoyang District, Beijing.

On July 23, 2022, the “Mickey: The Ture Original & Ever Curious Exhibition" China Tour opened in the 798 Art District of Beijing. Disney organized this event in collaboration with UCCA Lab, a subsidiary of the UCCA Group. As the closing station of China Tour, Beijing will present the largest Mickey art experience ever and the largest number of participating artists to the audience. PILLS chief architect Zigeng Wang was invited to participate as a Disney-certified artist. Zigeng Wang's exhibition work “Mickeyverse" fictionalizes an archaeological discovery and uses fictional "objects" to infer and confuse the boundary between reality and the creation of the “subject of objects." The artist selected aerospace shapes and technical features from the 1960s and created an archaeological discovery displayed in a museum by simulating and imagining the use of Mickey's head. Through the fictional “archaeology" and detailed reproduction of the helmet, we constructed the imaginary space of Mickey's existence, inferred the fuzzy zone between the long-standing artistic image and reality, and challenged the “virtual structure" of images and stories in the two-dimensional world with the extremely real “fiction" in the real world.

On June 18, PILLS chief architect Zigeng Wang was invited to participate in the first “Cloud Talk" of the Shenzhen Design Week as a joint curator. The event is hosted by curator Xiao Liu. Guests Yonghe Zhang, Daowen Guan, Heng Liu, and Zigeng Wang engaged in a dialogue around the theme of “empowering the future with design" and “how design education promotes the cultivation of cross-border design talents." They shared new perspectives at the design forefront. During the event, Zigeng Wang expressed his views on architects' perspectives regarding cross-border design, the boundaries of architecture, and disciplinary development.

On May 24th, the complete list of curators for the 9th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (UABB) was officially announced. PILLS founder and chief architect Zigeng Wang, architecture and urban planning scholar Andong Lu, and design curator Aric Chen jointly serve as the overall curator. PILLS, as the curation team, is responsible for signing project contract documents, collecting contract payments, organizing and coordinating work, and other related matters. The curator team believes that the 9th UABB has a special core mission: to explore how the urban and architectural fields can play a role in new green and sustainable development models. The exhibition will focus on the near future, a future that maintains tension and interaction with the present, and we need to deal with it immediately. We are committed to discovering future-oriented thinking breakthroughs and practical genes, preparing ourselves conceptually, methodically, and technically for the future. Another central theme of the 9th UABB is to encourage youth programs. Excellent young architects, designers, artists, and scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds will join the curation team or exhibitors with innovative ideas. At the same time, this year's Biennale will invite multiple well-known institutions and universities domestically and internationally to jointly explore cutting-edge global environmental issues and respond to local issues in Shenzhen and even the Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao Greater Bay Area.

On May 4, 2022, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Chaoyang District, Beijing, the “Director" and all employees of PILLS carried out home telecommuting according to the policy requirements.

Recently, PILLS chief architect Zigeng Wang was invited by Professor Duanfang Lu from the School of Architectural Design and Urban Planning at the University of Sydney to hold an online lecture on “Speculative Architecture." In this lecture, Zigeng Wang delves into the mechanisms behind contemporary spatial production, analyzes the changes and contradictions faced by the architectural agenda in the current context, and explores the opportunities and possibilities for architectural intervention, focusing on his works since his student days.

Recently, Zigeng Wang was invited to participate in the “I am a chair" project for the 2021-2022 year, completing the “Hedgehog" chair. The “A Second Life for Wandering Chairs" program is continuous recycling, gathering, design, exhibition, and reuse of chairs. The project is planned by the China Academy of Fine Arts, School of Innovative Design, and Institute of Social and Strategic Research. It recycles unused and abandoned old chairs from the community. These chairs, also becoming freshman Public facilities, are designed, renovated, and reused by the cross-disciplinary teacher and student teams to activate daily life. The back of the “Hedgehog" chair can be the sitting surface, and the sitting surface can also be the chair back, blurring the traditional experience of the “chair back - chair seat" formation and relationship, forming a mirror symmetry in visual and functional aspects. The “Hedgehog" chair creates a unique aesthetic experience and brings more possibilities for chair usage and scenes. People can sit on flat ground through the “Hedgehog" chair or lie on stairs or slopes. The relationship between body and space is updated through the connection of chairs.

After deliberation by the selection and evaluation team of the 9th Urbanism/Architecture Bi-City Biennale (UABB) of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, it is agreed that Andong Lu, Zigeng Wang, and Aric Chen will be appointed as the chief curators of the 9th UABB (Shenzhen). PILLS Studio is the business entity of the curation team, responsible for signing project contract documents, collecting contract payments, organizing and coordinating work, and other related matters.

Zigeng Wang was recently invited to participate in the lecture series on the forefront of architectural ideology at Nanjing University and deliver a speech titled “Building in the Built." The lecture revolves around “751 Sound Installation," “Black Mary," and “Fishing Village Fairy Tales" and discusses the speculative design and narrative methods of PILLS's past practices. It explores opportunities and possibilities for interdisciplinary practice and thinking in architecture, as well as the contradictions and relevance of contemporary architectural agendas. After the speech, further discussions were held with guest speakers Andong Lu, a professor in the Department of Architecture at Nanjing University, and Suning Zhou, the architect in charge of Misi Architecture Firm, and also Zigeng Wang.

Recently, Zigeng Wang was invited to give the 12th lecture on the autumn graduate course “Architectural Frontiers: Machines and the Environment" at Tongji University. The speech is titled “Disease, Pollution, and Civilization: A Brief Introduction of Subterranean Infrastructures," explaining that the essence of modern cities is the management of materials, energy, waste, and transportation. The speech discusses the inseparable connection between modern urban layout and the history of human defense against diseases. Thus, it is pointed out that human evolution is externalized and completed in a world composed of technology.

On the afternoon of December 11th, the 2021 Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival “Curatorial Award for Photography and Moving lmage" ceremony was held at Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in Xiamen. Feiran Jiang, an artist and curator from the China Academy of Fine Arts, won the first Jimei Arles Curator Award for his project “Unnamed River." This project was jointly founded by Chanel and the Three Shadows Photography Art Center, co-organized by the Arles Photography Festival in France and the Modern Communication Group, attracting outstanding curators to participate in interdisciplinary research on imaging. PILLS is responsible for designing the trophy based on the cross coordinates used in the imaging field. Through the stacking, combining, and cutting of forms, a three-dimensional cross structure with varied spatial relationships forms the intention of star clusters, symbolizing the emergence of a new generation of young curators shining with stars. The main structure of the trihedron is intertwined and mirrored, forming a stable supporting relationship, symbolizing that the award is a product of close cooperation among multiple parties. The three main branches that increase in height in sequence support the formation of a tree-like structure in the cross-star cluster, expressing the support and expectations of this award for the growth of young image curators.

Recently, Zigeng Wang was invited to participate in the Science Popularization Event of the Chinese Architecture Society and the “Young Architects Exchange Forum" of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He gave a speech, “Continuing Experiments: The Choice and Practice of PILLS," sharing his recent practical works and reflections on cross-domain and cross-media architectural experiments. Yuxing Zhang, founder and lead architect of Qucheng Studio; Zhenhua Li, independent curator; Bin Zhang, founding partner of Zhizheng Architectural Studio and visiting professor of Tongji University's School of Architecture and Urban Planning; and Zheng Tan, associate professor and international course leader of Tongji University's School of Architecture and Urban Planning, participated in the discussion session.

Recently, Zigeng Wang, an associate professor of the Department of Architecture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, also the host architect of PILLS, was awarded the third “Jin Shangyi Young Teacher Creation Award" at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. On November 18th, the exhibition of award-winning teachers' works opened at the Art Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Hong Gao, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Academy of Fine Arts; Dean Dian Fan, and other award-winning teachers Jiawei Ma, Zigeng Wang, Yunyuan Shi, and Jun He jointly attended the opening ceremony. The “Jin Shangyi Young Teacher Creation Award" was established in 2019, sponsored by Mr. Shangyi Jin, a professor and former dean of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. This award was jointly funded and supported by the China Arts and Culture Foundation. This award encourages young teachers to participate in art creations regarding major national themes actively. The current “Jin Shangyi Young Teacher Creation Award" consists of a review committee composed of experts from relevant disciplines, such as Dian Fan, Xinping Su, Pinjing Lv, Shuangxi Yin, Qinghe Liu, Lujiang Zhang, Wei Sun, Hui Tang, Xiewei Song, and others. Taking into account the originality, academic value, creativity, and social impact of the work, four award-winning representatives were selected from more than 40 eligible young teachers.

Recently, PILLS held the third reading activity, “Learning From Theme Parks," and the closing report of the third-year course, “Design Research Methods: Devices, Theme Parks, and Consumer Space Research," at the School of Architecture, Central Academy of Fine Arts. Zigeng Wang and Yi Fu jointly direct this course that delves into several dimensions such as capital and consumption, experience and technology iteration, security adventure and addiction mechanisms, examining the insights brought by theme parks. The course starts with translating and researching texts, guiding students to discover and establish design problems, and forming a framework for independent research. Guests who participated in feedback and discussion included Han Li, the lead architect of DRAWING ARCHITECTURE STUDIO; Fei Wang, a professor at Syracuse University; Jia Weng, a doctoral candidate at Yale University; Yang You, the vice director of UCCA; and Tao Han, a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

On October 24th, the installation work “1994," created by Zigeng Wang, was exhibited at the Pingshan Art Museum in Shenzhen, and a project press conference was held. This solo exhibition, organized by the Pingshan Art Museum, is the second "Hometown Series" project hosted by the Shenzhen Pingshan District Bureau of Cultural, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports. The project press conference was hosted by Xiaodu Liu, the curator of Pingshan Art Museum, who invited Zigeng Wang to share recent practices and reflections on his work "1994". At the same time, he invited Dan Cao, the publisher of “The Art Newspaper China;" Gang Zhong, the chief editor of “ARTDBL;" Rong Zhao, the director of design interconnection; architect and curator Yuxing Zhang, as conversation guests to discuss architects' interdisciplinary experiments, personal narratives, and place memory, exploring the connection and spiritual meaning between hometown and other places in Shenzhen. “1994" originated from the time that Zigeng Wang spent with his father during his childhood. The work reproduces memory fragments through mechanical, visual, interactive, and framing methods. It juxtaposes different virtual images in the scene space through the principle of optical reflection, forming a narrative space that is related to but independent of the real space. It also creates contingency within it, bringing about multiple levels of narrative. This work begins with the author's father-son memories while exploring the cycle of dependence, opposition, reconciliation, and regret in kinship.

Zigeng Wang and Tao Han, as course hosts and academic conveners, jointly organized the graduate course “Architecture and Modernity" at the School of Architecture, Central Academy of Fine Arts in the autumn of 2021. This is the fifth consecutive year since 2017 when Zigeng Wang and Professor Tao Han have become joint academic conveners to arrange courses. A special discussion is conducted during the course, based on “Architecture and Modernity," proposed by third-generation architectural theorists such as Hilde Heynen. The course has three sections: an overview, special lectures, and research reports. It explores the development and thought maps of architecture and modernity in different historical and geographical contexts from multiple perspectives and focuses on analyzing key figures and cases in development.

On September 29th, PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited to attend the opening forum of the Beijing Urban Architecture Biennale, titled “Metaverse Architecture: Unbuilt World." He delivered a speech and participated in a roundtable discussion. This forum invites participants to start conversations about unfinished projects and then explore new architectural attitudes and values in the context of emerging metaverse development. Chief Architect Weiping Shao of the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design delivered an opening speech. 2013 Pulitzer Prize winner Toyo Ito, Dean of the Cooper Union School of Architecture Nader Trani, Director of MIT's Sensible City Laboratory Carlo Ratti, and Founder of Wutopia Lab Ting Yu delivered speeches via video. The host of the opening forum is the M2M film director and Xiaoya. Guests include co-founder Hu Hu of M2M Metaverse, Ż-Studio founder Sizhi Qin, DA! Architects founders Anna Andronova and Lidong Sun, creator Heshan Huang of Taobao Creation Festival's digital real estate “Tulifu", co-founder Eden of 24 ScanLab Sensing Workshop, cross-disciplinary researcher and art creator Shengyu Meng.

On September 25th, UCCA Lab Debut Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition in Southern China, titled “Something Begets Something More: New Tales of Saikwan," opened in Yongqingfang, Guangzhou. PILLS was invited to complete the space and display design for this exhibition. The exhibition invites three contemporary Chinese artists, Wei He, Xiaoqing Cui, and Noise Temple, to engage in a dialogue with eight groups of inheritors of intangible cultural heritage (Canton Cake Printing, Ivory Carving, Canton Embroidery, Canton Lion Dancing, Lingnan Guqin, Canton Enamel, Canton Flute, Canton Olive Carving, and Canton Porcelain) through various forms of artistic expression, attempting to explore the relationship between intangible cultural heritage and the present as well as future. The exhibition design utilizes the characteristics of spatial correspondence and structural clearness within the venue, allowing for spatial correspondence between new and old time clues in intangible cultural heritage memories. The exhibition hall is divided into three sets of corresponding spatial forms, each flexibly responding to different design needs. The first floor showcases the future, where three (group) artists endow and interpret the rebirth of three intangible cultural heritage techniques through contemporary artistic language. The second floor presents the past, with three sets of intangible cultural heritage techniques behind the contemporary artworks exhibited at the same location. Looking at each other in the past and future, the cross-sectional plane of architecture is the longitudinal plane of intangible cultural heritage memory.

In September 2021, the Wu Jian'an Solo Exhibition “The Huge Sand Dunes are the Bed of the Sea" opened at the Silk Road International Art Center. Zhenhua Li served as the curator for this exhibition, and PILLS was invited to be responsible for the exhibition's spatial design. This exhibition systematically organized the artist's creative process and presented a series of his representative large-scale installation artworks. The artist's continuous exploration of the blending of old and new, the transformation of images, and the evolution of materials slowly unfold with spatial sequences as clues. The PILLS design aims to create large-scale immersive scenes for artistic works, placing material elements such as sand dunes and water surfaces in a large-scale space, shaping a space of endless energy in tension and balance. The viewer is in a space where light, shadow, and objects are reflected, mirrored, and extended. The stillness and displacement of the body become important coordinates for experiencing the exhibition. Finite and infinite, illusion and reality alternate here.

Recently, PILLS lead architect Zigeng Wang was invited as a speaker for the third lecture of the 2021 GOA gmooc public course series. He delivered a lecture on “Speculative and Narrative - PILLS' Recent Preoccupations” at GOA Headquarters located in OōEli Hangzhou and held a roundtable discussion with the guests. The chief architect Xun Zhang of GOA, hosted the lecture, and event guests included outstanding scholars and architects such as Fei Wang, Xin Wang, Wanli Mo, Yuwei Wang, Qi Xu, and Qilin Zhang. The lecture revolved around the theme of “experimentation" and conducted a series of discussions and exchanges in architecture regarding interdisciplinary experiments, current industry status, practicality and standardization, teaching and practice.

Recently, a series of forums for the Wind H Art Center group exhibition “To Be the Better One - The Methodology of the New Generation" was successfully held. Artist Zigeng Wang was invited to give a speech on “Continuous Experiment: Installation as a Method," sharing his creative thoughts on the installation work “1994" and participating in the forum. Curator Cancan Cui hosted the forum, and guests include Vice Dean Tao Han of the School of Design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, curator Yining He, executive editor Wanli Mo of Architecture China Magazine, architect and photographer Haiting Sun, founder of META Studio Shuo Wang, contemporary art and photography researcher Beichen Yang, and UCCA vice curator Yang You. The attending guests focused on “1994" and jointly discussed topics such as interdisciplinary experiments by architects, methods and significance of installations, differences and connections between architecture and art, as well as creative environments and inter-generational differences.

Invited by UCCA Lab, a subsidiary of UCCA Group, PILLS recently completed the renovation design of the ARCFOX temporary exhibition hall for the “ARCFOX x UCCA Lab Boundless Art Space." The exhibition hall will be repeatedly built and used in seven cities along with ARCFOX brand promotion activities. PILLS has effectively responded to this design task by renovating the existing tent within a total design and construction time of around two weeks, considering various design limitations and possibilities. The spatial design is based on the brand image of ARCFOX. After multiple iterations of the “valley-ridge" form of the snow mountain, the design scheme utilizes a seven-story circular cross-section to construct a hollow mountain, creating a negative “polar snow mountain" inside the existing tent.

Recently, commissioned by Shenzhen Vanke, the showroom of the Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters, renovated and designed by PILLS, was completed. The headquarters in the core area of Qianhai, Shenzhen, is built for the future urban center as a paradigm. The design of the base city showroom combines technology and circulation to create a spatial narrative, utilizing interactive models and multimedia devices to create an immersive experience with multi-sensory participation. The design guides emotional rhythms with light, space, and materials, accommodating various exhibitions. The plan flexibly uses cutting-edge visual language to express urban concepts and values, creates an atmosphere, constructs narratives, and depicts the blueprint of the Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters as the city gateway during the construction process of the Greater Bay Area, showcasing the achievements of Shenzhen's urban construction.

PILLS Digest is an internal lecture and reading group project initiated by PILLS. Recently, PILLS held its second PILLS Digest event, which revolved around the book “Blockchain Chicken Farm" published in 2020 by Xiaowei Wang, a Chinese author, artist, and programmer. PILLS researchers Boya Guo, Hui Wang, Yu Gong, and Jia Weng, along with discussion guests Junyuan Feng, Jingfei He, Yue Wu, and Flynn, explore the book content and their research and works to discuss the implications of new media and its spatial consequences.

On June 19th, the exhibition “Becoming Better People - New Generation Work Methods" opened at the Beijing Wind H Art Center, PILLS artwork “1994" was exhibited. This exhibition, planned by independent curator Cancan Cui, focuses on the new art phenomena presented by the most representative new generation of artists in the fields of art, architecture, and design in recent years, as well as the changes in their new identities. The participating artists include Zigeng Wang, Tianzhuo Chen, Drawing Architecture Studio, Yulu Ge, Shuzhi Mei, Youyu Ni, Wenmin Tong, Zhao Zhao, Yilun Zhou, Sha Zhu, and others. The artwork “1994" originated from a private memory of Zigeng Wang's childhood and his father. The work reproduces fragments of memory through mechanical, visual, interactive, and framing methods. It uses optical reflection principles to juxtapose different virtual images in the scene space, forming a narrative space that is related to but independent of the real space, creating contingency within it, and creating multiple levels of narrative. This work begins with the author's father-son memories while exploring the cycle of dependence, opposition, reconciliation, and regret in kinship.

On June 10th, PILLS architect Zigeng Wang was invited to attend and share a speech at the “Invisible City: Urban Open Discussion" themed forum. This event is the closing event of the Roca Gallery's “Invisible City" video art exhibition, inviting nine guests to share urban topics humorously and creatively, guiding the public to observe and reflect on the daily “invisible" things and objects in a more detailed, in-depth, and comprehensive manner. The guests include Dai Liu, Director of the China Sustainable City Project at the World Resources Institute (WRI), Rui Qian, Urban Designer of AECOM China Strategy and Development, and Bing Shao, Editor in Architectural Archives.

PILLS Digest is an internal lecture and reading group project initiated by PILLS. The first issue of PILLS Digest will focus on “The World: As an Architectural Project,” published by MIT Press in March 2020. The book records fifty speculative architectural projects in both text and image, showcasing how architects imagined the future of Earth through global-scale projects over a century ago. In this activity, PILLS researchers Jia Weng, Boya Guo, Hui Wang, and Yu Gong, together with the discussion guests Junyuan Feng, Yujia Bian, and Zheng Tan, jointly read several chapters of this book and rethought the changes and problems of the world order under the influence of the global COVID-19 through discussion.

As the last bid for Shenzhen's “Top Ten Cultural Facilities in the New Era", the International Competition for Architectural Design of Shenzhen Institute of Design and Innovation recently announced its results. The project was conducted through an “invite + open (pre-qualification)” method. Xinggang Li Studio of CADG and PILLS were the only Chinese team, with their work “Design Network / Eco Mound" winning the second prize in this competition. The design of this project is based on the relationship between the site and nature, creating a composite service-oriented public space that connects the architectural clusters and the natural ecological layers. The three-dimensional spatial network meets the needs of education, communication, dissemination, health, and life, providing various services for students' campus life and public visits. The design also incorporates ecological design methods to create a sustainable self-circulating site with a healthy and comfortable microclimate, forming an intelligent operating life system - a breathing hill. Campuses, cities, and forests form a complex and intertwined ecosystem where humans and nature coexist.

Recently, the exhibition “Unity is Strength" designed by PILLS, was selected for the 2021 ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards (Small Scale & Installation Art category). “Unity is Strength" was curated by independent curator Cancan Cui. It was the inaugural exhibition of “Nine-Tiered Pagoda: Spatial and Visual Magic" series, along with the solo exhibition of the art group Polit-Sheer-Form Office (PSFO), showcasing the collaborative efforts of PSFO artist, designer Zhizhi Liu and architect Zigeng Wang. Zigeng Wang's exhibition design is inspired by his interpretation of PSFO's portrait work “Mr. Zheng," which features a digital synthesis of the facial features of five PSFO members. The exhibition design abstractly extracts and juxtaposes five typical collective spaces (water room, cafeteria, screening room, barbershop, bathhouse), creating incidental connections between different buildings and objects. It constructs a blue corridor space of residential buildings to link PSFO's works in various media. The different combinations and sectioning relationships between symbols create a quasi-experience, immersing viewers in a familiar past and an unfamiliar dream.

Cultural Relics Bureau of Kaiyuan, Yunnan Province, recently announced the evaluation results of the curation and conceptual design proposals for the Kaiyuan Industrial Museum. PILLS stood out among the four competing proposals and won the bid, and will be commissioned by the Industrial Museum’s Construction Leading Group to refine the design further.

On December 22nd, Zigeng Wang was invited to attend the book launch of “Apartment Blossom" at ROCA Beijing Gallery. The book is co-authored by architect Han Li and scholar Qiuye Jin and produced by Archipelago and BMS. “Apartment Blossom" is the second volume of the “Urban Studies Degree Zero Series". It showcases various balcony transformations in ordinary residential buildings in Beijing through intricate architectural models. Qipeng Zhu, the chief designer of Wonder Architects, hosted the event, whose guests include Zigeng Wang, founder of PILLS, Yu Guang, partner of A Black Cover Design, and Chen Liang, director of ALEPH. The authors and guests discussed the content of “Apartment Blossom" and shared their observations on the spontaneous construction of folk architecture in Beijing, as well as their different interpretations of architectural models.

On November 22, 2020, the Autumn 2020 semester of the School of Architecture at Syracuse University, Beijing Visiting Critic Studio, was successfully concluded with a final review at PILLS Beijing Studio. The title of this course is “The Boundary of Selves: Domestic Space in the Age of Digital Screens," exploring how screens and related technological media reshape the public and private domains, how modern logistics and electronic payments change the attributes of people and cities, as well as the potential opportunities and performances of architecture in this contemporary context. The final review panel includes guests such as Fangzhou Jiang, Han Li, Hui Wang, Jia Weng, Shuo Wang, Tao Han, Zheng Tan, and Ziyu Zhuang. Students gave a brilliant presentation on Kinetoscope, Cinema, Television, Computer Screen, and Smart Screen.

Recently, the consortium of PILLS and Xinggang Li Studio of CADG have been successfully shortlisted for the “International Competition for Architectural Design of Shenzhen Institute of Design and Innovation”. This is the first time PILLS has participated in a major international architectural bidding as a consortium and has successfully been shortlisted. As the final bid for Shenzhen's “Top Ten Cultural Facilities in the New Era", the competition has attracted interest from numerous international architectural firms such as Sou Fujimoto and Snøhetta. The panel of experts in the judging committee conducted a transparent evaluation of the qualification pre-application documents submitted by 37 applicants, using a voting process with named ballots. After five rounds of voting, five non-ranked shortlisted applicants and two ranked alternate shortlisted applicants were selected. PILLS will proceed to the next phase of the design proposal along with the five shortlisted participants and three invited participants.

On October 24th, “Nine-Tiered Pagoda: Spatial and Visual Magic" launch project and the solo exhibition of the art group Polit-Sheer-Form Office (PSFO) -- “Unity is Strength" , opened at Pingshan Art Museum. “Nine-Tiered Pagoda" was initiated by curator Cancan Cui and architect Xiaodu Liu, consisting of nine sub-exhibitions created collaboratively by nine “artists + architects + graphic designers." As the first project of the “Nine-Tiered Pagoda" series, “Unity is Strength" is based on the works done by PSFO. The project invited architect Zigeng Wang from PILLS to design the exhibition space and graphic designer Zhizhi Liu from STUDIO NA.EO to create the visual system. The spatial design by PILLS for this project is derived from the interpretation of the portrait “Mr. Zheng" by PSFO. The portrait “Mr. Zheng" is a digital synthesis of the facial features of five PSFO members. The spatial design responds through the collage and juxtaposition of five typical collectivist spaces (water room, cafeteria, projection hall, barbershop, bathhouse). This space creates an infinitely extending blue corridor of a “tube-shaped building," a place for games detached from the content, connecting the display needs of PSFO's different media works. A series of collective memory symbols are laid out here based on abstract forms, leading the viewers into a familiar past and an unprecedented dreamland.

On October 15, 2020, PILLS Studio adopted a stray cat with white orange spots and appointed it the “Director" of the “PILLS Administration".

Zigeng Wang participated in the OCAT Shanghai Pavilion's Architecture Exhibition titled “Spatial Training: Some Houses (post-Reform and Opening-Up) and Some Buildings (post-World Expo)." The architect Chen Liang curated the exhibition and invited twelve young architects, including Zigeng Wang, Jiujiang Fan, Liaohui Guo, Yuan Jin, Wei Li, Chen Liu, Kenan Liu, Yang Liu, Shaobo Lu & Yilin Liu, and Yanfei Shui. The exhibition showcased twelve “buildings" that spanned the periods of reform and opening up and the Shanghai World Expo. The exhibition aimed to present cultural fragments that closely reflect an era and resonate collectively through the richness and uniqueness of individual experiences. Zigeng Wang's work “1994" originated from a period he spent with his father during his childhood. The work recreates fragments of memories through the combined use of mechanics, images, interaction, and staging. It uses the principles of optical reflection to juxtapose different virtual images in the spatial setting, creating a narrative space that is connected yet independent from the actual space. It also introduces chance elements in the space, bringing multiple layers of storytelling. This work is based on the personal memories of the author's father-son relationship while exploring the cycle of dependence, opposition, reconciliation, and regret within familial bonds.

On September 23th, Zigeng Wang, the chief architect of PILLS, was invited to give a lecture titled “Speculative and Narrative - PILLS' Recent Preoccupations” at Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Professor Yuan Wang from the School of Architecture and Urban Planning hosted the lecture. During the lecture, Zigeng Wang shared the studio's achievements, which primarily focus on speculative design and narrative methods, including works such as the “A Beautiful Country" trilogy, “Black Maria," and “Manufacturing Human: Eve's Choice." Zigeng Wang and PILLS use different media as metaphors for globalized space, transferring the process of thinking into visual presentations to express criticism of technological beliefs and explore the possibilities of architecture in contemporary society.

Zigeng Wang and Professor Tao Han, as course hosts and academic conveners, co-organize the lecture series “Architecture and Modernity" at the School of Architecture of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in the autumn of 2020. This is the fourth consecutive year since 2017 that Zigeng Wang and Professor Tao Han have become the co-moderator and coordinator of this course. “Architecture and Modernity" conducts special lectures and discussions, focusing on the core content and central theme proposed by the third generation of architectural theorists, such as Hilde Heynen. The course aims to build an open research platform based on star clusters, systematically and critically exploring the development and transformation of architecture and modernity in different historical and geographical contexts. In the fall of 2020, the guest speakers include Lei Liu, President of the Sino-French Architecture Society in China; Andong Lu, Professor Director of Nanjing University; Wanli Mo, Editor of Architecture China; Da Lin, Professor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Xiangjun Wang, Associate Professor of the University of Hong Kong; Hang Yu, Chief Architect of ATPROS Architecture Studio; Jing Han, Co-founder of ARCity Office; and Xiahong Hua, Professor of Tongji University.

Zigeng Wang, the chief architect of PILLS Studio, has been appointed as a visiting professor at the School of Architecture, Syracuse University, for the 2020 autumn semester. He will be leading a three-month design course in Beijing. The course “The Boundary of Selves: Domestic Space in the Age of Digital Screens” will explore how screens and related technological media reshape the public and private domains and how modern logistics and electronic payments change the attributes of people and cities. It will also discuss potential opportunities and expressions of architecture in this era. Jia Weng, the young scholar and Ph.D. candidate at Yale University and , will serve as the teaching fellow. And the coordinator is Fei Wang. The guest speakers include Liam Young, the director of the “Fiction and Entertainment” graduate program at the Southern California Institute of Architecture; Aric Chen, the curator of the Miami Design Exhibition; Sunquan Huang, the graduate mentor of the School of Cross-Media Art, China Academy of Art; and Junyuan Feng, the lecturer at the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts. Yanfei Shui, the chief architect of Shanghai based architecture studio NATURALBUILD, was appointed during the same period.

On July 15, 2020, PILLS Studio settled in the 1958 Park on Guangqu Road in Chaoyang District, Beijing.

PILLS architect Zigeng Wang was recently invited to attend the Practice Forum regarding the 14th Urban Planning and Natural Resource Informatization. He delivered a speech on “Technical Criticism and Possible Future” in the sub-forum “Future Cities: Space Prototyping and Innovative Design,” sharing the possibility of placing architecture under the scope of technical criticism, engaging in cross-disciplinary practice, intervention, and participation for building the future. This sub-forum is jointly organized by the Urban Big Data Special Committee of the China Urban Science Research Association, Beijing Urban Laboratory BCL, and the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University. The sub-forum is hosted by Ying Long, a researcher and doctoral supervisor at the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University. The speakers also included director Dongquan He from the Energy Innovation China Area, senior vice president Hongzhi Liu from AECOM Asia Pacific, also the director of Strategy and Development in Greater China, senior researcher Jinsong Liu at Tencent Research Institute, cofounder of dream deck Beijing smart technology Co., Ltd. Zheng Wang, and doctoral student Enjia Zhang at the School of Architecture at Qinghua University.

Zigeng Wang, the founder and chief architect of PILLS Studio, was invited to attend the academic event celebrating the 40th anniversary of the architecture program at the Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, known as the “Yanshan Lecture”. He delivered a speech titled “Speculative and Narrative - PILLS’ Recent Preoccupations”. Professor Guanghui Ding from the Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture hosted the discussion session after the speech. Zigeng Wang with the guests Qiuye Jin, Andong Lu further explored topics related to spatial politics, environmental control, technological philosophy, global infrastructure, and media culture.

Recently, the 2019 Xiongan City Furniture Design Competition announced the winning list. “Discovering Xiongan - Data Interaction and Ecological City Experience” stood out from the 455 entries in the public group and won the second prize in the public group. This competition is hosted by the Management Committee of Hebei Xiong An New Area. It is organized by the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Hebei Xiongan New Area Planning and Construction Bureau, Hebei Xiongan New Area Digital City Construction Leading Group Office, Hebei Xiongan New Area Planning and Research Center, and Xiongan Urban Planning and Design Research Institute. The competition aims to enrich research, plan in advance, and design urban furniture solutions for the large-scale construction of the Xiongan New Area. The planning scheme “Discovering Xiongan - Data Interaction and Ecological City Experience” is an urban service system that guides users to nearby service units through urban facilities such as manhole covers through the “Discovering Xiongan” mobile app, providing waiting, bicycle rental, device charging, jogging services, automatic sales, urban interactive maps, garbage collection, and other urban public services. The plan aims to enhance citizens' understanding and experience of ecological cities through data exchange and to build an emotional connection with the public environment through education and entertainment.

The Journal of Architecture recently published a special issue on architectural research and practice during the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) epidemic. The COVID-19 epidemic has dramatically impacted the world economy and society. It is widely regarded as a historic node. Under the challenge of this major public health emergency, the Journal of Architecture invites relevant researchers and practitioners from the industry to discuss academic and practical issues highlighted in the epidemic that have been overlooked, urgently need reflection, or must be addressed in the future. PILLS lead architect Zigeng Wang was invited to participate in the “Responding to Design Challenges” theme discussion, and he published an article titled “Three Kinds of Architecture: Some Reflections on Network and Architecture under the Epidemic.” In the article, Zigeng Wang believes that the application of the Internet may lead to three types of future architectural differentiation: wonder architecture, infrastructure architecture, and residential architecture. The discipline of architecture should be liberated from dogma. Instead, it should integrate new resources and professional knowledge, placing itself in the scope of artificial environment and technical criticism. It should reexamine its relevance, reflecting on its direction and progress under the influence of the Internet and its potential contribution to humanity.

On April 19th, the 8th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture “Urban Interaction” was officially completed. The PILLS exhibited artwork “Manufacturing Human: Eve's Choice” stands out from over 140 works from 24 countries and has become one of the four groups of works that have won the Academic Committee Award. The co-awarded works include Feng Yuan's “You Mu (Mu),” Yonghe Zhang and his perspective installation “Looking for Brunelleschi” in architectural design, and Zhiyang Zhang's “City of Symbiosis.” “Manufacturing Human: Eve's Choice” presents a brand new human made up of precise computer segmentation and splicing. She was wrapped in a transparent plastic film in a curled-up posture. The pipeline winding around the doll not only conveys her life and energy but also restricts her actions. The bitten-off apple in the doll's hand - the forbidden fruit in the Bible - is a technological totem of the Cyber era. The concept of “Manufacturing Human” implies that humans have chosen the fate of cybernetics, and electronic media has become the “prosthetic" of humans. People and external technology are interdependent.

Recently, PILLS's design proposal “Living as Art” won the “Hills of the Arts” Gold Mentions award in the 2020 Young Architects Competition (YAC) International Architectural Design Competition. This competition is located in the eastern foothills of Turin, Italy, overlooking the city. The original historical buildings are transformed into generators that combine living, art, creation, and exhibition, with the intention of redefining new possibilities between living and art. PILLS is the only Asian architect team that won awards in this competition. The inspiration for the plan comes from Brasilica, with a multi-purpose sunken theater as the core space, hiding the main additional parts underground and connecting the two existing historical buildings in the basement. The artistic settlement has become an important hub for connecting transportation, landscape, and lighting, making the vision of living as art a reality.

The X Art Museum will open on March 17, 2020, and will launch the first X Art Museum Triennial Exhibition, “Terminal>How Do We Begin?”. This exhibition attempts to sort out the trends of the millennial generation in the digital age, analyze the impact of media terminals on group perception and communication, and invite artists from cross-media practice to participate in discussions. PILLS hosted the exhibition of architect Zigeng Wang's works “Black Mary” and “Bitter Tower.” On the one hand, “Black Mary” points to the borrowing of film tools, and on the other hand, it implies a human dilemma, using models to metaphorically depict the alienated relationship between systematic people and the supply system. The exhibition work “Bitter Tower” attempts to explain the contradictions and tensions hidden in the geographical landscape of current global capital activities through the geographical reset of the global industrial chain of Apple products.

During the release of the BMW X family's THE X6, Zigeng Wang, as one of the three artists invited by the brand, accepted an interview from Lens. He shared with BMW about his work, from his student lives to the establishment of his studio. He shared his thinking process behind his cross-border art practices, told stories about releasing nature in his creative career, and deeply explored the resonance connection between him and the brand.

The 8th Shenzhen Hong Kong City / Architecture Twin Cities Biennale recently opened, with PILLS' artwork “Manufacturing Human_Eve's Choice" exhibited at the main exhibition hall, Shenzhen Contemporary Art and Urban Planning Museum (MOCAUP). The curators of the biennial exhibition included Jianmin Meng, an academician of the CAE Member, and Fabio Cavalucci, a famous curator and art critic. The exhibition theme is “Urban Interactions,” focusing on how technological progress will affect the relationship between cities and people, science and technology, nature, and the relationship between them. “Manufacturing Human_Eve's Choice" presents a brand new human made up of precise computer segmentation and splicing. She was wrapped in a transparent plastic film in a curled-up posture. The pipeline winding around the doll not only conveys her life and energy but also restricts her actions. The bitten-off apple in the doll's hand - the forbidden fruit in the Bible - is a technological totem of the Cyber era. The concept of “creating humans” implies that humans have chosen the fate of cybernetics, and electronic media has become the “prosthetic” of humans. People and external technology are interdependent.

The 8th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (Shenzhen) recently opened, with PILLS work “Artificial Nature: the Other Fruits" exhibited in the sub-exhibition area of Bao An Bridge Front Community. The theme of this exhibition is “Coordinates: Theater," connecting domestic and foreign architects, artists, designers, and related research institutions. The Biennale perceives social space through multiple fields and perspectives of intervention and communication, establishing a relationship with the space of modern industrial relics through exploring the connection between past people and themselves, nature, and mythology.

Recently, the 8th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (Shenzhen) held an academic seminar on “Interaction in the Ascending" around the exhibition theme. PILLS Studio architect Zigeng Wang was invited as a guest to attend. The seminar was hosted by Yuxing Zhang, a professor from the School of Architecture and Urban Planning of Shenzhen University, and Jianmin Meng, an academician of the CAE Member. It focused on the design practice and theoretical thinking of “interaction" and “dimension upgrading" in the process of urban evolution. The seminar also jointly discussed the future urban development in the context of the digital era. The attending guests also included Jianguo Wang, Shu Wang, Fujimoto Zhuangjie, and others. In the seminar, Zigeng Wang pointed out that architecture currently does not have the ability to respond to urban forms in the network era, and architects should seek methods and means to intervene in public discussions, utilizing professional skills and technology to participate in the construction of future cities.

On December 20, 2019, the “Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Foundation of the People's Republic of China - The Thirteenth National Exhibition of Fine Arts", sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese Federation of Literary and Art, and the Chinese Artists Association, was grandly opened at the National Art Museum of China. The work “Steel Home Still," co-curated and spatially designed by PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was selected for this exhibition. The exhibition “Steel Home Still: Exhibition of Urban Regeneration Achievements of Shougang Industrial Heritage Park & No.3 Blast Furnace Museum" is organized by Shougang Group, Beijing Shougang Construction Investment Co., CCTN Design, and Beijing Shougang International Engineering Technology Co. It was initiated and planned by CCTN Design host architect Hongtao Bo and co-curated by PILLS founder and host architect Zigeng Wang. The exhibition takes the transformation of industrial heritage in the northern area of Shougang Industrial Park as a clue, expressing the history, present, and future of Shougang Industrial Park through immersive space and individual narrative levels and exploring the path of China's modernization transformation represented by Shougang through micro abstraction.

PILLS lead architect Zigeng Wang was recently invited to attend the “2019 Perception Forum: Using Creative Collective as a Method" hosted by the China Academy of Art School of Intermedia Art. The forum focuses on the improvement and support between teaching and creation, focusing on a creative collective composed of teachers and students. The forum discusses the driving force of ideas and artistic production. Several guests participated in the second forum conversation to explore the possibility of cross-media art creation. These guests include Zigeng Wang, artist Xian Tao, and Bin Tan, a teacher at the Shanghai School of Design and the School of Innovative Design at the China Academy of Fine Arts, and researcher Jiarui Wu. The key speakers included media person Chaohui Zhu, photography artist Jieming Hu, young teacher Jingjian Li from the School of Music at Shanghai University, and researcher and doctoral supervisor Chengjian Sun from the Film and Television Art Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Arts. The discussion was chaired by Professor Shiqiang Gao, Director of the Experimental Art Department of the China Academy of Art School of Intermedia Art.

On November 20th, PILLS lead designer Zigeng Wang was invited to attend the academic seminar on “Urban Architecture Thinking of Underground Space” at Tongji University. The conference centered around the hot topic of urban construction and research in recent years, namely “underground space development.” Zigeng Wang presented his recent translations and reflections on underground spaces at the seminar. The seminar attendees included Professor Zhongwei Shen from the School of Architecture and Design at Southwest Jiaotong University, Professor Yu Zhuang from the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University, Vice Director Qian Shang from the Architecture Department at Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Vice President Jian Jia from the Institute of Architectural Design and Research at Tongji University, Senior Vice President Hongzhi Liu from AECOM Asia Pacific, and Engineer Liangcheng Zhu from Shanghai Municipal Design and Research Institute. The academic hosts were Zheng Tan, Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University, and his research assistant, Xiaohua Deng. 

Recently, Zigeng Wang was invited to visit the MS Fiction and Entertainment graduate program at the Southern California School of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and shared his recent creative achievements and insights at a seminar hosted by project leader Liam Young. Considering the course theme, Zigeng Wang and students from the Southern California School of Architecture jointly discussed the changes and contradictions related to the contemporary architectural discipline in the multimedia digital era and the possibility of cross-disciplinary practice.

Recently, invited by the Harvard School of Design and its Association of Chinese Students and Scholars, PILLS hosted a lecture titled “Curiosity and Method - Pills' Recent Preconditions” by architect Zigeng Wang at the GSD Gund Hall. The speech centers around the studio's recent works, discussing designs with critical thinking and ways of narratives. The work covers contemporary geography, spatial politics, environmental control, technological philosophy, globalization infrastructure, production and consumption relations, and media culture. The lecture delves into the changes and contradictions in the contemporary architectural agenda and the possibility of architecture intervening in today's society.

On November 10th, Zigeng Wang was invited to attend the New York campus event of the School of Architecture at Syracuse University. He held a special lecture on “Curiosity and Method - Pills' Recent Preconditions” to share his recent practice and research achievements. Zigeng Wang discusses designs with critical thinking and ways of narratives in contemporary geopolitical, spatial politics, environmental control, technological philosophy, global infrastructure, production and consumption, and media culture background around his works. He profoundly analyzes the changes and contradictions in architecture in contemporary society and explores the possibility of architectural intervention and cross-disciplinary practice.

On November 7th, PILLS, led by architect Zigeng Wang, was invited to be a distinguished lecturer in the Neuro Architecture Imaging lecture series at the School of Architecture, Syracuse University. He delivered a speech titled “Curiosity and Method - Pills' Recent Preoccupations." Zigeng Wang discussed his works, engaging in a discourse on speculative design and narrative methods in the context of contemporary geopolitics, spatial politics, environmental control, technological philosophy, global infrastructure, production and consumption, and media culture. Together with faculty and students, he delved into a comprehensive exploration of the contradictions and relevance of architectural agendas in contemporary society, as well as the possibilities of architectural interventions.

The “NEXT Youth Architects Symposium” recently opened at the Water Conservancy Hall of Tianjin University. This exhibition is jointly organized by the School of Architecture of Tianjin University and the magazine “Urban Environment Design" (UED). It is co-curated by Xiangning Li, Vice Dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University, Qiuye Jin, Professor of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning of Beijing University of Architecture, and Xinnan Zhang, Director of the Department of Architecture of Tianjin University of Architecture. The exhibition is an important event during Tianjin University Academic Week, and PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited to participate and deliver a speech. The architects jointly invited included Yanfei Shui, Han Li, Jiujiang Fan, and others, presenting the ideas and achievements of 15 young architectural firms that have gradually emerged in recent years. The exhibition showcases Zigeng Wang's design and curation of the Shougang Centennial Commemorative Exhibition “Steel Home Still." This project takes the transformation of industrial heritage in the northern area of Shougang Industrial Park as a clue, expressing the history, present, and future of Shougang Industrial Park through immersive space and individual narratives, exploring the path of China's modernization transformation represented by Shougang through micro abstraction.

The lecture series on “Architecture and Modernity” for graduate and doctoral students, offered by the School of Architecture of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, was officially established in 2017. Tao Han and Zigeng Wang, from the School of Architecture of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, jointly became the course hosts and academic conveners.  With a critical perspective on the mutual influence between “Architecture” and “Modernity,” the course explores the occurrence, expansion, and transformation under various historical and geographical conditions. The course aims to systematically study the complex relationships and key disciplinary paradigms between “architecture,” “global capitalist development,” and “China's modernization”. Based on contemporary problem awareness, the course host invites ten scholars from different fields yearly, attempting to construct an open research platform for critical discussions on the relationship between architecture and modernity. The invited speakers for the 2019 course include Professor Min An Wang from the School of Humanities at Tsinghua University, Associate Professors Rong Zhou, Feng Qing, and Lu Fan from the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University, Professor Duanfang Lu from the School of Architectural Design and Urban Planning at the University of Sydney, Professor Fei Wang from the School of Architecture at Syracuse University in the United States, Professor Andong Lu from Nanjing University, Professor Yuzhen Yang from Chongqing University, and Yanfang Niu from the Youth Association of the Honorary Society of Humanities and Social Sciences at Southern University of Science and Technology.

Recently, the theme forum “Public Space Design - Mexico City and Beijing Cases,” chaired and convened by Zigeng Wang, was successfully held at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Beijing and Mexico City are both historic and cultural cities. In rapid urbanization, the two cities face similar problems in urban renewal and public space improvement. This forum invited five young scholars from Mexico City and six from Beijing to jointly discuss the challenges in urban policy, community participation and interaction, design, and spatial construction. They are also invited to exchange views on representative viewpoints related to public spaces and the challenges faced by public spaces. Pei Zhu, Dean of the School of Architecture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and Zhong Wang, Dean of the School of Urban Design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, attended the forum and delivered opening speeches.

The “Chinese Culture World Tour · Perception of Beijing · Design Journey” series activities were recently invited and held during Helsinki Design Week. Among them, the “New Generation” section focuses on the new achievements and figures of contemporary Chinese design, inviting 14 new generation designers from various fields in Beijing under the theme of “80, 90”. PILLS host architect Zigeng Wang was invited to participate in the exhibition with his artwork “Dukkha Tower.” The “Dukkha Tower” attempts to explain the contradictions and tensions hidden in the geographical landscape of today's globalized capital activities through the geographical reset of the global industrial chain of Apple products. The work intuitively juxtaposes the production (Dongguan in the tower) and consumption (Apple store at the Bottom) links in the real world, revealing and questioning the hidden violence in the highly integrated world economy through the presentation of cross-sectional images. The artwork persuades the viewer to accept the authenticity of this reconstructed world, which is an irony of the “reality” in the real world.

Recently, PILLS founder architect Zigeng Wang delivered a lecture on “Speculation and Narration” at Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, sharing his thinking process and creative achievements based on speculation and narrative from his student life to the life after the establishment of his studio. PILLS conducts extensive practice through exhibitions, publications, and construction projects, covering topics such as capital and spatial politics, environmental control and technological philosophy, globalization and infrastructure, contemporary media culture, and production-consumption relationships. The lecture talks about the changes and contradictions in the contemporary architectural agenda, as well as the possibility of architecture intervening in today's society.

In the spring semester of 2019, the third-year student experimental class of the School of Architecture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts invited renowned architect Jiakun Liu as the supervisor. Zigeng Wang was also invited to participate in the joint teaching. This course is Jiakun Liu's first architectural teaching experience at a university, with the course titled “Film Museum Design”. It is based on the second phase renovation project of the Chengdu Eying Factory for real problem training. The project aims to cultivate students' emotional understanding of the space, control of material properties, and rational thinking of architecture. In summary, the course explores new possibilities for architectural design teaching. This project requires students to transform their self-awareness of the site into a specific architectural plan for the film museum at Eying, which includes exhibition halls, interactive experience spaces for movies, movie salon spaces, and outdoor exhibition spaces. At the end of the course, architects, filmmakers, scholars, and other guests were invited to participate in the project, including Mingxian Wang, Li Zhang, Rong Zhou, Xiangning Li, Xinggang Li, Tingxiao Huo, Hu Li, Li Hua, Gong Dong, and other guests.

Recently, the Spring Elective Course “Cinematography: As a Narrative Medium” at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, hosted by Zigeng Wang, released its course plan. This course talks about movies, for example, the development history of film imaging technology over the past century, the temporal and spatial structure of narrative, film text, film photography, film art design, visual effects, film theory, and commentary. In summary, this course explores the form and significance of film as a narrative medium and tool. The course will be jointly taught by teachers from universities such as the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Beijing Film Academy, as well as relevant film practitioners, in the form of lectures. The course not only emphasizes the historical and theoretical development of film as a narrative technique and audio-visual language but also emphasizes the application of imaging technology in artistic expression and practice. Invited speakers include young writer Fangzhou Jiang, film director Rui Yang, film critic Qi Liu, photography director Xingmai Deng, vice director of “One Step Away” Dan Zhao, teacher of the School of Fine Arts at Beijing Film Academy Yu Zhou, teacher of the Photography Department at Beijing Film Academy Yang Gao, independent director and screenwriter Jiayuan Liu, and film concept designer Tao Song.

On April 28, 2019, PILLS architect Zigeng Wang was invited to attend the 2050 “Body City" lecture and deliver a speech on “Disney, Infrastructure, and Debody." Deli Zhao, a visiting professor from the School of Architecture and Art at the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts and the Department of Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design in the United States, convened this event. The forum shared each individual's difficulties, challenges, breakthroughs, and contributions to self-creation through lectures, models, drawings, conversations, performances, and screenings. Guests including Zigeng Wang, a teacher at the School of Architecture at Central Academy of Fine Arts and the host architect of PILLS; Tao Han, a professor at the School of Architecture of the Central Academy of Fine Arts; Chao Yan, a visiting teacher at the School of Architecture and Art at the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts; and Sen Mou, the director of the Cross Media School at the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, shared their creative and technical experiences.

On April 26, 2019, PILLS architect Zigeng Wang was invited to attend the China UK Future Urban Summit held at the Qili Hotel on the Grand Canal in Hangzhou. The conference, with the theme of “Green, Smart, and Sustainable Urban Development," was co-hosted by the British Embassy in China and the China Urban Planning Institute. The aim was to strengthen the cooperation between China and the UK in smart cities and urban planning, explore potential challenges of international collaboration, and explore intelligent solutions. During the meeting, Zigeng Wang shared the design practices of PILLS Studio and delved into the challenges faced by China's urban development and transformation, the contradictions and relevance of the architectural agenda in contemporary society, as well as the possibility of architectural intervention with guests.

On April 14, 2019, Shougang Venice's “Steel Home Still" curatorial notes were published in the 7th edition of the People's Daily Overseas Edition. Curators Hongtao Bo and Zigeng Wang shared the planning ideas and exhibition design of the Shougang Exhibition in this article. As the exhibition title “Steel Home Still" suggests, the curator positions the exhibition as "presenting the history, present, and future of Shougang Industrial Zone from an individual and family narrative perspective." At the same time, this exhibition utilizes media languages from different fields, such as architecture, film, stage setting, graphic design, literature, multimedia, photography, etc., in an immersive experience, opening up a memory of time belonging to Shougang for the audience of Venice. From a macro perspective, it outlines the construction process of urban revitalization represented by Shougang Park.

Recently, the Shenzhen Pingshan Art Museum (New Museum) held a grand opening exhibition organized by the Pingshan District People's Government of Shenzhen: “Unknown City: China Contemporary Architecture Installation Image Exhibition (Pingshan)”. An academic forum is held at the same time. PILLS artwork “Black Maria” was invited to participate in the exhibition, and Zigeng Wang attended the opening ceremony and participated in academic discussions. This exhibition is a large-scale professional exhibition, with Yuxing Zhang, Cheng Ye, and Jing Han as curators, Jianguo Wang, Jianmin Meng, and the Chinese academician Kai Cui, as academic consultants. Through the works of 71 exhibitors (including institutions and consortiums), this exhibition reflected on the systematic aspect of human physical living space and the direction of the future architectural development of the new generation in a logical way from multiple fields and perspectives. “Black Maria” is a spatial fable that is inconsistent in appearance. It is a space specialized in producing falsehoods. The model is a three-layer wrapped structure, with a green curtain room containing a crib at its core. Green screen technology is a common technique in the later stages of movies. It constructs a fake carrier of the environment., which relies on the complex infrastructure supply system above it. The room becomes the terminal of such a machinery supply system. This system is hidden in a fake facade of film production, which originated from the Overlook Hotel where the author's family was imprisoned in director Stanley Kubrick's film “The Shining”. Zigeng Wang hopes to use model works as a metaphor for the alienated relationship between systematic people society and the supply system.

Recently, the “A Cinematic Museum of the Everyday: A Workshop on Cinematic Architecture” was successfully held, jointly organized by the Department of Architecture at Cambridge University and the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Nanjing University. PILLS founder and lead architect Zigeng Wang was invited to work as a workshop mentor with over ten scholars and designers, including Francois Penz, a professor and head of the Department of Architecture at Cambridge University, and Qiuye Jin, a professor at Beijing University of Architecture. The workshop is divided into 14 parallel working groups, focusing on daily life as the research target, and treating images as archives of daily life. By comparing the “image archaeology” and cross-cultural differences of daily life contained in past film shots, a new understanding of “spatial daily life” is obtained. The research outcomes are presented by short films. 14 short films, together with a daily image museum, are exhibited in Shanghai Nahang Space, the Art Museum of Nanjing Art Institute, and Manchester China Contemporary Art Center.

Recently, Mosen Mostafavi, Dean of the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, held a lecture and academic seminar at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. This event was the launch of the 2019 academic theme “Bauhaus and Contemporary China” at the School of Architecture, Central Academy of Fine Arts. Professor Mustafavi combines his experience as a dean at the British Architecture Alliance, Cornell University, and Harvard University to reveal the changes in the concept, framework, identity, key nodes, and other aspects of world architecture education after Bauhaus, especially in the past three decades. He also presents his own profound insights into architecture and architecture education. At the seminar “Post Bauhaus: Intellectuals, Architecture, and Social Reconstruction” after the lecture, Zigeng Wang, as a representative of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, proposed personal practice what young scholars can do for the reflection and reconstruction of architecture in the post-Bauhaus era. This event also invited more than ten top Chinese architectural school deans, scholars, and architects jointly discussed and participated, including Mingxian Wang, Vice Director of the Institute of Architectural Arts at the Chinese Academy of Arts, Weimin Zhuang, Dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tsinghua University, Zhenyu Li, Dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University, Dongqing Han, Dean of the School of Architecture at Southeast University, Rong Zhou, Associate Professor of the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University, and Hui Wang, Chief Architect of Urban Practice, as well as numerous Alumni from Harvard university, Cornell University, and the British Architecture Alliance.

Recently, architects Xiaodu Liu and Zigeng Wang were invited as mentors for the open course of the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University. They jointly guided the third-year course with the theme of “Rural Revival Experiment of Art and Life”. The course is based on the artistic settlement of Xiaozhuo Town in Huian, Fujian. Xiaozhuo is a typical town that has been distorted in the conflict between traditional culture and modern economic life. The course leads students to conduct research under the complex context of restoring traditional culture, protecting native scenery, and seeking revitalization and development. They are asked to explore overall planning ideas and specific individual schemes, in order to provide more possibilities for the revitalization plan of Xiaozhuo Town. The course outcomes are to be exhibited at the Xiaozhuo Art Museum.

The Theme Forum “Observe the City from the Museum: New Trends in the Development of Urban Cultural Space” recently opened at the Shenzhen Contemporary Art and Urban Planning Museum. The forum was organized by the Shenzhen Planning and Land Resources Commission (Municipal Oceanic Bureau) and the Shenzhen Contemporary Art and Urban Planning Museum. PILLS founder and lead architect Zigeng Wang was invited to attend and participate in the round table discussion. The theme forum of “Observe the City from the Museum" takes the urban microcosm inside the museum as the starting point to explore and observe the urban development outside the museum and returns to the fundamental concept of “people-oriented," exploring the imprint of Shenzhen's characteristics in urban space. Zigeng Wang, along with Sen Mou, Director of the Media Exhibition Department of Cross-disciplinary Media Art School of China Academy of Fine Arts, Kangyan Deng, Vice President of Shenzhen Film and Television Association, Yuan Feng, Director of the Visual Culture Research Center of Sun Yat-sen University, and Mengdi Li, President of Silk Road Visual Technology Co., Ltd., and other guests, participated in a roundtable conference entitled “Development Trends of Shenzhen Urban Public Space."

Recently, “The Life and Work of Frank Gehry” printed by Utopia was released to the public. Zigeng Wang was invited to attend a book-sharing event held in the Louis Vuitton Beijing Cultural and Art Space. Together with the book translator Rui Tang, they interpreted this controversial contemporary architecture master from the perspectives of architecture and art, sharing their practical exploration regarding the art of architecture. The “The Life and Work of Frank Gehry” records important and highlighted moments of an architect's life. Through extensive interviews and research, it fully presents Frank Gehry's life from a Jewish immigrant to a famous architect. The biography focuses on on-site reproduction, lightly revealing the unknown story behind Gehry's architectural works, for example, the way he managed to maintain his “avant-garde” and resolve “controversies” in the transformation of identity from “outsiders” to “insiders”. More importantly, the story also tells about the anxiety brought by his success along with the hesitation due to his ambitions, and how these feelings, alleviated through art and technology, lead him to the next peak.

In 1968, hundreds of thousands of people walked to the streets around the world. The anti-war has linked with demands of anti-capitalism, anti-imperialism, anti-racism, and anti-bureaucracy, making “1968” a resonance moment of “rupture” in the existing order of the capitalist world. Meanwhile, the sudden changes in media and technology also profoundly reshaped the existing world order in the second half of the 20th century. However, the stance of resistance has promoted the self-evolution of capitalism and made it more resilient. Fifty years later, the critical theories of the radical left were absorbed by the academy and gradually submerged in the wave of postmodernism. Radical language and visual images such as “resistance” and “liberation” have been harvested by the marketing industry, becoming advertising strategies in segmented consumer fields. The art of resistance against “anti-culture” has become a more ironic footnote to commodity fetishism. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of 1968, PILLS, in collaboration with “Pengpai News · Thought Market” and “Single Reading”, launched a special issue titled “Radical Technology - the 50th Anniversary of 1968, Re-examination of World Order”. They publicly solicited articles with relevant themes, inviting people to re-examine the technological changes and their shaping of the world during the period of modern capitalism's “fragmentation”, and to rethink the difficulties and realities of today's world order.

“POLYPHASE - The BFA First Youth Interdisciplinary Forum" of the Beijing Film Academy was recently held in Beijing. This forum, hosted by the Beijing Film Academy, brings together nearly 30 young teachers and artists from universities such as Peking University. They rethink the essence of art from multiple research perspectives such as animation, media, photography, and design, innovating the methodology of art creation at a macro level. PILLS founder and lead architect Zigeng Wang was invited to deliver a speech named “Media and Narrative of Space Politics" at the “Interdisciplinary Narrative Generation" sub-forum. This lecture presents the architectural practices of PILLS Studio, aiming to redefine contemporary urban and architectural issues in a speculative manner. It observes and intervenes in contemporary culture in various ways, deeply explores the production mechanisms behind space, and attempts to outline the contemporary world landscape and human living conditions.

After several months of preparation, PILLS Studio was officially established. PILLS is a composite architectural studio centered around contemporary spatial culture. Our interests mainly focus on capital and spatial politics, environmental control and technological philosophy, globalization and infrastructure, contemporary media culture and production-consumption relations, and image and media technology. We aim to redefine the agenda of contemporary cities and architecture more speculatively, observe and intervene in contemporary culture in various ways, explore the mechanisms behind spatial production more deeply, and outline the contemporary world's landscape and people's living conditions. Our work areas mainly include architecture and urban design, installation and artistic works, curation and architectural planning, imaging and multimedia production, independent publishing, and other speculative practices.

Recently, the exhibition “Steel Home Still: Exhibition of Urban Regeneration Achievements of Shougang Industrial Heritage Park & No.3 Blast Furnace Museum", opened in Venice, Italy. The exhibition was organized by Shougang Group, Beijing Shougang Construction Investment Co., Ltd., Zhujing Design, and Beijing Shougang International Engineering Technology Co., Ltd. It was initiated and planned by Zhujing Design Chief Architect Hongtao Bo, and co-curated by PILLS founder and host architect Zigeng Wang. The exhibition takes the transformation of industrial heritage in the northern area of Shougang Park as a clue to explore the transformation path of China's modernization. It expresses the history, present status, and future of the Shougang Industrial Zone in micro abstraction, through immersive spatial and individual narratives The exhibition “Casting Memories: Achievements of Urban Revitalization", gathers creators from various fields such as architecture, drama, literature, multimedia, and film, including exhibition design director Zigeng Wang, digital media creative director Jun Fei, landscape art director Nali Zhao, narrative script author Fangzhou Jiang, narrative design designer Lei Shang, model director Yijie Chen, and graphic design director Zhizhi Liu. The curators and creative team broke the disciplinary boundaries and collaborated to complete this set of montage space installations that tell the story of the times and the collective, bringing empathy to the audience through multi-angle narratives.

On July 13, the film “Hidden Man,” directed and written by Jiang Wen and adapted from the martial arts novel “Xiayin” by Zhang Beihai, was released. “Hidden Man” is the final installment of Jiang Wen's Republic of China trilogy, depicting a revenge story set against the backdrop of the outbreak of the “Marco Polo Bridge Incident” in 1937, during a time of national crisis. Zigeng Wang served as the director's architectural history and environmental consultant (construction adviser) and was involved in the two-year preparation process for the film. Through the excavation and research of first-hand materials related to ancient architecture, Zigeng Wang contributed to the historical reconstruction and scene creation of the streets of Beijing during the Republic of China period. Simultaneously, he collaborated with the special effects, photography, and art departments to construct a 40,000-square-meter “rooftop world" for shooting, presenting spectacular scenes of the protagonist's extraordinary feats of “rooftop walking" to the audience.

On June 30th, the architecture group exhibition “Infrastructural Territory: The Spatial Foundation of National Discourse" kicked off at the OCAT Shanghai, and Zigeng Wang's work “Leviathan" was invited to participate. The exhibition is curated by young architecture critic and architect Zheng Tan. It showcases the process of integrating infrastructure into cultural landscapes through various media forms such as installations, images, models, and videos. It also looks forward to the future role and status of infrastructure in reconstructing large-scale regional spaces and micro-scale daily spaces. “Leviathan" depicts a city composed of a large ship of OEM factories, an abandoned industrial tomb, and the remains of a Leviathan. This Leviathan is the economic solution and way of life in the era of globalization: a mobile OEM factory (a sea prison that cannot be left). This work uses ships as a spatial metaphor for globalization, describing the failure of a utopia that cannot self-supply and rely on massive infrastructure trading for survival in the context of globalization. This utopia is the reflection of the world's alienated reality and extreme modernist beliefs. Zigeng Wang participated in the academic forum on “Global Infrastructure and Its Spatial Expression," held at the same time as the exhibition. The speakers also included Professor Liangcong Li from the School of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong, Vice Dean Tao Han from the School of Design at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and artist as well as director Bo Wang.

Recently, the Hyundai Blue Prize Award winner exhibition “Drifting" opened at the Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing in the 798 Art District successfully, with Zigeng Wang invited to participate. The exhibition takes “social mobility" as its theme, focusing on the most specific political reality and the daily life around us, exploring and discussing the various tensions shaping our lives in the current environment from different perspectives. Zigeng Wang's exhibition work, “Cecum of the World," reconstructed a Trilogy of observation, action, and dialogue through three spatial samples from Beijing, Chongqing, and Dongguan. The latter stimulates standard sharing, communication, and self-education practices in different locations and real-life situations.

Recently, the “Influence and Resistance - Tsinghua University and Central Academy of Fine Arts Co-Exhibition,” curated by Zigeng Wang, opened at the main exhibition hall of the 2017 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (Shenzhen). This is a joint exhibition of the teaching achievements of the third-year students of the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University and the graduation creation of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. It explores several important issues related to urban villages: “infrastructure and mobility,” “shaping of public spaces,” and “transformation of space and capital,” showcasing critical thinking about urban villages in Shenzhen. The urban villages in Shenzhen are a special historical existence that reflects a transcendent consideration determined by the complexity and randomness of the place. As such a “supertype,” urban villages seem to be left in the gaps after the segmentation of study fields in today's architectural knowledge. To this end, the exhibition and its courses use “influence and resistance” as the narrative thread, encouraging students to break free from habitual thinking, discover and interpret urban problems from alternative perspectives, research their strategies, and propose solutions.

On December 15th, Zigeng Wang was invited to participate in the 2017 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (Shenzhen), which was successfully opened in the Old City of Nantou. The theme of this year's “Shenzhen Double" is “Urban Symbiosis," with Hanru Hou, Xiaodu Liu, and Yan Meng as the main curators. More than 200 exhibitors from over 25 countries around the world, starting from “Urban Villages", explore and reflect on China's urban development in the context of globalization. They attempt to depict the vision and possibilities of future cities. Zigeng Wang's work “A Fairytale of A Fishing Village" was exhibited in the “Urban | Village" section. “A Fairytale of A Fishing Village" refers to a city composed of giant ships of OEM factories, an abandoned industrial tomb, and the remains of a Leviathan. This Leviathan is the economic solution and way of life in the era of globalization: a mobile OEM factory. This work uses ships as a spatial metaphor for globalization, describing the failure of a utopia that cannot self-supply and relies on massive infrastructure trading for survival in the context of globalization. This utopia is a projection of the alienated reality and extreme modernist beliefs of the world.

Recently, the 2017 Shanghai Urban Space Art Season successfully opened at the Minsheng Wharf Silo in Pudong, Shanghai. Zigeng Wang's work “Dukkha Tower" was invited to participate in the “Echo: Architecture and Society" section. The theme of this art season is “Connecting this Connection" to discuss the future of public spaces in contemporary urban processes. The “Echo" unit invites seven architects and scholars to participate, including Zigeng Wang, Francis Kéré, Jorge Raedo, and Andrés Jaque, reflecting the connection between social issues and spatial production, responding to the exhibition theme through architecture, multimedia, and image. “Dukkha Tower" attempts to explain the contradictions and tensions hidden in the geographical landscape of today's globalized capital activities through the geographical reset of the global industrial chain of Apple products. The work intuitively juxtaposes the production and consumption links in the real world (Dongguan in the tower) and the Apple store at the bottom of the tower, revealing and questioning the hidden violence in the highly integrated world economy through the presentation of cross-sectional images. The expression of the work persuades the viewer to accept the authenticity of this reconstructed world, which is an irony of the “reality" in the real world.

On November 24, the three physical exhibitions of the fourth “Youth Curator Program” of the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art (PSA) officially opened at the PSA and the Shanghai Swatch Peace Hotel Art Center. There are three groups of projects exhibited, namely “Sweet Home” (Wanli Mo, Yuanye Deng, Lin Lin), “# Tag” (Lixing Feng, Ji Shi, You Wu), and “Light Source Resort” (Anyi Feng, Siqiao Lv). The exhibition “# Label” focuses on works created using digital technology, logic, and concepts, transforming the exhibition hall into a real-time, updated, and stored cloud space. It rethinks the identities of art galleries and artists in art practice using the widely used tag symbol “#” on social media. Zigeng Wang's artworks “Dukkha Tower” and “Algorithm Landscape” explore the unique perception of network and machine logic in the digital age.

On November 11, on the occasion of the 80th and 65th anniversary of the establishment of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning of Chongqing University, the “2017 National Undergraduate Innovation Forum for Architecture Universities" activity series was successfully held. Zigeng Wang was invited to attend and give a speech. The forum features the theme of “The X-th Dimension of Architects - Future Practice from the Perspective of Change" and invites alumni and other architectural university guests to discuss topics such as the changing architectural spirit and their differences in the times, as well as the future practice of architectural students. During the lecture, Zigeng Wang shared his practice as a “narrator" in architecture during his studies, as well as the continuous impact of these actions on his own development. Other invited guests include Yi Liu, Executive Chief Architect of China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., Jian Huang, Vice Director of AECOM Planning and Design, Hongtao Bo, Director and Chief Architect of Hangzhou Zhonglian Zhujing Architectural Design Co., Ltd., and Dongtao Hong, Design Director of Shanghai Dachuan Architecture Design Firm.

The course “Architecture and Modernity" offered by the School of Architecture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts for graduate students is chaired by renowned scholar Juzheng Huang, with teachers Tao Han and Zigeng Wang as academic conveners. Each year, scholars from different fields are invited to give special lectures. This course attempts to construct an open research platform for critical discussions on the relationship between architecture and modernity. In the 2017 autumn academic year, scholars such as Juzheng Huang, Qiuye Jin, Zheng Tan, Tao Han, Zigeng Wang, and Pinjing Lv brought ten special lectures to the course, using key figures and individual cases, as well as their architectural works and ideas as samples, to explore various dimensions in the historical transformation of architecture and modernity.

On September 10, 2017, the Personnel Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts announced that Zigeng Wang was appointed as a teacher at the School of Architecture of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Recently, the 10th-anniversary course of the “Parametric Nonlinear Architectural Design Seminar at the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University" successfully opened. Zigeng Wang and Ji Shi were invited to tutor the installation team. The course is guided and themed by tutors from renowned universities such as Tsinghua University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The International Forum on the Sociology of Digital Design was held during the same period.

Recently, the National Museum of Architecture, the American Association of Architectural Students (AIAS), and the design platform Blank Space jointly held an exhibition called “When Architecture Tells a Story." Zigeng Wang's work “EMPTY" was exhibited. In 2015, the Fairy Tales International Architecture Competition, hosted by Blank Space, attracted over 1200 participants from 65 countries worldwide. “EMPTY" won the first prize in the competition. This work fictionalizes the story of a ship. This ship is an OEM factory drifting on the high seas. It is a global spatial carrier, a satirical economic solution template, and a new form of enterprise. The story's male protagonist is the son of this economic model’s inventor. He reads the diary of his deceased father and learns about the order of the old and new worlds where he lives between them. This story describes an ecosystem that cannot self-supply and relies on massive infrastructure trading for survival in the context of globalization.

Recently, Zigeng Wang and Xiaodu Liu were invited to the open teaching courses at the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University, jointly guiding the third-year design course “Impact and Resistance: Strategies and Experiments for Urban Renewal in Old Nantou." They also led 13 students to conduct research and design discussions on the site of Old Nantou in Shenzhen. The course analyzed the topics covered in urban renewal strategies, such as infrastructure and mobility, shaping of public spaces, and transformation of space and capital. These strategies were illustrated one by one, showcasing critical thinking regarding the villages in Shenzhen cities. The course outcomes are presented in the form of drawings, models, text, and images. They will be exhibited at the 2017 Shenzhen - Hong Kong Urban Architecture Biennale.

On September 28, the exhibitions “Landscape Society - Mapping the Future" and “Landscape Society - Folk Biography" opened at the Shanghai Himalayan Art Museum. The exhibition “Reconstructing Utopia" invites young architects from domestic and foreign countries to express their thoughts on utopian cities and future architecture with the power of the new generation. Zigeng Wang was invited to exhibit his work “Beijing Blue." This work is an 8-minute video that constructs an absurd future for Beijing residents to purchase fresh air from the United States through online payment platforms against the background of Beijing's air pollution.

On December 19, the “Landscape Construction ▪ Post 80s Young Architects Forum" was held at Hunan University. The New Architecture magazine and the School of Architecture of Hunan University organize this forum. The forum includes academic activities such as lectures, speeches, and exhibitions. This forum invites architects and scholars who are currently active in China to discuss topics such as “landscape," “architectural practice," and “educational practice." Zigeng Wang was invited to give a speech focusing on observing real life and exploring a series of changes related to the rapid development of modern technology through his understanding of political economy, ideology, hierarchy, etc.

On November 16, 2015, the Personnel Department of Beijing Film Academy announced that Zigeng Wang was appointed as a design teacher in the Department of Fine Arts at Beijing Film Academy.

On November 15, 2015, Zigeng Wang was invited to deliver a speech, "Invisible," at TEDxYouth @ Chongqing. At the event, Zigeng Wang elaborated on the creative ideas of the "A Beautiful Country" trilogy and shared his reflections as an architect on re-examining the processes of urbanization and globalization, spatial politics, and capitalist criticism.

On September 25th, Zigeng Wang was invited to give a speech titled “A Beautiful Country: Representation and Narration of Globalization Issues" at Akomixing Architecture Firm. He then had discussions with Han Li, the founder of the Painting Society, and Shen Zhuang, the founding partner of Akomixing. The speech presented three dystopian narrative design works about Beijing, Chongqing, and Dongguan in the context of economic and political globalization. The projects are all based on observations of the driving forces at different levels of current urban spatial shaping, using knowledge from architecture and other disciplines to explore critical thinking on architectural and urban spatial issues under different forms of expression in the logic of capital.

On August 10th, the International Workshop on “Design Response to Haze" at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University was successfully held. Zigeng Wang was invited as a mentor. The workshop was hosted and organized by Professor Linxue Li from the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University, with 48 students from top domestic and international architecture schools, including Harvard University and Tsinghua University. Iñaki Ábalos, Director of the Department of Architecture at Harvard University, architect Yonghe Zhang, and others were invited as judges for the design evaluations. The workshop theme is “Design Response to Haze - Thermodynamic Methodology in China," exploring original ideas, methods, and precedents for responding to contemporary environmental crises in China. Zigeng Wang guided students to conduct research and design within the framework of Urban Narration & System. He also delivered speeches during the workshop. In September, the design achievement exhibition and remote meeting were held at the GSD Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.

On the afternoon of May 21, the “New Path" - New Generation Architects Forum was held at the Shunde Hall in the Institute of Architectural Design and Research at Tsinghua University. The forum focuses on the theme of “New Normal · New Design," exploring changes and connections in architecture and related fields through the sharing of design works, concepts, and ideas among the new generation of architects, as well as how architects can actively take on social responsibility in a diverse society. Zigeng Wang was invited to attend the forum and delivered a speech titled “Blinding - A Possible Resistance," presenting short films such as “Beijing Blue" and “Dukkha Tower" and sharing his reflections on social observation and urban research in recent years.

On May 18, 2015, Zigeng Wang was invited to give a speech at the Red Chair Lecture Hall of the Central Academy of Fine Arts titled “Invisible - A Possible Resistance". The event was organized by the School of Architecture of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and co-organized by the TEXTENT Architecture Society. During the lecture, Zigeng Wang shared the creative process of speculative design projects such as "A Beautiful Country" and put forward the core viewpoint that “freedom is a practice," inspiring young people to rethink the core changes in the architecture discipline, starting from a re-examination of reality and criticizing society and history.

On April 17, 2015, Zigeng Wang was invited to deliver a lecture on the 12th session of the “Puha Lecture,” with the theme of “Cecum of the World - Chinese Cities and Narratives in the Context of Globalization.” In the lecture, Zigeng Wang, from the perspective of a narrator, reorganized and summarized his reflections on architectural ideas, architectural practices, and urbanization processes in various periods and shared a series of creative ideas and narrative design projects.

Recently, Zigeng Wang was invited to give a lecture on “Chinese Cities and Narratives Under the Context of Globalization" at the 37th Salon at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Chongqing University. Professor Yuzhen Yang and teacher Liu Liu attended the salon as guest speakers. Zigeng Wang used three interrelated anti-utopian narrative designs in his lecture. He utilized knowledge from architecture and other disciplines to express spatial criticism under the logic of capital through three narratives about Chinese cities, exploring disciplinary topics under different presentation forms. All projects are based on the observation of the driving forces from different perspectives regarding the current urban spatial shaping, with different focuses and correlations. Meanwhile, this attention is also brought to different cities and forms of expression.

On April 9, 2015, Zigeng Wang's architectural design project, “Microsoft Science and Technology Building," won the Silver Award at the first Shenzhen Architecture Creation Award. The Microsoft Science and Technology Building is located in the core area of the South Campus of Shenzhen High Tech Park, adjacent to the South Campus of Shenzhen University. Regarding building volume design, the plan starts from the logo of Microsoft Corporation, dividing the form into four units on the plane and twisting vertically to create an elegant and slender architectural shape under the unfavorable conditions of a large standard floor area and height limit of the tower. A podium is set up on the north side and extends to the south tower. The podium and tower are interlocked, and multiple ramps are set up around the podium to facilitate people's flow into the podium's roof. This truly returns the roof space of the podium to the public, adding a leisure space in this urban space with a single function and tight layout, thereby enhancing the value of the surrounding land.

On March 17, 2015, Zigeng Wang's work “EMPTY” won the first place in the 2015 Fairy Tales International Architecture Competition held by Blank Space. The competition attracted over 1200 entries from 65 countries worldwide, and EMPTY won the top spot. This work fictionalizes the story of a ship. This ship is an OEM factory drifting on the high sea, a global spatial carrier, a satirical economic solution template, and a new form of enterprise. The story's male protagonist is the son of this economic model inventor. He reads his deceased father's diary and thus understands the order of the old and new worlds between them. This story describes an ecosystem in the context of globalization that cannot self-supply and relies on massive infrastructure for survival rights trading.

On March 17, 2015, Zigeng Wang's work “Dukkha Tower" was nominated for Honorable Mention at the 2015 FAIRY TALES International Architecture Competition held by Blank Space. The competition attracted over 1200 entries from 65 countries worldwide, with 11 entries standing out and receiving honorary nominations. This project attempts to elucidate the contradictions and tensions hidden in today's globalized capital activities' geographical landscape by resetting the global industrial chain of Apple products. The narrative is led by a fictional eyewitness testimony recorded by a security guard working at the Apple store on the ground floor of the Empire State Building in New York. After experiencing a long period of auditory torture, the security guard discovers another world hidden inside the building. The “Dukkha Tower" is a cross-sectional map drawn based on his eyewitness records.

On September 5, the 2014 “Get it Louder Exhibition” opened in the southern area of Taikouli, Sanlitun, Beijing. Zigeng Wang's work “Dukkha Tower" was invited to participate in the architectural exhibition. Yonghe Zhang served as the curator of the architectural exhibition at this year's “Get it Louder Exhibition,” showcasing 17 projects created by Zigeng Wang, Xin Wang, FCJZ Studio, URBANUS, Atelier Deshaus, and Drawing Architecture Studio. Zigeng Wang's exhibition work “Dukkha Tower” is one of the “A Beautiful Country” trilogy, depicting a typical picture of capitalist activities in the context of globalization through the geographical reset of a typical product (iPhone) global industrial chain. The project attempts to showcase the contradictions and tensions in the geographical landscape of capitalist activities, the education and taming of others by neocolonialism under surface conditions, and the questioning of globalization.