The first of its kind the Shenzhen Architectural Guide is dedicated to the city's architecture
and conceived as an atlas. The pages inside are filled with more than 150 relevant buildings
and places that constitute the physical palimpsest of modern China's most famous foundational
town. Founded in 1978 as one of the first Special Economic Zones under Deng Xiaoping's reforms
Shenzhen is a young city that was essentially built from the ground up at a rapid pace - hence
the infamous 'Shenzhen Speed'. Unlike most places it has built its fortune on being propelled
into the future without any connection to the past. Shenzhen is a place where business
immigration ports borders and nature come together to shape a unique and at times
mystifying architectural experience. This guide will introduce the reader to Shenzhen's
kaleidoscopic architecture with the help of bilingual coordinates and geodata. It will also
refer to the city's political history and cultural geography. By photographing these
state-of-the-art-works right before the Covid-19 crisis the book captures a sort of
'here-and-now' that will soon be transformed once again.
