The research explores the spatial and political agency of the Bi-City Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture 2019 since its foundation, unlocking the event’s faceted nature and inherent contradictions through simultaneous narratives, scales and perspectives. Epitomising Shenzhen’s ambitions as a world-class city, the Biennale aims at actively building a relationship between architecture and socio-spatial issues as a device to both investigate the city’s hypertrophic development and manipulate its urban fabric. Spaces transformed by the exhibition propel an idealised narrative of visual delight and urban extravaganza; at the same time, they embody the interlocking of multiple intellectual, corporate and institutional actors who use the event to pursue different objectives. The work shows the layered frictions between an ephemeral event’s narrative apparatus and its physical outcomes, questioning the relationship between biennials as theoretical platforms and their agency in real urban spaces.
