Red Garden
Installation, 2026
Shanghai, China
Design: ZHANG Jie
Special Thanks: LIU Yuelai, HUO Guangqi, LIU Siteng, DENG Xifan, HE Chunyao, TANG Gaoxin, LIU Yanhe, ZHANG Zhaocheng
For College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University
This installation transforms the plaza in front of CAUP into a playful and ever-changing garden. Composed of modular units of plants and timber, the space shifts and reshapes itself with every activity, creating a living backdrop for public interaction. It invites students passing through—on their way to meals or picking up packages—to pause, enjoy the sunlight and breeze, and connect with greenery in unexpected ways.
The design draws inspiration from a familiar makeshift structure in Chinese neighborhoods: simple clothes-drying racks made from concrete-filled barrels with bamboo or wooden poles. Here, that logic is reimagined into a flexible, reusable prototype—a structure that can be rearranged, reused, and experienced anew, reflecting the fluidity of both space and time.
To allow the wooden framework to shift and adapt over time, the horizontal beams are suspended rather than rigidly fixed between the supporting structures. Plants and reclaimed wooden boards act as balancing counterweights, while water-filled bottles stabilize the base of each unit.
The red buckets—ordinary objects commonly found in everyday streetscapes—take on multiple roles within the installation. They function interchangeably as planters, seats, and surfaces for drawing and graffiti. Red is also carried through the project as an accent color within the timber structure, reinforcing the installation’s playful and improvised character.
The project also explores a workflow based entirely on CNC-prefabricated components. Assembled using bolts and screws, the structure is designed to be fully dismountable, allowing it to be broken down into easily transportable parts and reassembled in future sites and contexts.
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The Lab
Focus on the themes of publicness and theatricality within everyday spaces.
Architecture | Installation ｜ Social Practice
Shortlist (2026, Japan)
Yokohama Street Furniture Competition
Artist-in-Residence (2025, Japan)
Chiba City Arts Triennale
Honorable Mention (2023, Italy)
Reuse Italy Competition
Honorable Mention (2022, Estonia)
Tallinn Architecture Biennale-Vision Competition
Shortlist Nomination (2021, USA)
Ann Arbor Art Center-Alley Project
First Place (2020, UK)
Bubble Future Competition
Second Place (2019, India)
Archasm Competition
Members
ZHANG Jie / 张婕is a spatial designer and artist based in Shanghai. She trained as an architect at Huaqiao University and the University of Hong Kong from 2013 to 2020. Since relocating to Shanghai in 2020, she has focused on small-scale installations and spatial design.
YANG Chen / 杨晨 is an architectural designer and illustrator based in Florence. He studied architecture at Huaqiao University (2013-2018) and Politecnico di Torino (2019-2021), and has worked at WNA Architects in Torino and ACE Srl. in Florence.
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