Editing RAMa 2025 Shanghai Architecture Biennial (section)

== Theme & Curatorial Approach: ''Shanghai Picnic'' ==

=== “Shanghai Picnic” Concept ===
The 2025 edition frames the event metaphorically as a '''picnic''' — an informal, participatory, emergent mode of public gathering. The curatorial idea emphasizes choice, improvisation, and collective presence: people decide how and where they engage, with light architectural elements supporting rather than dictating.

The guiding principle is '''“Under a Common Sky, Sheltered to Gather”''': the central installation is a minimal shelter, suspended above the plaza, serving as a locus for gathering, rest, shade, and social interaction. It is conceived as reusable, non-prescriptive, and open-ended in function.

This concept aims not just for artistic statement, but to gently advocate for more human-scaled public amenities in urban areas controlled by private landowners. The project becomes a demonstration: small architectural gestures can catalyze more inclusive public life.

=== Urban Interventions ===
Beyond the central shelter, there are '''four selected urban installations''', each responding to themes of public function, climate, memory, and everyday life:

* '''In Search of a Loggia (Tangent Essays)'''  Reimagines an unfinished loggia (a covered corridor) that might have existed historically—bridging alleyway thresholds and suggesting new thresholds in the urban fabric.
* '''A Gentle Reclaim (Studio Vapore)'''  Introduces soft, mossy forms into a neglected alley, allowing nature to subtly reclaim urban structure—encouraging pause, reflection, and softer edges in the city.
* '''Pipe Up! (WWWorks)'''  A playful yellow drinking fountain installation that filters rainwater from nearby roofs, returning potable water to passers-by at three accessible heights. It connects to Shanghai’s tradition of civic water infrastructure.
* '''Food Stalls & Social Infrastructure (Alkhemist Architects)'''  Lightweight food stall structures are introduced, offering small-scale commerce and convivial gathering points, activating pedestrian life.

These interventions together compose a modest but tangible public realm upgrade — not grandiose statements, but small steps in rethinking how everyday architecture can serve the city.