Construction is underway on the Bihailou Art Village in Shenzhen. Designed by MVRDV, the 6,500-square-meter project turns the firm's long-standing Vertical Village concept into a physical, mixed-use reality. The development replaces a single-use commercial structure with a fragmented stack of individual volumes, each housing distinct cultural and retail functions. By breaking up the building mass, the architects allow the theater, museum, shops, and restaurants to operate on their own schedules while sharing a connected public network.
Founding partner Winy Maas describes the design as a contrast to the monolithic tower developments common in global metropolitan centers. The building draws visual cues from the surrounding Shatoujiao district, mimicking the colors, materials, and rooflines of its neighbors. This approach seeks to preserve the social character and intimacy of village life within a high-density urban environment. The project is situated near the Hong Kong border, positioning itself as a central hub for the community.
Accessibility is central to the architectural logic. The design uses stairs, bridges, and ramps to turn circulation into a public space. Visitors can traverse the gaps between these volumes to reach various terraces that overlook the Shenzhen skyline and nearby mountains. At ground level, the stacked configuration creates deep overhangs that offer shaded spaces for public gatherings, successfully integrating the building with the existing plaza.
Fifteen years after MVRDV first introduced the Vertical Village idea through research with The Why Factory, this project serves as a test case for humanizing rapid urban growth. It proves that density and human-scale architecture are not mutually exclusive. The Bihailou Art Village stands as a deliberate departure from the large-scale, uniform developments that dominate much of the current landscape in major Chinese cities.