\n Media OutReach Newswire<\/a> – 19 November 2025 – The
\n 2025 Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism Architecture (UABBHK 2025)<\/b> launched its curatorial direction under the theme
\n TECHFORMANCE: Architecture as Performance in the Age of AI<\/b>. Organised by The Hong Kong Institute of Architects Biennale Foundation, this year’s UABBHK is co-organised by The Hong Kong Institute of Architects, The Hong Kong Institute of Planners, and the Hong Kong Designers Association, with the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) as the Lead Sponsor.\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nRunning from
\n2<\/b>7<\/b> November 2025 to 24 January 2026<\/b>, UABBHK 2025 will take place at the
\nOil Street Art Space (Oi!)<\/b> in North Point and the
\nEast Kowloon Cultural Centre (EKCC)<\/b> in Kowloon Bay. These urban venues will be transformed into experimental stages for public imagination, civic dialogue, and participatory design \u2014 responding to the rapidly evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the architecture sector.<\/p>\n
Survey Findings Reveal Gaps in Practice and Ethics<\/b>\n<\/p>\n
AI is rapidly reshaping architectural practice, but the profession is facing uneven adoption, limited trust, and a lack of ethical or educational guidance. Globally, Curatorial Response: From Tools to Performance<\/b>\n<\/p>\n Against this backdrop, the UABBHK 2025 reframes AI not as a threat but as a catalyst for civic imagination and creative reinvention. “We chose the theme “Through At UABBHK 2025, the public will not be passive viewers but active participants \u2014 co-designing future cities and engaging directly with the possibilities and provocations of AI in architecture.\n<\/p>\n Exhibition Highlights with Three Curatorial Visions<\/b>\n<\/p>\n At the heart of 1. Real-Time Interaction & Public Co-Creation<\/b> At Oi!, 2. Hong Kong Urban Narratives: Community \u00d7 Memory \u00d7 Imagination<\/b> At Oi!, installations such as 3. Hong Kong \u2013 Shenzhen Collaboration<\/b> At EKCC, In parallel, the Public Programmes: AI Video Competition <\/b>\n<\/p>\n To engage a wider public, the curatorial teams of the 10th Bi-City Biennale of UrbanismArchitecture (Shenzhen and Hong Kong) (UABBSZ & HK) are jointly inviting creators from around the world to use artificial intelligence tools and, through innovative and forward-looking visual works, envision future scenarios for the Hetao area between Shenzhen and Hong Kong in China. Registration is now open via: For more information, please visit UABBHK 2025’s website: A Civic Rehearsal for AI Futures<\/b>\n<\/p>\n UABBHK 2025 is not a showcase of new technologies \u2014 it is a civic rehearsal. It invites architects, the public, and students to reimagine what it means to design with machines, without losing the human voice. In this Biennale, the audience is not passive. They are co-authors of the urban narrative, performers in a shared story, and participants in shaping the ethics of emerging technologies.\n<\/p>\n
\n67%<\/b>
\nof architects<\/b> use AI for visualisation, but
\nmore than half fear job displacement in design and rendering roles[1]<\/sup><\/b><\/sup><\/b>. A striking
\n74%<\/b> believe the profession needs urgent ethical guidelines. Many practitioners describe working with tools they don’t fully understand or trust\u2014tools that may produce compelling visuals, but often lack narrative depth, cultural context, or authorship clarity.\n<\/p>\n
\nTECHFORMANCE<\/b> because architecture is at a pivotal moment \u2014 AI is transforming how we design, while raising urgent questions about authorship, ethics, and identity”, said
\nAr. Allen POON, Chairman of The Hong Kong Institute of Architects Biennale Foundation<\/b>. “As AI changes how we design, we must ensure it doesn’t change why we design.”\n<\/p>\n
\nTECHFORMANCE<\/b>, UABBHK offers a cultural and civic response to the rise of Al in architecture. Rather than treating Al as a purely technical tool, we see it as a performative medium \u2014 a mirror that reflects our collective values, assumptions, and imaginations. Architecture is no longer a static product \u2014 it’s a civic performance”, said
\nDr. Jimmy HO, Lead Curator of UABBHK 2025<\/b>. “We shift the focus from automation to authorship, from technology to imagination.”\n<\/p>\n
\nUABBHK 2025 <\/b>are three curatorial chapters that explore how AI transforms architecture into a civic performance:
\nreal-time public co-creation<\/b>,
\nlocal urban narratives<\/b>, and
\ncross-border collaboration<\/b>. Spanning the
\nOil Street Art Space (Oi!)<\/b> and the
\nEast Kowloon Cultural Centre (EKCC)<\/b>, the exhibitions invite visitors to engage, perform, and prototype the future city.\n<\/p>\n
\n
This chapter turns the UABBHK into a participatory lab, where AI enables live, interactive design. Installations respond to movement, touch, speech, and emotion \u2014 blurring the line between creator and audience.\n<\/p>\n
\nPrompt [Pond]ering<\/i><\/b> transforms keywords into speculative architecture, while AR-driven
\nBamboo Architecture<\/i><\/b> projects full-scale holograms of bamboo structures. At EKCC, works like
\nSentient Mirror<\/i><\/b>,
\nSketches in Motion<\/i><\/b>, and
\nArchitecture Blind Box<\/i><\/b> translate visitors’ gestures, feelings, and tactile input into dynamic spatial forms.\n<\/p>\n
\n
This chapter explores how AI can preserve, reinterpret, and reimagine the city’s collective memory.\n<\/p>\n
\nLANdLine Project<\/i><\/b>,
\nFlower Market Imaginaries<\/i><\/b>, and
\nReimagining Breeze Blocks<\/i><\/b> invite the public to co-author stories of heritage and transformation. At EKCC, the
\nCollaborative Ephemeral Pavilion<\/i><\/b>\u2014built from reused scaffolding and embedded with AI-generated narratives\u2014becomes both a gathering space and a luminous landmark of shared memory.\n<\/p>\n
\n
In this cross-border chapter, experimental works investigate AI’s role in shaping new urban models for the
\nGreater Bay Area<\/b>.\n<\/p>\n
\nGenerative Futures<\/i><\/b> features real-time robotic fabrication;
\nThink BIG \u2013 cl0udbr1dge<\/i><\/b> imagines drone-constructed bridges; and
\nExporting Aesthetics<\/i><\/b> challenges conventions of authorship and identity in AI-generated skyscrapers. Together, these projects prototype adaptive, inclusive, and technologically forward urban futures.\n<\/p>\n
\nShenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of UrbanismArchitecture (Shenzhen) (UABBSZ 2025)<\/b> is tentatively scheduled to take place from late December 2025 to March 2026 <\/b>at the
\nHetao Science and Technology Innovation Center<\/b>. Under the theme City Theater, the exhibition expands its curatorial perspective. Curated by Zhu Tao, Shen Shaomin, and Ding Ning, it envisions urban space as a performative stage where architecture, technology, and civic life intersect. Exhibitions from Hong Kong will be showcased at the Hetao Science and Technology Innovation Center as part of UABBSZ 2025, continuing UABBHK’s legacy as the world’s first exhibition dedicated to urbanism and urbanisation\u2014complementing Hong Kong’s focus on AI and civic performance while deepening cross-border dialogue.\n<\/p>\n
\nhttps:\/\/forms.cloud.microsoft\/r\/1C9KicszFS<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n
\nhttps:\/\/uabb2025.hkia.org.hk\/en\/ai-competition<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n