A pavilion made of 15,000 public space ‘activators’!

Public spaces are the platform to foster social interaction within communities. Through the design of Jianzi Box, CLOU showcased one of the most exciting and rich qualities of Beijing’s public space: its spontaneity and vitality.

The ‘Jianzi’ – a traditional Asian game played since the Han Dynasty – creates a dynamic atmosphere and transforms leftover spaces into playgrounds. CLOU’s Jianzi Box displays such a transformation of public space.

CLOU used an item which is part of every day’s public activity in Beijing: The ‘Jianzi’. CLOU designed a temporary pavilion composed of 15,000 Jianzi units which had landed on an empty site in the Baitasi area of Beijing. The Jianzi Box created a connection of the visitor with the Jianzi objects through the physical, perceptual and emotional quality of the pavilion.

All the Jianzi feather balls had been given away to the visitors at the end of Beijing Design Week, potentially representing 15,000 Jianzi matches all over the city. In this sense the pavilion has not just been located where it was erected, but it was spread across the city to wherever the pavilion visitors decided to play a game of Jianzi.