Six Cities under Sixty

DATE:  2011

TEAM:  University of Southern California School of Architecture, the Roski School of Fine Arts and the School of Cinematics Arts

PROJECT LOCATION: Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale

PROGRAM:  500+ diagrams, collages, videos and animations

The interactive multimedia exhibition 6 Under 60 is a collaborative research endeavor curated by the USC School of Architecture, the USC School of Cinematic Arts and the USC Roski School of Fine Arts. The exhibition opened as part of the 2012 Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture. It is a major exploration of changing urban life worldwide, the exhibition analyzes six cities and their transformation within the last 60 years: Chandigarh (India), Brasilia (Brazil), Gaborone (Botswana), Almere (Netherlands), Shenzhen (China) and Las Vegas (United States).

The exhibition investigates the original intentions and goals, catalysts and master plans of these six cities, including the developments that have made these cities what they are today. It presents an immersive environment with moving images and sounds of each city projected within the space, along with interactive touch tables that invite visitors to explore each urban locale, including original planning information, archival documents, historic photographs, architectural plans, empirical data about the population growth, quality of life, industrial growth, cultural vibrancy and economic success of each city. The exhibition invites consideration of the geographic, natural, social, political and economic conditions in each city, as well as how those aspects have affected the image and stature of each city. The research touches on questions such as: What differentiates planned cities from those that develop more organically? What do these cities have in common despite their emergence and growth under differing geographic, political and economic conditions? How do these six cities provide a model for the future of new cities?