---Architecture and environment design

Shenzhen leads China in architecture design and is the birthplace for novel models for the country's modern architecture industry. Shenzhen designers take the most pride in housing designs, with Shenzhen firms being top three on the list of China's top housing design companies. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have been always following Shenzhen in designing houses and apartment buildings.

The development of its architecture design would not have been without the booming of the real estate industry. As a pioneer in property development, Shenzhen is also China's most developed in the sector. The booming economy has added fuel to the prosperity of the real-estate market. With the largest number of migrants, its housing construction has been always a flourishing business. China's first city to implement reform and opening-up drive, Shenzhen has done a lot in promoting real estate development. In 1987, China's first home trade center was set up in Shenzhen. On Dec. 1, 1987, China's first land auction in Shenzhen proved successful. China's first property owners' management commission was established in Tianjing Garden estate in Shenzhen on March 22, 1991. China's first property management association and school were erected in the city in June 1993.

Being close to Hong Kong and Southeast Asian countries, Shenzhen has easy access to overseas modern architecture designs. In the 80s and the early 90s, many Shenzhen designers visited Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Europe and North America to learn from their counterparts and thus inject novel ideas into the local industry. Nowadays, it has become a trend for architecture designers from inland cities to come to Shenzhen for improvement. A popular saying is widespread in the design field: China’s design is centered in Guangdong, and Guangdong’s design is concentrated in Shenzhen.

Since Shenzhen has become more influential in architecture design, it has become a host city for key national architecture design conventions and exhibitions. China Architecture Design and Research Group decided in 2003 to move the Architecture Design Summit to Shenzhen, the country's first-class meeting of its kind which used to be held in Beijing.

Building environmentally friendly and energy-saving housing has been a priority of local architects in recent years. New materials and technologies are widely used for the aim. Solar panels are used on exterior walls of many large buildings, which can collect solar energy and transfer it into electricity and cut electricity consumption by 60 percent. Office buildings constructed in the past two years make full use of natural lighting and ventilation, which substantially reduces electricity consumption. Some young and bold designers have learnt from European countries to create water recycling systems inside office buildings, which results in the re-use of wastewater and rain.

Shenzhen's housing is more nature-friendly compared to other big cities. Designers like to create artificial landscapes. More than 90 percent of Shenzhen's housing estates are planted with greenery. It has become the practice of property developers to make their developments more attractive and park-like. Trees in park-like settings are widely seen in housing estates here.

Shenzhen's architectural designers have built a name in China. Most design companies have expanded to other inland cities and are experiencing increasing popularity. They hold obvious advantages over their domestic counterparts for having creativity, superior quality, sound after-sales service and more credibility. As India and Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, are replacing China as the world's construction sites, more Shenzhen architecture design companies are getting into the market.

Shenzhen began holding the Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture in 2005, inviting well-known architects as planners for the exhibition. Over several years, the biennale has acquired a name in China's architectural design sector. Big names such as Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and Japanese Arata Isozaki have featured their works at the exhibition. With a theme of "City Regeneration", the 2007 biennale focused on discussing how to develop Shenzhen, a young city, in a more environmentally friendly and energy-saving way. The biennale was extended to Hong Kong in the year, where an exhibition on urbanism and architecture had opened. The Shenzhen-Hong Kong Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture interested more lay residents as well as professionals, calling for more people to make a contribution to urban development.

 

---Interior design and decoration

The birthplace of China's interior design and decorating industry, Shenzhen has propelled the rapid development of interior decoration throughout the country. The industry attracts an annual income of 1 billion yuan to Shenzhen each year and this is increasing by more than 25 percent a year.

Modern design concepts took shape in Shenzhen when economic interaction between Shenzhen and Hong Kong increased as a result of the reform and opening-up policy. With the economy accelerating in high gear and migrants flooding into the city, the demand for residential buildings boomed, providing an opportunity for the design and decoration industry to grow. Individuals looked for home designs with personality, while companies sought solutions to build a comfortable working environment and restaurants increased investment in interior design to attract customers.

Other industries like furniture, building materials, lamps and lanterns, and home furnishing products also benefit from the growth of Shenzhen's interior design and decoration industry, providing tens of thousands of job opportunities. The booming industry has also given impetus to neighboring cities and helped them grow into Asia's centers for furniture making, building materials manufacture, and lamps and lanterns sales. New materials and techniques are forged to meet the increasing demand of Shenzhen designers, making Guangdong the largest producer of building materials in China.

The flourishing industry has benefited from open and fair market competition. Compared with other cites in China, Shenzhen has the largest number of industrial organizations and the most complete set of industrial regulations in the country. The first interior design and decoration industry organization in China, the Shenzhen Decoration Industry Association, was established in 1984. The China Decoration Industry Association opened a liaison office in Shenzhen. In 2004, the first professional skill appraisal center, the Occupational Skill Test Authority of the Shenzhen Decoration Industry Association, was set up for the interior decoration industry in China.

The Shenzhen Decoration Industry Association has attracted more than 700 professional members. In 2006, the association was admitted to the Asia Pacific Space Designers Association (APSDA), the leading professional organization for the interior design industry in Pan Asia.

Shenzhen designers have taken part in most of the decoration projects involving landmark buildings in China. These include the Supreme People's Court, the Beijing Olympic National Swimming Center, the Beijing Concert Hall, the new CCTV Headquarters, the State Banquet Hall of the Great Hall of the People, the Beijing headquarters of the Bank of China, Shanghai Grand Theater, China Three Gorges Museum, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport and the Lhasa Railway Station in Tibet.

A leader in the industry, Shenzhen is the place where most of the national industry events such as forums, annual meetings and exhibitions are held. The International Exhibition of Design and Art in China was moved from Beijing to Shenzhen in 2007. Shenzhen initiated a cultural festival for interior design in 2005, the first of its kind in China. Every year, 10 local designers are awarded at the festival for their outstanding performances while designers from Japan, South Korea, Italy and France are invited to Shenzhen, providing a channel for communication between Chinese and international designers. Manufacturers of building materials, furniture, and lamps and lanterns also look for business opportunities at the event.

Interior design training is well developed in Shenzhen. Courses in interior design are offered in Shenzhen University and Shenzhen Polytechnic. Besides university courses, training programs provided by training centers set up by design companies and industry organizations are also available for designers from all over the country. These centers receive thousands of trainees every year.

Shenzhen is working to further reinforce its status as a leader in the industry by expanding into the international market. Not only did Shenzhen designers take an active part in international design competitions and exhibitions, they also participated in projects in East Europe, South East Asia and Central Asia. Shenzhen companies have opened offices in Hong Kong and Macao to increase exposure in the international market. Shenzhen design companies are popular partners for international building materials suppliers looking to enter the Chinese market.