Central Axis Exploration Day: Making an Emerging City Public

Central Axis Future Exploration Day is a curatorial initiative that explores how cities under construction can be made visible, accessible, and meaningful to the public.

Urban development often takes decades, during which public perception is shaped long before completion. Yet this process usually unfolds behind construction fences, limiting public engagement. In response, ArchiDogs collaborated with the Yuhang District Government of Hangzhou to develop a process-oriented curatorial framework that reconnects city-making with everyday life.

Building on the 2024 exhibition Reveal the New Center, the 2025 project introduced the theme of “Exploration” and shifted curatorial practice from indoor exhibition spaces to the active construction site. Inspired by Archigram’s concept of Instant City, the project views urban development as a continuous, evolving process that can be activated and experienced before completion.

Through spatial organization and curated walking routes, visitors are invited to move through parks and open spaces, experiencing the emerging structure of the new urban center. The city is transformed from an abstract planning diagram into a walkable and perceptible environment.

Along daily circulation paths, artists and designers working within Zhang Lei’s theory of Urban Micro-Aesthetics introduced subtle artistic nodes. These micro-interventions prioritize integration over spectacle, allowing urban experience to unfold naturally through everyday use. The opening of Alibaba Center · Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City further embedded the exhibition into real working and living contexts.

The visual identity continues the language of the previous phase, with an “X”-shaped logo symbolizing exploration and convergence. Floating installations, lightweight modular structures, and distributed information systems translate complex planning data into intuitive spatial experiences. Interactive elements, including co-created installations and framing devices, encourage visitors to observe, document, and reflect on the city’s transformation.

Rather than focusing on completed outcomes, Central Axis Future Exploration Day emphasizes participation in process. Through continuous public programs and spatial interventions, the project enables residents to build emotional connections with emerging spaces, fostering collective memory and a sense of belonging. It demonstrates how curatorial practice can function as an active interface between urban development, public life, and long-term city identity.