Pipe Minions

Credits

9th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture

Exhibition Theme: Urban Village Tangram

Location: Nantou City, Nanshan District, Shenzhen

Exhibition Period: 8/18/2023-11/19/2023

Curators: Yuxin Zhang, Jing Han

Supervisor: Shenzhen Nanshan District People’s Government

Organizers: Shenzhen Nanshan District Committee Publicity Department, Shenzhen Nanshan District Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau

Co-organizers: Shenzhen Wantong Nantou City Management and Operation Co., Ltd, Shenzhen Vanke Co., Ltd

Supporter: Command Office of the Nantou City Protection and Regeneration Leading Group, Nantou Sub-district Office

Design Team: Studio 10

Artist/Principal-in-charge: Shi Zhou

Team: Mengqi Zhang, Yu Cai, Ziqi Wang, Guanxin Luo (Intern), Shengxiang Jin (Intern), Jiaxiao Bao (Project Assistant)

Photo Credits: Yu Bai, Studio 10

Studio 10 Wechat / SINA Weibo / Instagram: studio10design

项目信息

第九届深港城市\建筑双城双年展

展览主题：春景梧桐-城村拼图

展览地点：深圳市南山区南头古城

展期：2023年8月18日-2023年11月19日

策展人：张宇星、韩晶

指导单位：深圳市南山区人民政府

主办单位：中共深圳市南山区委宣传部、深圳市南山区文化广电旅游体育局

承办单位：深圳万通南头城管理运营有限公司、深圳市万科发展有限公司

支持单位：南头古城保护与利用工作领导小组指挥部办公室、南头街道办事处

设计团队：Studio 10

参展艺术家/主管合伙人：周实

团队成员：张孟琦、蔡瑜、王子琪、罗冠欣（实习）、金圣翔（实习）、包嘉晓（项目助理）

摄影：白羽、Studio 10

微信公众号/微博/ins：studio10design

The urban village is a unique phenomenon emerged during the rapid urbanization process. They are usually of high-density, and provide affordable housing in relatively central and convenient locations for the migrant workers and low-income group. The Nantou Village is a typical one of them.

Wutong and Chunjing streets in the Nantou City are two typical alleys in the urban village, which are rich, vibrant, diverse, and full of hustle and bustle. The iconic wildly weaving, surface-mounted pipelines on the building facades of these alleys are the symbiosis of the urban village streetscapes. They are not only the most essential infrastructure to maintain the daily basic needs of the villagers, but also are the carriers of everyday material and energy exchanges and its most intuitive physical and visual evidences. During our first site visit, we became very interested in this unique streetscape, and our exhibition installation design such began.

We have selected the most common and basic pipe and connector modules in the village, and configured them into a series of urban installations prototypes; each prototype is based on our observation of the everyday subtle needs in the streets and alleys of the urban village, whether it is the streetlights with sensors that light up the way home in dark alleys at night, the poster stands/billboards, the planters hung on the anti-thief bars which grow flowers and vegetables, or the incense burners that provide proper fire-proof ceremonial receptacles for the villagers' daily worship needs.

The pipeline components are themselves inanimate objects, but when they are summoned by the trivial everyday needs, they are combined in various ways to respond to the calling. The Pipe Minions are brought to life, and a new "species" is born in Nantou. The Wutong and Chunjing streets' uniques scenes of urban villages' daily life are what gave birth to the Pipe Minions; the minions are born, then grow, evolve, stroll and stations themselves in every corner of these urban village streets and alleys.  Their configurations and combinations are flexible and versatile, while their personalities are varied. Some are light, playful and agile, others are heavier, honest and sincere, and each of them has one or more "superpowers", which allow them to show up and offer help wherever and whenever needed. They are constantly duplicating and iterating, bringing convenience and joy to the daily life of the urban village residents.

城中村是快速城市化进程中出现的一种独特现象：它通常密度极高，为城市中的外来务工者、低收入等人群提供租金相对低廉且区位相对便利的居所。南头古城就是这样一座典型的城中村。

梧桐街和春景街是南头古城城中村中两条典型的街道，丰富且多元，充满烟火气。沿街巷住宅立面“疯狂”蔓延、编织、生长的标志性明装管线是街巷的共生体。他们既是维持村民日常基本生活需求的重要基础设施，是生活中物质能量交换的载体，也是其最直观的实体化、可视化物证。当我们第一次踏勘现场，就对这种独特的街道景观产生了极大的兴趣，我们的展览装置设计也由此展开。

我们选取了村内最常见、最基础的管道及连接件模块，将其拼合成一系列城市装置；每件装置的功能都基于我们对于城中村街巷生活点滴细微需求的观察，无论是黑暗巷道中适时为晚归者点亮的路灯、是可以用于张贴悬挂广告海报的宣传栏、还悬挂于防盗网上可以养花种菜的花盆，又或是为民间供奉习俗提供安全且具有仪式感容器的香炉。

虽然管道构件本身是没有生命的物体，但当他们受到生活中点滴、大小需求的召唤、并以不同方式组合在一起来响应这种使命的瞬间，每个单体便有了生命，管道精灵这一全新“物种”也就此诞生于南头。可以说，梧桐、春景街巷间独特的城中村景象和生活日常孕育了管道精灵——精灵们在此诞生、成长、进化，游走、驻扎于城中村街巷各角落，他们组合灵活、变化万千、性格迥异。有的灵动轻盈、有的敦厚老实，且各自身怀绝技，拥有一种或几种“超能力”，哪里有需求、哪里就有他们的身影。管道精灵就这样不断地复制、迭代，为居民日常生活提供便利、带来欢乐。

The Birth of Pipe Minions

Pipe Minion (A-001), Poster Stand

The pipes and fittings left on a construction site were randomly assembled into a rectangular frame by a group of children playing at the nearby park. As time passed, some villagers began to post notices, leaflets, and posters in the frame, and the Pipe Minion A-001 was born. He was born with a strong memory, a fluent tongue and a charismatic charm; the pipes which used to weave the drainage system of the urban villages have become the hub for information exchanges and distributions.

Pipe Minion (A-003) Billboard/Display Window

Pipe Minion A-003 was originally the kitchen exhaust pipe of a residential building on Wutong Street, born with a strong sense of smell. It was activated by the coffee aroma from the corner café, and followed the scent all the way to it, where it has stood outside as a display window for attracting customers.

Pipe Minion (A-004) Streetlight/Wayfinding Signage

Pipe Minion A-004 used to be the ventilation duct of a bathroom in the alley. Gradually, the ventilation duct, which was once the shortest, grew up, and its tall figure became its unique identity. It stood at the entrance of the alley and quietly turned into a "lighthouse", helping pedestrians to find their ways in the alleys and illuminating the dark streets for the villagers on their way home during the night.

Pipe Minion (A-006) Interactive Street Light

Pipe Minion A-006 was originally a branched drainage pipe on the exterior wall of a residential building in the urban village. It guards and illuminates poetry on the mosaic walls, and it has an eye for identifying as well as bringing out the poeticness in the ordinary and trivial daily life of the urban village.

Pipe Minion (A-007) Incense Burner

The Pipe Minion A-007 was originally a few segments of pipes protruding from the foot of the wall. It saw villagers putting incense candles and tributes in the soil on the ground next to them every day; one night, it suddenly broke free and kept climbing along the wall. It stretched out its hands and feet to catch the incense candles and tributes from the villagers，and thus, it's become an incense burner which the villagers pray to for blessings and entrust with visions of happiness.

Pipe Minion (A-009) Planter

Pipe Minion A-009 is short, agile, scrupulous and gentle. It has been climbing along the anti-theft bars of the residential buildings since its childhood. One day, it accidentally discovered that the unused pipes hanging on the balcony anti-theft bar had nurtured a touch of green during Spring, which it imitated in secret before successfully cultivating lush branches and leaves. Since then, it is always lingering around the anti-theft bars at the balconies and windows, bringing greenery to residents and beautifying the environment of the urban village alleys.

管道精灵诞生记

精灵（A-001）宣传栏

施工留下的管道余料被一群在街心花园嬉戏的孩子们拼成了矩形的框，渐渐地，有村民开始在框内张贴告示、广告传单、宣传海报，管道精灵A-001就此诞生。他天生博文强记、口齿伶俐，八面玲珑；昔日编织城中村排水管网、组织物质交换的管道在此成为了村内信息交换、集散的枢纽。

精灵（A-003）展示橱窗

精灵A-003本是梧桐街一栋住宅楼厨房的排烟管道，天生嗅觉惊人，被街角咖啡厅的咖啡香味激活，并循着香味而至，从此伫立于咖啡厅门外，成为展示陈列、招揽顾客的能手。

精灵（A-004）街灯/导识牌

管道精灵A-004曾是巷道内卫生间的通风管道。渐渐地，曾经个子最小的通风管道长大了，日益挺拔、高大的身姿成为其独特的标志，它矗立在巷道口，悄然化身“灯塔”，帮助来往行人快速找到行进方向，照亮夜行者回家的路。

精灵（A-006）互动街灯

管道精灵A-006本是城中村住宅单元外墙一段多头分叉的排水管道，有些邋遢、其貌不扬；某天，无名的诗人在他身边的墙上写下诗句，他的命运从此被改变。他成为一名城市诗歌的守护者和点亮者，总能在城中村平淡而琐碎的日常生活中发现无限诗意。

精灵（A-007）香炉

管道精灵A-007原是墙角边突出的几段管道，常常看到村民日复一日将香烛和贡品插在身旁的泥土里；某天晚上，他突然挣脱束缚，从墙脚一直沿墙向上爬，并伸出手脚接住村民们摆放的香烛和贡品，成为一座寄托人们对未来生活美好愿景的祈福香炉。

精灵（A-009）种植槽

管道精灵A-009短小敏捷，心细于发，自幼常在楼阁的防盗窗间攀爬穿行。某天，它偶然发现阳台上悬挂的旧管道在春天竟孕育出一抹绿色，便暗自模仿，不久后，也培育出繁茂的枝叶。从此，它总喜爱停留在村内人家的防盗窗前，给居民带去绿意，美化街巷环境。