Yue Cui

The Nanmen Bay Assemblage

April 2026

Medium:

Urban Planning

Responding to the "Fractured Horizons" theme, the Nanmen Bay Assemblage reimagines architecture not as a static structure, but as a dynamic spatial machine. By integrating a rigid industrial framework (Ringlock scaffolding) into a coastline deeply rooted in the local Guan Di belief system, the design transforms the strict urban grid into a fluid and porous space. The structure reflects a humble approach to technology. By using elastic bamboo, suspended tension structures, and recycled marine materials, it rejects the aggressive human conquest of nature. Instead, it serves as an amplifier for sound and physical movement. Driven by the rhythmic footsteps of the traditional parade, the flexible framework physically vibrates, synchronizing the biological rhythms of the crowd and creating a state of collective trance. Moving through four dramatic stages—from a highly structured entrance to a high-energy climax, before dissolving into a scattered, maze-like market—the project illustrates a dramatic shift in energy. Ultimately, it is an architecture of guidance. It is a place where the rigid certainty of the grid breaks apart, allowing human behavior to be guided by the creative, unpredictable forces of sound, the environment, and collective ritual.

About the Artist

Yue Cui

My practice focuses on the boundary states of architecture, seeking a non-anthropocentric spatial mechanism at the intersection of industrial infrastructure, natural flows, and the collective subconscious. I believe that in the turbulent era of the Anthropocene, architecture should no longer serve as a rigid fortress attempting to conquer nature, but rather step back to act as a humble mediator. In the Fractured Horizons exhibition, I explore the invisible power of "images." When visual representations are encoded into algorithms that control space, I seek a physical breakthrough. My project, The Nanmen Bay Assemblage, is a recompilation of modern technology and ancient belief systems. I prefer to use resilient materials, such as raw bamboo, alongside raw found objects like scaffolding and recycled fishing nets, to construct a kinesthetic feedback loop driven by "structural empathy." In this context, sound and physical vibration become the true architectural materials. I do not view space as a static visual object, but rather as a dynamic engine for computation and generation. My goal is to strip away the illusion of humans as absolute controllers, allowing the participants' bodies to be guided by the randomness of the environment through acoustic and structural resonance. Ultimately, I hope to invite people to the edge where rigid rationality fractures, experiencing a profound sense of collective trance.

Yue Cui

The Nanmen Bay Assemblage

April 2026

Medium:

Urban Planning

Responding to the "Fractured Horizons" theme, the Nanmen Bay Assemblage reimagines architecture not as a static structure, but as a dynamic spatial machine. By integrating a rigid industrial framework (Ringlock scaffolding) into a coastline deeply rooted in the local Guan Di belief system, the design transforms the strict urban grid into a fluid and porous space. The structure reflects a humble approach to technology. By using elastic bamboo, suspended tension structures, and recycled marine materials, it rejects the aggressive human conquest of nature. Instead, it serves as an amplifier for sound and physical movement. Driven by the rhythmic footsteps of the traditional parade, the flexible framework physically vibrates, synchronizing the biological rhythms of the crowd and creating a state of collective trance. Moving through four dramatic stages—from a highly structured entrance to a high-energy climax, before dissolving into a scattered, maze-like market—the project illustrates a dramatic shift in energy. Ultimately, it is an architecture of guidance. It is a place where the rigid certainty of the grid breaks apart, allowing human behavior to be guided by the creative, unpredictable forces of sound, the environment, and collective ritual.

About the Artist

Yue Cui

My practice focuses on the boundary states of architecture, seeking a non-anthropocentric spatial mechanism at the intersection of industrial infrastructure, natural flows, and the collective subconscious. I believe that in the turbulent era of the Anthropocene, architecture should no longer serve as a rigid fortress attempting to conquer nature, but rather step back to act as a humble mediator. In the Fractured Horizons exhibition, I explore the invisible power of "images." When visual representations are encoded into algorithms that control space, I seek a physical breakthrough. My project, The Nanmen Bay Assemblage, is a recompilation of modern technology and ancient belief systems. I prefer to use resilient materials, such as raw bamboo, alongside raw found objects like scaffolding and recycled fishing nets, to construct a kinesthetic feedback loop driven by "structural empathy." In this context, sound and physical vibration become the true architectural materials. I do not view space as a static visual object, but rather as a dynamic engine for computation and generation. My goal is to strip away the illusion of humans as absolute controllers, allowing the participants' bodies to be guided by the randomness of the environment through acoustic and structural resonance. Ultimately, I hope to invite people to the edge where rigid rationality fractures, experiencing a profound sense of collective trance.

Yue Cui

The Nanmen Bay Assemblage

April 2026

Medium:

Urban Planning

Responding to the "Fractured Horizons" theme, the Nanmen Bay Assemblage reimagines architecture not as a static structure, but as a dynamic spatial machine. By integrating a rigid industrial framework (Ringlock scaffolding) into a coastline deeply rooted in the local Guan Di belief system, the design transforms the strict urban grid into a fluid and porous space. The structure reflects a humble approach to technology. By using elastic bamboo, suspended tension structures, and recycled marine materials, it rejects the aggressive human conquest of nature. Instead, it serves as an amplifier for sound and physical movement. Driven by the rhythmic footsteps of the traditional parade, the flexible framework physically vibrates, synchronizing the biological rhythms of the crowd and creating a state of collective trance. Moving through four dramatic stages—from a highly structured entrance to a high-energy climax, before dissolving into a scattered, maze-like market—the project illustrates a dramatic shift in energy. Ultimately, it is an architecture of guidance. It is a place where the rigid certainty of the grid breaks apart, allowing human behavior to be guided by the creative, unpredictable forces of sound, the environment, and collective ritual.

About the Artist

Yue Cui

My practice focuses on the boundary states of architecture, seeking a non-anthropocentric spatial mechanism at the intersection of industrial infrastructure, natural flows, and the collective subconscious. I believe that in the turbulent era of the Anthropocene, architecture should no longer serve as a rigid fortress attempting to conquer nature, but rather step back to act as a humble mediator. In the Fractured Horizons exhibition, I explore the invisible power of "images." When visual representations are encoded into algorithms that control space, I seek a physical breakthrough. My project, The Nanmen Bay Assemblage, is a recompilation of modern technology and ancient belief systems. I prefer to use resilient materials, such as raw bamboo, alongside raw found objects like scaffolding and recycled fishing nets, to construct a kinesthetic feedback loop driven by "structural empathy." In this context, sound and physical vibration become the true architectural materials. I do not view space as a static visual object, but rather as a dynamic engine for computation and generation. My goal is to strip away the illusion of humans as absolute controllers, allowing the participants' bodies to be guided by the randomness of the environment through acoustic and structural resonance. Ultimately, I hope to invite people to the edge where rigid rationality fractures, experiencing a profound sense of collective trance.