The Architectural Association’s “Ripple Ripple Rippling” opens

To fuel China’s exponential urbanization, up to 295 million “working-age” rural migrants, the so-called “floating population,” are moving between cities to find work. As this mass movement leaves rural areas without a middle generation, a new multimedia and multisensory exhibition “Ripple Ripple Rippling” at the Architectural Association (AA) in London shines a spotlight on the lives of those left behind in the wake of the rise of China’s sprawling metropolises.

Architects, anthropologists and choreographers Cyan Cheng, Chen Zhan and Mengfan Wang have settled in the rural village of Shigushan in eastern China over a period of more than ten years of research – tracing changes through acts of adaptation and appropriation of the built environment as it gradually disappears the built environment reveals rural life as it once was.

(Image credit: Anne Tetzlaff)

Discover the Architectural Association’s Ripple Ripple Rippling show

As the population left behind recalibrates, Cyan says, “Family structures are formed outside of the rules, with changes to the built environment to accommodate this lifestyle.” Communality.’ Regarding the broader anthropological research within the exhibition, she continues: “Architecture is not enough to capture everything that is going on. “So our practice is expanding into other disciplines.”

The exhibition features field notes, drawings and photographs from Shigushan as well as a film trilogy. This includes the trio’s latest moving image piece, “Till Ashes Turn Into Pines,” which explores how reincarnation manifests itself in interactions with the natural environment.

Ripple Ripple Rippling – exhibition photo of the graphics in the architects’ association

(Image credit: Anne Tetzlaff)

A partial reconstruction of a typical state-funded country house, emerging from the cramped quarters of the AA Galleries, stands amongst the thoroughly Georgian houses of Bedford Square, providing a slightly surreal contrast. Dry stone walls delimit living spaces such as the garden, veranda and living room in the middle of the public forum of the square. The “unfinished” status of this installation refers to the often incomplete or half-destroyed buildings awaiting funds from family members working in the cities.

What comes to the fore is a diminished sense of ownership in this world of residential structures, in contrast to the sometimes aggressive boundaries between public and private that we can find in ostensibly capitalist cities. Areas such as the living room become semi-public, while liminal spaces such as the yard are actively inhabited through domestic activities. Thresholds are not only crossed, but satisfied.

Ripple Ripple Rippling – exhibition photo of the film screening in the architects’ association

(Image credit: Anne Tetzlaff)

Chen notes, “We notice that there is this wavy image; “All the domestic activity just spreads out, then lingers at the gates, then trickles out into the street.” The act of “rippling” refers to this improvised and reactive support system where the use of space is linked to collective care. She adds: “The protocols we understand around family and home.” [are defied] in a banal way.’

The exhibition moves away from “traditional ideas of architecture” and foregrounds an evolved sense of architecture that supports construction rather than reinforcing rupture. It draws attention to care networks, which are also relevant for cities in rethinking boundaries, thresholds and symbols of ownership. A humanized view is taken, not of what is visually stunning in architectural terms, but of what is quietly brilliant in its subversion of the status quo.

Ripple Ripple Rippling – permanent performance in the architects' association

(Image credit: Anne Tetzlaff)

“Ripple Ripple Rippling” by Jingru Cyan Cheng, Chen Zhan and Mengfan Wang at the Architectural Association, London, includes an outdoor installation until November 6, 2024 and a gallery exhibition until December 7, 2024. More information at aaschool.ac.uk

Discover the Architectural Association’s Ripple Ripple Rippling show

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