Jing Jin City
by Andi Schmied
Jing Jin City is a luxury resort town that has remained largely unoccupied since construction began in 2002. Built within commuting distance of Beijing, the city is dominated by a Hyatt Regency Resort Spa, a horse racing track and an 18-hole golf course. It is an entirely fabricated landscape, built to appear natural while subtly enforcing property divisions. In its centre is an artificial lake, dotted with islands of gated communities and four thousand sprawling mansions, separated from each other by shallow moats.
The city’s 4000 villas exist in various stages of incompletion, ranging from concrete shells with unfinished interiors to rendered façades with landscaped gardens. Their architecture is a patchwork of symbols, drawn from a catalogue of American suburban fantasies: double-height living rooms, grand staircases, timber gazebos, classical columns, Greek statues, cavernous basements, water fountains.
It is not a ghost town, but has a life of its own. The city is kept in order by a small army of gardeners and guards who also make up most of the city’s permanent population. The activities of gardeners and guards maintain the illusion that the city is functioning as planned.
The city’s 4000 villas exist in various stages of incompletion, ranging from concrete shells with unfinished interiors to rendered façades with landscaped gardens. Their architecture is a patchwork of symbols, drawn from a catalogue of American suburban fantasies: double-height living rooms, grand staircases, timber gazebos, classical columns, Greek statues, cavernous basements, water fountains.
It is not a ghost town, but has a life of its own. The city is kept in order by a small army of gardeners and guards who also make up most of the city’s permanent population. The activities of gardeners and guards maintain the illusion that the city is functioning as planned.
| Tags | landscape, conceptual, artists book |
| Technique | Other |
