Architecture studio All(zone) has curated the Shanghai Picnic installation for the RAM Assembles architecture biennial, which features a series of pavilions made from colourful fabrics.
RAM Assembles, the Rockbund Art Museum Shanghai’s biennial festival of architecture, explores architecture’s role in shaping public space through installations in the museum’s courtyard. This year, All(zone) chose the concept of Shanghai Picnic to encourage informal interactions in urban spaces.
The second edition of RAM Assembles was curated by All(zone)
“Shanghai Picnic invites citizens and visitors alike to experience the city in ways that are improvisational, playful, and often unexpected — beyond what architects or designers might anticipate,” said Rachaporn Choochuey, co-founder of All(zone) and the curator of this year’s RAM Assembles.
“This informal, improvisational element transforms the city into a shared canvas, a kind of picnic blanket, where spontaneous interactions, collective imagination, and activities become integral to the space itself,” she continued.
All(zone) designed a series of pavilions with fabric roofs
At the centre of the exhibition is All(zone)’s Under A Common Sky installation, ten lightweight pavilions that serve as both shelters and gathering places.
Each pavilion has a canopy made from overlapping mesh fabrics, creating a waffle structure that was arranged at specific angles to form the shape of a traditional Chinese pavilion.
Under the canopies, platforms of various heights form benches, tables, and stages, inviting people to gather and rest.
The mesh fabric allows for light and air flow
All(zone) wanted the colourful fabric architecture to create a welcoming urban space.
“Rapid urbanisation and gentrification often disconnect individuals from their living environments, creating an estrangement that is particularly evident in many Asian cities,” said Choochuey.
“We see Rockbund during RAM Assembles as a site of experimentation; it’s where we come together to explore, create, and redefine what living in urban space can be.”
WWWorks created a public water fountain
The translucent canopies also offer shade and air flow during the hot summer in central Shanghai. Designing for a tropical climate is a familiar subject to Bangkok-based All(zone), and fabric architecture has become one of its signature solutions.
“Air conditioning kills the architects who understand climate,” Choochuey told Dezeen.
“In Thailand, we see local people use ceiling fans instead of air conditioning because they work well in the humidity but don’t cost much energy,” she continued.
“In Asia, we don’t live in brick houses, and no one wants to live in a wooden house, which does not match the stereotypical image through the Western lens. The West tends to romanticise Asia, but Asians are practical; we come up with cheap solutions to fix a problem.”
Tangent Essays added a zigzag platform to a historical building
Choochuey also selected four local and international emerging design practices to create installations for the biennial.
Shanghai-based studio WWWorks has created Pipe Up!, a public water fountain that connects to the existing water pipes of the museum buildings.
Bright yellow pipes extend within a narrow alleyway, forming a dramatic sculptural installation that ends with a usable water fountain within the courtyard.
All(zone) unveils bright orange fabric MPavilion in Melbourne
Through reintroducing public drinking water to the site, the studio aims to revive the historical role of the water fountain in Shanghai’s civic life.
On the other end of the site, Wuhan-based Tangent Essays added a zigzag platform along the arcade of an existing historical building.
The blue platform starts from the main street, winds into the arcade and finishes as a wide-open stage facing the courtyard.
Studio Vapore created a series of moss-covered hills
Beijing-based Studio Vapore introduced greenery into the urban setting with a series of moss-covered hills rising gently from the ground.
The studio aimed to create a still moment for visitors, in contrast to the relentless pace of the city.
Bangkok-based Alkhemist Architects created four carts to be used as food stalls and info desk. Called Ways to Roam, the design draws on the bold colours of Thailand, with surface tiles sourced from Chinese online markets.
Alkhemist Architects created four colourful carts using Chinese tiles
According to Choochuey, all four installations include elements of quiet as well as a mild critique of authority, which she believes fits the role of an architecture biennale.
The water fountain, for example, is intended as a critique against the expensive commercial district of Rockbund, where drinking water accessibility has become a luxury, while the moss-covered hills contrast with the otherwise bare ground.
Other recent All(zone) projects include a bright orange fabric pavilion in Melbourne and a concrete holiday home in rural Thailand.
The photography is by Tian Fangfang.
RAM Assembles Shanghai Picnic takes place from 12 to 28 September 2025. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.