From the Middle East to the Far East: CHEKHARDA visited the Expo Build China 2026 exhibition in Shanghai.
From March 31 to April 3, a major exhibition took place in Shanghai, bringing together urbanism, urban design and planning, landscape architecture, new materials, and production technologies.
Cheharda has always preferred to look at a project holistically. From the overarching development concept and the logic of the city down to the joints, materials, fasteners, and how it is all eventually assembled by hand. Perhaps that is why this perspective resonates with us: we do not divide the world into "architects" and "those who will somehow build it later." For us, designers, architects, artists, production teams, and construction crews have long been speaking the same language, without the need for a translator.
In Shanghai, we were able to observe both ends of the spectrum at once. On one hand, how grand urban ideas are formulated; on the other, how they translate down to the material, the detail, the technology, and the assembly.
If anyone thought Cheharda went to find a Chinese alternative to Russian materials—no, we love our own production too much to trade it for ready-made answers. However, we were more than happy to take a closer look at how their joints, materials, and technical logic are structured. Then, as is our custom, we will reverse-engineer and adapt a few of these insights back home.
And as for why this is also a story about a NEW SCALE OF IMPLEMENTATION for us, we will share that separately.
Cheharda has always preferred to look at a project holistically. From the overarching development concept and the logic of the city down to the joints, materials, fasteners, and how it is all eventually assembled by hand. Perhaps that is why this perspective resonates with us: we do not divide the world into "architects" and "those who will somehow build it later." For us, designers, architects, artists, production teams, and construction crews have long been speaking the same language, without the need for a translator.
In Shanghai, we were able to observe both ends of the spectrum at once. On one hand, how grand urban ideas are formulated; on the other, how they translate down to the material, the detail, the technology, and the assembly.
If anyone thought Cheharda went to find a Chinese alternative to Russian materials—no, we love our own production too much to trade it for ready-made answers. However, we were more than happy to take a closer look at how their joints, materials, and technical logic are structured. Then, as is our custom, we will reverse-engineer and adapt a few of these insights back home.
And as for why this is also a story about a NEW SCALE OF IMPLEMENTATION for us, we will share that separately.