The Ordos 100 is a residential development proposed for the city of Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China. One hundred emerging architects from around the world were invited to design a nearly 11,000 square foot villa on lots ranging from a quarter to a half acre. With a master plan by artist Ai Weiwei and architect selection by Herzog & de Meuron, the Ordos 100 challenges conventional ideas about urban design, placemaking, and context. Criticized by some for its scale and environmental impact, applauded by others as a form of art practice, Ordos underscores and intensifies the complexities of contemporary architectural practice. This exhibition of the designs by the thirteen New York-based firms working in Ordos explored the unique process of the undertaking and provoked a conversation about the role that design played in the development.

Curator: Gregory Wessner
Exhibition Design: Project_ (Ana Miljacki, Lee Moreau)

Projects by:
Barker Freeman Design Office
Keller Easterling
Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis
Lyn Rice Architects
Multiplicities
nARCHITECTS
Normal Architecture Office
OBRA Architects
rsvp architects
SINGLE speed DESIGN
Slade Architecture
Josh Uhl/Toshiko Mori Architect
WORK Architecture Company

Above: Exhibition installation.  Photo: David Sundberg/Esto.