Though Shanghai wasn’t one of the first cities to open in the 1990s, it soon became the ‘Head of the Dragon’ – manifesting itself in rapid and intense urban development. Its iconic skyline contrasts with Shangai’s Old Town, a district just across the river and the object of study of “Drawing Shanghai”, a small group that sketches its doors, stairways, and alleys.

Tõnis Kimmel, an Estonian architect and member of “Drawing Shanghai”, and Ying Zhou, assistant professor for architecture at the University of Hong Kong and originally from Shanghai, will talk about what the shifting places reveal to us, how drawing teaches the forgotten act of looking, and why cultural heritage policies cannot recover memories or overcome the optimism for growth.

This Art over Lunch is co-hosted with the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Architects and Artists.