Architecture for Social Value

by+Chai+Aixin+and+Zhang+Qian

The China Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 is Chinas first national pavilion built at an overseas World Expo. A brainchild of Lu Yichen and a design team with Tsingua Universitys Academy of Arts and Design， the design survived two rounds of worldwide submissions. Lu became chief architect of the pavilion. Recently， Lu sat down with reporters to shed more light on the building.

Wheat in the “Land of Hope”

“Feeding the Planet， Energy for Life” is the theme of Expo Milano 2015， while “Land of Hope， Food for Life” is the theme of the China Pavilion， representative of the efforts Chinese people make to use resources efficiently， ensure food security and provide a sufficient and healthy food supply.

Who proposed the theme “Land of Hope？” What does it mean to you？

Lu Yichen： The China Council for Promotion of International Trade （CCPIT） proposed the theme. CCPIT is entrusted with building and operating the China Pavilion on behalf of the Chinese Government. “Land of Hope” embodies two levels of meanings：“Hope” refers to expectations and wishes； “Land” symbolizes Chinas agricultural civilization.

As designers， we needed to make these concepts concrete by dividing the pavilion into three parts symbolizing heaven， land and people. “Heaven” is represented by a traditional Chinese sloping roof， “land” is the landscape of a wheat field stretching from the entrance， and “people” refers to visitors， who can interact with various digital equipment in the pavilion to experience Chinas agricultural civilization.

After visitors enter the pavilion， they walk down a long slope before reaching second floor. When they look back， they will suddenly find that they are walking in a field of wheat. On top of the field of wheat， a LED screen displays the landscapes of China.

How did you arrive at the appearance of the China Pavilion？

Lu： Resembling Chinas traditional ridge， the roof， to the south， presents the forms of clouds and mountains to create an effect of myriad mountain ranges. To the north， the roof sketches are reminiscent of Beijings skyline， and it looks different when viewed from different locations. What we want to convey is that the development of a country can only be guaranteed by the harmonious coexistence between agriculture and city.

The roof is made of woven bamboo， which allows sunshine to penetrate the pavilion. After a lot of sun exposure， the bamboo turns a golden color. Some suggested we use glazed titles， which we are afraid would be easily associated with a royal image. Instead， we chose bamboo， an environmentally-friendly material that is a trademark of Asia and China as well.

“People Are Part of the Architecture”

The design of China Pavilion of 2010 Shanghai Expo has been controversial. What do you think about the debate？

Lu： I think the pavilion represents the countrys expectations at the moment of its design： a top-notch national pavilion. For example， the bright red dougong， （a structural element unique to traditional Chinese architecture） and wide corridor similar to Century Avenue （in Shanghai） inspire natural reverence for the building.

Do you think architecture can convey an outlook on value？

Lu： Yes， I think so. Traditional Chinese temple-style buildings like the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City usually require people to step up one stair after another， a process which hearkens to the atmosphere of a pilgrimage. But nowadays， modern architecture requires the building and people set each other off， allowing the people to enter into the venue directly and freely. People are part of the architecture.

Skyscrapers， as landmark buildings， are popular in Chinese cities. How do you feel about them？

Lu： One of my friends remarked that all super high buildings are monuments， a form of showing off and evidence of a subconscious desire to build a monument for oneself. Ancient people used inscribed tablets， while modern people use tall buildings instead.

Personally， I dont care for tall buildings. If I design one， I would hope it creates dialogue with the city and inspires the public to enjoy the building rather than using it to evidence the citys greatness or the developers power.

In recent years， many odd buildings have appeared in Beijing. The triple-elliptical shopping mall in Xizhimen area is one example. What do you think of them？

Lu： That one was designed by a French architect. The Chinese market is pretty open to embrace foreign architects， some of whom had only designed small lovable houses in their own country. So when they are hired to design big buildings in China， their work often seems strange.

“A Really Good House Should be Born Beautiful”

Why do you think China actively invited big corporations to design architectural projects？

Lu： Big companies like such projects because they minimize risk. But that kind of architecture is merely commercial duplication and doesnt change anyones ideas about life. They just produce a usable C+ building that assures tenancy and commercial success.