Pairing Off for Sustainability

THIERRY MELOT

made my first trip to China in the fall of 2004. Iwas in charge of a project that provided trainingto 150 Chinese graduates by French architecturefirms within AFEX （French Architects for Export，a non-profit association）. The director of an architecturalinstitute in Urumqi in Xinjiang， northwestChina， invited me to assist his organization to participatein projects in east China and was even mulling apartnership. I was familiar with French architectureprojects abroad， but the sheer size of China， not tomention its economy， its rules and its language， wasunknown to me. I was worried， thinking my mediumsizedfirm would not be sufficiently equipped to takeon this new immersive challenge， so I shelved myplans until this institute finally invited me to China.

At that time， I was working on large urban publicprograms in Turkmenistan， and Xinjiang was notthat far away. So in the fall of 2004， I had the chance，like Marco Polo， to discover China by entering it fromthe west. In Xinjiang， I was under the spell of the SilkRoad and the legends surrounding it and amazedby Chinas unfathomable beauty. At that time， Chinawas home to the largest urban planning experimentin the world and the unimaginable challenges posedby Chinese cities were daunting. Beijing， Shanghai，Shenzhen， Hong Kong， and Guangzhou aroused myinterest by their scale， their energy， their history， andtheir heritage. As I flew back to Paris， I had the impressionof returning to a provincial town. The centerof the world had shifted， and my generation， blindly，hadnt taken a bit of notice.

I explored the Chinese market one step at a time.Patiently I learned to develop a relationship withChinese entrepreneurs， local officials， and industryexperts. We had culture， humor， and joie de vivre incommon and they soon trusted me and my expertise.After four years of efforts and mixed results， I managedto capitalize on friendly connections and a fewgood credentials. I recruited Li Liguo， a young Chinesearchitect from Shanghais Tongji University whointerned for the agency while studying for a degree inFrance. He is a tenacious， intelligent and hardworkingyoung man， and he helped me get a better grip ofhis country. We agreed that on his return to China，he would work with me to establish a foothold by submitting tenders for Chinese architectural projects.

In 2010， we passed the final stage for the HengqinIsland development project， the biggest urban planningcontest of that year in China. The island islocated in the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone inGuangdong Province， south China， with an areaof approximately 110 square kilometers. Becausewe started from scratch， we threw all the agencysresources into the battle to make an ambitious offer.We prioritized original green solutions that wouldprove decisive for Chinas future urban green practices.The anchor of the project was the pre-existingrural landscape， so we dubbed it “The Memory of Water，”taken from the eponymous novel by Ying Chen， aChinese-Canadian novelist born in Shanghai.

While most of our advisers thought we weredoomed to fail， experts from Beijing and Shanghaiwere convinced by our arguments and our choices.The jury finally convinced the mayor of Zhuhai toaward us the project. My relationship with the mayor，a man with an appealing personality， has since beenone of mutual respect. He appointed me to the bodyof Zhuhais “strategic urban planners” and consultedme frequently on thorny issues.

In the wake of this successful project， we gainedthe trust of the decision makers in some 30 Chinesecities and worked with them. Our original architecturefirm then became known as IFAD， operating inHong Kong， Shenzhen and Shanghai. Li is its generalmanager and my main partner. He implemented aneffective development strategy by creating the Sino-French Architectural Communication Society in 2015to promote French know-how in China and organizeseminars and lectures throughout the country. For 12years， we have spread the merits of sustainable developmentand the concept of the “happy French city.”We also provided a stepping stone to young aspiringFrench architects in China.

The commitment made by China at the 2015 ParisUN Climate Change Conference （COP21） （to peakabsolute emissions and cut intensity levels by 60-65percent by 2030） confirmed that we have been rightall along as this commitment echoed our pioneeringstance. In his speech， Chinese President Xi Jinpingkickstarted Chinas sustainable developmentdrive and the fight against global warming. Today，all Chinese cities have updated their master plans to that effect and we are currently seeing a contestin ecological awareness and awarding urban andarchitectural projects. Two decades ago， the word“sustainable” would have drawn sarcasm， but todayChinese “sustainable city” expertise is leading globally.

This is how we have been able to implementnumerous urban projects in cities across China. Wewere also involved in developing a 40-km stretch onthe left bank of the Pearl River in Guangdong， theChangli Jieshi National Park in Qinhuangdao （Hebeiin north China） and the Songzhuang Creative IndustriesCity in Beijing.

We have also participated in prestigious architecturalprojects such as Hefeis Business City， ChengdusBusiness City， as well as Harbin Institute of TechnologysShenzhen campus， together with the Frencharchitectural firm Ateliers 2/3/4 in Chengdu andShenzhen. These projects are 10 times larger thanour French operations at La Défense， the businessdistrict in Paris， the Confluence District in Lyons， orOrléans. Its a scale that requires a sense of perspectiveand control. I drew from the repertoire of thegreat French architects of the 20th century suchas Auguste Perret， Fernand Pouillon， and EugèneBeaudouin， who mastered large-scale projects andthe technique of proportions， two of Frances secretstrengths in architecture.

Going forward， we seek to export our expertise inmastering the strategic principles of the sustainablecity paradigm that we have acquired in China. Weare particularly targeting French-speaking Africa，where I spent 15 years working in eight countries.From Algiers to Kinshasa and from Dakar to Nairobi，we hope to participate in building the sustainablecities that the billion new inhabitants who will beborn in the next 30 years will be expecting. TheAfrican continent must absolutely control its urbandevelopment. We are therefore looking for partnersand investors in China who know what is crucial toa dynamic partnership， thus reaping the dividendsof decades of Sino-French dialogue and 60 years offriendship since the establishment of the bilateraldiplomatic relations.