lightlife：Yu Kongjian--We have to minmise our intrusion on nature

 

China’s megacities are an experiment field of superlative dimensions.Young Chinese architects are seeking the intersection betwween avant-garde and traditional Asian architecture-and finding international recognition for their efforts.

 

PHOTOGRAPH   Iwan Baan    TEXT    Bernhard Bartsch

 

China’s cities are characterised by unimaginative functional buildings, interspersed with a few remants of the past and showpiece buildings oriented toward the global maistream . But city governments and construction companies are now looking for new approaches, offering China’s architects a huge experiment field. What they design in the area of conflict berween traditional and modern is one of the most exciting developments in the international building scene. The rise of the megacities is, after all, a major trend of the 21 st centyry and no country is more rigorous than China in seeking solutions in this respect.

 

The fact that contemporary Chinese architecture is getting more international attention is the manifestation of a change that is occurring in the country itself. For the first time in a long while, China’s building culture is independent, diverse and full of character. As oppased to externally imposed architectural templates ,the designs of many Chinese architects contribute to the encounter with contrasting ideas and openness for change.

 

Yu Kongjian / Turenscape

 

“We have to minmise our intrusion on nature.”

 

However, cities consist not only of buildings, but also of spaces in between –and they should leave roon to breathe. Yu Kongjian, a professor at Peking University, therefor strives to modernise China’s landscape architecture. In 1998 the Harvard graduate established Turenscape. “Tu’ means earth and ‘ren’ means man”, explains the 55-year-old. As a compound that means something like: Man in the environment. The necessity of redefining this relationship is long overdue. Yu believes. Water scarcity and air pollution are immense problems, says Yu. “We have to minmise our intrusion on nature.” Yu shows how this can be done in his “Red Ribbon Park” in Qinghuangdao in the province of Hebei. While Chinese parks normally are characterised by broad asphalt paths, large squares and nocturnal illumination, Yu created a park that equally satisfies the need for modernity and preservation. Along the narrow paths there is a 500m long red bench made of fibreglass that invites passersby to sit and is illuminated from inside at night. “The concept is cost-effective, energy-saving , leaves room for nature and offers a unique experience,”Yu explains the design, which meanwhile has become one of the city’s attractions.