Best of 2008: Bert de Muynck

2009.01.01

1. China Academy of Arts Xiangshan Campus (Amateur Architecture Studio, Hangzhou)
The new Xiangshan campus of the China Academy of Arts (CAA) in Hangzhou ranks among China's most intriguing works of architecture from the last few years. Designed by Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu – principals of Amateur Architecture Studio and professors at the Academy – the campus updates the notion of “critical regionalism.” In the architects' words, the campus, by “creating layers of depth, adopting cross-references and modern interpretations on traditions," offers "templates for a modern take on the old pagodas, temples, courtyards, and mountains.” The campus is a remarkable example of critical architectural experimentation, balancing between modernism and tradition while remaining distinctively Chinese in its identity.

2. National Stadium (Herzog & de Meuron, in collaboration with Ai Weiwei, Beijing)
The unavoidable masterpiece of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. An instant classic of modern architecture, both timeless and placeless, even if the “Bird's Nest” could not have been build anywhere else than in Beijing in these times. Nothing can be added to the pre-Olympic appraisal of this collaboration between Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and Chinese artist-architect Ai Weiwei. The building is not about words but about welding.

3. ORDOS100 (Curated by Ai Weiwei, Ordos, Inner Mongolia)
During the first half of 2008, 100 international architects from 27 countries were invited to each design a villa of 1000 square meters, in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. Scheduled for construction in 2009, ORDOS100 is an interesting test case in the field of architecture to understand the impact of China’s Creative Industries ambitions, both as an urban and cultural model, as a real-estate investment (developer Cai Jiang), a curatorial practice (artist Ai Weiwei) and policy implementation (the local government of Ordos). The outcome of this project will be a high-end residential setting, to some akin to a World Expo, while to others it looks more like Beverly Hills or an architectural zoo. There is certainly an element of creative roughness, if not brutality, in inviting 100 architects for this project. As it currently stands, ORDOS100 is clearly is an experiment in the production of a new architectural culture in China, irrespective of its shortcomings.

4. Museum of China Central Academy of Fine Arts (Arata Isozaki, Beijing)
The Museum of China Central Academy of Fine Arts is one of the most overlooked new contributions to the development of modern architecture in the capital. Bringing curves to its campus, the architect managed to create a solid volume which from the inside feels spacious and bright. Balancing in space and material the light and the heavy, the inside and the outside, Isozaki brings a new architectural language to the city, in line with the objectives of creativity on the campus, even as he furthers his knowledge and experience in building cultural institutions that are pieces of art in themselves.

5. Beijing Capital Airport (Foster + Partners)
For many the unavoidable gateway to China. Constructed at break-neck speed, and designed by the British architect Norman Foster, the building was hailed for its capacity to be contextual and Chinese (a point perhaps best left up for discussion). In form akin to a dragon and using "traditional" Chinese colors – imperial reds merge into golden yellows – the airport is a true twenty-first century temple of transport. Despite its megalomanic size, the architect managed to balance the bold with the bright. A well laid-out forest of columns gives the space the powerful drama one can expect from one of China's most important buildings, creating a sense of ephemerality and temporality that goes along with travelling. The architecture impresses masses perfectly for two-hour intervals. After that one is more than happy to leave it. The perfect pass-through architecture.

6. Paper-Brick House (Atelier Li Xinggang, Venice)
Taking “Ordinary Architecture” as its general theme, the Chinese Pavilion at the Venice 2008 Architectural Biennale presented an exhibition including the work of five Chinese architects: Liu Jiakun, Tong Ming, Ge Ming, Li Xinggang, Liu Kecheng, and photographer Wang Di. The exhibition was curated by Yung Ho Chang, Acheng Zhong and Gong Yan. Li Xinggang's “paper-brick house” is an attempt to build in a straightforward way. Walls are made out of cardboard boxes that act as "paper bricks" while paper tubes are used as beams. This lightweight structure both reflects on the poor quality of the heavier constructions that characterize the Chinese city. Although not totally original, the pavilion offers an intriguing response, according to its architect, “to reflect on the tragedy that has buried tens of thousands of people in Sichuan–a direct result of the reinforced concrete buildings’ inferior quality.”

7. RMB City (Cao Fei, Second Life)
The architectural apotheosis of the Chinese city built in a virtual world. Developed by Chinese artist Cao Fei, RMB City offers an intense China experience. Combining the surreal with the virtual, critique with commerce, RMB City is an exercise in suspension that uses a dimensional distortion of architecture to create something which is described as “a city.” A place impossible to live in, but potentially an interesting one to invest in.

8. Foreign journalists describing Beijing's urban and architectural development (August, 2008)
The best of the worst. In the pre-Olympic times the foreign media undertook desperate attempts to get a grip on the architectural and urban situation in Beijing. A series of hit-and-run articles on Beijing were all centred around the the media’s obsession with the Water Cube, the Bird’s nest, CCTV, Linked Hybrid and the Egg. Contributions like From Mao to Wow! (Vanity Fair), In Changing Face of Beijing, a Look at the New China (New York Times), Secrets of the Bird’s Nest (The Guardian), Forbidden Cities (The New Yorker), Out of the Blocks (The New Yorker),… were nauseating and debilitating middle of the road contributions to “a debate” on the state of affairs of architecture in China.

9. The Green Revolution
A lot of focus this year on sustainability, green design and environmental design. A few projects stand out: The Green Dragon, a documentary film about the potential for expanding sustainable construction and development in China (http://www.greendragonfilm.com/), Ming Tang’s origami-inspired Folded Bamboo Houses (intended as temporary shelters for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake) and the University of Nottingham’s new Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies (CSET) in Ningbo by Mario Cucinella Architects.

10. 0300TV, China According to China, 2008
With disclaimer as the author is featured in foreword to this documentary. Completely filmed by Diego Grass Puga and 0300TV before 2008’s Beijing Olympics and edited right after its ending, China According to China presents a set of thoughts by five local architects on China’s current situation and history. Ai Weiwei (FAKE design), Jiang Jun (Urban China), Yu Kongjian (Turenscape), Wang Shu (Amateur Architecture Studio) and Ma Qingyun (MADA s.p.a.m.) are in charge of defining the issues that every Chinese architect has to deal with in today’s practice, all of which may set the parameters of future development for Chinese architecture.

Bert de Muynck is an architect and urbanist based in Beijing.