gooood Interview NO.23 – Li Hu
Created
Dec 16, 2022 10:18 AM
专栏
人物
内容标签
国家
事务所
gooood团队采访世界各地的有趣创意人，欢迎您的推荐和建议。第23期为您奉上的是OPEN建筑事务所创始合伙人李虎的访谈，更多关于他们，请至：OPEN on gooood
gooood team interviews creative from all over the world. Your recommendations and suggestions are welcomed! gooood Interview NO.23 introduces Li Hu, Founder ofOPEN Architecture. More: OPEN on gooood
出品人：向玲 Producer: Xiang Ling编辑团队：向玲，武晨曦，陈诺嘉，刘丹阳 Editor: Xiang Ling, Wu Chenxi, Chen Nuojia, Liu Danyang
Interviewgooood x Li Hu 李虎
___________________国外求学工作经历的影响On the Impact of Studying and Working Abroad
老师们身上体现的自由精神把潜藏在我心里的原动力挖掘了出来。 The free and creative spirit embodied in my mentors uncovered my internal drive as a designer.
我在莱斯大学求学的时候，幸运地赶上了一个特别辉煌的时代。当时建筑学院的院长Lars Lerup带来了很多好老师，花了很多时间整顿学院。莱斯是美国南方一所很有名的学校，有很多新鲜的事情。 这里远离热点，充满自由，而我天生是个不愿意被条条框框局限的人。Bruce Mau, Brian Huberman等老师们身上体现的自由精神把潜藏在我心里的原动力挖掘了出来，对我产生了很大影响。在这里，你用什么方式做设计都可以，只要做得好就行。我的毕业设计就不是一个典型的建筑作品，而是一部艺术装置电影和论文。
▼李虎在Rice求学时，与老师Brian Huberman的合影 Li Hu and his tutor Brian Huberman during his graduate studies at Rice University
I was lucky to have studied at Rice University during a particularly brilliant era. The dean at the time, Lars Lerup, brought in a lot of inspiring mentors and professors and spent a lot of time reorganizing the school. Rice is a famous university in the southern United States, where new and fresh things are happening every day. It is a place that stays away from hot spots and is full of freedom, and I happen to be a person who yearns for that. Indeed, the free and creative spirit embodied in mentors such as Bruce Mau and Brian Huberman uncovered my internal drive as a designer. At Rice, you could design with whatever means you chose to, as long as you did it well. My thesis, for instance, was not a typical architectural work, but a film art installation and a written paper.
▼李虎在Rice的研究生毕业设计装置，Li Hu’s graduate design installation
纽约是一个充满自由精神，多元且包容的城市，我从来没有真正离开过那里。 New York is a diverse and inclusive city full of freedom. I feel like I ’ ve never really left there.
到纽约工作后，我开始真正接触这个世界。之前我是个书呆子，一直埋头读书，没怎么跟社会发生关系。纽约是一个充满自由精神，多元且包容的城市。这个城市对我的影响可能比工作本身还大，直到今天它还是我最熟悉的城市，我从来没有真正离开过那里。纽约这个城市非常丰富，你会想去不同的地方。一个城市有一个城市的精神，伟大的城市各不相同。但是我开始不喜欢现在的纽约，以前在纽约街上可以看到形形色色的人，今天纽约变成了富人的天下，太昂贵了，所以不再那么有趣。
It wasn’t until after I started my career in New York City that I began to really see and get in touch with the world. Before then, I was a nerd who kept his head in books and had little to do with society. New York is a diverse and inclusive city full of freedom. In fact, the city may have had a greater impact on me than the work I did there. Until recently, I still considered New York as the city that I was most familiar with. I feel like I’ve never really left there. It is a dazzling world, filling you with the desire to explore different places constantly. Every city has its own distinctive spirit, and great cities are all different. However, today’s New York has changed. In the past, it was a place where people from all walks of life could find a place of their own. Now, New York has become too expensive—it’s a world for the super-rich, not as interesting as before.
▼李虎2006年在飞机上拍摄的纽约中央公园，New York’s Central Park, aerial shot by LI Hu in 2006
我一直在寻找一种真正的创新，试图做有深度的、能够感动人的建筑。 I have been continuously seeking true innovation, and trying to achieve depth and meaning in buildings I design.
至于工作对我的影响，我觉得最重要的是去参与一些事，遇到一些人。我的同事们都非常棒，我喜欢跟特别棒的人一起工作，他们读的书、谈论的话题、对事情的看法，可以让我学到很多，自然而然就会发生变化。在专业上，我有了自己更加成熟的看法，对于努力的方向更加清晰。我一直在寻找一种真正的创新，试图做有深度的、能够感动人的建筑。深度相对于肤浅，深度相对于手法娴熟，深度相对于表面的美丽，很难用简单的语言描述。两年前我回德克萨斯州再次去看了金贝尓美术馆——跟上一次间隔了20年，我仍然被这座建筑深刻地触动到，而它旁边的加建却不能引起这样的感受。有些东西很流行，是因为它适应当下传播的需求。而真正感人的建筑也许并不适宜传播，它不是你能从照片中感受到的。
As for the impact the work there had on me, I think the most important thing was participating in projects and meeting excellent people. My colleagues were a group of brilliant people. I always enjoyed working with great people, and the books they read, the topics they talked about, and the views they held all inspired me a lot, and naturally, changed me in some way. Professionally, this helped me gain a more mature perspective and a clearer direction for my future efforts. I have been continuously seeking true innovation, and trying to achieve depth and meaning in buildings I design. Depth is relative to the superficial, depth is relative to technique, and depth is relative to the beauty on surfaces—all of these things are difficult to express in simple language. Two years ago, when I went back to Texas and revisited the Kimbell Art Museum after more than 20 years, I was still deeply touched by it. However the new addition next door did not arouse the same kind of feeling. Some things are popular simply because they cater to the current trends. However, truly impressive buildings don’t necessarily appeal to the media, since what they offer may be hard to see from photos.
▼李虎拍摄的金贝尔美术馆，Photograph of the Kimbell Art Museum by Li Hu
.
.
_______关于公司On OPEN Architecture
公司的规模和构架Scale and Structure of OPEN Architecture
我不太相信大，我在乎的是我做的东西缺一不可。 I am not a person who believes in big-ness. What I really care about is that everything I do is indispensable.
我不太相信大，我希望一个事务所不要超过30人。我们会控制规模，也不追求做的项目的数量。我在乎的是我做的东西缺一不可，不是可有可无。在我们事务所，人员的构架是扁平化的。虽然工作是垂直组织的——我跟合伙人下面有项目负责人，项目负责人有项目团队，但我也会跟实习生一起工作，我们的办公室文化没有层级。
I am not a person who believes in big-ness. I prefer an architectural studio with no more than 30 people. We consciously control our firm’s scale and the number of projects we take on. What I really care about is that everything I do is indispensable. In terms of our studio’s structure, we hold a flat organization. Although the work is organized vertically——there are project architects working under my partner and me, and team members under the project architects, I also work directly with interns too. Our office culture emphasizes no hierarchy.
与合伙人的分工和项目选择Dividing Work and Choosing Projects
我和文菁恰好是很互补的，在不同角度和层次上的考虑与介入是非常重要的。对我来说建筑从来不是生意，每个作品的设计过程都很痛苦，所以这种痛苦一定要值得。 Wenjing and I complement each other in many ways. Looking at things from different angles is very important. For me, architecture has never been a business. The design process for every project is always somewhat painful, so you have to make sure it ’ s worthwhile.
我和合伙人的分工是模糊的，没有分阶段，也没有分项目。我和文菁恰好是很互补的，从设计构思到细节落实到办公室管理，以及与项目甲方的沟通，我们都一起参与。在不同角度和层次上的考虑与介入是非常重要的，像警探都是两两出现，互相照应，互相补充。项目的选择都是赌博，你要想办法去预测一个项目能否达到期待的标准。对我来说建筑从来不是生意，每个作品的设计过程都很痛苦，所以这种痛苦一定要值得，项目做出来后要能留下一些东西，一些思考，给世界带来一些不同。如果真的没有值得做的事，我们就做假想项目、研究项目。我不能违心地做事，而OPEN的人追求可能比我还高，就算我降低标准，他们也不会降低标准。
There is no specific division of work between my partner and me, and we don’t separate our responsibilities by stages of work or different projects. Wenjing and I complement each other in many ways. In everything from design to office management to communications, we work together and have each other’s backs. Like detectives who tend to work in pairs, deep involvement and different perspectives are very important in the practice of architecture. As for choosing our projects, I dare to say it is a gamble-like process. You have to trust your gut feeling about whether a project can meet the standards you expect. For me, architecture has never been a business. The design process for every project is always somewhat painful, so you have to make sure it’s worthwhile. The project needs to promise to leave something meaningful, something worth thinking about, something that can bring new ideas and a real difference to the world. If we can’t find such a project, we’d rather do hypothetical or research projects. I can’t work on something against my heart, and neither would any of my colleagues at OPEN. In fact, some of them may have even higher pursuits than I do! Even if I was willing to lower my standards, they might not agree.
▼OPEN办公室的场景，李虎和黄文菁与同事讨论设计（点击这里查看更多），At work at OPEN, Li Hu and Huang Wenjing discussing with colleagues (click HERE to view more)
OPEN建筑事务所宣言OPEN Manifesto
“建筑不仅仅是关于美学、图像、 光线、物质、细部、精神、社会责任、 可持续性、理论或者历史…… 它关乎所有这一切； 但是在我们的时代和社会背景下最重要的是， 能够改变人们及其生活方式的，建筑的力量， 和重构人造与自然之平衡的可能性。
OPEN直面这一挑战， 投入前所未有的机遇与巨大的困难之中； 在这场史无前例的社会与环境巨变中, 以我们的实践， 来探索建筑的力量和潜能。
Architecture touches upon aesthetics, image, light, materiality, details, spirituality and many other things. But most important of all to us, in our era and social context,,,,,,,,,,is its innovative power to transform people and the way they live,while striking a new balance between the man-made and the nature.
OPEN takes on this challenge directly, emerging itself in the ample opportunities along with greatest difficulties at the same time, to test with our own vehicle, the power of Architecture and its potential being in the greatest social and environmental transformationever in human history to date.
。
事务所的宣言是我跟文菁一起写的，因为建筑不仅仅是技巧的问题。我们的标准不仅仅是做一个好房子，好房子太多了，尤其在中国，这种进步特别明显。我们不能只满足于做好看的房子，还要尝试用设计去影响改变人们的生活方式，参与到一种新的文化的产生。
The manifesto was written by Wenjing and me collaboratively, since the architecture is not just a matter of skill. We don’t limit our standards to simply realizing good buildings. The fact is that there are many good buildings, especially in China where progress on this front is particularly obvious. We can’t just be satisfied with creating beautiful buildings; we must also explore how design can influence and change people’s lives for the better.
▼OPEN建筑事务所部分项目一览，A selection of projects by OPEN Architecture
。
。
_________创新的建筑On Architectural Design
北京四中房山校区Beijing No. 4 High School Fangshan Campus
建筑在人类与人类之上的力量之间建立联系。 Architecture establishes a connection between humans and larger forces.
建筑不是雕塑，不是文字、图片或者视频。建筑在构筑一种关系，这是建筑的意义之一。不同建筑构筑出不同的关系，人与人的，人与城市的，人与宇宙的。它在人类与人类之上的力量之间建立联系。在宇宙里，我们是渺小的个人，然而通过建筑可以带来一些变化。以北京四中房山校区为例，在它出现之前和之后，中国的学校设计状况是发生了变化的。四中是一个转折点，它让大家开始关注学校设计的创新。
Architecture is neither a sculpture, nor a photo, nor a video. Architecture is building—not only physical structures but also relationships. This is one of the great meanings of architecture. Different buildings construct different relationships—relationships between people and other people, people and cities, and even people and the universe. Architecture establishes a connection between humans and larger forces. When we consider our place in the universe, we quickly understand our own insignificance, but through architecture we can bring about changes. Taking the Beijing No. 4 High School Fangshan Campus as an example, it indeed ushered in a transformation in the field of educational facility design in China. The No. 4 High School is a milestone and turning point which has attracted public attention to the need for innovation in school design.
▼北京四中房山校区（点击这里查看更多） ©苏圣亮，夏至，Beijing No.4 High School Fangshan Campus (click HERE to view more) © Su Shengliang, Xia Zhi
。
上海青浦平和双语学校Qingpu Pinghe School in Shanghai
自由是可以通过建筑来表达的，比如动线、空间的组织方式。与自己、他人和自然的交流，对于一个孩子的健康成长十分重要。 Through organizing spaces and circulation, architecture can foster a sense of freedom and openness. The school ’ s design creates a rich and diverse experience that is essential for the healthy development of a child.
这两个学校类型不相同，我也不喜欢重复自己，于是我们做了两个完全不一样的校园设计。四中是一个标准的公立中学，1.0的容积率，很难再做出更多创新了。四中的意义在于从各个层面上引入自然环境，人们在校园中会感觉到一种自由空气的流动。自由是可以通过建筑来表达的，比如动线、空间的组织方式。上海青浦平和双语学校则是一个全新的挑战，从3岁的儿童到15岁的青少年，一个孩子成长的十多年可能都会在这一所学校里面。项目前期我也没有跳出四中模式，一直没有找到设计方向，直到有一天我想：一个校园建筑为什么不可以有不同的风格、不同的视觉识别性？如果一个人3岁到15岁都在一栋楼里，可能8岁就受不了了。我们把建筑打散，采用最小的碎片化组织方式，把建筑和自然揉在一起。小尺度的建筑和园林带来了一种全新的读书体验。你要从这栋楼到那栋楼去吃饭，要穿过体育场去上音乐课，穿过花园去上实验课，再穿过另一个池塘回到自己的教室，这是一个非常丰富的体验，这个过程中与自己、他人和自然的交流，对于一个孩子的健康成长十分重要。
The two schools are of different types, and I don’t like to repeat myself, so we did two very different school designs. No. 4 High school is a public school with required FAR ration of 1.0. The driving concept behind the No. 4 High School was to introduce nature into every aspect of the school, so that students and teachers can navigate freely through the whole campus. Through organizing spaces and circulation, architecture can foster a sense of freedom and openness.As for the Qingpu Pinghe School, that was a totally new challenge. There, students essentially spend their youths—from the age of 3 to 15—on one school campus. In the early stages of the project, a concept didn’t jump out immediately to me like it had with the No.4 High School. I didn’t find a clear working direction until one day I thought, why not do the opposite of what we did at No.4 High School, building the campus like a village of small buildings instead of a super structure? Why can’t a school have different styles and visual identities within one whole, each suited to the students’ varying ages and needs? After all, if kids were forced to spend their days in the same building from age 3 to 15, they might be totally fed up by the age of 8! Finally, we broke up the program into small buildings and totally blended together architecture and nature. At this new smaller scale, the campus’s buildings and gardens create a brand-new studying experience. You go from one building to another for meals; you run across the field for music lessons; you walk through a garden on the way to the laboratory, and on your way back to your own classroom, you pass by a lily pond…the school’s design creates a rich and diverse experience that is essential for the healthy development of a child.
▼上海青浦平和双语学校（点击这里查看更多） ©OPEN建筑事务所，Shanghai Qingpu Pinghe International School (click HERE to view more) © OPEN
重新设计的学校任务书体现了我们对教育的理解和想象。阅读，体育，艺术，学校里奠定的这三个基础，决定了一个人未来的能力和核心价值。 The redesigned school brief expressed our understanding and hopes for the future of education. Reading, sports, and art – these three foundations, as laid out in school, together determine the future ability and the core values of a student.
我经常会重新“设计”任务书。任务书就是生活。重新设计的学校任务书体现了我们对教育的理解和想象。我从四中开始接触学校项目，也常常在思考教育的问题。我一直在想中国的教育不足在哪里？对于一个人来说，有三件非常重要的事，也是当下中国教育里最弱的三点：第一是阅读，第二是体育，第三是艺术。学校里奠定的这三个基础，决定了一个人未来的能力和核心价值。因此，我们把这三点提炼放大，做成了青浦校园里面最重要的几栋建筑。我们在学校的中心位置布置了艺术中心，包括表演和视觉艺术教室与展览空间；我们设计了一个对通常的中小学来说很大的图书馆，业主会将它和上海公共图书馆系统连接起来；我们在学校里提供了很多体育设施，包括篮球馆、游泳池、林间慢跑道等等。
I often “redesign” the design brief itself. In my view, the design brief is about life. The redesigned school brief expressed our understanding and hopes for the future of education. The question of education and educational buildings has been a concern for me ever since our work on the No. 4 High School. I have also been thinking about the gaps in the current education system in China. There are three indispensable things that are essential for a person’s growth—reading, sports, and art. These three foundations, as laid out in school, together determine the future ability and core values of a student. Unfortunately, however, they also receive the least focus in the traditional Chinese education system. In response, in our Qingpu school we have distilled and emphasized these three elements and made them into several of the most important buildings on the campus. We have located an art building——for both performing art and visual arts——in the center of the campus; we have designed plenty of sports facilities for the school, such as a gym, swimming pool, and meandering running tracks, and we have also created a very large library and collaborated with the client to connect it to the Shanghai library network.
▼上海青浦平和双语学校的图书馆和艺术中心 ©OPEN建筑事务所，Library and Arts Center of the Qingpu Pinghe School © OPEN
让建筑跟城市进一步融合在一起是我们想要做的突破，是内容的创新，是真正的机制的创新、模式的创新 We also want to achieve a deeper integration of architecture and the city, and the genuine innovation of mechanism and typology.
让建筑跟城市进一步融合在一起是我们想要做的突破。在我看来，公共建筑为创新提供了很多机会。我说的创新不是形式、造型、表皮的创新，而是内容的创新，是真正的机制的创新、模式的创新；它带来形式，而不是只停留在形式上。很多房子可能长得标新立异，但里面的内容枯燥无味，换汤不换药，不会带来真正的变化。
We also want to achieve a deeper integration of architecture and the city.In my opinion, public buildings offer many opportunities for innovation. The innovation I am talking about is not on the level of form—shape or skin—but rather the genuine innovation of mechanism and typology. In other words, innovation should bring new forms, but not be limited to or defined by them. Many buildings may look unconventional, but their contents are nothing interesting—the same plain thing, just with a different outer coat. These buildings will never lead to the genuine change that’s needed.
沙丘美术馆UCCA Dune Art Museum
我想表达一种timeless的感觉，一种远古留下的原始状态，去跟宇宙建立联系，跟太阳、月亮、风、光建立联系。 With the museum, I wanted to express a feeling of timelessness, of being in a primitive state from an ancient time, and to establish a connection with the universe, sun, moon, wind and light.
地球上纯自然的环境越来越少了，沙丘美术馆是我第一次在一个相对自然的环境里做建筑，它的语言自然是不一样的。有人说沙丘美术馆就像一堆器官,其实它像很多东西，又什么都不像，如同自然界本身，从微观到宏观，甚至宇宙，不可名状。它是一种更原初的空间模式，一种自然的形态。我们一开始的想法就是把建筑埋到沙丘里去，因为建筑一定要跟周围的自然发生关系，而方盒子是做不到的，因为沙丘很柔软，它是捉摸不定的，在沙丘美术馆的空间中你会感觉到那种不定型性，你无法琢磨它的形状；尤其是涂成白色之后，你都看不清形状的边界在哪里。它有一定的神秘性，我在设计的时候想了很多原始的东西，人类最早的居住形态，原始的聚落等等。人是怎么聚在一起的？这和细胞凑在一起，原子互相吸引是一样的。设计的过程中它在一点点演变，这是一个很有趣的变形过程，有点像生物的进化，依照内在的秩序，在演变中找到各种力的平衡。我想表达一种timeless的感觉，一种远古留下的原始状态，去跟宇宙建立联系，跟太阳、月亮、风、光建立联系。我们见到过太多方盒子美术馆，在里面艺术和自然没什么关系，我并不认为这是艺术家希望作品呈现的状态。艺术都要在自然光里创造出来，并且重新跟光、跟自然建立一种联系。沙丘美术馆里的空间不是非常大，人们在这里可以跟艺术品独处；它远离北京，塑造了一种跟艺术品的安静关系。
▼UCCA沙丘美术馆外观（点击这里查看更多） ©吴清山，UCCA Dune Art Museum (click HERE to view more) © Wu Qingshan
On earth today, untouched natural environments are increasingly rare. The Dune Art Museum was the first time I was given the opportunity to design a building in a relatively natural environment. Because of this, its architectural language is naturally different from that of our other works. Some people say the building resembles organs. I think it resembles many things and nothing all at once. Similar to nature itself, from scales on the microscopic to the cosmic, it exists indescribably. It is more like a primitive spatial pattern—a natural form. From the very beginning, we knew we wanted to bury the building in the sand dunes. The building was supposed to have a connection with the natural environment surrounding it, and it was just impossible for a box volume to do that as sand dunes are soft, uncertain and unpredictable. At the UCCA Dune Art Museum, you can experience a kind of uncertainty in the space itself. You can’t figure out its shape, especially since its interior is white so that you can’t clearly perceive the boundaries of spaces. It has a certain mystery. In the project’s early design stages, I thought a lot about primitive things, like the earliest human forms of living, primitive settlements, and so on. How do people come together? The process is the same as how cells gather, and how atoms attract each other. In the design process, this concept evolved gradually in a very interesting deformation process somewhat similar to the evolution of creatures. Based on an intrinsic order, through this evolution we found a balance among the various forces at work.With the museum, I wanted to express a feeling of timelessness, of being in a primitive state from an ancient time, and to establish a connection with the universe, sun, moon, wind and light. We have seen too many box-volume art museums, in which there are few connections between the art within and the surrounding nature. I don’t think this is the state in which artists want their work to appear. Art is meant to be created in natural light and, when shown, re-engage with that light and establish a connection with nature. The Dune Art Museum is not a very large space, which guarantees opportunities for people to be alone with the artworks. It is also a place relatively far from Beijing, and as such sculpts a refreshingly peaceful relationship between the space, site, visitors, and artwork.
▼沙丘美术馆展厅 ©吴清山，Main gallery of the UCCA Dune Art Museum © Wu Qingshan
沙丘是连接你跟大自然之间的一个装置，一个超过一般艺术品尺度的装置。 The Dune Art Museum is an art installation itself on a marvelous scale — an installation connecting people to nature.
我在设计的时候没有预设一种固定的体验过程，建筑里面的动线其实很丰富。美术馆是一个连通的大空间，一个门都没有，每个空间都是连通的，相当复杂，有一定的丰富性。每个人在这里都会产生不同的体验，哪怕是在同一个季节同一天的不同时间里，空间都会发生变化。孔洞朝着海、朝着天、朝着不同方向，我们做了很多节点，隐藏了孔洞中的窗框，使得人们虽然身处室内环境中，却觉得自己置身于室外。沙丘是连接你跟大自然之间的一个装置，一个超过一般艺术品尺度的装置。
In my design I did not presuppose a fixed museum experience, and the circulation routes inside the museum are actually quite rich and various. The art museum is a large interconnected space. Its galleries have no doors. Each space is part of an open, organic network, and is quite complex and varied.Each visitor will have a different experience in the museum, as even if you come at the same time of the day in the same season, the space does not stay the same. The building’s openings face the ocean, the sky, and many different directions. We made many joints with concealed window frames within the openings, creating an illusionary feeling that visitors are outside in the open air. The Dune Art Museum is an art installation itself on a marvelous scale—an installation connecting people to nature.
▼从沙丘美术馆内部向外看海 ©吴清山，View to the sea from inside the UCCA Dune Art Museum © Wu Qingshan
沙丘美术馆超越了社区，是一个独立的存在，属于更广泛的、任何对它感兴趣的人。 The UCCA Dune Art Museum transcends the immediate community around it. Its independent existence belongs to anyone who is interested in it.
我觉得任何敏感的人都多少会被沙丘美术馆感动，这就说明它对你有影响。此外，它还会使社区产生公共性。美术馆虽然在阿那亚社区中，但它并不仅属于阿那亚，它属于一个更大的范围。就像当时我和Steven Holl设计当代MOMA的时候，在里面植入了一个电影院，让封闭的小区变得更加开放。打开一个社区，肯定会改变人的生活。沙丘美术馆超越了社区，是一个独立的存在，属于更广泛的、任何对它感兴趣的人。
I think that any sensitive person will be touched by the Dune Art Museum, and being touched means being impacted to some degree. In addition, the museum also makes the community more public. Although the museum is located in the Aranya Community, it does not belong to that community alone, but to the greater region. When I designed the Linked Hybrid Building with Steven Holl, we inserted a movie theater inside, making the closed community much more open. There is no doubt that people’s lives change when they live in a more open community and environment. The UCCA Dune Art Museum transcends the immediate community around it. Its independent existence belongs to anyone who is interested in it.
。
。
_________建筑与景观On Architecture and Landscape
我的生活离不开植物，我们的项目离不开景观，因为植物能给人带来愉悦。 Plants make me happy and relaxed. I can ’ t live without them, and neither can our projects.
我喜欢景观，我们设计的房子没有一个不会跟景观长在一起的。我喜欢植物，也喜欢动物，特别想做动物园的设计。植物让我开心，也会让我放松。我的生活离不开植物，我们的项目离不开景观，因为植物能给人带来愉悦。我最喜欢的景观大师Burle Marx说过：没有丑陋的植物，只有不好的搭配。我们可以跟植物学到很多东西。植物教给我们耐心，它按照自己的周期生长；植物又是不断变化的，引用Burle Marx的话：“植物不变的时候，就没有意义了。”植物是有寿命的，只要它活着，就会不断变化，这种变化令我着迷。植物对于城市生活太重要了，它会带给人们快乐，然而在城市环境里好的景观机会有限，所以我们一直在努力创造机会，让建筑容纳这些花园。四中里大的乔木都是我亲自去苗圃一棵一棵选的。在坪山剧院里，我们设计了一个可以从地面一直走上屋顶去的景观序列，在剧院里包裹了一个公园。以前没有人这么做过，你要去创造机会，给景观生存空间。现在流行把景观变成装饰，但是景观不是随意种树，景观是空间。到处都是树，意义不大。把树放到一个它不爱待的地方，对树本身也是折磨。实现这种创造的难度很大。第一，任务书里没有；第二，在屋顶做景观，创造新的平台，技术难度大。我们的建筑和景观一向是同步设计的，我特别期待有好的景观设计方跟我们合作。我觉得景观不用过度设计，自然而然就好。我做万科总部的时候，刚好赶上金融危机，没有预算，我们自己做的设计就废掉了，什么都没有种，任其生长。一个月以后，野草美极了，它本身自成原始的景观。
▼北京四中房山校区里的农田和花园 ©OPEN建筑事务所，Farms and gardens in Beijing No.4 High School Fangshan Campus © OPEN
I love landscape. All of the buildings we have designed are tied closely with the landscape. I like plants and animals, and really would love the opportunity to design a zoo one day. Plants make me happy and relaxed. I can’t live without them, and neither can our projects.My favorite master landscape architect Burle Max once said that there are no ugly plants, only poor combinations. Plants can teach us a lot. They teach us patience, because they grow according to their own cycles; and they are ever-changing. As Burle Max once expressed, it would be meaningless if plants stopped growing. Plants have their own lives. As long as they are alive, they constantly change—a process which fascinates me. Plants are indispensable for urban life, as they bring happiness to people. Unfortunately, there are limited opportunities for good landscape environments in the city, so we have been working hard to create opportunities to integrate much-needed urban gardens and green space into our architecture. During our No.4 High School project, I went to the tree nursery in person to carefully pick out all the big trees used. In our Pingshan Performing Arts Center project in Shenzhen, we incorporated a series of gardens linked by a promenade from the plaza all the way up to the roof. It is a garden built into a theater building. I am not sure it’s been done before. Today, the public tends to treat landscape as a means of decoration, but landscape doesn’t mean just planting vegetation. It’s also a matter of space. Planting trees everywhere is meaningless. Placing trees in unsuitable places also torments the tree. We always design architecture and landscape together, and I really hope to collaborate one day with a good landscape architect. I think landscape should be natural, not over-designed. When I was working on the Vanke Headquarters with Steven Holl, the financial crisis had just hit. Without a budget, everything we had designed for the landscape was cut. Ultimately, we didn’t plant anything but decided to let the nature take its course. Surprisingly, a month later, the weeds which occupied the roof garden grew so beautifully that they themselves became the original wild landscape we had intended for the space.
▼景观与建筑 – 坪山演艺中心屋顶景观 ©张超 Landscape and Architecture – Rooftop landscape of the Pingshan Performing Arts Center © Zhang Chao
▼景观与建筑 – 清华大学海洋中心（点击这里查看更多）© Iwan Baan,,,,Landscape and Architecture – Tsinghua Ocean Center (click HERE to view more) © Iwan Baan
▼景观与建筑 – HEX-SYS/六边体系（点击这里查看更多）© 张超,,,,Landscape and Architecture – HEX-SYS (click HERE to view more) © Zhang Chao
▼景观与建筑 – 歌华营地体验中心（点击这里查看更多）© 夏至,,,,Landscape and Architecture – Gehua Youth and Cultural Center (click HERE to view more) © Xia Zhi
。
。
_____________建筑与生活方式On Architecture and Lifestyle
火星生活舱MARS Case
让建筑变成一种产品，人们不用经过开发商就可以买到一栋建筑。 I have always been interested in transforming architecture into a kind of product that people can buy without the need to go through an architect or developer.
我更大的期待是把火星生活舱发展成一个产品，再把它落实。它不是一个展览，它是我们的一个持续的项目。我一直对一件事很感兴趣，就是把建筑和产品融合在一起，让建筑变成一种产品，就跟汽车一样，是一个纯粹的产品性的东西，可以定制，可以变化。人们不用经过建筑师，不用经过开发商就可以买到一栋建筑。我们把火星生活舱设计成了一个年轻人的家，年轻人可以买得起，并且过上高品质的、谦逊的生活。由于它占地很小，所以很自由，想住哪就可以住哪。
My bigger plan is to develop and implement MARS Case as a product. It is not an exhibition, but an ongoing project. I have always been interested in the combination of architecture and product design, and in transforming architecture into a kind of product that, similar to a car, is a purely product-oriented thing that can be customized and changed. Someday, we might imagine that people can buy a building without the need to go through an architect or developer. We designed MARS Case as a home for young people, affordable for young people while also offering space for a modest but high-quality life. Thanks to its small footprint, it’s a very free and flexible housing model, making it easier for occupants to choose their dream living location. You can live where you want to live.
▼火星生活舱（点击这里查看更多） ©吴清山，MARs Case (click HERE to view more) ©Wu Qingshan
生活可以不在家里，而在城市里、街道上发生。 Life doesn’t need to happen at home, it can happen in the city and on the streets.
我在纽约住过比这还小的房子，但是大前提是城市很美。只是读书、睡觉的私密空间不需要很大。生活可以不在家里，而在城市里、街道上发生。我并不要求每个人都接受这种生活，也不需要你一辈子都住在这里，但是这样居住一段时间会是一种很好的生活体验。它还有很多其他应用，比如作为度假屋。你可以像《瓦尔登湖》里描述的那样，在一个与世隔绝的自然环境中住几天；当然你也可以去火星、去月球。当下中国的问题在于我们的城市不友好。人们家里有放映厅、卡拉OK、大餐厅，而这不是一个年轻人的生活方式。过度奢华的生活、挥霍，无穷的欲望……物质社会对环境的破坏已经到了不可收拾的地步，这样的背景促使我做了这个设计。
I myself have lived in a smaller apartment than MARS Case in New York City. With a beautiful city surrounding you, you don’t need too much private space for studying and sleeping. Life doesn’t need to happen at home, it can happen in the city and on the streets. I’m not asking everyone to adopt this lifestyle, or to live this way permanently, but I strongly believe living like this for a while is a good life experience. MARS Case also has many other applications, including acting as a vacation home. You can experience an isolated natural life as described in Thoreau’s Walden; you can even use MARS Case to vacation on Mars and the Moon. The problem with China today is that our cities and urban environment are not friendly. Many people have a movie room, karaoke room, and generous dining at home, but this is not the kind of lifestyle that a young person should live. Excessively luxurious lives and squandering, endless desires… our materialistic society has done irreparable harm to the environment, and considering this question was another aspect which motivated me to design MARS Case.
▼不同环境中的火星生活舱 ©小米，MARS Case in different environments ©Xiaomi
现代人的生活方式Lifestyle of Modern People
要爱护环境，不要在资本诱导下进入一种恶性循环。城市比建筑更重要，先有好的城市，才有好的建筑。 One needs to be environmentally conscious. We should avoid being trapped by the vicious cycles of consumption and capitalism. Cities are more important than buildings. There are good cities before there is good architecture.
我认为人的生活方式怎样都可以，但是要爱护环境，不要在资本诱导下进入一种恶性循环。比如街道越来越不友好，我们越来越不感兴趣在街道上行走。当街道生活变得很糟糕的时候，人们就更依赖网络；而网络越强大，实体店就越糟糕，这会使得城市环境更加糟糕，进入一个恶性循环。城市的问题远远不止建筑的问题。一个美好的城市，房子简简单单就挺好。城市比建筑更重要，先有好的城市，才有好的建筑。
I think people have the right to choose any lifestyle they fancy, but one must be environmentally conscious. We should avoid being trapped by the vicious cycles of consumption and capitalism. For example, our city streets are becoming less and less friendly. We started to lose interest in strolling along the streets and shopping. Then online retailers came to fill in the gap and started to flourish. In fact, the more terrible urban and street life is, the more people will rely on the Internet. Relatively, the stronger the role of online shopping is in our lives, the worse our physical shops will be, which in turn contributes to a worse urban environment. We enter into a vicious cycle. The problems which exist in our cities today are far more than architectural problems. In my view, cities are more important than buildings. There are good cities before there is good architecture.
▼上海油罐艺术中心，策略性的改造创造更好的城市环境 ©吴清山，TANK Shanghai, creating better city environment through strategic renovation © Wu Qingshan
__________建筑师与城市On Architecture and the City
理想的城市Ideal City
城市应该是一个为公共生活提供公共服务的公共设施，让大家可以有尊严地聚在一起。 A city should be a public facility providing its citizens with public services, and a place for people to live together with dignity.
中国的城市没法照搬西方。高层、高密度到底还能怎样发展？我想要寻找新的可能性。它可以是低层高密度和新高层类型的叠合，这会是一个更加混杂的状态，更关乎生活的问题，更令人兴奋。我们最近在深圳湾的一个竞赛中做了一个生长的城市。虽然一个建筑的建造是瞬间的，但是我们可以做出生长的感觉，让高层像是从村子中长出来一般。人口的密度，文化以及生活的需求都是全新的。我们有更多的机会去探索、创造一些前所未有的类型、模式和生活，包括城市尺度。从零开始设计城市，是我一直很感兴趣的话题。不是单纯做一个竞赛，而是挑战自我，让每一个个体都能在城市中找到自己的尊严。在深圳这个项目，我们把尺度变小，给需要关怀的人提供关怀，让每个人都能找到自己的空间，这是城市要做的事情。城市一定是共享的，是大家的城市，是大家向往的自由的地方。比起城市更向往农村，是中国今天建筑界一个趋势。但我认为我们无法也不应该逃离城市，而是要重新思考城市可以怎么改进。我觉得城市需要尊严。很多城市没有尊严，包括人格上的，以及生存的资源和空间上的。干干净净地洗个澡，上个厕所，如此基础的事情，在北京老城里有很多人还做不到。城市应该是一个为公共生活提供公共服务的公共设施，让大家可以有尊严地聚在一起。
Chinese cities cannot simply copy the West. How, then, can we find our own way of developing high-rise buildings and high-density regions? I don’t think that huge buildings are the only answer. I want to explore and discover new possibilities. Perhaps a dense city could combine low-rise high-density and new types of high-rises, a mixed state more suitable to a diverse population, and more exciting. We have recently been working on the idea of a growing city for a competition in Shenzhen Bay. Although the building construction is instantaneous, we still can create a feeling of growth, making the high-rise buildings seem as though they are rising from a village below. This design offers a new way of examining population density, urban culture, and daily living needs. At the same time, it provides us with more opportunities to explore and create unprecedented typologies, patterns, and living styles, including at the level of urban scale. The challenge of designing a city from scratch is something I’ve always been interested in. So this competition is not only a competition, but a challenge for myself—a challenge about how to make sure individual citizens can find dignity and opportunity in everyday urban life. In the Shenzhen project, we reduced the scale of the buildings and showed care for real people in need, so that everyone would be able find their own space in the city. A city should be a shared space belonging to everyone, and offering the freedom that so many people yearn for. Today in China, many architects prefer to work in the countryside than the cities, but I think we cannot and should not flee the city. We must instead rethink how cities can be improved. A city needs dignity, but unfortunately, many cities do not provide enough of that, both in terms of resources and respect for individuals. For example, taking a clean shower, using their own bathroom—many people in the inner old city of Beijing still do not enjoy these basic amenities. A city should be a public facility providing its citizens with public services, and a place for people to live together with dignity.
▼城市问题研究草图，Study sketches of urban issues
建筑师在城市发展方面担当的角色 Role of architect play in future urban development
有远见、有经验的建筑师应该更加积极地参与到城市建设中去，每个人都要尽自己的力量，认真做自己。 Visionary and experienced architects should be more actively engaged and involved in urban construction. Everyone must offer their individual strengths and play their own distinctive role.
我觉得有远见、有经验的建筑师应该更加积极地参与到城市建设中去，这需要城市给我们机会。建筑师可以担任公众角色，去倡导一个城市应有的样子；在自己做建筑的时候，可以让建筑提供一些城市应有的温暖。建筑要有开放性、公共性和包容性，对于城市规划来说这是管理层次的问题，我认为建筑师应该寻找机会去介入，去争夺话语权。这是需要改革的，需要给大家讨论的机会。每个人都要尽自己的力量，认真做自己，这是作为一个人最重要的，也是最困难的。
I think that visionary and experienced architects should be more actively engaged and involved in urban construction. This requires that the city offer architects opportunities to do so. Architects can play a public role to promote what a good city should look like; through designing and constructing buildings, architects can imbue the humanistic warmth that cities deserve. Urban architecture should be open and inclusive, and this is a management-level issue for urban planning administrators. I think architects should actively seek opportunities to intervene and strive for their voices to be heard. Urban planning is a process that requires discussion and reform, in which everyone must offer their individual strengths and play their own distinctive role. This is at once the most important and the most difficult thing to do.
▼二环2049，2nd Ring Beijing 2049
▼流动快乐站装置设计，Mobile Joy Station
_________项目与未来 On Projects and Future
擅长的项目，正在进行的项目，希望挑战的项目Current and Future Projects
凡是追求标新立异的，表面的，肤浅的，流行的，本质上也都是一种保守。我想找机会做一些回归城市问题的项目。 A desire for things that are eye-catching, superficial, shallow and popular is actually, in my opinion, a type of conservatism. I would like to find some opportunities to do more projects related to urban issues.
我觉得自己比较适合做艺术类项目，之前在美国从事的大部分项目都是艺术类的。当面对的是艺术时，我知道它们需要什么；对于这种需求我很了解，也容易沟通。当然我也希望做一些大型商业项目，可是它们常常过于保守。凡是追求标新立异的，表面的，肤浅的，流行的，本质上也都是一种保守。
我们现在正在北京做一个小综合体改造成美术馆的项目，改造本身很有趣，是一个从内容上非常创新的美术馆。我们还在深圳设计一座人行天桥，不是做一个纯粹炫技的结构，而是在其中加入一些社会性。这个社会缺少图书馆，我想做一个天桥图书馆，二者相对独立，人们可以从天桥通过图书馆。
我想找机会做一些回归城市问题的项目。其实我很擅长做超大型项目，机场、火车站，我都想重新设计一下，遗憾的是没有机会。
I think I am quite suited for art and cultural projects, just like most of the projects I worked on when I was in the United States. When it comes to designing spaces for art, I know what is needed; I am more familiar with what art spaces demand and that makes it easier for me to communicate with both collaborators and the art itself. I do also very much hope to have the opportunity to work on some large-scale commercial projects, but nine times out of ten they are too conservative. A desire for things that are eye-catching, superficial, shallow and popular is actually, in my opinion, a type of conservatism.
Currently, I am working on a project transforming a small commercial complex in Beijing into an art museum. The transformation itself is fascinating. It’s also an art museum that’s very innovative in its programming. We’re also working on a pedestrian bridge project in Shenzhen. It is not a simple structure meant to be sleek or dazzlingly technical, but a project with some social responsibilities. Shenzhen lacks small public libraries, which motivated me to try to incorporate a library into the design of the bridge. The two volumes are relatively independent, and if people wish they can pass through the library while crossing over the pedestrian bridge.
I would like to find some opportunities to do more projects related to urban issues. In fact, I think I am quite good at ultra-large-scale projects, for example, I would like to redesign an airport or a train station, but I have not yet encountered the right opportunities.
▼海上美术馆（点击这里查看更多），Sea Art Museum (click HERE to view more)
.
未来的计划或者展望 On Future Plans and Prospects
我希望有更好的机会做更有影响力的建筑，当你足够强的时候，遇到一个合适的机会就可以做出很好的事情。 I hope to have more opportunities to design more influential buildings. Only when you become strong enough can you create extraordinary work when the right opportunity presents itself.
我不希望把我们的工作局限在只是做现在这些建筑上，我希望有更好的机会做更有影响力的建筑，比如公共文化建筑。我在寻找机会对整个城市和社会做一些其他方式的介入，不能只是埋头做自己的事情，因为建筑的目的也是影响社会。最近很长时间，我觉得很重要的工作是培养团队，希望更多有理想的年轻人可以加入。只有团队更强，才能做得更好。当你足够强的时候，遇到一个合适的机会就可以做出很好的事情。
I don’t want to limit ourselves to the current work we have done. I hope to have more opportunities to design more influential buildings, such as public cultural buildings. I am looking for chances for urban and social interventions that are new and innovative, more than just devoting myself to my own design work. After all, the purpose of architecture is to leave a positive impact on society. For the foreseeable future, I think the most important thing for us is to build a strong team. We hope to attract more young people with passion and ideals to join us. Only when our team is stronger, can we do better work. We are still practicing. Only when you become strong enough can you create extraordinary work when the right opportunity presents itself.
▼李虎 ©马楠，Li Hu ©Ma Nan
。
微信公众号：OPEN建筑事务所 More: OPEN Architecture,OPEN on gooood
。
。