TU MU Young Architecture from China
The building boom in China is followed with great interest in the West, but
usually the media are mainly concerned with the sheer mass and dimension
of change. Since the opening of China in the 1980s architecture became a
cultural issue.
Now for the first time architects can build for private clients and set up their
own practices. Some small-scale projects are the first promising hints for the
development of an independent architectural language. In the last five
years some projects emerged, that are worth getting wider attention.
Content
The exhibition "TUMU" will feature the work of 5 + 1 young private architects
and artists from the P. R. China.
They are:
- Atelier Feichang Jiangzhu, CHANG Yung Ho, Beijing
- LIU Jiakun, Chengdu
- MRMADA; MA Qingyun, Shanghai
- Jianzhu NANDA, Nanjing (ZHANG Lei, DING Wowo, WANG Qun, ZHU
Jingxiang)
- WANG Shu, Hangzhou
- AI Weiwei, Peking
Each office will be presented with realized and planned projects. A
representative from each architecture office will be present at the opening.
Their projects will be discussed during the accompanying symposium.
Design
The designer of the show will be Yung Ho CHANG. The show will contain
drawings, sketches models and photos for each of the projects.
Curators
The curators are Eduard Kögel and Ulf Meyer from Berlin. Eduard Kögel is
an urban planner and an assistant teacher at the Technical University of
Darmstadt, while Ulf Meyer is an architect and writer. Both have published
on contemporary architecture and urban design in China and have traveled
China in April 2001 for preparation.
Project Descriptions
WANG Shu; Hangzhou
Library of Suzhou College, Suzhou
Just outside of the old garden city, Suzhou, lies the new campus of Suzhou
College. With the help of a private sponsor, a large, new library that
appears to be suspended over a quarry was built. Surrounded by beautiful
scenery, in the middle of a bambu forest, WANG Shu from Hangzhou has
carefully designed a radiating white masterpiece with surprising spacial
qualities.
MRMADA: MA Qingyun; Shanghai / Peking
Mall for Apartment Buildings, Peking
"Malls are the new cathedrals of contemporary China," says MA Qingyun,
who runs architecture offices in Shanghai and Peking. In fact, a large
number of these buildings for new residential areas have been built in
China over the past couple of years. But perhaps none has been designed
with as much care as that from MA: He managed to create a chapel on an
abstract floorplan, whose detail is outstanding.
MRMADA: MA Qingyun; Shanghai / Peking
New Campus in Ningbo
Following the trend in China, more and more university campuses are being
placed outside of the dense inner-cities. Ten Universities and schools have
commissioned MA to create the Masterplan for a new University City outside
of Ningbo. His office, MRMADA has a fascinating and surprising solution for
the area, and will also develop a handful of the faculty and housing areas.
DING Wowo; Nanjing
Kindergarten in Nanjing
WANG Jun-Yang; Nanjing
Restaurant, Nanjing
In China, restaurants are not only places to enjoy long meals, but are very
popular as venues for business meetings. Every restaurant has separate
lounges for guests who desire a more private atmosphere. This new
restaurant complex will be built just outside Nanjing, containing roughly one
dozen specialty restaurants with separate entrances.
LIU Jiakun; Chengdu
Gray Villa in Chengdu
In the middle of a field on the bank of a small river near Chengdu lies the
villa of a sculptist, which LIU Jiankun has designed. The layered facades
are separated by a long ramp and create a secret second layer around the
studio and apartment house.
LIU Jiakun; Chengdu
Recreation House, Chengdu
In a suburb of Chengdu, LIU Jiakun has designed a recreation house in
which young people can stay for a few days to play sports or relax. LIU
Jiakun has designed a whole row of low buildings, which include swimming
pools, gymnasiums, restaurants, and apartments. These buildings follow an
architectural language and create a small universe with their individual color
schemes.
ZHANG Lei; Nanjing
Ceramic Studio in Nanjing
In one of the new buildings for the University of Nanjing, a space was
reserved for the presentation of ceramics and art. ZHANG Lei has created a
quiet atmosphere for the space, by means of a second inner facade made
of translucent glass, which provides a beautiful, peaceful background for
the art and fragile ceramics.
ZHANG Lei; Nanjing
Student Hostel
This strict student hostel is designed along a corridor. The motor, or
machine-like appearance of the building is due to the ordering of the
bedrooms on one side, and the placement of the other rooms directly
across the way.
AI Weiwei; Peking
Studio Peking
In a small village not far from Peking?s airport, the artist AI Weiwei has
designed a house with studio in which he and his wife can both create and
exhibit their artwork. At first glance, the typically grey brick courtyard is
unnoticeable. The house reveals itself upon a closer look. Construction
workers built the spacially-refined house in exactly one hundred days,
supervised by the artist.
CHANG Yung Ho; Beijing
Splithouse in Badaling
In the vicinity of the Great Wall, in the district of Badaling, a luxurious villa
neighborhood with a high level of architectural excellence is being planned. CHANG Yung Ho has designed a villa for this project, whose wings form an
acute angle and fit the topography of the over-hanging foundation. The
walls are made of lime.
MRMADA: MA Quingyun; Shanghai / Peking
Cultural Center Ningbo
The site of the Cultural Center in Ningbo is unique: it?s the only building in
the city that was allowed to be built in the forest of green that runs along
the river. After some political controversy during the construction period, the
office space will now be the headquarters of the local newspaper. The
project has been carefully designed, down to the smallest detail: for
example the black granite facades with their remarkable Japanese touch
change color when it rains.
Welcome:
Kristin Feireiss, Berlin,
Rongmin Sun, Gesandter der Botschaft der
Volksrepublik China,
Dr. Hans Stimmann, Senatsbaudirektor,
Thomas
Wrießnig, Auswärtiges Amt, VLR im Referat Ostasien,
Eduard Kögel,
curator, Berlin,
Ulf Meyer, curator, Berlin.
