i t i s a m i s t a k e t o r e j e c t t r a d i t i o n "

All roads lead to Beijing. Or to Shanghai. This is what we can seemingly deduce from

conversations with architects from different countries. Everyone is working in China

or trying to get a project to develop in the country. Large firms, young architects,

Americans, Europeans, Japanese. They all have a Chinese stamp on their passports. The

new economic boom is closely connected with the strong architectural development

of the last few years, with very attractive proposals such as Dongtan, the first

environmentally sustainable city in the world, designed by Arup on an island off the

coast of Shanghai. Aware of this phenomenon, and as a foretaste of the great exhibition

on Chinese architecture planned for 2008, the Mies van der Rohe Foundation of

Barcelona organised a series of conferences entitled China: New Architecture, in which

figures of such prestige as Pei Zhu and Qingyun Ma participated; architects who studied

in the United States and have undertaken a number of major projects, both in their

country and abroad. Both are exponents of a new style of architecture which combines

traditional and modern aspects, based on elements of Chinese culture reinvented with

new materials and using new shapes and textures.

Together with India, China is considered to be the great economic world

power of the future. In fact, it has become a creative paradise for some

of the most prestigious architects in the world. How does the western

style influence a society marked by tradition? Qingyun Ma reflects on the

future of architecture in his country.

By Ethel Baraona Pohl/Caja NegraPhotos Thomas Wagner/Quing Yun Ma

BACKGROUNDQingyun Ma turns out to be

perfectly able to analyse the future ofarchitecture in China and the weight of

western influences. Ma is the founder ofthe MADA s.p.a.m. studio (strategy,planning, architecture, media), with

headquarters in New York, Shanghai andBeijing. After studying at Tsinghua

University, he was the first universitystudent of his country to be given a grantto study at the University of Pennsylvaniasince 1937. In China, where he has beengiven several awards, there are projects

such as the campus and library ofZheijiang University, in Ningbo; the Red

Star building, a former asylumreconverted and lined with bamboo,

where the MADA studio in Shanghai isbased; and he has taken part in the Well

Hall project, a building in the outskirts ofXian constructed by the villagers without

the use of a single plan.

Ethel Barahona: The great economic andsocial transformation that the countryis undergoing is seen as anunprecedented urban explosion,articulated by major public constructionssuch as dams and bridges, aerial roadsand underwater tunnels. It seems thatthese constructions have had adevastating impact on China’s historicand natural heritage. And this looks as ifit is only the beginning. How do you seethis growth?

Qingyun Ma: Well, first of all, I would liketo point out that I feel I have benefitedfrom this situation of great evolution. Weknow that architecture has developedenormously in the last five or ten years,which has influenced architects like me alot, who have studied in China as well asabroad, and thanks to this we can work indifferent languages and see this boom asa great opportunity to shape and mouldour acquired knowledge. But in Chinathere are thousands of architects and nowis the right time to develop big projectsthat can be recognised internationally.This opportunity must also be understoodas a great responsibility, as we must treatour country’s historic heritage withextreme caution. I like to say that Chinais now like a “miraculous butterfly”, andwith the movement of its wings greatthings are created.

I like to say that China is nowlike a “miraculous butterfly”,and with the movement ofits wings great things arecreated.”

E: There are also a large number of foreignarchitects currently working in China,figures of the category of Zaha Hadid, DavidChipperfield, Norman Foster or RemKoolhaas. Do you think that they arereinventing China in some way,architecturally-speaking?

Q: In China today there is now a greatfreedom for people of different culturalbackgrounds to live together, to create intheir works, almost like a fingerprint of eachand every one of them. I mean a print in theeconomic capitalism, defined by thefreedom to take individual decisions andregenerated by global movements. If we arenot capable of understanding thismovement, we will never be able tounderstand what is happening in China: wemust be capable of rediscovering, of settingup new urban alternatives to be able to knowwhere China is going, as a living, changingcountry. Neither do I know for sure if thesearchitects have found a great source ofinspiration in our thousands of years ofhistory or if it is simply a question of aphenomenon in answer to globalisation inthe world today. Without a doubt, it is notan easy answer, as it also makes me considerthe fact that there are many Chinesearchitects of great constructions who areunknown in the western world or who simplydo not fit in with the language of westernarchitecture. This brings us to twohypothetical problems: discover if thislanguage governed by western architects isso strong that at some time will end updominating Chinese architecture, or if onthe other hand, Chinese architects areunaware of their own value, of this languagethat is different from the western one, anddo not know how to make themselves knownabroad. It is a really interesting question.

E: You are one of the leaders of this newgeneration of young Chinese architectswho, despite studying abroad, ended upworking at home. How do you believe thatwestern architecture has influenced yourwork in a country as traditional as China?

Q: This is also an important subject. When Iwas at university in China, my position wastotally opposed to traditionalism. Moreover,we were living in the 1980s, at a time whenChina was asleep and terrible eventshappened such as the massacre ofTiananmen Square. The young people wereangry about everything, as we could see noway out for our country. This situation mademe decide to study abroad. After someyears, after having lived in the United States,after having absorbed the western way oflife and gained confidence, I started to lookback. At a time when my architectural stylewas totally westernised, I realised that theposition of rejecting tradition and historywas wrong. Because of my culturalbackground, it is very hard for me to definelimits and to know if the China of today isshaping me or if I am a part of those thatare shaping China. In any case, this mixtureis at the same time positive and negative:positive because thanks to this I feelcompletely integrated in this currentdevelopment; negative because in a way ithindered my training and my interest intraditional and historic subject, which I cannow appreciate as being of great value.

E: Some of MADA’s great projects are acity museum, a cultural centre, thecampus and library of ZhejiangUniversity, all located in Ningbo (China);or the BOYA Court and the H.I.P. in Beijing,currently under construction. In them,together with the diversity of languages,we can see a clear emphasis on the use ofmaterials. What is the creative processto achieve this dialogue between modernand traditional materials?

Q: To begin with, I would like to point outthat when I use traditional materials, I amin no way trying to be or appear to benostalgic, or become the “saviour oftraditions”. These are simply materials thathave always been there and in some wayare right for the purpose of each project.All this knowledge that you acquire afteruniversity allows you to visualise theunique texture and light of each space andlook for the material that allows it todevelop. I am sure that I will continue towork in this direction.

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All this knowledge that youacquire after universityallows you to visualise theunique texture and light ofeach space and look forthe material that allows itto develop”