Chinese - Architect | 1975 -
We need architects to be visionaries.
Ma Yansong
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In the past, young, talented architects worked together to form a strong social agenda and communicate with a larger audience. That's what today's architecture community should be.
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When we talk about a city, we need to talk about what the future is. Whats the ideal scenario in the future?
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We proposed Tiananmen Square - this very empty political square in the city centre - should turn green. Maybe in the future, this space could become a very human and open urban space. And if that happens, I think that all the cities around China will follow to change.
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It's very strange: if you're a philosopher or musician or an artist, people automatically believe you can see the future. Even if they don't like you, they accept your vision as an individual.
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If we're talking about the urban landscape as an advanced, forward-thinking art form, there must be some intellectual thinking involved.
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I think where traditional values are concerned, Chinese people see nature as very symbolic. It's a form of culture.
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Since the Industrial Revolution, we tend to use technology to show our power: you know, we build high-rises, towers, big buildings that become symbols of power and capitalism. We don't talk about how emotions and nature can be connected.
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'Shan shui' you can literally translate as 'mountain and water.' In traditional Chinese culture, there are a lot of paintings about shan shui, but now we're talking about a shan-shui city.
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To allow millions of people to live together on limited land, we have to go to the sky; we have to build a high rise. But we can still build nature and social space into the towers. Each family can have their own courtyard in the sky.
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The shan-shui city idea is trying to bring traditional values and ways of living to modern high-rise architecture.
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Although we're architects, we believe we do culture; architecture is culture, and the topics we tackle will always arise a broader debate.
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