论文部分内容阅读
我要去拜访青年建筑设计师戚山山。
山山少年时赴海外求学，历时15年，从美国哥伦比亚大学读到哈佛大学，接受了一系列建筑教育；然后去建筑师事务所工作，完成了诸多作品；再然后选择回到杭州，建立了STUDIO QI建筑事务所，又做了许多作品，还在两所高校进行教学实践。
这样丰富的经历，让我在拜访前预设了许多话题，比如关于东西方建筑设计理念的不同，关于东西方文化的差异和交融。但是在真正见到山山之后，发现预设的话题太过割裂和分明，因为在她身上，就如建筑设计这门典型的交叉学科一样，许多文化因子很合谐地共存着。
戚山山不只是建筑设计师。这是我对她的第一印象。
她的STUDIO QI建筑事务所会客厅里，最显眼的是一整面墙的书架。靠窗立着的一大块展示板上的设计图纸，标示着这是一个建筑事务所。
我以为书架上面会有许多关于建筑的书，然而并不是。除了原版艺术类书籍外，更多是历史、哲学、文学、游记以及人物传记类书，关于建筑的，很少。间或夹杂的建筑设计获奖证书，表明了这里主人的身份。
桌子上放着三本小册子，分别是散文、小说和有关美学的论述。很新，显然是刚买来还未来得及上架。我在等待她的过程中信手翻看着。
戚山山将手头的工作告一段落，匆匆赶来，落座。我问她，这些书都是你的吗？她说，是的。对于我的问题，显然她有些意外——也许在她看来，阅读是一种本能，是补充认知的最有效手段。
将这一想法付诸行动的，是她在中国美术学院的教学实践。
“在做毕业设计之前，我要求大家写小说。”
“写小说？为什么？这和毕业设计有关系吗？”
“我觉得很有关系。在教学过程中我发现，很多学生严重脱离现实生活，甚至不知道为什么而活着，活着又是为了什么。这就造成，他们设计的作品与生活无关，甚至连基本的使用功能也无法实现。我让他们写小说，就是写生活，写不出来，就先去熟悉生活。”山山这么认为：只有熟悉之后才能理解生活，继而升华，天马行空地生活出自己的小世界。于是，就有学生第一次好好逛了逛大型超市，回来说，哦，和我想象的不一样。
一篇篇或长或短的小说完成了，关于对生活的思考也渐渐深入，“做什么、怎么做”的设计理念也在慢慢形成。山山有点小激动：我觉得这个方法可行，如果下一次带毕业生，我还是会推行这样的教学方式。
设计师首先是个会生活的人，然后再去创造更好的生活。这就是山山的理解，也是她想教会学生的最重要一点：先学做人。
为什么很多时候，我们会认为一些设计作品“不是给人用的”，根本原因就在于设计师的“不食人间烟火”。
在对待生活这件事上，戚山山一点也不马虎，她是一个将设计融入生活的人。
为人师的时候，她这么引导学生；做设计师的时候，她这么去创造作品。她一直在进行的中国老字号餐厅设计实践，可以看作是一个完整地体现了她的设计思想的载体。
在给宁波的老字号“缸鸭狗”设计店面时，她采用了“黑白元素、正圆正方”的理念。不光是室内设计和空间策划，还整体设计了品牌VI，连带餐具桌椅都一并做了设计。
戚山山特意找来一只专为“缸鸭狗”设计的盛放汤团的碗给我看。近乎球形的碗，胖胖的，很可爱，切去一角的碗口，可以露出其中盛放的内容。“捧着这样的碗吃饭，孩子的食欲都会大开。”那一刻，山山流露出了孩子气的笑容。
设计，毕竟是为生活服务的，源自生活又回归于此。
戚山山关注的不只是建筑。这是我对她的第二印象。
曾经有这么一段话描写她：在戚山山的内心，建筑甚至都不是她的职业，而是一种思维方式、是一系列的逻辑生成，它是一个载体，融合了金融圈、艺术圈、社会圈等方方面面，吸收、包容一切，透过这个载体，你能够发现和洞察社会现象。
我觉得这段话恰如其分。
只要深入了解戚山山那么一点点，你会惊叹，她学的、会的和将要去学的东西非常多，轻盈而瘦小的身体里蕴藏着巨大的能量，
15年的国外求学经历，仿佛开了挂。戚山山用“能量场”来形容纽约，这是一座影响了她的人生的城市。她在这里学习艺术、政治、经济、人文、哲学、建筑、舞蹈……平均每天睡眠时间不超过四五个小时。回国的这几年，除了考上中国美术学院建筑学院院长、普利兹克獎获得者王澍的博士生，她同时师从著名书法家王冬龄。
她所学的那许许多多东西，最后都融入了她的思想，进入了作品。
她和我聊关于江南水乡古镇的保护和改建问题。为什么很多人会觉得改建过的古镇都长得一个样呢，甚至连小镇上卖的特产也都像是同一家作坊做出来的？
因为许多人只是看见了小镇的外壳，而没有看清内涵。所以保护的只是一个外壳，缺少了灵魂。
于是她就去西塘设计了“九舍”这个民宿作品。这是她回国后的第14号作品，也是作为独立设计师过程中比较重要的一个节点。在这个作品里，她深刻地研究了江南水乡的特质，她把这种特质形容为“基因”，是什么样的基因决定了西塘是江南水乡的小镇？在透彻分析后，她将这种小桥、流水、人家带来的鲜活生动的亲切感，放到了“九舍”里。由此，“九舍”里有江南街巷的逼仄感和故事性，也有庭院的通透。
她将这种思维方式归于受过的十多年高等教育。这些教育中很重要的一点是，激发和教会人追根究底的欲望和能力。由此而得到的，是对事物本质的探究。
因此，当一所民宿具有了基本的江南特质后，她再在其中轻巧地嵌入了现代元素和新型建筑材料，比如说大落地玻璃，为的是将明媚的阳光引入较为潮湿的江南住宅的内部。
“九舍”民宿的成功，使得戚山山的建筑思辨能力和设计逻辑更为成熟。这种成熟的设计思维更多地表现在了某些方面——她这一年多的时间里，正在进行一项复杂而漫长的工程，在丽江至拉萨近2000公里的滇藏线上，建立13座体现不同民族文化、尊重不同自然地貌的精品民宿。 从照片上看，这些民宿既继承了传统建筑，又带入了现代生活的舒适性。“作为人类，我们一直在挑战不可及，人类已经能够在远离地球的太空舱内舒适地生活，但不少高原的居住条件还比较粗糙，而我们的模块房在很多层面都是相当高级和精确的，代表世界一流水平，可以说是第一次把真正的科学舒适性带入了藏区高原，并且又很好地藏入传统建筑中，与信仰、文化、村落、自然相融合。在我眼里，这也是一次登月，把人类带入‘不可及’的成功，代表的是真正的可能性与当代性。”这是戚山山在谈到滇藏线上松赞然乌山居的感受。
然乌山居海拔4000米，是滇藏线计划中海拔最高的酒店。為了克服高海拔施工的难题，突破性地采用了模块房设计：三层的LOW-E玻璃、丹麦进口的地暖、“鱼跃”提供的中央分子筛供氧技术……各种先进的科技元素汇集到了这个古老的村落中。
而对藏族古村落错高村的搬迁，戚山山则是尽可能地将原有建筑肌理保留下来，以保持村落的自然面貌。
品读一座建筑，就如同阅读一本书，每一个阅读的人都有不同的感受，甚至是能延伸出设计师（写作者）自己都意料不到的效果。
所以我读戚山山的设计作品，读出的是“透明”二字。无论是早年她在黄河边的作品、西塘九舍民宿，还是正在进行中的滇藏线系列作品，中国老字号餐厅设计系列，甚至是曾经的工作室老和山办公地，我都看到了“透明”在其中的运用。
而透明也早已成为现代建筑的特征之一。60多年前建筑学家柯林·罗在他的《透明性》一书中将这种特质系统化和概念化的时候，意味着人们对现代建筑的解读也多了一种方式。回归当下，透明性更是一种社会化，打破了人与建筑、人与人、人与自然之间的界限。
所以在采访结束时，我问了戚山山一个问题：你是不是特别喜欢采用玻璃这个材料？她一愣：似乎没有吧。不过，我喜欢阳光。不是吗，一所屋子，不应该是充满着阳光和空气的地方吗？
Before I visited young architect Qi Shanshan， I prepared a list of questions I would like to ask her. I wanted to be prepared because Qi is an architect with a fifteen-year experience of studying overseas， a journey she started at Columbia University and Harvard University as an architecture major and then worked as an architect with a perfect track record. After she returned to her hometown Hangzhou， she set up Studio Qi， her own business firm. She has done a few design projects. She also teaches at two higher-education institutions. The list of questions I prepared included topics such as the disparity in architectural philosophies between the east and the west and the cultural difference and integration of the east and the west.
As soon as I saw her， I became aware that the prepared questions were too two dimensional. I found that so many cultural elements， which might seemingly conflict each other in other people， exist in her peacefully and harmoniously， just like architecture， a discipline that presents a wide range of knowledge from diverse sources.
After stepping into the meeting room of Studio Qi， my first impression of Qi Shanshan was， she was more than an architect. The most eye-catching feature of the room was a long range of bookshelves that covered a whole wall. Only a design on a drawing board by a window indicated that it was an architect firm.
To my surprise， books on the shelves were largely history， philosophy， literature， travel， and biographies. There were not so many books about architecture. Only a few award certificates identified Qi as an architect.
She stepped into the room in a hurry. Apparently she had just put an end to some work at hand. I asked， “Are all these books yours？” She looked surprised about the question. Yes， these books are hers. She believes reading is almost an instinct. She considers reading as the most effective way of supplementing the reader’s understanding of the world. She has put this idea to practice in her teaching at China Academy of Art. “I ask my students to write a short story before they do their graduation design，” she offered. “I believe this is significantly relevant. I’ve found that some students are totally divorced from real life. Some even don’t know why we live and what we should strive for in our lives. Lacking this awareness renders their designs purposeless and irrelevant about life. Some designs don’t even provide essential functions. I believe writing a short story means writing about life. If you can’t write about life， you need to get yourself familiarized with life. When she first tried this approach with her students， they decided to take it seriously. Some students went into a mega shopping mall and did a thorough field study. They reported that the mall in real life differed from what they had previously imagined. They wrote stories and their understanding of real life deepened to various degrees. They came to know what to do and how to achieve the original thought.
Qi’s enthusiasm pulsated when she recalled this teaching experience. She said she would apply the same approach the next time she taught senior students. “Understanding how to live well is the very first priority for an architect. You need to understand life before you can help create a better life.” Qi emphasized. She said the most important thing her students should learn was to be a good human being. When we see some architectural failures， some of us would go to extremes to describe them as “designed not for human beings”. One of the reasons of these shameful disasters was， according to Qi Shanshan， because an architect blindly disregards the essences of everyday life in this world as if he didn’t know anything about this life in this world.
My second impression of Qi Shanshan was that she concerns herself with quite a lot beyond architecture. In her understanding of herself， architecture is not even her profession. To her， architecture is a way of thinking， a way of generating a complete system of logics， a vehicle that integrates finance， art， and society. Through architecture， you find and examine a lot of social phenomena.
Her fifteen-year overseas experience has shaped her worldview. Her life in New York has influenced her life： the city opened her eyes to art， politics， economy， culture， philosophy， architecture and dancing. Living in New York， she worked hard to absorb and she slept no more than five hours a night. After her return to China， she has taken up a doctoral course under the tutelage of Wu Shu， the dean of the School of Architecture of China Academy of Art and the first Chinese citizen to win the Pritzker Prize， the world’s top prize in architecture. She has been taking lessons on Chinese calligraphy from Wang Dongling， a calligraphy master of national renown at the same academy. What she has learned in New York and in Hangzhou and from her professional practices find their ways into her designs： it has been so over the past and will be so in the future.
During our conversation， she talked about the preservation and refurbishment of ancient river towns in Jiangnan or the south of the Yangtze River Delta. One of the defects in the new efforts is that some towns look disturbingly similar and that even souvenirs and special products look like products from the same workshop. In her opinion， such disheartening similarities result from a lack of insight into the soul and into the cultural essences of these towns. What have got preserved are largely superfluous things on the surface.
Jiushe， a hotel she designed for Xitang， an ancient canal town in the northeast of Zhejiang， embodies her exploration of the river town essences. It is her project number 14 after her return from overseas. And it is a key design in her career as an independent architect. She conducted a thorough study of the characteristics of river towns in this region and referred them as genes of the architectural style. After a detailed analysis， she reproduced these genes in the design of the hotel. The architecture relates local stories and embodies the spatial closeness and narrowness. Moreover， the hotel also highlights the transparence and openness of a courtyard. She ascribed this way of thinking to the advanced studies she has taken over past ten plus years.
In this project， she also introduced modern elements and new construction materials. Take the floor-to-ceiling glass for instance. The glass let sunshine into the rooms to remove moisture caused by the local climate.
The successful Jiushe project has sharpened her architectural thinking and added a good touch to her designing logic. These better ideas are going into her new project： she has been designing a total of 13 hotels in different locations along a 2，000-km-long Yunnan to Tibet route in the southwest of China. The project has been going on for more than a year and is not yet completed.
“We human beings have been challenging the impossible all the time. We can live comfortably in space capsules far away from the earth. Yet we have rather backward living conditions on the planet. Our model houses are world-class. They are the first introduction of science and comfort into the Tibetan Plateau. Meanwhile， we preserve the Tibetan traditional architecture in design， integrating religion， culture， local residence and nature. In my eye， this is indeed equal to a landing on the moon. It turns the impossible to success and represents the real possibility and modernity，” enthused the architect.
After viewing some of Qi’s architectural designs， I noticed an outstanding feature of her designs： she is a master of transparency. That was why I asked toward the end of our conversation if glass was her favorite building material. My question surprised her. “I don’t think so，” she replied hesitatingly. “But I like sunshine. A house should be a space full of sunlight and air！”
山山少年时赴海外求学，历时15年，从美国哥伦比亚大学读到哈佛大学，接受了一系列建筑教育；然后去建筑师事务所工作，完成了诸多作品；再然后选择回到杭州，建立了STUDIO QI建筑事务所，又做了许多作品，还在两所高校进行教学实践。
这样丰富的经历，让我在拜访前预设了许多话题，比如关于东西方建筑设计理念的不同，关于东西方文化的差异和交融。但是在真正见到山山之后，发现预设的话题太过割裂和分明，因为在她身上，就如建筑设计这门典型的交叉学科一样，许多文化因子很合谐地共存着。
建筑师是什么
戚山山不只是建筑设计师。这是我对她的第一印象。
她的STUDIO QI建筑事务所会客厅里，最显眼的是一整面墙的书架。靠窗立着的一大块展示板上的设计图纸，标示着这是一个建筑事务所。
我以为书架上面会有许多关于建筑的书，然而并不是。除了原版艺术类书籍外，更多是历史、哲学、文学、游记以及人物传记类书，关于建筑的，很少。间或夹杂的建筑设计获奖证书，表明了这里主人的身份。
桌子上放着三本小册子，分别是散文、小说和有关美学的论述。很新，显然是刚买来还未来得及上架。我在等待她的过程中信手翻看着。
戚山山将手头的工作告一段落，匆匆赶来，落座。我问她，这些书都是你的吗？她说，是的。对于我的问题，显然她有些意外——也许在她看来，阅读是一种本能，是补充认知的最有效手段。
将这一想法付诸行动的，是她在中国美术学院的教学实践。
“在做毕业设计之前，我要求大家写小说。”
“写小说？为什么？这和毕业设计有关系吗？”
“我觉得很有关系。在教学过程中我发现，很多学生严重脱离现实生活，甚至不知道为什么而活着，活着又是为了什么。这就造成，他们设计的作品与生活无关，甚至连基本的使用功能也无法实现。我让他们写小说，就是写生活，写不出来，就先去熟悉生活。”山山这么认为：只有熟悉之后才能理解生活，继而升华，天马行空地生活出自己的小世界。于是，就有学生第一次好好逛了逛大型超市，回来说，哦，和我想象的不一样。
一篇篇或长或短的小说完成了，关于对生活的思考也渐渐深入，“做什么、怎么做”的设计理念也在慢慢形成。山山有点小激动：我觉得这个方法可行，如果下一次带毕业生，我还是会推行这样的教学方式。
设计师首先是个会生活的人，然后再去创造更好的生活。这就是山山的理解，也是她想教会学生的最重要一点：先学做人。
为什么很多时候，我们会认为一些设计作品“不是给人用的”，根本原因就在于设计师的“不食人间烟火”。
在对待生活这件事上，戚山山一点也不马虎，她是一个将设计融入生活的人。
为人师的时候，她这么引导学生；做设计师的时候，她这么去创造作品。她一直在进行的中国老字号餐厅设计实践，可以看作是一个完整地体现了她的设计思想的载体。
在给宁波的老字号“缸鸭狗”设计店面时，她采用了“黑白元素、正圆正方”的理念。不光是室内设计和空间策划，还整体设计了品牌VI，连带餐具桌椅都一并做了设计。
戚山山特意找来一只专为“缸鸭狗”设计的盛放汤团的碗给我看。近乎球形的碗，胖胖的，很可爱，切去一角的碗口，可以露出其中盛放的内容。“捧着这样的碗吃饭，孩子的食欲都会大开。”那一刻，山山流露出了孩子气的笑容。
设计，毕竟是为生活服务的，源自生活又回归于此。
建筑是什么
戚山山关注的不只是建筑。这是我对她的第二印象。
曾经有这么一段话描写她：在戚山山的内心，建筑甚至都不是她的职业，而是一种思维方式、是一系列的逻辑生成，它是一个载体，融合了金融圈、艺术圈、社会圈等方方面面，吸收、包容一切，透过这个载体，你能够发现和洞察社会现象。
我觉得这段话恰如其分。
只要深入了解戚山山那么一点点，你会惊叹，她学的、会的和将要去学的东西非常多，轻盈而瘦小的身体里蕴藏着巨大的能量，
15年的国外求学经历，仿佛开了挂。戚山山用“能量场”来形容纽约，这是一座影响了她的人生的城市。她在这里学习艺术、政治、经济、人文、哲学、建筑、舞蹈……平均每天睡眠时间不超过四五个小时。回国的这几年，除了考上中国美术学院建筑学院院长、普利兹克獎获得者王澍的博士生，她同时师从著名书法家王冬龄。
她所学的那许许多多东西，最后都融入了她的思想，进入了作品。
她和我聊关于江南水乡古镇的保护和改建问题。为什么很多人会觉得改建过的古镇都长得一个样呢，甚至连小镇上卖的特产也都像是同一家作坊做出来的？
因为许多人只是看见了小镇的外壳，而没有看清内涵。所以保护的只是一个外壳，缺少了灵魂。
于是她就去西塘设计了“九舍”这个民宿作品。这是她回国后的第14号作品，也是作为独立设计师过程中比较重要的一个节点。在这个作品里，她深刻地研究了江南水乡的特质，她把这种特质形容为“基因”，是什么样的基因决定了西塘是江南水乡的小镇？在透彻分析后，她将这种小桥、流水、人家带来的鲜活生动的亲切感，放到了“九舍”里。由此，“九舍”里有江南街巷的逼仄感和故事性，也有庭院的通透。
她将这种思维方式归于受过的十多年高等教育。这些教育中很重要的一点是，激发和教会人追根究底的欲望和能力。由此而得到的，是对事物本质的探究。
因此，当一所民宿具有了基本的江南特质后，她再在其中轻巧地嵌入了现代元素和新型建筑材料，比如说大落地玻璃，为的是将明媚的阳光引入较为潮湿的江南住宅的内部。
“九舍”民宿的成功，使得戚山山的建筑思辨能力和设计逻辑更为成熟。这种成熟的设计思维更多地表现在了某些方面——她这一年多的时间里，正在进行一项复杂而漫长的工程，在丽江至拉萨近2000公里的滇藏线上，建立13座体现不同民族文化、尊重不同自然地貌的精品民宿。 从照片上看，这些民宿既继承了传统建筑，又带入了现代生活的舒适性。“作为人类，我们一直在挑战不可及，人类已经能够在远离地球的太空舱内舒适地生活，但不少高原的居住条件还比较粗糙，而我们的模块房在很多层面都是相当高级和精确的，代表世界一流水平，可以说是第一次把真正的科学舒适性带入了藏区高原，并且又很好地藏入传统建筑中，与信仰、文化、村落、自然相融合。在我眼里，这也是一次登月，把人类带入‘不可及’的成功，代表的是真正的可能性与当代性。”这是戚山山在谈到滇藏线上松赞然乌山居的感受。
然乌山居海拔4000米，是滇藏线计划中海拔最高的酒店。為了克服高海拔施工的难题，突破性地采用了模块房设计：三层的LOW-E玻璃、丹麦进口的地暖、“鱼跃”提供的中央分子筛供氧技术……各种先进的科技元素汇集到了这个古老的村落中。
而对藏族古村落错高村的搬迁，戚山山则是尽可能地将原有建筑肌理保留下来，以保持村落的自然面貌。
品读一座建筑，就如同阅读一本书，每一个阅读的人都有不同的感受，甚至是能延伸出设计师（写作者）自己都意料不到的效果。
所以我读戚山山的设计作品，读出的是“透明”二字。无论是早年她在黄河边的作品、西塘九舍民宿，还是正在进行中的滇藏线系列作品，中国老字号餐厅设计系列，甚至是曾经的工作室老和山办公地，我都看到了“透明”在其中的运用。
而透明也早已成为现代建筑的特征之一。60多年前建筑学家柯林·罗在他的《透明性》一书中将这种特质系统化和概念化的时候，意味着人们对现代建筑的解读也多了一种方式。回归当下，透明性更是一种社会化，打破了人与建筑、人与人、人与自然之间的界限。
所以在采访结束时，我问了戚山山一个问题：你是不是特别喜欢采用玻璃这个材料？她一愣：似乎没有吧。不过，我喜欢阳光。不是吗，一所屋子，不应该是充满着阳光和空气的地方吗？
Before I visited young architect Qi Shanshan， I prepared a list of questions I would like to ask her. I wanted to be prepared because Qi is an architect with a fifteen-year experience of studying overseas， a journey she started at Columbia University and Harvard University as an architecture major and then worked as an architect with a perfect track record. After she returned to her hometown Hangzhou， she set up Studio Qi， her own business firm. She has done a few design projects. She also teaches at two higher-education institutions. The list of questions I prepared included topics such as the disparity in architectural philosophies between the east and the west and the cultural difference and integration of the east and the west.
As soon as I saw her， I became aware that the prepared questions were too two dimensional. I found that so many cultural elements， which might seemingly conflict each other in other people， exist in her peacefully and harmoniously， just like architecture， a discipline that presents a wide range of knowledge from diverse sources.
After stepping into the meeting room of Studio Qi， my first impression of Qi Shanshan was， she was more than an architect. The most eye-catching feature of the room was a long range of bookshelves that covered a whole wall. Only a design on a drawing board by a window indicated that it was an architect firm.
To my surprise， books on the shelves were largely history， philosophy， literature， travel， and biographies. There were not so many books about architecture. Only a few award certificates identified Qi as an architect.
She stepped into the room in a hurry. Apparently she had just put an end to some work at hand. I asked， “Are all these books yours？” She looked surprised about the question. Yes， these books are hers. She believes reading is almost an instinct. She considers reading as the most effective way of supplementing the reader’s understanding of the world. She has put this idea to practice in her teaching at China Academy of Art. “I ask my students to write a short story before they do their graduation design，” she offered. “I believe this is significantly relevant. I’ve found that some students are totally divorced from real life. Some even don’t know why we live and what we should strive for in our lives. Lacking this awareness renders their designs purposeless and irrelevant about life. Some designs don’t even provide essential functions. I believe writing a short story means writing about life. If you can’t write about life， you need to get yourself familiarized with life. When she first tried this approach with her students， they decided to take it seriously. Some students went into a mega shopping mall and did a thorough field study. They reported that the mall in real life differed from what they had previously imagined. They wrote stories and their understanding of real life deepened to various degrees. They came to know what to do and how to achieve the original thought.
Qi’s enthusiasm pulsated when she recalled this teaching experience. She said she would apply the same approach the next time she taught senior students. “Understanding how to live well is the very first priority for an architect. You need to understand life before you can help create a better life.” Qi emphasized. She said the most important thing her students should learn was to be a good human being. When we see some architectural failures， some of us would go to extremes to describe them as “designed not for human beings”. One of the reasons of these shameful disasters was， according to Qi Shanshan， because an architect blindly disregards the essences of everyday life in this world as if he didn’t know anything about this life in this world.
My second impression of Qi Shanshan was that she concerns herself with quite a lot beyond architecture. In her understanding of herself， architecture is not even her profession. To her， architecture is a way of thinking， a way of generating a complete system of logics， a vehicle that integrates finance， art， and society. Through architecture， you find and examine a lot of social phenomena.
Her fifteen-year overseas experience has shaped her worldview. Her life in New York has influenced her life： the city opened her eyes to art， politics， economy， culture， philosophy， architecture and dancing. Living in New York， she worked hard to absorb and she slept no more than five hours a night. After her return to China， she has taken up a doctoral course under the tutelage of Wu Shu， the dean of the School of Architecture of China Academy of Art and the first Chinese citizen to win the Pritzker Prize， the world’s top prize in architecture. She has been taking lessons on Chinese calligraphy from Wang Dongling， a calligraphy master of national renown at the same academy. What she has learned in New York and in Hangzhou and from her professional practices find their ways into her designs： it has been so over the past and will be so in the future.
During our conversation， she talked about the preservation and refurbishment of ancient river towns in Jiangnan or the south of the Yangtze River Delta. One of the defects in the new efforts is that some towns look disturbingly similar and that even souvenirs and special products look like products from the same workshop. In her opinion， such disheartening similarities result from a lack of insight into the soul and into the cultural essences of these towns. What have got preserved are largely superfluous things on the surface.
Jiushe， a hotel she designed for Xitang， an ancient canal town in the northeast of Zhejiang， embodies her exploration of the river town essences. It is her project number 14 after her return from overseas. And it is a key design in her career as an independent architect. She conducted a thorough study of the characteristics of river towns in this region and referred them as genes of the architectural style. After a detailed analysis， she reproduced these genes in the design of the hotel. The architecture relates local stories and embodies the spatial closeness and narrowness. Moreover， the hotel also highlights the transparence and openness of a courtyard. She ascribed this way of thinking to the advanced studies she has taken over past ten plus years.
In this project， she also introduced modern elements and new construction materials. Take the floor-to-ceiling glass for instance. The glass let sunshine into the rooms to remove moisture caused by the local climate.
The successful Jiushe project has sharpened her architectural thinking and added a good touch to her designing logic. These better ideas are going into her new project： she has been designing a total of 13 hotels in different locations along a 2，000-km-long Yunnan to Tibet route in the southwest of China. The project has been going on for more than a year and is not yet completed.
“We human beings have been challenging the impossible all the time. We can live comfortably in space capsules far away from the earth. Yet we have rather backward living conditions on the planet. Our model houses are world-class. They are the first introduction of science and comfort into the Tibetan Plateau. Meanwhile， we preserve the Tibetan traditional architecture in design， integrating religion， culture， local residence and nature. In my eye， this is indeed equal to a landing on the moon. It turns the impossible to success and represents the real possibility and modernity，” enthused the architect.
After viewing some of Qi’s architectural designs， I noticed an outstanding feature of her designs： she is a master of transparency. That was why I asked toward the end of our conversation if glass was her favorite building material. My question surprised her. “I don’t think so，” she replied hesitatingly. “But I like sunshine. A house should be a space full of sunlight and air！”