"Everybody fears the unfamiliar and these fears originate from the deep-rooted inertia in people's nature." So says Pan Shiyi, the real estate developer who began his life as a farmer in Gansu Province. He believes that only new concepts can lead to progress. For his latest development project, the Commune by the Great Wall at Beijing's Badaling Great Wall, he has organized twelve leading Asian architects to each develop a unique villa. These architectural creations are like players on one giant stage where Asian architecture plays a starring role in presenting the myriad possibilities in real estate development.
There is a market for artful architecture
"Buildings are not only dwellings, they are also collectables." says Zhang Xin, wife of Pan Shiyi. Her idea was inspired by "Mountain Dialogue Space", Pan Shiyi's country residence that was designed by a Chinese architect in 1998. The house incorporates elements of the surrounding mountains and landscape in a harmonious and artistic manner. After seeing his home, many of Pan Shiyi's friends expressed a wish to buy it or build another one just like it. Pan sensed the potential market for this kind of artful architecture and decided to make a major investment in this Commune by the Great Wall project .
Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin carefully selected the Great Wall as the location for the Commune in order to build off of it's unparalleled name recognition and rich historical significance. Thus they set the scene for their museum of modern experimental architecture in grand fashion. As to the choice of architects, Zhang Xin says that they only used younger architects, all of whom are around 40 years old. Each of the twelve architects on the project is an established top-quality Asian architect. They include: Rocco Yim and Gary Chang from Hong Kong; Antonio Ochoa, Zhang Yong and Cui Kai from mainland China; Chien Hsueh-Yi from Taiwan; Shigeru Ban, Nobuaki Furuya and Kengo Kuma from Japan; Kanika from Thailand; Seung H-Sang from South Korea; and Kay Ngee Tan from Singapore.
The whole project consists of two phases of construction. The initial phase will serve as a boutique hotel and includes eleven villas and one club building. The forty villas in the second phase will be residences, and their designs will based on the designs created during the first phase.
Different Designs are all A Natural Fit
At the outset of the project, chief designer Rocco Yim had mixed feelings about Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin's idea. "This was a very bold experiment. If it comes out well, it will be a powerful challenge to old conventions; if it is not executed well, on the other hand, it could end up looking like a Disneyland. All the villas will have different themes completely unrelated to each other. That will be a bit strange."
The project has almost been completed and, as it turns out, the various designs are well coordinated with each other. The overall feeling is very nice. Rocco Yim said, "All the architects adopted modern designs that do their best to fit in with the natural environment. They used natural materials to achieve an effect whereby both artistic and practical functions are equally emphasized."
Rocco Yim strongly believes that villas designed for mountainous areas should form a dialogue with their environment. And Antonio insists that his architecture become an integrated part of the surrounding mountains--his Cantilever House that has been built along the contour of the hill is a good example. He selected dark wood and red bricks in his design to fit in with the local environment.
Gary Chang's The Split House consists of two wings that hug the peak of a mountain. The house has been cleverly designed to incorporate the mountain into the house itself. There is also a small stream that flows between the "two houses," which makes the house feel as though it were part of a Chinese landscape painting.
As for construction materials, many of the architects choose natural materials that fit well with the surrounding environment. For example, The Bamboo Wall by Nobuaki Furuya uses high-quality bamboo as its primary building material in order to complement the local timber used elsewhere in the design. As a result, the interior feels very natural. Then there is Shigeru Ban, who has in the past utilized paper tubes as construction materials, experimenting in an entirely new material this tim--bamboo plywood. Using bamboo as a structural element was a very original idea.
The Many Colors of Asia
The project has already received an official invitation from La Biennale di Venezia, the most established art festival in Europe with over 100 years of history.
The theme of the Architecture Exhibition at this year's La Biennale di Venezia is 'NEXT'. The festival hopes to exhibit projects that over the next ten years will become recognized as milestones in world architecture. Deyan Sudjic, the organizer of La Biennale di Venezia believes that the Commune by the Great Wall creatively combines strong Asian features with universal aesthetic principles.
The contributing architects for the Commune by the Great Wall are from different regions throughout Asia, and many of their designs reflect the creator's ethnicity. For example, Rocco Yim's design involves a great amount of glass and metal, which conveys a sense of modernity. However, the surrounding walls have a sense of the old Beijing courtyards, representing an introverted and traditional culture. He believes that on one hand, people need a sense of security from their homes, but on the other hand, the glass room on the top of the house encourages a feeling of "looking forward". This way, the architect's avant-garde ideology is conveyed by the design.
The silver block designed by Cui Kai interacts with the Great Wall itself in a subtle way; while the airport-shaped design by Chien Hsueh-Yi looks like a section of the Great Wall upside down. Shigeru Ban's Furniture House is full of the refined freshness of wind, rice and the color white. Some other architects also bring strong ethnic influences to the interior designs and furniture. For example, Kanika's little white house is tastefully and thoughtfully outfitted with simple Thai style furniture.
Open the floor to go to the bathroom
Among all the designs, the most playful is The Suitcase House by Hong Kong architect Gary Chang. It is "a house that has been built like a labyrinth. The house seems to harbor the unknown. The way this is effected, including the various ways in which one can uncover or cover up different rooms, is exquisite."
Everything inside of the house such as the bathroom, kitchen, and wardrobe are located beneath inlaid floorboards. People must open parts of the floor in order to get into different spaces. "Hotels need to meet different needs from different people. People check in with different numbers with different intentions, so the design should be highly adaptable." says Gary Chang. By simply opening different tiles, the individual spaces can be transformed into a house with four bedrooms and one living room or five bedrooms and one living room. The whole villa is full of playfulness and is in fact so cutting edge that even the avant-garde Zhang Xin had difficulty accepting it. "I still remember the other day, Gary took a small box and said 'Today I will tell a story about a box' The more I listened, the more uncomfortable I got. Who on earth would want to open tiles at home everyday?!" But Zhang Xin was finally convinced by Gary. He claims that if the Commune is to be a museum of architecture or a stage on which to exhibit new architecture, it needs to be highly tolerant of new ideas. The villa is full of tricks and devices, but it also offers the flexibility to deal with even the most extreme cases.
Thus, a hotel that looks like a samurai hut has been created. Today visitors find the design provocative and exciting. This villa has become a wonderful example of the need to explore architecture's unlimited potential.
Author: Gladys
There is a market for artful architecture
"Buildings are not only dwellings, they are also collectables." says Zhang Xin, wife of Pan Shiyi. Her idea was inspired by "Mountain Dialogue Space", Pan Shiyi's country residence that was designed by a Chinese architect in 1998. The house incorporates elements of the surrounding mountains and landscape in a harmonious and artistic manner. After seeing his home, many of Pan Shiyi's friends expressed a wish to buy it or build another one just like it. Pan sensed the potential market for this kind of artful architecture and decided to make a major investment in this Commune by the Great Wall project .
Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin carefully selected the Great Wall as the location for the Commune in order to build off of it's unparalleled name recognition and rich historical significance. Thus they set the scene for their museum of modern experimental architecture in grand fashion. As to the choice of architects, Zhang Xin says that they only used younger architects, all of whom are around 40 years old. Each of the twelve architects on the project is an established top-quality Asian architect. They include: Rocco Yim and Gary Chang from Hong Kong; Antonio Ochoa, Zhang Yong and Cui Kai from mainland China; Chien Hsueh-Yi from Taiwan; Shigeru Ban, Nobuaki Furuya and Kengo Kuma from Japan; Kanika from Thailand; Seung H-Sang from South Korea; and Kay Ngee Tan from Singapore.
The whole project consists of two phases of construction. The initial phase will serve as a boutique hotel and includes eleven villas and one club building. The forty villas in the second phase will be residences, and their designs will based on the designs created during the first phase.
Different Designs are all A Natural Fit
At the outset of the project, chief designer Rocco Yim had mixed feelings about Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin's idea. "This was a very bold experiment. If it comes out well, it will be a powerful challenge to old conventions; if it is not executed well, on the other hand, it could end up looking like a Disneyland. All the villas will have different themes completely unrelated to each other. That will be a bit strange."
The project has almost been completed and, as it turns out, the various designs are well coordinated with each other. The overall feeling is very nice. Rocco Yim said, "All the architects adopted modern designs that do their best to fit in with the natural environment. They used natural materials to achieve an effect whereby both artistic and practical functions are equally emphasized."
Rocco Yim strongly believes that villas designed for mountainous areas should form a dialogue with their environment. And Antonio insists that his architecture become an integrated part of the surrounding mountains--his Cantilever House that has been built along the contour of the hill is a good example. He selected dark wood and red bricks in his design to fit in with the local environment.
Gary Chang's The Split House consists of two wings that hug the peak of a mountain. The house has been cleverly designed to incorporate the mountain into the house itself. There is also a small stream that flows between the "two houses," which makes the house feel as though it were part of a Chinese landscape painting.
As for construction materials, many of the architects choose natural materials that fit well with the surrounding environment. For example, The Bamboo Wall by Nobuaki Furuya uses high-quality bamboo as its primary building material in order to complement the local timber used elsewhere in the design. As a result, the interior feels very natural. Then there is Shigeru Ban, who has in the past utilized paper tubes as construction materials, experimenting in an entirely new material this tim--bamboo plywood. Using bamboo as a structural element was a very original idea.
The Many Colors of Asia
The project has already received an official invitation from La Biennale di Venezia, the most established art festival in Europe with over 100 years of history.
The theme of the Architecture Exhibition at this year's La Biennale di Venezia is 'NEXT'. The festival hopes to exhibit projects that over the next ten years will become recognized as milestones in world architecture. Deyan Sudjic, the organizer of La Biennale di Venezia believes that the Commune by the Great Wall creatively combines strong Asian features with universal aesthetic principles.
The contributing architects for the Commune by the Great Wall are from different regions throughout Asia, and many of their designs reflect the creator's ethnicity. For example, Rocco Yim's design involves a great amount of glass and metal, which conveys a sense of modernity. However, the surrounding walls have a sense of the old Beijing courtyards, representing an introverted and traditional culture. He believes that on one hand, people need a sense of security from their homes, but on the other hand, the glass room on the top of the house encourages a feeling of "looking forward". This way, the architect's avant-garde ideology is conveyed by the design.
The silver block designed by Cui Kai interacts with the Great Wall itself in a subtle way; while the airport-shaped design by Chien Hsueh-Yi looks like a section of the Great Wall upside down. Shigeru Ban's Furniture House is full of the refined freshness of wind, rice and the color white. Some other architects also bring strong ethnic influences to the interior designs and furniture. For example, Kanika's little white house is tastefully and thoughtfully outfitted with simple Thai style furniture.
Open the floor to go to the bathroom
Among all the designs, the most playful is The Suitcase House by Hong Kong architect Gary Chang. It is "a house that has been built like a labyrinth. The house seems to harbor the unknown. The way this is effected, including the various ways in which one can uncover or cover up different rooms, is exquisite."
Everything inside of the house such as the bathroom, kitchen, and wardrobe are located beneath inlaid floorboards. People must open parts of the floor in order to get into different spaces. "Hotels need to meet different needs from different people. People check in with different numbers with different intentions, so the design should be highly adaptable." says Gary Chang. By simply opening different tiles, the individual spaces can be transformed into a house with four bedrooms and one living room or five bedrooms and one living room. The whole villa is full of playfulness and is in fact so cutting edge that even the avant-garde Zhang Xin had difficulty accepting it. "I still remember the other day, Gary took a small box and said 'Today I will tell a story about a box' The more I listened, the more uncomfortable I got. Who on earth would want to open tiles at home everyday?!" But Zhang Xin was finally convinced by Gary. He claims that if the Commune is to be a museum of architecture or a stage on which to exhibit new architecture, it needs to be highly tolerant of new ideas. The villa is full of tricks and devices, but it also offers the flexibility to deal with even the most extreme cases.
Thus, a hotel that looks like a samurai hut has been created. Today visitors find the design provocative and exciting. This villa has become a wonderful example of the need to explore architecture's unlimited potential.
Author: Gladys
