author:
Yi Li, Master student, School of Architecture, Tianjin University;
Dai Lu (corresponding author) is a professor at the School of Architecture, Tianjin University.
This article is excerpted from "Overseas "Learning From The Experience" and the Introduction of Exploration: The Contribution of Architects Studying Abroad to the Development of disciplines in the Early Period of Reform and Opening Up", which was originally published in the April 2021 issue of Architect Magazine, No. 210 P100-108. This article has omitted all notes, image sources, references and other information in the text, and the official version is subject to the original text.
After the reform and opening up, China and other countries have seen unprecedented extensive exchanges. Some of the elite Chinese architects selected by the unit have the opportunity to go abroad to study in developed countries, and their growth experience has given them a sense of critical thinking and a strong patriotic mission of construction. After returning to China, they introduced cutting-edge disciplinary development achievements into China, which greatly promoted the modernization and development process of mainland architecture. This paper conducts a study on the first batch of architects studying abroad in the early days of reform and opening up, reviews the background of opportunities provided by the times, summarizes the characteristics of this group, and reviews the specific contributions made by this group to the development of architectural disciplines in mainland China by exploring their personal achievements in system, creation, theory, market, teaching, etc.
Catalog overview
- First, the times provide opportunities
- Second, the characteristics of exchange personnel
- 3. Contributions to the development of disciplines
- IV. Conclusion
After a catastrophe and a hundred wastes to be rebuilt, china's architectural disciplines after the reform and opening up have finally shown a thriving development scene. In the past, China's modern architecture, which sought innovation and change in form, faced a difficult situation at the beginning of reform and opening up due to various constraints. The newly opened door has enabled outstanding talents in major architectural design institutes and universities to usher in the coveted opportunity, and finally have the opportunity to study abroad, which has formed a specific group of people in this period. They took the lead in walking out of the closed and became the standard-bearers of the times who led the rapid development of modern architecture in China, which not only achieved the legendary development of their personal careers, but also made outstanding contributions to opening up the people's wisdom and disseminating new architectural knowledge and new design ideas, and promoted the running progress of the construction industry. After returning from "learning from the experience", they reflected in construction with a broad international vision, sought in practice, and were also active in architectural education and other fronts, giving full play to their own advantages, providing suggestions and suggestions for the comprehensive development of China's architectural disciplines, and jointly promoting the development of modern Chinese architecture with individual strength and group strength. This article aims to explore the background and characteristics of the era in which the architect group obtained the opportunity to study abroad in the early days of reform and opening up, and to summarize their specific contributions to the development of the architectural discipline after returning to China.
The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee called for the focus of the work of the whole Party to be shifted to socialist modernization. Deng Xiaoping's speech at the opening ceremony of the National Science Conference also clearly pointed out that our science and technology are backward, and we need to work hard to learn from foreign countries and learn from the strong points of others. This means that the opening of the door of the country and the arrival of more learning opportunities point out the direction for those who have been confused but have always been firm in their ideals.
In that special historical period, riding on the earliest east wind of reform and opening up, many architects went abroad and entered the new environment of the turbulent world. At that time, the developed countries had experienced about 30 years of rapid development from the 1950s to the 1970s, and the classic modern architecture and its theories also experienced the world's large-scale reconstruction practice after World War II, showing heroic construction efficiency and achievements. For modern Chinese architecture, this is not only a 30-year isolation, but also a blind battle without seeing opponents. Under the tone of "architects are useless" and "architecture is a 'pure art theory' of art", the few thousand architects in the country have become the main force in the construction industry. Improving their own level and mastering the basic "market" and "trend" of the construction industry in various countries in the world has become a forward-looking direction of progress. Fortunately, the enlightenment of the policy has enabled Chinese architects to catch up with the wave of modern architectural development in the world, and they have seized the best opportunities offered by the times and ushered in the "golden age" of their own architectural careers.
If the architects who graduated before the founding of the People's Republic of China and before the "Cultural Revolution" are counted as the first and second generations, and the architects who graduated from the "Cultural Revolution" are counted from the third generation, then the group of architects who studied in developed countries in the early days of reform and opening up will be concentrated in the second generation. In the special era, they are not only an important group of architects, but also very representative in the history of Studying in China. Through statistics of Mr. Yang Yongsheng's "Chinese Architects" and the "Dictionary of The People's Congress of Returned Scholars from New China" edited by the Ministry of Personnel of the People's Republic of China, and combined with interviews, it is learned that from 1978 to the early 1990s, China went to developed countries to study and there were many recorded representatives of architects, most of whom went to world-renowned universities as visiting scholars for short-term exchanges, and also studied higher degrees or on-the-job training personnel, going to developed countries such as Europe, the United States and Japan, just to pursue advanced concepts and methods. Dialogue with the world.
▲Photos of some architects interviewed (from front to back, Fei Lin, Ma Guoxin, Huang Xixuan, Jing Qimin)
Opportunities are always left to those who are prepared, and becoming a selected person is a great affirmation of the architect's ability in the unit. Most of these architects work in large state-owned architectural design institutes or architectural academies. When they just graduated, in response to the strong demand of national construction, this generation of architects had the opportunity to devote themselves to large-scale national projects or key projects, even if they were helpless to reality during the "Cultural Revolution", but through various architectural practices, they grew their talents and gradually emerged, and the unit provided them with a high-quality platform. During this period, the channels for overseas students to be sent have not yet been fully opened, and the number of students studying abroad is limited, so the opportunity is very rare.
1. Overcome difficult language assaults
Studying abroad, language is the biggest obstacle in front of us. This generation of architects is lacking in the study of foreign languages, "English is not mastered well, it is left behind, and Russian is not really mastered." They grasp their own work on the one hand and do not let go of foreign language study on the other. Self-taught grammar, seeking teaching everywhere, although there is a shortage of language teaching resources, but the enthusiasm for learning has not diminished. Architects are selected through the Ministry of Education's foreign language examination, in-house assessment and other examinations, some of them have the opportunity to learn languages in foreign language schools, and some of them participate in centralized training organized by the unit, and even rely on self-study. Mr. Fei Lin laughed and said: "Study the English version of the Communist Manifesto and Chairman Mao's Quotations, is this no problem?" It's called killing two birds with one stone. "Therefore, if you go to France or Germany in the future, you will have more advantages in language than others." Huang Xixuan, an architect who went to study at the University of Leuven in Belgium, recalled, "After work, I took time to study, bought some loose-leaf anthologies, intensive reading anthologies, and some previous foundations." At the training center of Hefei University of Technology of the Ministry of Machinery Industry and the language intensive training course for expatriates of Beijing Language and Culture Institute, the intensive training was intensified for three or four months. In order to strengthen my listening, I also borrowed a tape recorder from my unit and a tape from school to listen more. At that time, it was impossible to buy on the market, and the language institute regarded foreign language tapes as treasures, and could only borrow two plates at a time, and was not allowed to transcribe. "In contrast, architects who go to non-English-speaking countries have a more arduous learning task, such as ma Guoxin, Chai Peiyi and other architects who went to Japan to study, and the teaching materials used were originally mimeographed versions of their own compilations, and an old Japanese man who lived in Beijing for a long time was invited to teach, and later there was a formal broadcast Japanese textbook." Although the teacher speaks well, he has no teaching experience. "It was under such extremely limited conditions that the inquisitive architects made a surprise attack, completed the language research, and made full preparations for studying abroad."
▲Mr. Fei Lin's English version of the Communist Manifesto
2. Critical consciousness of independent thinking
The once turbulent educational environment made the talent gap a regret of that era. Architects who received higher education before the Cultural Revolution were mostly middle-aged by the time of reform and opening up, but they were still the youngest generation in the industry. Ma Guoxin and Chai Peiyi, architects who went to the Kenzo Institute of Architecture in Tange, Japan in 1981, were 39 years old at the time and had been jokingly called "uncle-level" figures by young people. The passage of time and the experience of special years have brought them the maturity of experience, the ability to think calmly, and the self-discipline of careful words and deeds. Years of work experience have enabled them to have the ability to distinguish between good and bad, never simply think that everything in the developed countries is good, and will not blindly worship the master.
Similarly, this critical consciousness is not only reflected in their "going out" period, but also after they "bring in". They know that they are not visiting in their own name, but to realize the collective desire of Chinese architects to understand the world. Internationally, the architectural world at that time coincided with the collision of various ideas and the stirring of various currents of thought. While Chinese architects were still studying classical modern architecture, architectural styles such as postmodernity had begun to invade. How to introduce various styles, how to use them in architectural practice, and what kind of trend should China's future architectural development be... In the face of these problems, architects have taken a clear stand to explore the development path of architecture that reflects the times and regions. In the process of introduction, we respect the facts, combine our own personal experiences, measure the essence and the dross, and objectively present them.
3. Build a patriotic mission of dedication
When the fanaticism of the revolution dissipated, the poverty situation was like a man's back for every countryman. The architectural policy of "applicable, economical, and aesthetically pleasing under possible conditions" still dominates the design, and the architects have not had the conditions to let go of their hands and feet. The patriotic ideological education they have received, the practice of labor at the grass-roots level, and the experience of collective creation have always made them put the country first. With a strong desire to realize the "Four Modernizations" and a "determination to make up for the lost time of the 'Cultural Revolution'", their personal fate has long resonated with the same frequency as national construction. The group of architects studying abroad looks at the disciplines that the country really needs to develop, and makes up for the shortcomings of the most scarce building types or directions.
During their time outside, they tried their best to absorb new knowledge, always remembered why they came, and turned their understanding of the country and the people into a driving force for learning, and never exceeded the rules. For example, as one of the first batch of international students sent by the Ministry of Education to study for a doctorate, Zhong Dekun, a two-year study abroad career is like a "foreign insertion team", but he has also become the first person in the history of the University of Nottingham to obtain a doctorate in the shortest time. In two years, he completed nearly 200 literature readings and worked 14 to 16 hours a day. Surveyed 40 different types of British towns, took 3,000 slides, nearly a thousand black and white photos, and collected a large number of drawings and materials. After completing his thesis, he wrote on the title page: "To my beloved motherland - China, and to those who love her." After returning to China, he also became one of the first scholars to introduce urban design concepts to China. Even if the economic conditions and academic environment of the countries visited are far beyond the mainland, and even if there have been opportunities not to return, the architects who are deeply influenced by the traditional patriotic education ideas are not moved, and they firmly believe in returning to China to serve and contribute everything to the construction cause of the motherland.
With their good foreign language skills, advanced scientific research concepts, and broader international vision, the returning group of architects gathered the strength of the group with their personal strength and injected fresh blood into the Chinese architectural community. From the perspective of personal development, most of the architects studying abroad have become professors, senior engineers, or academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, vowing to be leaders and guides in their research fields, which has effectively influenced the development of modern architecture in China and promoted the continuous advancement of architectural disciplines.
1. Improve the system reference system
Once "collective creation" and "program synthesis" erased the personality of a generation of architects, in the planned economy model, the domestic design institutes did not have much pressure, "big pot rice" and "grinding foreign workers" phenomenon slowed down work efficiency. But architects who go to private architecture firms abroad see a whole new state of work – more active and efficient. During Ma Guoxin's study abroad in Japan, it was common to leave work at eleven or two o'clock in the evening, and the longest time was 36 hours without going home to rest, and the end of the project was like winning a victorious battle. The incentive mechanism for personnel set up in the firm is intended to stimulate all potential and thus create a competitive atmosphere within. Through the continuous optimization of the design scheme, the collective wisdom crystallization with the style of Ken Tange is finally formed. But in such a "one man control" model, many of the good ideas of other people in the institute cannot be taken into account. This leads to the thinking of the design mechanism, and critically looks at its strengths and weaknesses. This provides a great reference and reference for the merger and restructuring of various design institutes that have been extensively carried out later, that is, from public institutions to comprehensive enterprises, which provides a great reference and reference for their internal management and work.
▲ Ma Guoxin at the Tange Kensan Metropolitan Architecture Research Institute
Most of the projects contracted by foreign architectural firms implemented the architect's full responsibility system and the architect's lifetime responsibility system, so the business scope of the architectural design units in the mainland at that time was larger. Fei Lin, an architect who went to study at West Germany Weitler Engineering Consulting, learned that the consulting company is also involved in policy consulting, operation management and product technical consulting, and engineering consulting is divided into three stages: feasibility study, engineering design and engineering implementation management. After returning to China, he further pointed out that the current situation of China's construction project management shows a phenomenon of fragmentation, the definition of responsibilities and rights between design enterprises and individual architects under the "dual-track system" is not clear, and the contradiction between enterprise qualification assessment and the registered architect system brings about unclear responsibilities and rights, so he has repeatedly issued articles calling on China to urgently solve the current situation of "two skins". It is also proposed that the architect's service should follow the standard service procedures, extend to the front and back of the design stage, and ensure the unity of the architect's responsibilities, rights and interests. In terms of form, China's architectural design institutes can adjust the simple "pagoda style" to the "matrix type", that is, the personnel of different professions, different projects and different projects are deployed and combined. Although the reform of the system cannot be completed overnight, it is precisely because of the efforts of architects that the "dream" of craftsmen who once seemed out of reach is gradually turning into reality - for example, the government's statutory unified construction drawing review system is gradually being abolished; the examination syllabus for registered architects is being revised; and the "whole process engineering consultation" and "architect responsibility system" are also emphasized in the State Council Document No. 19 in February 2017. In order to seek development, it is necessary to introduce internationally accepted rules of the game, and the improvement of the system and system is gradually realized in the process of development.
Fei Lin at West German Wetterler Engineering Consulting
2. Broaden your thinking to guide your creation
Entering the wider world, architects are surrounded by new things and feel younger than ever. This generation of architects mainly came from textbooks for their understanding of foreign architecture, and although they saw and heard in newspapers, magazines and movies when they were in school, they were only "moons in the water and flowers in the mirror". At that time, the architects were also confused in the exploration of the "new style of Chinese socialist architecture", and had to admit that many buildings were like "brothers of the same race", making people feel familiar, and looking at more was boring, compared with the requirements of architectural modernization, the progress that had been made was far from enough. They were eager to know, how did others solve the "cookie-cutter" of architecture? Where is the gap between China and foreign countries?
Study abroad, visit, visit different countries, experience life, and compare the differences between countries. Modern cities offer modern tourist hotels and large commercial facilities that are an eye-opener for architects, while historic cities offer a balance between old and new. Going abroad, whether it is Japan with a piece of water, or Europe and the United States across the land and the sea, various countries and regions are not only pursuing modernization, but also pursuing their own history and maintaining their own cultural characteristics. After measuring the advanced and backward standards, it is helpful to find out the self-positioning and make up for the shortcomings.
The "square box" was once a common reference to the socialist camp led by the Soviet Union, so the development of modern architecture in China was slow. When they go abroad, architects do more projects and scale them. In addition to experiencing the design process during the study abroad and most directly grasping the good design methods, architects can personally see the practice and debate of various "isms". This was quite advanced and leading for the domestic architectural context at that time. The "tipping over" of the Pompidou National Centre for The Arts and Culture, the practice of high-rise buildings towering into the sky, the variety of flexible residential design plans... These trendy buildings and appropriate layouts shock the eyes of architects, or compare their advanced points to make up for their shortcomings, or choose the best after returning home to use them conveniently. For example, Nie Lansheng, a professor at Tianjin University who visited Kobe University in Japan, believes that the low-rise high-density houses that developed rapidly in Japan in the 1980s have great reference significance for the relatively simple and rigid row houses in the mainland from planning to apartment type. Referring to the practice of residential buildings in residential areas such as Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, it is proposed to blend the various groups of buildings with green space, and flexibly angle the building group to reverse, bringing average sunshine to each household. The living room of the South Hall plan has a better sunshine effect than the North Hall, which is mostly arranged in China. In the subsequent residential design, a variety of new planning ideas were practiced and summarized, and efforts were made to change the domestic "uniformity" to "dazzling".
▲Japan Ibaraki Kokai Kambara Ko ward housing
▲Japanese multi-storey residential solution
After returning to China, the architects guided more diverse designs with more advanced concepts. Focusing on the themes of modernism, postmodernism, creative subjectivity, and environmental art, the two cultural fields of architecture and art, which are disconnected, began to actively intervene and influence each other at different levels such as ideological concepts and creative practice, and gradually penetrated into the design process. Pay more attention to the needs of the user rather than the political needs, focus on the harmonious relationship between architecture and the environment, combine different height differences to promote the formation of the sense of experience of the architectural space, gradually deliberate with manual models, and begin to use new drawing tools such as computers... Architects will flexibly apply the content and design methods they have studied abroad to practice, and what they have learned will be transformed into what they have done. For example, the architect Chai Peiyi, through the practice of multiple projects when studying in Japan, heard about the creative style of Kenzo Tenshita, the China International Exhibition Center designed after returning to China, with its pure and concise modern style, won the 1988 National Excellent Design Gold Award and other awards, and was selected as "Beijing Top Ten Buildings in the 1980s", which embodies the era of rapid design, rapid performance and rapid construction in the background of China's era and the process of modernization, and expresses an extensive design language. It has become an important point in the exploration of modern Chinese architecture. Dai Fudong, a professor at Tongji University, brought back the newly published "Atrium Architecture - Development and Design" in the United States to complete the translation, and realized that "the atrium is to turn the interior into the outdoor, and also to turn the outdoor into the interior." "In his first design after returning to China, the teaching building of the Department of Architecture of Tongji University, it was put into practice, with a large-scale atrium, gradually rising six wide steps from the second floor to the third floor, and focusing on a number of shared spaces, combined with a pleasing environment, for teachers and students to communicate." The essence of the idea of modern bone, traditional soul, and natural clothing is also summed up and put forward in such continuous breakthroughs. In the performance of various competitions, with international or domestic competitions as a platform, whether it is residential buildings or public buildings, architects strive for honor with extraordinary performance, and they are constantly fighting for the right to speak for new architectural ideals.
▲Chai Peiyi's returned works in Hall 2-5 of China International Exhibition Center
▲ Dai Fudong works in the atrium of the teaching building of the Department of Architecture of Tongji University
China is different from other countries, the social environment is also different, if directly copied, it is inevitable that more problems will arise due to unsuitability. In the early stage of reform and opening up, China's economic development was relatively slow, and the group of architects deeply experienced the practical constraints of the lack of material security in practice. Therefore, in practice, they circumvent dogma, proceed from reality, guide reasonable design with appropriate ideas, and even explore effective ways of building energy conservation with advanced awareness. As architect Huang Xixuan proposed, the hospital is a high-energy building, "there are many frail elderly patients, as well as special care patients living in burn wards, or doing bone marrow transplantation, they even need air filtration to ensure cleanliness, and some operating rooms need to set vertical laminar flow filtration, consider biological cleanliness, electricity facilities... Therefore, the energy consumption of the hospital is quite large. "In the face of such a special building type, the overall layout and specific practices should be considered when designing. In the form of semi-centralized form and inner courtyard setting for the interior of the building to introduce natural ventilation and lighting, to minimize the use of "black room" and air conditioning, in order to complete the Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University Donghai Branch, in the entrance lobby, medical main street and other semi-open design, saving energy for the building at the same time, but also relieved the use of doctors and patients. Xiang Bingren, an architect who returned from further study in the United States, proposed that the final result of active architectural thought is to create a physical environment that meets people's material and spiritual needs, and the Hangzhou Fuchun Mountain Villa Area designed by him is to extract aesthetic characteristics and scientific rationality from Zhejiang residences, combine the requirements of modern villas, and reflect regional cultural characteristics: the sloped roof that conforms to the slope makes full use of space, and also makes the building and natural ecology perfectly integrated. "It's not just a matter of form, but also a kind of connection and domination of thought."
▲Huang Xixuan designed the semi-open design used in the Donghai Branch of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University
▲Xiang Bingren's work Hangzhou Fuchun Mountain Villa Area
Encouraged by the policy, in the progressive era, architects were ecstatic to be exposed to the long-lost architectural art. The gradual development of China's modern architecture has not completely followed the old road followed by developed countries, but with the infiltration of new concepts and new consciousness, in the new context of industrial society and information society, explore a new direction of economic and reasonable development with its own characteristics.
3. Introduce a theoretical enrichment system
The lack of a complete education in modern architecture is a pity for a generation of architects. In order to achieve "make-up lessons", a large number of foreign architectural theories have been introduced into China, and architects who have studied abroad have also contributed greatly to this. Among the first books to introduce foreign architectural theory, some of them were spontaneously published by some teachers in various colleges and universities with mimeographed texts and hand-drawn illustrations, and there were also "Architectural Theory Translation Series" and more systematic "Famous Foreign Architects Series", which have brought great shock to China. It was a difficult start, but it was touching that this group of architects worked hard for change and progress, regardless of the cost and cost. For example, Professor Chen Zhihua of Tsinghua University who went to Italy to study the protection of cultural relics, and Luo Xiaowei, professor of Tongji University who inspected multinational architecture, introduced classic modern architecture and its development with their own personal experience, supplemented by a large number of photos, or translated more recent theoretical works, and carefully compiled textbooks to restore the true appearance of foreign architectural history for future generations of architects. But it is not limited to this, the social background, style genre, architect and architectural ideas involved in it all reflect the author's observations and positions, research and thinking. The "Famous Foreign Architects Series", which has attracted much attention from the domestic academic circles, introduces and discusses the works and views of famous modern architects, and opens a window for the majority of architectural scholars to observe the development of foreign architecture. Wang Tianxi, the author of "I.M. Pei", Xiang Bingren, the author of "Wright", Li Daxia, the author of "Louis Kang", Liu Xianjue, the author of "Alva Aalto", Wu Huanjia, the author of "Yamasach", and Zheng Shiling, the author of "Kurokawa Chronicle", have all studied abroad, and even many of them have had zero-distance contact with the masters, so this rare opportunity allows them to grasp first-hand information and complete the translation of Western theories.
▲Part of the "Series of Famous Foreign Architects"
Compared with the first generation of Chinese architects, the second generation of architects did not have direct contact with foreign architectural ideas and theories when they were in school. And because of the lack of access to foreign information, when these architects have the ability to translate foreign languages into Chinese, they spare no effort to devote themselves to it, restore the social life background of foreign architects, and tell the ideas and concepts of architects. Its significance has exceeded the book itself, and it has exceeded the study abroad of the group of architects itself, but more of an impact on future generations - leading more future generations of architects to understand the outside world, so that those who were once out of reach in time and space can enlighten a new generation of architectural scholars, and promote the development of modern Chinese architecture to a wider field. Wang Tianxi, who worked at I.M. Pei Architects from 1980 to 1982, shows Pei's early achievements in the book, and explores the key to his success, truly introduces Pei and his works to more architects in China with a large number of architectural examples and drawings, vividly interprets The Pei's idea that "the relationship between space and form is the essence of architectural art and architectural science", and fully applies and develops them in the architectural design practice of the Beijing Architectural Design Firm established in the future.
▲ Introduction to the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in "I.M. Pei"
Translations are the most direct introduction, but the introduction of architectural theory by these architects is not limited to this, but also benefits future generations from their more thinking based on their study abroad experience. The attention to the basic theory of architecture, the excavation of the development of architectural theory with Chinese characteristics, the evaluation and reflection on architectural creation, the review and summary of architectural history, the extension of architectural aesthetic philosophy, the exploration of architectural technology and the thinking on the career development of architects have become the focus of architects' theoretical research, and thus opened up multi-field research directions. Overseas study has become another starting point for the career of architects, summarizing theories while practicing creation, coupled with the objective favorable conditions and the urgent need for enrichment of domestic disciplines, architects have made remarks in various publications after returning to China, expounding their views and recording their thoughts. In addition to personal monographs, architectural magazines such as Architectural Journal, Architect, Times Architecture, and World Architecture are also used as a front for publishing new ideas, drawing on the advanced points of foreign theories, and constantly enriching the theoretical system of architectural disciplines in combination with the development status of Chinese cities and buildings.
Many architectural theories have been gradually explored from scratch and from shallow to deep thanks to the efforts of this generation of architects. Architects have also become the leaders of a special topic of research, giving more architectural scholars architectural knowledge, research methods, rigorous attitudes, and broad horizons. In addition, it deeply explores the elements of architecture itself, explores the relationship between architecture and people, nature, society or construction, summarizes the excellent architectural practice experience of foreign countries, and presents the trend and law of architectural development.
4. Open the market to increase cooperation
Under the wave of reform and opening up, cooperation has become a consensus, and China's potential huge market attracts architects from all over the world. Through investment attraction, more and more foreign investors have entered China to carry out construction projects, and international bidding has become an important way to compete. Architects who have studied abroad often discuss cooperation with foreign design units on behalf of their units. In this process, they fully guarantee the initiative occupied by the mainland, while attracting foreign investment to enter, take advantage of cooperation opportunities, so that more domestic architects can also go abroad, go to each other's units, through inspection and visits to broaden their horizons and adapt to the new situation, no longer rely only on empiricism to "eat the old".
For the increasingly frequent exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and foreign architects, architects are also constantly reflecting. Their previous study abroad experience, coupled with the Sino-foreign project cooperation they have participated in for many years after returning to China, they can more clearly understand the experience and challenges in cooperation. In May 1997, at the Second Sino-Foreign Architects Cooperative Design Seminar held in Shanghai, a number of architects who studied abroad expressed their views. In contrast, they invariably pay attention to the pursuit of details by foreign architects, in contrast, the mainland is too extensive in design, and even becomes a "fast food design" - as soon as the flat, vertical and cross-sectional drawings of the building come out, hundreds of thousands of square meters of the project is completed. Or because they are not familiar with the use and practice of advanced materials, they are accustomed to using old methods in detail design and detail drawing, which has also affected the quality of design. It is in the process of cooperation that Chinese architects gradually expose problems, and more importantly, clarify where we should strengthen and think about ways to improve.
Under the market economy, it is impossible for any country to build a car behind closed doors, and the cooperation between Chinese and foreign architects will become the only way to learn from each other's strong points. In this process, the architects studying abroad in the early stage of reform and opening up not only played the role of participating in cooperation, but also observed, reflected, and created conditions for better exchanges and complementary advantages.
5. Feed back teaching and motivate talents
At the beginning of the resumption of the college entrance examination, China's architectural education was back on track. In the face of the current situation of waste, colleges and universities have adjusted the architecture major to a four-year system to shorten the training period and meet the market demand as soon as possible. The gap of many years has made the teaching of architecture only able to continue the teaching methods developed before the Cultural Revolution. At a time when two generations of architects were not in contact, major universities sent teachers to other countries as visiting scholars to learn advanced teaching concepts and methods. For them, it is the real mission to pass on what they have seen and learned in overseas study to their successors, and to make up for the pain of generation with the power of human ladders. After returning to China, they started from the teaching of architecture, and with the determination not to break or stand, they carried out drastic reforms, and strived to make Chinese architecture universities rank among the world's high standards as soon as possible. At the same time, it also injects development momentum into other relatively slow-growing and relatively remote architectural colleges, brings advanced ideas, opens up future directions, and sows the seeds of the development of architectural disciplines on every inch of land.
Dai Fudong, who was sent to Study at Columbia University in New York in 1983, returned to Tongji University as a professor and head of the Department of Architecture. He put forward a macro, meso and microscopic comprehensive environmental concept that is equally important and matched, and used this as a guide to carry out comprehensive teaching, and established interior design and industrial modeling design majors in addition to the three majors of architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture. In addition, in the teaching reform, the one-year basic course of architectural design was changed to two years, and the architecture system was changed from four years to five years, so that the teaching evaluation could be in line with international standards. This shows his courage and boldness - only by looking at the world and standing on the same field with other countries can we truly learn and compete, and can Chinese architects have the opportunity to occupy a place on the world stage.
In the gradual curriculum reform, the architect introduces the teaching content of advanced architecture from abroad, and expands the content of the classroom based on his own overseas study experience. From the architectural design, building technology, architectural history and other aspects of the collaborative promotion, with a longer-term vision of the future. Influenced by the academic school, most of the domestic architectural schools have always taken rendering and drawing performance as the core as the basic course of entry, and the training of modern architecture is usually cut into its external form and performance, and there are still problems of "surface architecture" and "painting architecture". Architects try their best to avoid the excessive pursuit of form in the teaching process, and guide students to pay attention to the essence of modern architectural design starting from function. And add high-rise building design and building energy conservation measures to the curriculum, and accelerate the pace of catching up with international building research and development. Their learning stage was full of regrets, and age and energy became irresistible factors restricting their creation, but they devoted themselves to cultivating talents and nurturing talents in order to practice their ideals for architecture and assume responsibility for society.
At the same time, these architects also actively contribute to the teaching evaluation system of architecture majors, promote the continued advancement of education, and create conditions for the coordination and mutual recognition of degrees, diplomas and academic qualifications in architecture in mainland China with other countries and regions and further opening up to the outside world.
As the first visiting scholar to go abroad in the field of architecture after the reform and opening up, Professor Jing Qimin of Tianjin University went to the Department of Architecture of the University of Minnesota in 1980 to study environmental design. Seeing a freer academic atmosphere under the real credit system, a closer teacher-student relationship, a more systematic talent training program, a more detailed program design depth, a simpler administrative management and more advanced auxiliary design technology, you can better appreciate the gap in mainland architectural education. Such as the many lectures given by his mentor Professor Ralt Rapson to Tianjin University, or the "John Tang Study Group" composed of 11 teachers and students of Tianjin University, who traveled by train through the Soviet Union and the European continent to Aachen, Germany, for teaching exchange activities, setting a precedent for domestic architecture schools. "Through these exchanges, everyone's horizons have been broadened, they know the situation outside, and they have also learned about the situation in China, and they have gained a lot from each other, which is a great progress in the education community." Architecture has finally regained and correctly established itself in university education. After returning to China, his completed works such as "100 Questions of Traditional Chinese Houses", "Collection of Modern Architectural Performance Drawings", "Collection of Detailed Drawings of Modern Building Decoration", "Covered Building", "Ecological Home", etc. directly reflect the relevant contents of the relationship between ecology and architecture he studied, but there are also Chinese and foreign comparative reflections or essays such as "Architecture Comics", "Western Modern Architecture and Architects", "Urban Mother Tongue - Talking about Urban Architecture and the Environment", "Emotional Architecture" and so on. Even though the boats and cars are tired, they have always worked hard, 62 monographs, countless hand-drawn illustrations, humorous and plain language discussions... Today, it seems that not only marvel at the architect's creative efficiency of relying on Marco, but also admire his visit to many countries, and he can't wait to record the different views and theories he has learned, carve them into words, and be seen by more people and shared with more architectural scholars. These are especially enlightening for the new generation of students who are just knocking on the door of architecture.
▲The Minnesota U.S.-China Friendship Association issued a certificate in recognition of "Mr. Jing Qimin's important contribution to the promotion of U.S.-China friendship."
▲In 1981, Professor Ralt Rapson of the University of Minnesota came to Tianjin University to give a lecture
▲ Jing Qimin's "Urban Mother Tongue - A Long Talk on Urban Architecture and Environment" painting manuscript "People are the main body of space"
The reform and opening up has achieved the recovery of foreign exchanges, and architects who initially went to study in developed countries took this opportunity to upgrade their professions and broaden their horizons. As an important carrier of Sino-foreign exchanges, this group has introduced many new technologies, new methods and new concepts, and has also promoted the development process of Sino-foreign exchanges. They returned to their posts, and through thinking and exploring, they actively spoke out, greatly promoting the reform and progress of contemporary Chinese architecture, and making great contributions to the development of the discipline.
Studying abroad is a shortcut, and I can use the stone of his mountain for my use. The professional characteristics of architects determine that their careers must always be closely linked to the development of society and the times, which can meet specific needs and reflect the personality of creation. In the increasingly open market, we continue to experience the touch of foreign ideas, and may have unconsciously lacked self-confidence in the development of modern architecture and disciplines in China, but what should not be ignored and forgotten is the cause and paved road achieved by predecessors in difficult times. Reform and opening up has brought about a boom in construction, multiculturalism, and economic transformation, and has also objectively promoted the emergence of talents. Generation after generation of architects have taken over the baton of the times, and due to the gradual liberalization of policies, there are more opportunities to go overseas and accept fresher ideas and things. Thus jointly promoting the realization of the ideal of architecture: being able to continuously realize the existence of tradition, but at the same time being vigilant to avoid abstracting and romanticizing tradition, and avoid falling into an uncritical conversion to tradition.
In the early days of reform and opening up, the faces of the architects studying abroad were not blurred in time, and their works and ideas still guided the development of today's disciplines, transcending time and space to cross boundaries and pointing out the direction in which Chinese architecture should continue. Nowadays, although the group is mostly eighty years old, there are basically no works to come out, and they have gradually faded from the public eye, and even passed away one after another. However, the older generation of architects' rigorous study, critical thinking, and self-conscious strong patriotic construction spirit, and their pioneering contributions in a specific era, are not like the lamp of beans, but seem to always guide the future generations of architectural scholars to move forward.
[Acknowledgements: Heartfelt thanks to Jing Qimin, Fei Lin, Huang Xixuan, Ma Guoxin and many other gentlemen for their interviews and support for this project.] During the writing period, I regret to learn that Mr. Luo Xiaowei and Mr. Nie Lansheng have passed away, and I would like to express my condolences. ]