◎ Science and Technology Daily reporter Hualing
"For me personally, when I received the task of bidding for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics torch, 'design to serve the country' was the first word that came out of my heart. Participating in the design of the 'flying' Olympic torch is a journey to find the roots of the Chinese cultural spirit. This time, I was able to run with the torch designed by my own efforts and complete the relay of the Winter Olympic torch, and my heart was both excited and proud. On February 2, Li Jianye, the exterior designer of the Beijing Winter Olympic Torch "Flying" and Li Jianye, the chief industrial designer of Alibaba, as torchbearers, sighed in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Science and Technology Daily.
On the same day, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics torch relay activity began, and about 1,200 torchbearers will hold the "flying" torch in the three-day torch relay in Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou. On the evening of February 4, torch-passing torches will be lit at the Beijing Winter Olympics at the Bird's Nest.
In early May 2020, Li Jianye's design team received an invitation to participate in the public solicitation of the whole society to bid for the design of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Torch. It took nearly 5 months to revise and improve, complete nearly 10,000 hand-drawn sketches, and the design plan was slightly changed every day and a major change in three days, and finally passed the multiple rounds of review by the leading experts of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, stood out among nearly 100 professional designers in 22 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) across the country, and was highly affirmed by the Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee.
The "flying" torch of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the overall appearance is extremely dynamic and dynamic, with a forward momentum and endless inner strength, which is the display of today's Chinese cultural spirit and national charm, and also pins people's beautiful expectations for the future.
"In my opinion, the Olympic torch is a symbol of cultural exchange." Li Jianye said that inspired by the Chinese cultural idea of "Tao fa nature, the unity of heaven and man", the design of the "flying" torch draws inspiration from nature, presents an extremely natural, oriental charm of beauty, and at the same time conveys the value proposition of a community with a shared future for mankind. Especially when designing the curve of the torch, it is not limited to the slightly rigid treatment of the line by traditional industrial design, and does not have the feeling of industrialization and parameterization. Thus, "Feiyang" is a torch with an open form and an inclusive attitude, breaking through the closed shape of the traditional torch and containing the traditional Chinese philosophical wisdom of "having it for profit and uselessness for its use".
However, when the first draft was first submitted, the Winter Olympic Organizing Committee was not satisfied with the appearance, which put Li Jianye's team in a creative dilemma, and when they accidentally saw a spiral hollow form of a leaf with flexible lines that had just fallen, the inspiration struck. "We observed that the rotation of this leaf is accelerated, and this vitality allows people to find a certain connection between nature and human society, that is, life is not just straight, but curved forward, and there are fast and slow, which inspires the appearance of today's 'flying' torch." Li Jianye recalled.
At that time, Li Jianye put forward material innovation + cultural symbols: the use of high-tech ceramics as a burning head (ceramics and China are the same as CHINA, it can be seen that it is a special Chinese material, but also the first time in the history of the Olympic torch applied to the design), and with the spiraling red flag rolling carbon fiber shell shape, expressing the vitality of Chinese culture and the rejuvenation and rise of the Chinese nation, the spiraling lines also abstractly express the beauty of the Great Wall, the track and the rhythm of the movement; the surface of the torch shell is covered with silver and red gradient color treatment. It is like a song of ice and fire, which is integrated into Chinese red in an innovative and modern way, and makes full use of cultural symbols that can be felt by Chinese people today.
Li Jianye said, "The design of this torch has made breakthroughs and innovations in many aspects, especially the bold use of many high technologies, such as the use of hydrogen fuel, the application of carbon fiber materials, etc., which fully reflects the rapid progress of the mainland's contemporary scientific and technological progress, as well as the development level of advanced environmental protection technology, and more presents the mainland's industrial design standards, highlighting the importance of design, which carries cultural exchanges and occupies a place in the world." ”
Source: Science and Technology Daily Courtesy of the interviewee
Editor: Wang Yu
Review: Yue Liang
Final Judge: He Yi