Gavin: What do you as a design teacher think about ancient Chinese design and its influence on modern architecture in China?

Hu: One reason why I like ancient Chinese architecture/design is because it does not copy western styles and we Chinese have designed it all by ourselves. Most modern buildings are not our own design, they are copies or westerners have helped. Speaking of this, people will dispute me, arguing that we already have some world famous Chinese architects now, but it's only "some". Even though china has our own architects they still have a tendency to copy western ideas. The mainstream situation in china is an awkward situation where we seem to be lost between traditional and modern, east and west. We seem to have lost our style of historical inheritance. It is like we have missed a step and jumped straight from ‘ancient Chinese' to ‘modern western', without considering how to develop our own ancient architecture into something modern that can better represent our culture. However, there is some modern architecture that retains some Chinese style, while perhaps showing the process of changing China and even the changing world.

These answers leave me with a little more understanding of some designs used in ancient Chinese architecture. Talking with Hu has also given me more motivation to see for myself if there really is a lack of Chinese influence in today's architecture in Beijing. After our visit to Prince Gongs Palace I take myself and my new found knowledge to Beijing's CBD, where I begin to look around for any obvious signs of Chinese design influence on the exterior of the capitals skyscrapers. And, not to my surprise, I don't see very much. Perhaps the best and only example I can find is that of the Yintai building in the CBD – the top of which is supposed to resemble a Chinese lantern. The three towers of the Yintai hotel and office complex are capped with hollow cube-shaped frames, which glow red at night. The middle and tallest of the towers has the largest ‘cube' or ‘lantern' on top, in the center of which sits a very expensive restaurant with city wide views. As I look at the ‘cubes' I can see that they are closely following the rectangular and square patterns that I saw on some of the windows in Prince Gongs Palace. And the bold theme of giant red lanterns does well to pay homage to Chinese culture. Without being previously informed you might not have know what the red ‘cubes' are meant to represent. But at least the architect has made an effort to reflect Chinese culture and even develop some design traditions unique to previous Chinese eras. Therefore the architect, John Portman should be congratulated for his effort.

After seeing little evidence of the use of traditional Chinese design ideas in today's modern architecture, I decided to ask my Chinese friend and fellow former urban planning student a question;

Gavin: Do you think Chinese architecture has been influenced by western styles too much?

Sambora: It's exactly like that, especially in Beijing's CBD. However, these issues have attracted national attention, and now a specific protection policy has been introduced within the Second Ring Road, where removal of temples, courtyards and the surrounding construction is not allowed and there can be no more buildings built higher than the Lama Temple. So even if modern buildings don't use elements of traditional design, at least some traditional buildings can be preserved.

So, on the surface at least it looks like city center architecture in Beijing is on the whole, overlooking the influence of it's own past. Perhaps it would be difficult to incorporate some of the designs I have come across on my visit to Prince Gongs Palace. But in my personal opinion I would like to see more obvious references or development of traditional Chinese design within modern architecture in China. Having said that, traditional design might already be there in a more subtle guise. For example, in reference to the landscaping below the Yintai towers a website read; "Rather than attempting to copy a traditional Chinese garden in a modern, formal and rather symmetrical space, elements of historic Chinese gardens are incorporated in a symbolic way. Cool greenery and the sound of water create a welcome antithesis to the urban world's noise and congestion."
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