Award winning architect sparking a change
There weren’t enough chairs as architects and design fans gathered to listen to award-winning architect Zhu Pei at Spark.
A leading Chinese architect told a packed crowd about the importance of connecting buildings to the cultures they are created for, at Wintec’s Spark festival this week.
Professional architects and aspiring students filled the room to learn from Zhu Pei, who spoke about the inspiration behind his work, and the value of going back to nature.
Pei’s work is heavily defined by Chinese culture, the people, and the climate.
He spoke about the importance of having a root in all designs, something that will connect a building to the culture it is being built for.
“I feel without a root, we don’t know where we came from, the root represents culture, climate, people, and lifestyle.
“My work is in China, it’s my culture, naturally Chinese culture is very important to me. If I worked in New Zealand then their culture would be very important to me.”
Zhu Pei started his architecture business Studio Zhu-Pei in 2005, and his since won numerous awards, including the design Vanguard Award by Architectural Record, the Courvoisier Design Award by wallpaper, the Honour Award from the American Institute of Architects, and was named one of the top five architects under 50 by Huffington Post.
He has been creative since was was young and could often be found painting, but he fell in love with design.
“I feel architecture is fascinating,” said Pei, “seeing different cultures, nature and people.”
Pei uses historical architecture as inspiration, and applies that to his contemporary designs.
“I’m not trying to copy traditional, I want to explore the principle behind it.”
He believes young architects rely heavily on technology, and his advice is to step away from technology and look at sustainability.
“I just feel the current architecture industry is not thinking about nature.”
Architecture, says Pei, is not just about a beautiful building, it is about creating a new experience for people.
“Architecture is an art, we create a new experience for people…it’s not the image, I want to walk inside and explore.”
Studio Pei-Zhu is working in a number of projects including the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum, Yang Liping Performing Arts Centre, Shou County Culture and Arts Centre and Shijingshan Cultural Centre, all in China.
