Chen Xudong is borned in Xi’an in 1971. From 1989 to 1994 studied architecture at Tong ji University. After graduation he worked at Tongji as an assistant instructor for tow years. In 1997 he went to the Technology University of Berlin for further study and in 2003 he worked at Herzog & de Meuron for one year. Later, he established Datrans in Shanghai. He attended the China Contemporary Architecture Exhibition in the Netherlands in 2006.

domus: Which year did you begin to study architecture at Tongji University.
Chen Xudong: In 1989

Domus How do you feel about the education you received then?
Chen Xudong: I think that was a transitional moment for China’s architectural development, it was the beginning of change, which was very different from the situation at the beginning of 1980s. The real changes took place in the middle of 1990s. At that time I started to have doubts and dissatisfactions about the educational methods and modes in Chinese architecture. As a fact, I think the education I received in Tongji was virtually over in the sophomore year. From then on I studied a lot by myself. One superior thing about Tongji was its ample foreign materials that were all available to us. So, I read lots of books, including New Architecture , Architecture Review, Domus and so on. Later I discovered that what I learned was so different from overseas architecture, I began to think whether we should follow the way of the overseas institutions to study architecture.

domus: Did your further study in Germany change you greatly?
Chen Xudong: I think maybe I had an early “awakening”, because I thought about many things when I was an undergraduate. So when I went to Germany I didn’t feel there was any gap between us.

Domus: What effect did working with Herzog & de Meuron have on you? Did it affect your work methods or interests?
Chen Xudong: That is hard to say. I think the impacts on me were various, but I found it natural working there, so it didn’t define architecture as a product. For them, architecture always appears as a public or cultural artwork. So they pay great attention to each work’s uniqueness and originality. Not only for the community, but also for themselves, each work is completely new. Working under these preconditions, they will do lots of researcheds and experiments. During this process, one needs methods and means, and they have a very serious methodology. Another important aspect of their work is cooperation with various people in different fields and subjects. Actually, I already realized this when I went to Europe. For example, the overlap of different subjects is encouraged in school education, which suddenly enlightened me.

Domus: You have also cooperated with numerous artists, including some fashion designers.
Chen Xudong: Yes, I think this kind of integrated cooperation with these kinds of people because I really like heterogeneous things and my interests are extensice. I am interested in how to expand the architectural scope, to see how many possibilities architecture has. I don’t want to do the same thing everyday until I am 80 years old. I prefer the “compounded” feeling, that is , at least I should complete my personal frame of knowledge, and avaid over-simplicity. There was a period in Germany when I was very interested in philosophy and read extensively on the subject. Aside from artists, I have a few writer, poet and filmmaker friends.

domus: We always believe that German architectuer attacheds more importance to techique, but I feel that the greatest impact of German education had on you was the communication with arts and other subjects, not a stress on technique.
Chen Xudong: I think technique is a basic tool. It is the knowledge and skill that an architect must possess. My education in Germany provided me with those basic skills.

domus: How do you define “experimenter” and “advant-garde”? Which position do you take?
Chen Xudong: I think “advant-garde” is an attitude, and “experimental architect”. At present the situation in China is unstable, so we cannot judge who belongs to the advant-garde architect category and who doesn’t. As for myself, I don’t know how others see me, but in a NAI pamphlet they appaised me as one of the few architects in China who thinks theoretically and who has established his own theoretical framework.

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