Not about details/Bu Bing
In most cases, a correct building is much more important and usually the first priority to the owner, rather than a well detailed and excellent building. If we believe that architects have the chance to stand with the client in thinking about architecture, then this demand on correctness requires the architects to start from design strategies, rather than sparks of idea, and on the base a firm foundation for the development of a uilding project. Related to our background on urban planning practices, we often don;t enjoy totalized buildings with a full control from architects. We believe that architecture could be dynamic and developing. It happens, grows, and is completed with the involvement of different characters. Just like the role of urban planning, which is commonly understood and accepted, a clear framework of planning strategy could guide a region to success with the participation of different developing individuals. It could be the same for buildings, a good design strategy could foresee all possibilities for project future development, and also tolerate unexpected happenings. Otherwise, a building of totality must be self-centered, and thus vulnerable, unable to stand outside influences or inside development.

Therefore, in our opinions, we believe in such a rule: strategies come before details. Under certain situations, we would rather lose the detail but secure the strategy. Such a rule seems to be encouraging bad mass-production, under today’s harry and anxious social circumstances in China. However, paradoxically, unless we believe architects are still lonely heroes that are born to change this world, responding pro-actively and seeking strategic resolutions on design methods can be more meaningful than complaining that we have no chance to design quietly. The Zhejing University Wang Xin Science Park is such a project not concerned much with details. The design task was simple, to construct a building complex that can accommodate technological offices and experts’ apartments in a typical developing zone as Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park. The 20,000 square meter building is laid down at a 13,000 square meter site, and divided into 2 south and north volumes, As this building is surrounded by huge boxed of technology development usually as big as 100,000 square meters, and rests at a rather important urban street cross section, we decided to make the volumes unified, and ignore the differences of function, floors, and floor heights. This monolithic structure forms a 180 meters long street elevation. A landmark pursuit is here realized by a “ground-scraper” gesture rather than the usual sky-scrapers. The vertical window openings disguised the differences on floor heights and floors of the two volumes, just like those horizontally continual windows on classic modern skyscrapers, which could accomodate the freedom of floor plan layouts. There are a series of sky couts on the top floor of the north apartment building. Such secret garderns are not designed and detailed much, but waiting for the future owners and users to execute their own imaginations. The black appearance has been widely accepted and praised. Such a color is a tacit agreement btween the architect and project developere. However, for the architect, confidence and satisfaction come rather from that, even if the appearance be changed to other materials or colors, it is still an appropriate and goo building.

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