第一次见到纪达夫先生，是2017年11月，Aedas在同济大学建筑与城市规划学院举办“筑·印”的主题展览，纪达夫先生专程从香港飞过来，与Aedas全球设计董事韦业启一起，在钟庭报告厅为同学们做了主题演讲。后来，我陆续在不同的场合聆听他的演讲，领略他的风采，包括超高层建筑产业国际峰会、福布斯论坛、TED演讲等，也在很多知名媒体上看到他的身影。感觉他总是思路清晰，精力旺盛，而且在不同的场合有不同的身份，自由切换。在学校，他是一位前辈，跟同学们分享自己的过往心得；在商业论坛，作为公司主席和创始人，阐述公司理念，介绍项目亮点。I met Keith Griffiths in November 2017 for the first time, when Aedas organized the "City Icon" exhibition in CAUP, Tongji University. Keith flew from Hong Kong for this exhibition and gave a speech with Aedas Global Design Principal Ken Wai at Bell Hall. Following the event, I have listened to his speeches during various occasions, including the Super Tall Building Industry International Summit, Forbes Forum and TED Talk. I felt his immediate charisma during his many appearance on popular media outlets. He is always energetic, clearheaded, and is malleable in his position when placed in various circumstances. At school, he came across as a genuine mentor who had a clear passion for architecture and for sharing his experiences with students. During industry events, he acted as the chairman and founder of the company, explaining Aedas' ideologies, concepts and introducing each project clearly and effectively. 无论从哪个角度，Aedas无疑都是最成功的建筑设计事务所之一，连续15年位列世界十大建筑事务所，作品不仅仅只有超大型基础设施和商业综合体，小到一座私人别墅，都做得别有新意。而对于这样一家事务所的创始人，即使听过这么多演讲，看过那么多资料，我仍然有很多好奇，希望通过采访交流，可以了解更多。Aedas is no doubt one of the most successful architectural design firms, ranking as the world's top ten architectural firms for 15 years in a row. Aedas’ designs range from super-large infrastructure and commercial complex to small private villas, all of which exemplify creativity and innovation. Although I have already briefed myself in many of his speeches and have familiarized myself with much of his ideologies, as the founder of such a great firm, I still remain curious, hoping to learn more through the interview.
▲点击观看精彩的访谈视频©Aedas
一、疫情之下的未来城市思考
青年建筑 ： 您认为，新冠病毒从哪些方面影响了我们的生活？是否引起了设计上的变化？世界会恢复到以前的样子吗？In your opinion, how has Covid-19 affected our lives? Do you think the world will go back to normal, pre-Covid-19?
纪达夫：我认为，病毒相对而言不会持续太久，可能持续18个月左右直到疫苗研发成功。但是这次疫情从几个方面改变了我们的生活。
I think the virus is a relatively short-lived occurrence. I think it may be about 18 months until we can find a vaccine for the virus. However, this epidemic is changing the way we live in two ways.
第一，尽管它并不是引起变化的原因，它将加速社会上已经发生的变化。2003年SARS在香港肆虐的时候，我住在香港，并亲眼目睹了疫情前后，社会发生的改变。2003年之前，香港人具有聚集性的社会特征，SARS彻底改变了香港的社交习惯，人们因为害怕，纷纷戴上口罩，社交疏离，以往大规模聚集的活动场所关闭后，人们逐渐形成全新的社交习惯。所以当新冠病毒开始蔓延的时候，人们迅速反应，甚至在最初政府并不建议的时候，纷纷主动戴上口罩。这不是简单的佩戴口罩习惯的改变，而是社会的整体改变，香港形成了更有凝聚力且更强大的社会力量。所以这次疫情下，中国政府包括香港地区都反应迅速，控制得很好。
First, it will accelerate changes that are already happening in society, although it's not the reason that causes those changes. I lived in Hong Kong in 2003 when SARS first started to spread. Prior to 2003, Hong Kong was a very congregational society. SARS has changed Hong Kong completely. People got very scared and everyone started to wear masks and keep social distance. Hong Kong people changed for the better. The venues for mass gatherings were shut down and people developed new way to socialize. When Covid-19 started, without any instructions from the government, Hong Kong people wore masks immediately. It wasn't a change about masks, but a change in societal habits. Hong Kong became a very cohesive society, which tended to be quite strong and acted in an effective way to benefit the entire community. When Covid-19 came along, the speed at which society reacted was quite remarkable and that worked out in both Hong Kong and Chinese mainland.
▲疫情期间Aedas香港办公室戴口罩上班做好防疫措施
其次，我们正在经历社交互动转向网上进行，从物理上的互动，到情感上的在线互动。疫情已经进一步改变这个情况，并推动其加速发展。我们都学习并习惯于使用软件，方便即时迅速的沟通交流。同时影响的还包括线上零售，它已经成为生活不可或缺的一部分。如果我们结合起来看，会把建筑设计带向何方？如果人们习惯于线上社交，线下社交疏离，购物中心显然会面临大的困境，因为线下购物是基于实体的封闭建筑空间，通过社交互动、消费购物而存在的娱乐方式。Secondly, we are experiencing a move from physical social interactions to online mental interactions. Covid-19 is accelerating the development of this situation. We have all learnt to communicate online and we have new software to do it very instantly and effortlessly. Online retail has already become an integral part of our life. If we put those things together, what do they mean for architecture? If people are comfortable to socialize online and don't need to meet as much, obviously the shopping mall will face great challenges. An offline shopping mall is a closed architectural space based on entities, and a recreational way that exists through social interaction and consumer shopping. 疫情迅速改变这一情形，人们重新反思旧日时光，会发现社交需求依然存在。未来社交空间未必仅通过购物空间提供，疫情的社交疏离结束的时候，人们将对开放空间有更大的需求，可以在舒适安全的社交距离下互动交流。这会影响未来城市的空间形态，人们反思，目前的城市空间是不是真的是我们需要的。改变势在必行。The Covid-19 got rid of that instantly. People started to reflect on the past and realize that social needs will still exist in the future, but not necessarily through shopping space. When the Covid-19 is over and people come out from social isolation, they will demand more public spaces to interact socially, but at comfortable distances. This will affect the spatial form of future cities. People will think about whether the current urban space is what they need and they are desperate for change.
▲Aedas在深圳C FutureCity的设计中为居民打造了半开放的社交空间，而在商业裙楼的主入口处则预留艺术展览、商业表演等的活动策划空间，实现了公共空间与私人空间的平衡©Aedas
▲Aedas在大连恒隆广场及成都恒大华置广场等大型商业综合体项目中均设计了大量的开放空间，赋予城市活力©Aedas
中国正在引领着城市变化，向更加高密度、高层建筑、可持续化的智慧化方向发展。基础建设和交通枢纽将布局更为紧凑，路面机动车数量将减少，给人们创造更多的步行空间。中国的城市人口密度是西方的十倍之多，所以我们需要创造更多的多层公共空间赋予城市活力。疫情提升了这方面的需求，未来开发商在启动商业项目开发的时候，不得不思考如何提供更多的开放空间，营造更自然的环境。也使得建筑师在项目设计中考量更多社会的需求。China is leading the change. It is leading towards a model of higher density, high-rise cities sustainability. The city will regulate itself in smarter ways. Infrastructures, such as road and railways, will be coordinated to create space for pedestrians and vehicles on the road will be reduced. What we have to realize is that the urban population density in China is more than ten times larger than that of its western counterparts, meaning we need more public space on many more levels to make the city porous. So I think Covid-19 will accelerate this demand, when developers want to start the commercial development, they will start to think about how to make roofs accessible, more open decks, and more outdoor space, and how to have more wind going through a more natural environment. At the same time, architects will also have to consider social needs and locked them into their designs.
同时，疫情让我们意识到，其实并不需要每天到公司工作八小时。诚然有很多工作需要彼此碰面，使得我们仍然需要到公司办公。但居家办公、错峰上班的那段时间让我们体验了更有效率的工作状态。工作时间跨度更大，可以更自主地选择自己最富创造力的时间段来思考。这也让我们重新思考在家中设置专属工作区域的必要性，而非之前的临时办公空间，这会影响未来的公寓设计。
Covid-19 also makes us realize that we don't have to be travelling to an office and working in an office for 8 hours a day. Of course, we still can't hold without meeting people, so we still have to travel to our office to meet and cooperate. But working from home and shifting travel from peak to off-peak hours will make us experience how we can be more effective at work. We work longer, and will be able to think and create more spontaneously during our most creative time period. This also makes us rethink the necessity of setting up a dedicated work area at home instead of a temporary office space. That’s something we will need to think about when designing apartments in the future. 并且，我也观察到，一个趋势正在形成并发展迅速：员工们希望能有更多更灵活的休憩空间和更大的室外空间。这也引起了建筑设计上的变化，未来办公楼不再是单个楼板加上一圈玻璃幕墙，而需要穿插更多室外平台。之前，城市底层互相渗透，人们可以通过不同层级进入开放、半开放空间。未来，高层建筑也形成社交空间，实现渗透性。这种趋势也会促使原本独立的住宅、商业、办公向复合功能空间发展。我和团队顺应趋势，通过设计，努力在高密度城市中呈现灵活、渗透的复合业态建筑，实现建筑改善生活的美好愿景。At the same time, I found a trend was developing rapidly. Office workers prefer to have more breakout spaces and outdoor terrace spaces. This will also cause changes in architectural designs. In the future, the office building will no longer be a single floor plate with a glass wall around it, but more outdoor spaces need to be introduced. Before, the bottom of the city with porosity allowed people to move in public and semi-public spaces on many levels. In the future, high-rise buildings will also form social spaces and achieve porosity. This trend will also promote the development of residential areas, shopping malls, and offices into multi-purpose spaces. Right now, my team and I are working hard together to present flexible, porous, and complex architectures in high-density cities through designs, thereby hopefully realizing the beautiful vision of improving life by architectures.
▲台北砳建筑，该项目在办公建筑中设有城市客厅等开放空间 ©Aedas
▲印度尼西亚雅加达联合利华总部大楼中的休闲区与共享空间©Aedas
▲在高密度发展背景下，Aedas在深圳前海传音总部办公楼及重庆解放碑时尚文化城项目设计中均设置了多层多功能的户外休憩空间©Aedas
二、Aedas准则：为真正的使用者而设计，为当地而设计
青年建筑 ：之前采访Richard Paul时，他提到RHSP的十大设计原则，Aedas是否也有类似的设计准则？基于设计准则是否有“Aedas风格”？In the earlier interview with Richard Paul, he mentioned ten design principles of RSHP. Does Aedas have similar design principles? 纪达夫：我和Richard Paul多年前曾经共事，彼此熟识。关于Aedas的设计准则，我认为，建筑需要满足三方面的需求，首先是业主的需求；其次满足政府创建美好城市的要求，包括满足规划和法规方面的要求；第三，也是最为关键的，是满足社区的需求。因为无论开发商出售楼房，或者政府调整规范，社区始终在那里，所以我们最终是要满足真正的建筑使用者的需求，这是我们的首要出发点，所有其他的设计准则都是基于这个出发点的。包括启用本地设计师、与当地居民交流、深入了解当地文化、满足当地的政府的规划要求、带入国际视野、与当地结合等等。I worked with Richard Paul many years ago, and we know each other well. Regarding Aedas design principles, I think architectures needs to fulfil three elements. Firstly, architectures must satisfy clients. Then, architectures must fulfil the government’s aspiration to build a beautiful city, including meet planning and regulatory requirements. Lastly, and most importantly, architectures must meet the needs of communities. Whether developers sell buildings, or governments change regulations, communities are always there, so ultimately, we need to consider the needs of those people who are going to use the building or who will be impacted. That's my starting point, and all other design principles are based on this. So we need to use local designers, to confer with local people and dig deep into local cultures, to meet the planning requirements of local governments and combine local conditions with international experiences. 比如项目有生物医学方面的研究，我们会邀请西雅图的团队参与；而在成都做设计，就会考虑当地市民的文化和生活习惯，包括因为当地气候，人们热爱室外空间、大阳台、丰富的绿植等。所以，Aedas不需要10条设计准则，1条就够，就是我们始终要为被建筑物所影响的民众去设计。For example, if there is a bio-medical facility project, we will involve our Seattle office because they have rich experience in this aspect. However, if we do the design project in Chengdu, we will consider the cultures and lifestyles of local residents, for instance, people there are keen on outdoor spaces, big terraces, and abundant green plants because of the local climate. So we don’t need ten design principles. We just need one. We are designing for our people who are impacted by our buildings.
▲Aedas 设计的长沙华远云玺综合商业体以张家界的独特景观为原型，以张扬个性为当地消费者提供多重感官的购物体验及引领潮流的风尚中心
相比较于设定特定的品牌风格，Aedas更希望真正做到扎根本土又立足世界，并且充分融入当地文化为使用者服务，所以我们放弃设定品牌风格的想法，即使给自己贴标签更利于进行销售获取项目，因为业主更容易理解和归类。在Aedas，设计师被充分授权进行创作，结合他们自有的设计风格，以及在Aedas获得的国际视野，再通过对项目本身和城市文化的研究，将所有这些结合一起，研究项目的问题，得出符合当地解决方案。Compared to setting a specific style, Aedas always works hard to be local and global, and truly embedded ourselves in the cultures we design for. We need to drop the idea of creating a stylistic brand, even though labelling yourself is easy for sales and getting more projects, as clients can understand and categorize your brand easily. In Aedas, designers are fully empowered to design. They work on the projects and get solutions by combining their own design style, international visions and their research on the projects and urban cultures.
▲义乌之心的建筑形式取意汉字“川”，映射自古以来义乌河对城市商贸发展的重要作用，其石砖墙设计则与旧城墙门相呼应，象征着义乌从传统到现代的蓬勃发展©Aedas青年建筑 ：您所期待的Aedas设计发展目标和前景是什么？What do you expect Aedas to develope in the future?纪达夫：我希望在未来，Aedas不只是个设计事务所，更可以成为一个专业的咨询机构，可以在社会需要的时候提供最专业的建议，比如我担任了领展房地产投资信托基金的非独立董事，不时为领展旗下物业的建筑设计提供顾问意见。我们的其他设计董事也正在越来越多地参与到城市建设中，从基础设施设计到高层建筑的打造以及城市规划方面，为城市发展出谋划策，不只作为设计公司，而更像是给城市治病的医生、城市发展的观察者、思考者和引导者，同时通过设计工作参与其中，了解城市，帮助城市，融入城市。这些无法一言以蔽之，但我希望Aedas可以朝这个方向发展。In the future, I hope that Aedas will not only be a design firm, but also a professional consulting agency where we use our expertise in providing professional advice benefitial to the society. For example, I have been serving the Link REIT in Hong Kong as a Non-Executive Director and advises on the architectural design matters. More and more of our design directors are also involved in such roles in various aspects of urban development. We want to be not only a design company, but more like an urban design doctor, a watchera guide, and a caretaker of urban development. At the same time, we will understand the city, help the city and integrate into the city with our design work. These can’t be described just with a few words, but that’s the direction I’d like to see as Aedas moving ahead.
▲Aeads在中国设计的基础设施助力城市发展，高铁香港西九龙站 摄影：Paul Warchol
▲深圳西丽综合交通枢纽地区城市设计©Aedas
▲ 施工中的珠海横琴国际金融中心，加速中国城市化建设，摄影：CreatAR Images
▲Aedas为长沙新区打造323米超高层长沙金茂大厦©Aedas
三、Aedas学院式文化
青年建筑 ：Aedas作为全球唯一将国际研究，本地知识和环球业务相结合，扎根本土又立足世界的建筑设计事务所。如何定义“全球唯一”？其他设计公司会争辩说，他们也是结合本地知识和国际实践的设计机构。是什么使Aedas如此出色或者说独特？Your website states that Aedas is the world’s only local and global architecture and design practice driven by global sharing of research, local knowledge and international practice. How do you define “world’s only”? Because some other design firms will argue that they are also design firms with local research and global practices combined. What makes Aedas so outstanding or unique?纪达夫：首先，Aedas是学院式的全球平台，在公司内部共享知识、经验、软件、金融、管理和法务工具等。其中，建筑设计的知识和经验的共享最为重要。这要如何实现呢？我们在每个项目上都会安排两名设计董事，一名主要带领团队投入设计，而另一名联合设计董事则来自另一个团队，最好是另一个城市，彼此之间形成设计思维的互通。比如我在香港做上海的项目，就会邀请上海的董事联合设计，他可以让我迅速了解上海的信息而进入项目状态，而我也为项目带来更多国际视野。而同时，由于他也经常和伦敦、中东或者新加坡的董事联合设计参与各地的项目，互通资讯，同样具备国际视野。所以通过这个平台，每个设计董事都具备当地文化和全球视野。First of all, it's a collegiate global platform which shares knowledge, experience, software, financial tools, management and legal tools in the company. Most importantly, it's a shared platform of architectural design, knowledge and experience. How does it share that? Every project we do has two design directors, one of them, is the design director that runs the team who is going to design the project and the other one must be from a different team, and ideally from a different office, in this way, they can complement each other in design thinking. For example, if I'm designing a project for Shanghai in Hong Kong, I will probably invite one of the Shanghai directors to work with me as a joint design director. The Shanghai director can help inform me of Shanghai and be acquainted with the culture, allowing me to start the project immediately. The Shanghai director is also internationally visionary because he has been working as a co-director, possibly on a project in London or the Middle East or Singapore. Therefore, through this platform, every design director in this company is well informed of local cultures with an international insight.
并且，我们每年会举办3-4次全球设计峰会，邀请全球不同办公室的20-30名设计师汇聚一处，在有限的时间内专注项目设计和讨论交流。平时各地的同事天各一方，而此时通过一同设计，分享建筑心得、建立友谊。所以能看到，Aedas通过各种方式来构建建筑智慧共享平台，使各地员工能真正地融入公司文化，了解项目的日常进程，跟全球同事分享知识。We have a Global Design Summit for 3 or 4 times every year, where 20 to 30 designers gather together from different offices to discuss project designs. Usually those people work on their projects at different places, but by designing together, they share their knowledge, understandings and build a good friendship. So we constantly try to find new ways to build new intellectual networks, so that our staff across the world can really embed themselves into our corporate culture, understand the day to day issues of projects and share their knowledge with colleagues in the rest of the world.
▲于英国威尔士圣大卫德举行的Aedas第十三届全球设计峰会
▲于摩洛哥马拉喀什举行的Aeads第十四届全球设计峰会
青年建筑 ：Aedas的官网只展示40个左右的精选项目，每个季度进行评估筛选调整，这是否是对设计创作的一种鼓励机制？There are only about forty featured projects shown on Aedas front webpage, and Aedas evaluates and updates the list every quarter. Is this an incentive mechanism for design creation?纪达夫：Aedas官网上会呈现大约100个项目，其中40个是精选项目，这为公司内部营造了良好的竞争氛围，利于建筑师的成长。对于设计师来说，这不仅是呈现在官网上而已，更意味着团队受到认可，会被推荐到媒体进行宣传，能参与评奖、赢得竞赛、得到肯定等等。所以我们创造了这样的氛围：设计师之间激烈竞争，同时又让他们意识到，需要互相沟通学习，形成互动，才能更好地激发设计灵感，完善自己的设计。所以设计师之间交流非常频繁，不同办公室的设计师经常通过各种渠道互相探讨，既彼此切磋又互相学习，因为闭门造车出不了好的设计。我们也经常对新完成的项目进行评估，择优呈现在官网上。We have around 100 projects on our website, among which 40 are featured projects. I think this create a competitive atmosphere in the company, which is great for architects’self-development. For designers, it’s not only about presenting projects on our website, but it also means their teams are recognized and will be recommended to the media, enter the contests and even win prizes. We create this atmosphere, where designers are competitive, while at the same time, they realize they need to interact with each other and draw more inspirations for better designs. Therefore, designers make very frequent exchanges, designers in different offices often discuss with each other through various channels, competing with each other, but also learning from each other, because a good design can’t be created behind closed doors. We also frequently evaluate newly completed projects and present the best selections on our official website.
Aedas部分精选项目：
▲北京大望京综合开发项目©Aedas
▲台中商业银行企业总部“台中之钻”©Aedas
▲北京新浪总部大楼©Aedas
▲无锡恒隆广场©Aedas
▲香港国际机场中场客运廊©Aedas
此外，为了鼓励和嘉奖设计创作，我们有非常平等和公平的分享机制，任何员工都可以尽所能的成长，并没有天花板的限制，可以最终成为股东，成为公司的所有者之一。很多公司并不会对普通员工开放股份的认购权，在Aedas，当你到一定级别，就可以购买股份，一起分享公司的利润。目前公司已经进入到第二代的管理团队，我们也证实了这种商业模式的稳健和成功，它激励员工创造出好的作品，让公司有点像研究型的学院。At the same time, in order to encourage design excellence, we have a very equal and fair sharing mechanism. So our employees are incentified to do well. They can grow and move up as much as they can, without ceiling restrictions, and eventually become a shareholder and even one of the company's owners. Many companies do not offer subscription rights of shares to ordinary employees. In Aedas, when you reach a certain level, you can buy shares and receive dividends. At present, we are having a second-generation management team in the company. We have also proved this business model to be very successful and robust, inspiring employees to create good works, which is similar to a research institute.
青年建筑 ：除了公司内部的智慧共享，Aedas如何将设计理念传递给大众，对整个建筑行业产生影响和推动？Besides sharing knowledge within the company, how does Aedas spread out the design principle to the public and influence and promote the whole construction industry?纪达夫：尽管我和其他董事经常各地宣讲Aedas的设计，但是我们认为影响行业的最佳途径，仍是通过绘制图纸，向业主传达创新的理念，最终建成项目，通过实实在在的项目实践来影响行业。由于项目周期长，我们在设计的时候，至少要确保5-10年的前瞻性，所以保持资讯的迅速更新非常重要。While other design directors and I always talk about Aedas designs at different places, we still believe that the best way to influence the industry is to convey innovative ideas and our vision to clients through drawings and finally realising the project. Considering the long project cycle, we must ensure our designs are at least 5-10 years ahead of time when doing them, therefore, it is very important for us to keep the information updated quickly.其次，我们从中国排名前列的建筑高校招募应届生，也包括留学归来的优秀研究生。这些年轻的设计师非常有天赋，能很快融入Aedas的团队氛围，被充分授权参与设计，可以很快的发挥所长。他们会乐于将自己在Aedas的工作体会告诉朋友、同学、同行们，于是，讯息就会逐渐在业界传播。我们意识到，中国已经搭建了许多强大的线上传播网络，发展更是日新月异。我们的业务大部分在中国，因此我们非常重视这些即时传播平台，希望让业界能第一时间听到我们的声音并能迅速反应。这种传播方式也反过来影响其他区域的传播渠道和方式。因此各个办公室的设计董事包括我自己，都安排越来越多的时间在线上视频和采访，讲座等方面。近期由于疫情的影响，更多交流通过网络进行，包括在线上网课，我们也逐渐适应视频交流，包括在镜头前画图。Secondly, we recruit fresh graduates from the top architectural universities in China and excellent overseas graduates with an MA degree. These young designers are very talented and can fit in with Aedas team very quickly, who are also empowered to be involved in designing, and can bring their strengths into full play. Their positive experience at Aedas creates a word-of-mouth buzz about the company. We are fully aware of the advent of some powerful networks in China, and great changes are taking place every day. Since most of our works are in China, We are very keen to reaching out on these instant social media platforms so that we could get our message across and respond quickly. And this communication approach also affects the communication channels and approaches in other regions. So all the directors in different offices, including myself, are doing more videos, talks and interviews like this. Recently, due to the Covid-19, many exchanges have been conducted through the Internet, including online courses, and we have also gradually adapted to video communication, including drawing in front of the camera.
▲Aedas于同济大学举行“筑 · 印”主题展览及讲座
青年建筑 ：Aedas连续15年列为世界十大建筑事务所之一。成功的背后除设计外，Aedas对于公司架构与管理有哪些安排？Aedas has been listed as one of the top ten architectural firms in the world for fifteen consecutive years. Apart from the design, what arrangements does Aedas have for the company's structure and management?纪达夫：很多公司里的建筑师疲于应付他们本不用做的事务，比如财务、法务、和政府部门打交道、行政等工作。而Aedas招聘专职人员分担这些工作，最大程度地释放建筑师的时间，使他们专注于和业主与使用者的沟通，全身心投入建筑设计。作为1400人公司的主席，我仍然投入70%的时间在设计上，你可以想象其他设计师的比例会更高。Architects in many companies are struggling with too much work they shouldn’t do, such as financial and legal work, dealing with government departments, and administrative work. We recruit full-time staff to share these tasks and free up our architects' time to the greatest extent, allowing them to focus on communicating with clients, and on architectural designs. As the chairman of a company with around 1,400 staff, I still devote 70% of my time to designing. You can imagine other designers spend more time designing.在公司的决策角度，我们也有不同之处。除了香港办公室规模较大，有650人左右，其他办公室规模较小，但他们都是较为自主的当地化办公室，在项目上，不受香港的指令，能完全根据当地的项目进展，由设计董事和团队自主决策。充分授权后，设计师全力以赴，自主设计当地项目。The decision-making process in our company is also different. Compared with Hong Kong office with 650 employees, our other offices are smaller, but these local offices can make their own decisions. In terms of projects, they are not subject to the instructions of Hong Kong, and design directors and teams in those local offices can make their decisions based on the actual progress of their projects. Once they are empowered, local designers work together to lead the project.
四、个人分享
青年建筑 ：您不光专注于设计，同时做很多学术方面的交流，包括授课、演讲、出版等。随着公司的发展，您的角色和时间分配是否有所调整？您认为交流的重要性在哪里？You do both designs and academic work, including lectures, publication, etc. As the company grows, has your role and time allocation been adjusted? What do you think is the importance of communication?纪达夫：35年前，公司成立之初，只有两个人，那时候我已经在大学教学，同时做着设计的工作。大概20%的时间在教学，70%的时间在设计。现在仍然如此，我有很大一部分时间在教学，只是更多的在公司内部，我是公司唯一没有固定团队的设计董事，因为我和不同的团队进行合作，指导团队工作，在设计中贡献我的经验和知识，同时也从团队中学习，学习不同城市和社区的文化。我喜欢交流，因为我享受交流的过程，让我懂得倾听对方的反馈，让我同样学到东西。建筑实践绝不仅仅是简单地坐着画图，它包括与人的交流。When I set up the company 35 years ago, there were just two of us. I had been a teacher in a university as well as a designer. I spent about 20% of my time teaching and 70% my time designing. This is still the case. I spent quite a big part of my time teaching, actually more teaching in the company. I am the only design principal without a fixed team in the company, because I work with different teams, inspire them, and contribute my design experience and knowledge. In return, I also learn about different urban and community cultures from those teams. I like to communicate, and I enjoy the process of talking and getting feedback, where I can learn so much. Architectural practice is more than simply sitting and drawing, it includes communication with people.
▲除设计工作外，纪达夫经常参与行业论坛、校园讲座等与他人交流分享
青年建筑：您推荐的 J.G.Ballard 的《Vermilion Sands》这本书中描述的景象，像一面镜子一样印照着现在全球的局面，您推荐的另一本卡尔维诺的《看不见的城市》被很多建筑师所喜爱，我本人读后也非常喜欢，能否与我们分享一下您喜欢这两本书的理由？The scene described in the book Vermilion Sands, which you’ve recommended in the past, reflects the current global situation. Another book Invisible City by Calvino, is loved by many architects and I quite enjoyed reading it. Can you share with us the reasons why you like these two books?纪达夫：Vermilion Sands 是在闭环的环境中，关于社会的隐喻。事态如何变得错乱，正是对当今的我们的强烈隐喻，就像现在的全球环境，随着病毒的肆虐，一些国家控制住了，一些国家失控了，和书中景象如出一辙。《看不见的城市》是一本简短但令人惊叹的作品，可以从几个维度解析。首先，全书设定了一套十分工整的矩阵式的框架，将所有 55 个城市包罗其中。同时，它十分怪诞离奇和魔幻。马可波罗向忽必烈汗描述他到过的所有城市，每一个特征明显，像是个寓言故事，而寓言故事又限定在框架之中。它形成 了对建筑的强烈隐喻，虽然并非刻意为之。艺术家会幻想神奇魔幻的事物，而建筑师能通过在严格框架下的建筑物加以实现。有时候约束下产生伟大的艺术。艺术家经常跳出盒子思考，但你需要那个盒子。卡尔维诺通过设置工整的框架，将眼花缭乱的景象加以呈现。两本书完全不同，都不是建筑师所写，也并没有试图解读建筑，它们探讨了完全不同的事物，我都很喜欢。Vermilion Sands is a metaphor, depicting a society in a closed-loop environment. How things go wrong is like what we see now in the world today. As the Covid-19 is spreading across the whole world, some countries are under control, while some are not. That is precisely the same as what is described in the book. Invisible Cities is a short but amazing book which can be interpreted from different perspectives. First of all, the book sets up a very rigid framework and everything of these 55 cities has to be within this matrix framework. Secondly, it's fantastic, fabulous as well as magical. Every city is a magical city because Marco Polo is trying to tell Kublai Khan about all of these cities that he has been to, each of which is distinctive, like a fairy tale. But each is a fairy tale within a rigid construct, and I think that is such a strong metaphor for architecture, even though it is not intended to be. As artists, we dream of fabulous and wonderful things. As an architect, we put those fabulous and wonderful things within the rigid construct of the practicality of buildings. Sometimes great art is cultivated from a restricted environment. Artists must think out of the box, but you also need a box to think out of, and Calvino, by setting up that very restricted framework, goes into the spectacular round. The two books are completely different, neither of them is written by architects, and neither of them attempts to interpret architectures. They discuss completely different things, and I enjoy reading them both.
▲《Vermilion Sands》和《看不见的城市》两本书
青年建筑 ：如果当初没有选择成为建筑师，您会做什么？What would you have done if you had not chosen to be an architect?纪达夫：首先，并不是我选择了建筑，而是这个方向自然而然的形成，也不会有别的结果。自小，优美的建筑、空间就很吸引我，引导我不由自主地用画笔表现出来。当我还是孩子的时候，14、5岁左右，我就已经算是个专业的小画家，帮助别人绘制并且赚取酬劳。而且，我擅长通过二维的图画，将脑海中的空间表现，和别人进行交流，自然而然，越来越多的人借助我的帮忙来描绘空间。所以，如果建筑师这个职业不存在的话，我也许会成为艺术家或者雕塑家，因为去构建空间和形体真得很吸引我。First of all, I didn’t choose to be an architect, but this direction was formed naturally and it wouldn’t be any other way around. From an early age, I was always drawn to beautiful architectures and spaces, and I couldn’t help drawing them. When I was around 14 or 15 years old, I was kind of an artist, painting to earn money. Moreover, I was good at expressing the spaces in my mind through two-dimensional drawings. Communicating with others so naturally, more and more people came to ask me to help draw spaces. Therefore, if there is no such thing as an architect, I would have been an artist or a sculptor, because constructing spaces and shapes really appealed to me.
▲Aedas主席及全球设计董事纪达夫（Keith Griffiths）
由于疫情的原因，我们通过远程视频连线完成了这次采访，但即使隔着屏幕，我都能被纪达夫先生的热情和真实所感染。对于有关公司发展的问题，也许他已经讲过无数遍，仍然会耐心而全面的阐述，因为这是他坚信的理念。Due to the pandemic, we conducted the interview online, but even across the screen, I was infected by Keith Griffiths' enthusiasm and authenticity. Although he has spoken about the development of the company on numerous occasions, he still remains patient in his explanations throughout the interview as his passion for the industry and the company’s ideologies were very prevalent.除此之外，我们还谈到他推荐的书籍也被很多其他建筑师们所喜爱，他有一种 "英雄所见略同" 的兴奋；被问到： "如果没有成为建筑师，您会做什么？" 的问题时，他大笑了，深思了一阵才给出答案 。我们在一个半小时内畅谈了他的职业生涯和建筑行业的方方面面，他以独特的视角将观点娓娓道来，语调真诚而略带兴奋，让我独享了一次思想火花的碰撞，也期待下一次能更近距离地领略他的风采。Amongst his experience, Keith also spoke on books he recommented, sharing his excitement when hearing the books are coveted by many architects. He reflected if his life would take a turn, with a laugh, had he not become an architect. Keith’s insights were intriguing, his tone – sincere met with great excitement, as we delved into the ins and outs of his career and the fascinating industry, that is: Architecture.
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编辑：Alex魏，Archlady，雪亮，饭困，梁仟，leon