"中国建造”本月开幕 | 张永和、王澍对话宾大第一代建筑师
一个世纪前的宾夕法尼亚大学见证了中国建筑走向国际化的转折点。二十三位年轻人在1918-1941年间先后远渡重洋到这里攻读建筑学。作为中国第一代现代建筑师，他们学成归国之后建立了中国的建筑教育体系，致力于建筑文化遗产的挖掘与保护，并完成了许多影响深远的建筑作品。他们的设计一方面受到当年宾大所教授的布扎体系的影响，另一方面积极寻求与中国传统建筑语言的创新融合，进而通过更具实验性的创作探索属于中国的现代主义风格。他们的建筑作品反映了二十世纪中国的社会变革与进步。
这些建筑先驱们发起的国际对话在二十一世纪中国延续，其中重要话题之一是全球性建筑技术的探索和设计创作中本土身份的呈现之间的关系。在中国高速城市化和全球化经济语境下，新一代独立建筑师继续在设计和教育双线实验，从不同角度探索具有中国特点的现代建筑表达，以批判性建造为推动文化进步的力量。
立足于中国建筑与宾大首次交集的世纪之后，本次展览审视在现代建筑发展进程中关键性的跨文化对话，以及中国建筑实践中的跨世代连贯性。展览分为历史和当代实践两个板块。历史板块回顾在宾大接受建筑设计训练的第一代中国建筑师的作品，突出他们对现代主义运动的回应，以及在设计中体现本土特征的尝试。当代版块聚焦于两位中国建筑师兼教育家张永和与王澍的作品。通过从艺术家工作室到乡村整体改造等六个不同规模项目的呈现，该版块展示了新一代中国建筑师平衡全球化和本土化关系的不同方式。
历史版块
1918年9月21日，朱彬成为正式注册于宾夕法尼亚大学建筑课程的第一位中国学生，开启了中美之间现代建筑对话的篇章。
“中国建造”展览的历史版块在之前三次相关展览——”基石“（2017年在南京），”觉醒的现代性“（2018年在上海）和“归成”（2019年在北京）——的基础上进一步探索二十三位1918年至1941年间求学于宾大的中国建筑师的实践。这一版块展示他们在宾大的早期专业训练和回国后作为建筑师和教育家的职业成就之间的关系。
上世纪二十年代后期至五十年代，这些建筑师的开创性实践取得丰硕成果。以范文照、杨廷宝、梁思成、童寯、陈植、和林徽因为代表的杰出建筑师在上海、南京、北京和天津等大城市承担了众多备受瞩目的建筑和城市规划项目。他们的作品既体现了在宾大受到的严格建筑训练，也反映了他们对国际现代主义建筑运动的回应，这些工作为后继的建筑论述、城市发展和设计教育开辟了道路。
这一版块将这些中国留学生在宾夕法尼亚大学求学期间的设计作业同之后在中国建成的建筑项目结合展示。相关展品一方面体现当时在中国新的建筑风格兴起时的多元化设计方法，另一方面凸显这个建筑师群体在作品中寻求和表现民族性的共同探索。
当代版块
在当代中国，实验性建筑在几十年的经济改革和全球化进程中逐渐涌现。特别在国有设计院体制之外从事独立创作的建筑师们，他们对中国快速城市化和大规模空间生产的建造方式持批判态度，并寻求将当代技术与地域性实践更微妙地结合起来的可能性。北京的非常建筑事务所和杭州的业余建筑工作室在相关的探索中体现出了鲜明的代表性。此展览版块从这两家事务所近期完成的项目中各选取三个作品，通过对这些作品的呈现和对比，我们希望展示他们的设计方法在不同规模上、材料上、和不同地理环境中的表现。通过对这些作品的最初手稿、设计图纸、最终建成效果，以及对建筑师采访的多元化呈现，展示他们对中国当代建筑的独特诠释。
主策展人
林中杰，宾夕法尼亚大学
童明，东南大学
李翔宁，同济大学
A century ago, the University of Pennsylvania witnessed a turning point in Chinese architecture toward internationalization. Twenty-three Chinese students were enrolled in the architecture programs here during 1918-1941, representing the largest cohort within what would later become known as the “first generation” of modern architects. Upon returning to China, these graduates founded the country’s higher education in architecture, devoted themselves to the conservation of Chinese cultural heritage, and designed many buildings of national significance. While their works were influenced by the Beaux-Arts pedagogy then-current at Penn, the architects actively sought adaptation of Chinese architectural vocabulary and, later, explored Modernism in their experimental practices as part of the nationwide effort for social progress.
The international dialogues these architectural pioneers initiated continue in 21st-century China. A key topic remains the relationship between the pursuit of universal techniques and the expression of regional identity. A new generation of independent architects works along both avenues of practice and education in search of alternative ways of defining Chinese characteristics against the backdrop of the country’s rapid urbanization and the influence of a global economy. They share the conviction that architecture today must be a critical act that nourishes civic consciousness.
Marking a century since Penn’s first engagement with Chinese architects, this exhibition examines key moments in these intercultural dialogues on modern architecture and the notable continuity among generations of Chinese architects. It is divided into two sections, on history and on contemporary practice respectively. The historical section features buildings by the first generation of Chinese architects trained at Penn, highlighting their responses to the international Modern Movement and the ways their designs address the issue of regional identity. The contemporary section focuses on works by two present-day architects and educators, Yung Ho Chang and Wang Shu. Showcasing six projects ranging from artist’s studio to an entire village, it reveals the architects’ diverse approaches to rebalancing the global and the local.
History Forward
On September 21, 1918, Zhu Bin became the first Chinese student enrolled in the architectural program at the University of Pennsylvania, initiating a new linkage in the United States to modern Chinese architecture.
This section of Building in China follows previous exhibitions on this topic—Foundation (Nanjing, 2017), The Rise of Modernity (Shanghai, 2018), and Accomplishment (Beijing, 2019)—to explore the work of twenty-three Chinese architects who attended Penn between 1918 and 1941. It focuses on the relationship between their academic training at Penn and their careers as master architects and influential educators back in China.
From the late 1920s through the ‘50s, these architects’ groundbreaking practices came to fruition. Fan Wenzhao, Yang Tingbao, Liang Sicheng, Tong Jun, Chen Zhi, and Lin Huiyin were among the most prominent designers who carried out numerous high-profiled buildings and city plans in China’s expanding metropolises including Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing, and Tianjin. Their works reflected both their rigorous architectural training at Penn and their embrace of the international Modern Movement. They paved the way for future architectural discourse, urban development, and design education in modern China.
This section combines projects completed by these Chinese students while studying at Penn with building projects they subsequently implemented in China. It demonstrates a variety of design approaches directed at interpreting an emerging modern architecture in this country, as well as a collective effort to seek out and convey a distinct Chinese identity. (Curator: Tong Ming)
Contemporary Forword
In contemporary China, experimental architecture has emerged incrementally within the context of the nation’s economic reforms and deepening global engagements. Independent architects working outside China’s state-run design institutions have taken a critical stance on the rapid urbanization and mass production of space characteristic of recent decades and have sought out a more nuanced integration of contemporary technique with regional practices. Among the wide array of approaches currently exploring this relationship, the work of two design firms stands out: Atelier FCJZ in Beijing, and Amateur Architecture Studio in Hangzhou. This section presents three recent projects created by each office illustrating the firm’s design method as applied to different scales, materials, and locations and examining its interpretation of contemporary Chinese architecture through building, drawings, and interviews.
Chief Curators
Lin Zhongjie, University of Pennsylvania
Tong Ming, Southeast University
Li Xiangning, Tongji University