Friday June 27, 5 PM:
Panels, politics, and practicing architecture in Shanghai

After a brush with death (thanks to a clueless cabbie) en route to Design Republic for a presentation of Rossana Hu and Lyndon Neri’s book, Persistence of Vision: Shanghai Architects in Dialogue, I entered to find a gorgeously curated oasis of works by Tom Dixon, Moooi, Droog, Jaime Hayon, et al—and a packed audience. The discussion was just getting started: Rossana and Lyndon moderated a 12-person panel that included Americans Scott Kilbourne and Ralph Lerner (Hong Kong University’s architecture dean), Australian James Brearley, and native talents Bu Bing and TKname. All offered thought-provoking answers to very loaded questions about practicing in this extremely fast-paced city, the Shanghai skyline, Chinese identity politics, and common frustrations like shoddy construction, red tape, and insane deadlines. Lyndon even brought up the recent New York Times article lambasting architects for accepting commissions from autocratic regimes, which was hotly debated. In lieu of transcribing the riveting two-hour conversation, I’ll leave you with the following provocative exchange… a call to power for Chinese architects:

Andrew Yang: “How much power do you think you have to effect change here?”

TKname: “The clients’ taste level is rising, and the younger generation is finally starting to become the decision makers. But I feel that we’re really just tools of the government or developers…”

Ralph Lerner: “You’ll never be powerful if you think like that! You’ve really got it backwards: the government is our tool. Don’t kid yourself just because they pay you and give you instructions. If you believe you’re a nail, they’re going to pound you.”

+ 100percentdesign.com.cn