文/本刊記者 李靜
創(chuàng)造打動人心的建筑
——走進美國cinc設(shè)計機構(gòu)
文/本刊記者 李靜
蔡進:“他對我來說非常特別,在我遇到的很多外國設(shè)計師中,都不太懂中國的文化與國情,只是單純的引進他們的設(shè)計概念。但是他不一樣。他是一個愛思考的人,會帶給團隊新的方向和思維方式。他喜歡觀察周圍的人和環(huán)境,也會細心地為客戶詮釋設(shè)計目標(biāo),他為客戶想得更多!”
M iko le Coop e r:“她真的很不錯,有很好的經(jīng)歷,永遠都在追求進步,對每一件事都很認真、負責(zé),從VBN到cinc,公司經(jīng)歷了6年的磨練,她都一如既往地努力著,公司取得現(xiàn)在的成就,我很佩服她!”
這是蔡進與M iko le Coop e r給予對方的簡單評價。作為國家一級注冊建筑師和高級建筑師,來自北京的蔡進擁有赴美考察學(xué)習(xí)的經(jīng)歷,對建筑這一行有著自己的理解與夢想。2004年,懷著對建筑設(shè)計的一腔熱情,憑借多年的從業(yè)經(jīng)驗,蔡進創(chuàng)立了美國VBN建筑設(shè)計公司在中國西部的分支機構(gòu)。2009年,一次偶然的機遇,蔡進與從美國紐約來中國工作的建筑師M iko le在項目合作中相識,兩人一拍即合,成為合伙排檔,這一設(shè)計機構(gòu)因此而注入了嶄新的發(fā)展理念,一個意味深長的名字誕生了:cinc——Created in Ch ina。(www.c inc-design.com)
提到取這個名字的初衷,兩位合伙人都興奮不已?!癈rea ted in Ch ina是我們公司長遠發(fā)展的一個遠景,從創(chuàng)建的第一天起,我們要做的就是把本土的智慧與全球資源對接,在對中國市場洞察的基礎(chǔ)上,因地制宜,發(fā)展出適合當(dāng)?shù)匦枨蟮膭?chuàng)意。”蔡進說到,“是不是國際或國內(nèi)的公司其實并不重要,重要的是你的項目在哪,你的團隊如何運作以及你是否對客戶的需求有深刻理解。我們的設(shè)計機構(gòu)是一個國際化的創(chuàng)作團隊,主創(chuàng)設(shè)計師來自美國,而本地設(shè)計師團隊給予有力的技術(shù)支撐,共同的目標(biāo)使大家共享各自先進的理念與技術(shù),團隊凝聚力讓中美優(yōu)勢相互融合,為客戶打造獨特的設(shè)計產(chǎn)品。”
青年藝術(shù)家公寓
我們的設(shè)計機構(gòu)是一個國際化的創(chuàng)作團隊,主創(chuàng)設(shè)計師來自美國,而本地設(shè)計師團隊給予有力的技術(shù)支撐,共同的目標(biāo)使大家共享各自先進的理念與技術(shù),團隊凝聚力讓中美優(yōu)勢相互融合,為客戶打造獨特的設(shè)計產(chǎn)品。
作為一個資深的高級建筑師,M iko le從事這一行已經(jīng)有10年之久,雖然是一個地地道道的美國人,但他在美國工作的時候也有3年的時間在做中國項目的設(shè)計,至今他在中國工作生活已超過兩年,中國對他來說就像一個老朋友那樣熟悉。在M iko le看來,在美國與中國做建筑設(shè)計有很多不同,“我想是在設(shè)計程序上,標(biāo)準(zhǔn)不同,規(guī)則也不同;還有就是一種不同的歷史感。在美國,建筑師一般不會輕易改變建筑原有的區(qū)域風(fēng)格與形式,而是保留它獨有的特色,這樣很多年來看,你都會覺得那樣的區(qū)域感還存在。但是在目前的中國,人們傾向于拆除舊有的建筑并在新的設(shè)計中完全改變原有風(fēng)格,但這也同時拆除了歷史和文化。而一棟新的建筑又需要花費很久的時間才能把自身融入這座城市,所以我更愿意依據(jù)環(huán)境與區(qū)域文化來決定設(shè)計風(fēng)格?!?/p>
來到重慶,M iko le對于這座城市也有很多感觸和創(chuàng)作激情,在談到重慶的建筑風(fēng)格時,他也表示,城市很大,目前重慶本地的建筑風(fēng)格元素太繁雜,更需要國際化的東西。蔡進也表示贊同。“ 重慶政府部門比較鼓勵繼承和發(fā)揚川東和巴渝地區(qū)的傳統(tǒng)建筑及本土民居建筑風(fēng)格。這是一座有著厚重文化底蘊及特殊地形地貌的山水之城,歐洲的傳統(tǒng)風(fēng)格是不適合這座城市的,重慶需要體現(xiàn)自己城市風(fēng)貌特色的建筑風(fēng)格?!辈踢M期望用國際化與本土化的融合來完成每一次與這座城市有關(guān)的設(shè)計。
c inc為重慶萬盛八角旅游服務(wù)接待中心做的投標(biāo)方案就是一個鮮活的例子。當(dāng)時蔡進和M iko le帶著他們的團隊到萬盛進行現(xiàn)場踏勘,發(fā)現(xiàn)在這個地方到處都盛開著漂亮的山花,就像它的地名一樣。他們因此而獲得了設(shè)計靈感,以“興旺盛開”的概念賦予萬盛旅游接待中心嶄新的意義,將這個接待中心設(shè)計成花兒綻放的樣子,寓意萬盛的旅游業(yè)開始像花兒一樣盛開,實現(xiàn)了將文化作為建筑設(shè)計的中心內(nèi)涵。而設(shè)計中也大量采用竹材作為裝飾材料,靈感來自于他們在現(xiàn)場看到的大片竹林,更體現(xiàn)了就地取材、立足本土的設(shè)計理念。
普羅旺斯花園
雖然來自不同的國家,在全球化的今天,地域的跨越已經(jīng)不再是難題,相反,更是一種資源優(yōu)勢。c inc的設(shè)計團隊是一個沒有國界的創(chuàng)作群體,9個常駐重慶的成員來自不同的城市,另外還有5個外籍主創(chuàng)設(shè)計師。每一次根據(jù)設(shè)計項目內(nèi)容的不同,他們會配置不同的設(shè)計師團隊,讓每一次的設(shè)計既給人耳目一新、與眾不同的感覺又富于經(jīng)驗。M iko le也稱大部分時候,自己的設(shè)計靈感都是來自于團隊。有的時候,因為有著不同的文化背景和思維方式,成員之間也難免會出現(xiàn)意見不合。最近在做一個房地產(chǎn)項目設(shè)計頭腦風(fēng)暴的過程中,團隊成員便出現(xiàn)意見分歧,為了達成一致的設(shè)計概念方向,團隊間一爭論就是幾個小時。這個時候,蔡進和M iko le會特別開放、公平地接受每個人的觀點,最后在一個大家都認可的概念方向上將每個成員的設(shè)計優(yōu)勢綜合在一起?!半m然會爭吵,但我們從不會完全否決一個設(shè)計,因為總有些部分是優(yōu)秀的,我們的分歧更多是出現(xiàn)在追求完美的過程中?!盡 iko le解釋道。
作為一個外國建筑師,溝通是M iko le在工作上必須面對的問題。無論是和團隊還是和客戶。當(dāng)被問到如果自己很滿意的設(shè)計圖,客戶卻不喜歡怎么辦時,M iko le也毫不猶豫地表示他會選擇尊重客戶?!翱蛻舻囊庖娨苍S不是最專業(yè)的,但他們知道自己想要什么。我們會與客戶討論每一個細節(jié),實際上,我們的設(shè)計成果大部分是被客戶認同的?!?/p>
生于建筑師世家的M iko le深信,只要是用心做的設(shè)計,一定會得到客戶和大眾的認同。而感動人的設(shè)計,正是在那些容易被忽略的細節(jié)思考之中。他一直強調(diào),c inc提供的不僅是精細的設(shè)計,更是精良的服務(wù),對這一點身體力行的M iko le也將這樣的觀念帶給了自己的團隊成員和與c inc合作的客戶們。
如今的c inc雖然是一支年輕的創(chuàng)作隊伍,但從09年成功轉(zhuǎn)身至今,在蔡進和M iko le的帶領(lǐng)下,公司已經(jīng)參與或正在進行設(shè)計的項目有10多個,成績喜人。從重慶到成都,從旅游度假產(chǎn)品到城市開發(fā)項目,從政府投資項目到商品房屋設(shè)計,c inc的客戶包含了地方政府、上市集團公司及大型房地產(chǎn)開發(fā)公司。這一切都是c inc的團隊辛勤努力的證明。提到自己最滿意的項目,M iko le想了很久,還是覺得,永遠都是現(xiàn)在正在做的項目是最好的,因為每一次都是最新的,總會有更新更完美的理念出現(xiàn)。比如現(xiàn)在正在進行的政府高度關(guān)注的項目——北碚縉云山國際溫泉城核心區(qū)的規(guī)劃及建筑、景觀設(shè)計,“我們總可以找到新的概念與方法來讓每一次的設(shè)計做得更好?!?/p>
超高層
我們對重慶有很多的感覺,我們想做出更好的設(shè)計,為這座城市留下更多標(biāo)志性的建筑,我們希望創(chuàng)造出打動人心的建筑,能夠感動這座城市,而我們更希望這些建筑會刻上cin c的名字,成為重慶永遠的紀(jì)念。
就像M iko le自己所說,一座可以成為城市地標(biāo)的建筑與一棟讓人們住得舒適的建筑應(yīng)該是同時完成的,這也是一個建筑師職業(yè)生涯中最大的愿望。一個來自另一個國家,一個來自另一座城市,M iko le和蔡進卻都對重慶產(chǎn)生了特殊的感情?!拔覀儗χ貞c有很多的感覺,我們想做出更好的設(shè)計,為這座城市留下更多標(biāo)志性的建筑,我們希望創(chuàng)造出打動人心的建筑,能夠感動這座城市,而我們更希望這些建筑會刻上c inc的名字,成為重慶永遠的紀(jì)念?!?/p>
濱江商業(yè)
Jane Cai: “He is rea lly sp ec ia l to m e, I have m e t m any fo reign a rchitec ts who do no t und e rstand Ch inese cu ltu re and the situa tions o f China, and they just b rough t the ir own design concep tion he re. Bu t he is d iffe ren t, he likes to think and b ring the team new d irec tion and ways o f thinking. He likes obse rving the peop le and the environm en t, and exp lains care fu lly the design aim to our c lients!”
M iko le Cooper: “She is rea lly good w ith g rea t exp e rience, a lw ays pu rsues the p rog ress. She is ve ry consc ien tious and resp onsib le fo r eve ryth ing. From VBN to c inc, she wo rked so ha rd fo r the p ast six yea rs, I rea lly adm ire her!”
Crea ted in Ch ina
Th is is a sim p le eva lua tion tha t Jane and M iko le gave to each o the r. As a na tiona l A-c lass a rch itec t and senio r a rchitec t, Jane is from Beijing w ith m uch expe rience from the U.S. as she was trained there, she a lso has he r ow n und e rstand ing and d ream fo r a rch itec tu re. In 2004, Jane estab lished the b ranch o f an US Com pany VBN in the w est o f China. In 2009, Jane m et M iko le, an a rchitec t w ho com es from New Yo rk in an ac c iden ta l p ro jec t coop e ra tion, they hit it o ff righ t aw ay an d b e c am e p a rtne rs, a m ean ing fu l nam e w as c rea te d——c in c, C rea te d in Ch ina.(w ww.c in cdesign.com)
These two pa rtners are bo th very exc ited about the nam e. “Crea ted in China is a long-te rm d eve lopm en t o f ou r com pany, since the first day tha t c inc was estab lished, what we shou ld do is com b ine ou r loca l know ledge w ith an in te rna tiona l ou tlook, on the basis o f the Chinese m a rke t and deve lop o rig ina lity tha t is suited to loca l cond itions”. Jane said. “It doesn't m a tte r if you r com p any is loca l o r in te rna tiona l. It on ly m a tte rs tha t you have an unde rstand ing o f the p ro jec t and know your c lients requirem en ts”. Our designe rs a re an in te rna tiona l g roup, w ith a rchitec ts from the Un ited Sta tes, sup p o rted b y ou r lo c a l team o f designe rs. Ou r comm on goa l is to le t eve ryone sha re the ir ad vanced id eas and techno log ies, c rea te unique d esign p rod uc ts fo r ou r c lien ts.”
As a senio r a rchitec t, M iko le has been doing this fo r 10 years, a lthough he is Am e rican, he had been doing Ch inese p ro jec t d esigns fo r th ree yea rs wh ile he w as in the U.S. and now he has been wo rking in China fo r m o re than tw o yea rs. Ch ina is m o re like an o ld friend to h im. In his op inion, the re a re m any d iffe rences be tw een architec tura l design in the United States and China.“It's m a in ly ab ou t the d e s ig n s tand a rd s, the p rocedu res and ru les a re d iffe ren t; and a lso the sense o f histo ry. In US, a rchitec ts d o no t easily change the existing reg iona l build ing sty le and form, instead they try to m ain tain the orig ina l cha rac teristic, so a fte r m any yea rs, you w ill still fee l the sam e connec tion w ith a comm un ity. Bu t in Ch ina, peop le tend to pu ll d own the o ld build ing and com p le te ly change o rig ina l style in the new design, bu t it a lso dem o lished the histo ry and cu ltu re, and it takes a ve ry long tim e fo r a new bu ild ing to in teg ra te itse lf in to the c ity, so I p re fe r to design a style by the environm en ta l and reg iona l cu ltu re.”
A M oving Design is Done by Hea rt
M iko le has m uch fee lings and c rea tive p assions fo r Chongq ing. W hen m en tioned abou t the sty le o f Chongq ing's architec ture, he a lso said that the c ity is rea lly b ig, bu t the ind igenous a rch itec tu ra l sty les a re com p licated, Chongq ing requires m o re in ternationa l e lem en ts. Jane ag reed w ith h im. “Chong q ing gove rnm en t encou raged to deve lop East Sichuan and Chong q ing trad itiona l a rch itec tu re and d om es tic a rchitec tura l sty le. Chongq ing is a c ity w ith a rich cu ltu ra l trad ition and spec ia l topog raphy, the trad itiona l Eu ropean style is no t su itab le fo r th is c ity, Chongq ing need s an a rch itec tu ra l sty le tha t re flec ts its unique fea tu re.” Jane hop es to ac com p lish each d esign o f the c ity w ith in teg ra tion o f in te rna tiona liza tion and loca lization.
A lth ou g h from d iffe re n t c o u n trie s, g lo b a l bound a ries a re no longe r a p rob lem. In fac t, it is m o re o f a resource. The team o f c inc is a team w ithou t bounda ries, the re a re nine m em bers from d iffe ren t c ities and five fo re ign a rch itec ts. Each tim e they w ill con figu re d iffe ren t d es igne r team d o ing d iffe ren t p ro jec t to g ive c lien ts fresh and d iffe ren t fee ling s. M iko le a lso to ld us tha t m ost o f the tim e, his design insp iration is from the team. Som e tim es, the m em be rs w ill have a rgum en t because o f d iffe ren t cu ltu res and ways o f thinking, in o rd e r to reach an ag reem en t, they w ill a rgue fo r a few hou rs. Jane and M iko le are ve ry open and fair, ac cep ting every poin t o f view from m em be rs and in teg ra ting the ir concep ts and d esign ad van tages.
As a fo re ign a rchitec t, comm un ica tion is a lways im po rtant to M iko le, w he the r it's the team o r c lien ts. When asked wha t if his c lien t d idn't like the b luep rint tha t he rea lly likes, M iko le said he w ill choose to resp ec t the c lien t w ithou t hesita tion. “C lien ts' op inion m ay no t be the m ost p ro fessiona l, bu t they know wha t they wan t, they understand their m a rke t and user g roup. We w ill d iscuss eve ry de tail w ith ou r c lien ts and guide the p rocess to and ac cep tab le m eaning fu l resu lt; in fac t, m ost o f ou r design p rod uc ts a re ac cep ted in the ea rly stages by ou r c lien ts.” M iko le is convinced tha t the p roduc ts designed w ith heart w ill certain ly gain the c lien ts and the pub lic's recogn ition. An insp ira tiona l design is a lways ou t goa l, be it a sm a ll bu ild ing o r an en tire c ity p lan.
游客接待中心(投標(biāo)方案)
cinc, A p lace o f Eternal M em ory in Chongq ing
Although now c inc is a young team, led by Jane and M iko le, they have a lread y been invo lved in ove r 10 p ro jec ts since 2009. From Chongq ing to Cheng du, from reso rt p ro jec ts to u rban deve lopm en t p ro jec ts, from the gove rnm en t investm en t to the u rban comm e rc ia l housing design, c lein ts o f c inc inc lude the loca l gove rnm en t, p ub lic ly listed G roup s, and la rge rea l esta te d eve lopm en t com p an ies. Ta lking abou t h is favo rite p ro jec t, M iko le thinks the one tha t he is curren tly wo rking on is best, because each tim e is a fresh start and opportunity for new exp lora tion, and im ag ina tive concep ts. Such as their reso rt p ro jec ts tha t a re high ly adm ired by the gove rnm en t and p lann ing bu reau o f in te rna tiona l ho t sp ring a rea in Beibe i Jinyun m ountain. “We can a lways find new ideas and m ethod s to m ake each design be tte r.”
Like w ha t M iko le said, a bu ild ing tha t can be a landm a rk o f the c ity is a lso a build ing tha t peop le can live com fo rtab ly, which is a lso the g reatest hope for an architec t. One is from ano the r coun try, one is from ano the r c ity, and M iko le and Jane bo th have sp ec ia l fee lings fo r Chongq ing. “We love Chongq ing; we'd like to do be tte r d esigns fo r the c ity, leaving lo ts o f landm a rk architec ture here. We hope to Crea te m ore a rchitec tu re tha t can touch peop le's hearts and the c ity, w e a lso hope tha t these bu ild ing s w ill g ive c inc a p lace o f e te rna l m em o ry in Chongq ing.”
Creating Arch itectu re That W ill Touch Peop le's Hearts——In terview cinc Design Consu ltan t
W ritten b y Agg ie and Ga ry Hynson