We work for MAD: intern collection 32

MAD no doubt is one of the most recognized architectural practices in China and worldwide. Every year,
MAD receives countless job and internship applications. To be able to work at MAD will definitely enrich
your career as even though the people working here might have been lucky, but are undeniably
outstanding. What could possibly be on the minds of the MAD interns?

MAD无疑是中国最受瞩目的建筑师事务所，同时在世界范围内也受到极高的关注。
MAD每年都收到来自全世界不计其数的工作申请和实习申请。
能够进入MAD学习和工作一段时间，职业生涯无疑会变得精彩丰富，
在这里的人们，也许是幸运的，但肯定是优秀的。
在MAD工作的实习生们，他们脑子里天马星空的想法是什么样的?

Name:  Xin Chenguang
Educational Institution:  CAFA
Year:  Graduated July 2011
Nationality:  China
Email:  xinchenguang@hotmail.com

Who is your favourite architect? Why?
Alvar Aalto and Rem Koolhaas. I think the artworks of Alvar Aalto express the spirituality of life, and some of them reflect a kind of texture beyond the space. And I like the attitude of  Rem Koolhaas which he sees the world with. I like watching movies and reading novels, both are the sources that inspire me. recently, I am watching Beat Takeshi’s movies and re-reading Higashino Keigo’s novels. Beat Takeshi’s movies is funny and direct. They seem to be satirical but truly broadminded. While the works of Higashino Keigo are quite creative in structure and it seems that I can feel the taste of air from his simple and unadorned words.

What is the major characteristic of your current school’s education?
The major characteristic is not only fantastic but also awesome. There are basically no a chief style and so-called guiding principles in the school.  But you can feel a kind of diversified and free state here, which is good for the students to learn about themselves and to discover themselves better. Some school’s scale is quite large, but space is very tiny, while other’s scale is quite small, but space is large.CAFA is not a big school, but very open-minded and has high tolerance. CAFA survived from the waves of utilization and instrumentalization of university education in china. There is nothing you can’t discuss here and everything is acceptable.

What have you gained during the MAD internship?
MAD is a place with a great passion, and probably it is the most artistic and interesting office in China. Some daysago, I took part in movie producing as well. It is good to understand myself better here. Besides, I getted a lot of  friend, and had a plenty of barbeque here.

What are your thoughts and feelings upon Chinese Architecture and the environment? Any suggestion?
During the past 30 years, urban and ecosystem of inhabitancy in china underwent subversive destroy and heroic rebuilding. During this process, farces happened every day. You can have Cappuccino in a little village in Guangxi Province and even Yellow Crane Tower in Wuchang was equipped with an elevator.

We are growing up in an age without history, so we are all very dysphoric and neurotic. Sometimes we are afraid of being different with others, sometimes we are afraid of being same as others. Many people have been merely seeking outwardly. But it turns out that the more you seek the more you lose. The more you want to be fashionable the more you are getting rustic. Either getting more insular or turning to simple compromise. I think the important thing is to become more confident and more steadfast, backing to the history and looking for ourselves deeply inside and backing to humanity.

What is your dream?
Travel around the whole world, and I want to try parachute jumping.

What would you do if you were not an architect?
Nothing is impossible. I like to try something fancy, director, maybe.

What is your dream project?
In history, it happens a lot that a man’s sweet dream turned out to be many people’s nightmare. In essence, architect operates substance. So maybe an architect can operate a teapot on a table very well, the idea of an architect can implement a hundred percent. As the scale is getting bigger, However, more and more elements are involved. Some mechanism will intervene and have more effects. The form is being dissolved constantly,  so is the role of an architect. At last, only a little design or no design left. This is the rule of nature because the intensity of an event will change with the changing scale. And architecture is not a unique way to solve problems. Not the best one either. However, architecture always has a close connection with human emotion. My concern is whether the mechanism can be translated into substance cleverly with emotions. I hope my sweet dream is others’sweet dream as well.

What is your favourite project in your portfolio? Why?
If compare architecture to girls, architecture might be classified to 3 types of girls: normal girls, Japanese high school girls, punk girls. Normal girls, at first glance,  you feel common. When you look again, you still feel common. Japanese high school girls: at first glance, you feel common, but when you look again, you will feel special. Punk girls: at first glance, you feel special, but when you look again, you just feel common.

I like the architecture that looks not so special but a little bit special truly. Deep meaning is important to me. The several works here almost all have some relations with the concept of  “time”. “everything is afraid time”, time has no sound or form, but it is the most powerful and deepest power. I hope I can bring the dimension of time into architecture. These works were discussed and attempt of different levels and views about time. I like <heterogeneous skyscraper > most, because it is the biggest.

 

姓名：辛晨光
学校：中央美术学院建筑学院 ，建筑学学士
年级：2011年7月毕业
国籍：中国
电子邮箱： xinchenguang@hotmail.com

最喜欢的建筑师是谁？为什么？
Alvar Aalto和Rem Koolhaas。我觉得Alvar Aalto的东西体现了生命的灵性，有一种超越空间的质感。我喜欢Rem Koolhaas看世界的态度。我喜欢看电影和小说，这些都是我想法的来源。最近在看北野武的电影并重读东野圭吾的小说。北野武的电影有趣，不磨叽，戏谑的表象下是宽广的心胸。而东野圭吾的小说结构很有创意，从他平实的文字中我似乎能感到空气的味道。

你所在学校的教育特点？
特点就是不仅奇妙，而且非常诡异。学院没有什么主导风格和所谓的纲领，而一直处在比较多元，比较自由的状态，这种状态有助于学生更好的了解和发现自己。有的学校规模很大，“空间”很小，有的学校规模很小，“空间”很大。美院虽说不大，但很开放，容忍度很高，在中国一波又一波的大学教育功利化和工具化的的大潮中幸存下来，在这里没有什么是不能谈论的，也没有什么是不能接受的。

你在MAD实习最大的收获是什么？
MAD是个有激情的地方,这儿大概是中国最有艺术气息,最好玩的事务所。前几天我还参加了电影摄制。在这种环境下有助于更好的了解自己.另外在这儿认识很多朋友，还吃了很多烤串儿。

你对中国建筑以及环境有怎样的感触？建议是什么？
在过去的三十年，中国城市和居住生态受到了颠覆式的摧毁和英雄式的重建。在这个过程中，闹剧天天发生，在广西梯田里的小村子里能喝到卡布奇诺，武昌黄鹤楼里装了电梯。我们在一个没有历史的年代成长，所以我们都很焦虑很神经质，有时候怕和别人不一样，有时候又怕和别人一样，很多人在简单的向外部寻找，却越寻找越迷失，越想时髦却越土，或者变得更加与现实隔绝，或者变为简单的妥协。我认为重要的是要更自信、更淡定，向远方回溯历史，向内心深处寻找自己，回归人性。

你的梦想是什么？
周游世界.我还想尝试高空跳伞。

你如果不当建筑师会选择什么职业？
没有什么是不可能的。我喜欢尝试新奇的东西,也许导演。

你梦想中的项目是什么样的？
历史上经常发生这种事情：一个人的美梦变成很多人的噩梦。建筑师本质上操作的是物质。所以也许建筑师最能操控的是桌上的一件器物，想法几乎可以百分之百的贯彻.随着尺度逐步的扩大，牵扯的因素越来越多，“机制”会介入并且影响会越来越大，形式不断的被“机制”消解，建筑师的身份也会被消解，最后变得只剩很少的设计或没有设计了。这是自然规律，因为事情的目的会随尺度改变而改变，建筑不是解决问题的唯一方法并且往往不是最好的方法,但是建筑永远与人的情感有紧密的连接。我关心的是虚体“机制”到实体建筑的过程中能否被聪明的翻译，并且依然保持一丝丝情感。我希望我的美梦也是别人的美梦。

在自己的作品集中，你最喜欢的作品是什么？为什么？
如果把建筑比做女孩的话，建筑可以分三类：普通女孩，日本高中女孩，朋克女孩。普通女孩：一看普通，二看普通。日本高中女孩：一看普通，二看特别。朋克女孩：一看特别，二看普通。我挺喜欢那种看上去不是特别怪,但是很有意思的建筑.深层的意义对我来说挺重要。这里放的几个设计都或多或少与“时间”的概念相关。“万物害怕时间”，时间无声无形，却是最强的，最深层的力量。我希望将时间这个维度引入建筑。几个设计是关于时间的不同层面或角度的探讨和尝试。最喜欢<异质摩天楼>,因为它最大。

 

1. Plan No Plan 计划非计划

During the welding process, Metal is melting and growing, life is born from welding. In this process, form is not planned, or in the other word, the plan is not a plan.

金属在焊接中融化,生长,生命在焊接中孕育. 在这个过程中,形式不被计划,或者说,计划非计划.

 

2. Materializing Time 物质化时间

The Devastating earthquake at 5.12 in China shock our hearts, in memory of this tragic incident, we are going to build a monument. Extraordinary incident needs different ways to be narrated. The complexity and the occasionality of the earthquake made incident happened explosively in a certain time. Plotting exhibition hence became an important issue in this project.

Disorder with careful organization
In the incident triggered by the earthquake, the relationship of the incident was blurry, complicated and influenced each other .it was difficult to organize the exhibition by traditional ways, so I want to design a way of seeing of non-linear,(or out-of-order seemingly),a  status of disordered with a careful organization.

I hope to create a space that closely aligned with the time. Space and time lead to tremendous possibility together .when I had tried a lot of ways of idea of “surface” and “line”, I felt the possibility of out-of-order is still limited although the form looks already complicated.

Finally, I simplified a way of using “point” to arrived infinitely. In this process, time was gradually materialized .people could commemorate the earthquake by themselves in “accident” especially.

5.12汶川大地震震撼我们的心灵,我们要建纪念馆纪念这一事件。不寻常的事件需要不同的叙述方式,地震这一事件的复杂性及偶发性使得在一定时间内事件爆炸性的发生,策划展览成为设计中的重要问题.

有组织的无序
在地震这一事件中,事件间的关系模糊复杂,互相牵引,很难以传统的展厅路线组织看展,我希望设计一种非线性的(或者说是看似无序的)观展方式,一种”有组织的无序”.我希望设计一种和时间高度契合的空间,空间和时间共同作用出无限可能性.当我尝试了面与线的诸多方式后,总觉得仅管复杂,但是带来的可能性仍是有限的.最终我选择了点的方式,以最简单的方式到达了无限.在这个过程中,时间渐渐地被物质化,人依靠自己的行走路线以特有的方式纪念了大地震.通过规划和设计时间,空间得以形成,时间成为造型手段.

 

3. Heterogeneous Skyscraper 异质摩天楼

In my opinion, blind faith of science simply and utopian construction cannot lead to real civilization and happiness, but let us move far away from our the Garden of Eden in heart. However, most of us would not back to village or mountains to be a hermit, nor  being slaves of
money in this concrete forest –like city. so do we have clever solutions to make us obtain efficiency and poetry, and experience pleasant sensation and happiness at the same time. Is it possible to have a heteroplasmon to make two or more opposite properties exist together?

“Be moving with a gradual wind and rolling of leaf when wind pass away” – Andrey tarkovsky

I imagine there is a series of space which like floating leaf, these space are soft, romantic, slow and ambiguous in function use. Another series of space which looks more regular, these space are hard, efficient, fast and clearly in function use. Two kinds of space intertwined together, made the architecture not only looks like “this”, but also looks like” that”. People switch between the two Casualy. The design of the regular space was inspired by the experience in Positano(a mountain town in Italy), the architecture has 16 basic unit and is rotated, elevated, repeated in a simple way, leading to a complicated form finally. During the process of rotating up, the regular space forms continuous public space, becoming a vertical street. Vertical street and floating soft space construct positive “waste”, this positive “waste” can become new efficiency. There may have a lot of plant on the Floating space, it makes architecture change from season to season.

在我看来,简单的迷信科技或者追逐乌托邦式的建造并不能真的走向文明和幸福,而会使我们离心中的伊甸园越来越远. 然而,我们不会回到乡村或山里成为逃避现实的隐士,也不希望在城市这钢筋混凝土的”森林”中成为金钱的奴隶.那么, 有没有两全其美的解决方案, 使得我们可以同时获得效率与情怀, 同时体验快感与幸福?有没有这样的异质体同时使得两种或多种对立的性质共存?

“为一阵风的又无渐有而感动,为春风拂过树叶的翻动而感动” – 安德烈.塔可夫斯基

我想象有一系列像飘落的树叶一样的空间,这些空间是柔软的,浪费的,慢的,功能模糊的. 另外有一系列是规整的方体空间,这些空间是硬的,效率的,快的,使用明确的. 两种空间交互杂糅在一起,使得整座大楼既”这样”,又”那样”,人在不经意间来回在二者间转换. 方体空间被设计为16种基本单元层,以一种简单的方式旋转,上升,重复, 最终带来看似复杂的形态. 在向上旋转过程中,方体空间形成连续的公共空间,成为垂直的街道. 垂直街道和飞片状的空间形成了积极的”浪费”,这些”浪费”可以成为新效率. “飞片”空间上可以种植植物,使得大楼一年四季都有不同的面貌.

 

4. Starlight 星灯

At one night without star, a poem by HAI ZI  flashed through my memory. Then I made a light,  to light the sky.

在一个没有星星的夜晚,我想到了”海子”的诗. 于是我做了一盏灯,点亮夜空.

“黑雨滴一样的鸟群
从黄昏飞入黑夜
黑夜一无所有
为何给我安慰
走在路上
放声歌唱
大风刮过山岗
上面是无边的天空”
– 引自<黑夜的献诗> 海子

 

5. Passing Through – FUSUIJING building(installation video)
穿越 – 福绥境大楼(装置 影像)

The work started from the art research project collaborated with Goethe Institute and Beijing Parkour, and finally was exhibited in STUDIO X in FANGJIA  HUTONG. FUSUIJING building is one of the few socialistic residential architecture which exist in Beijing. Now it seems more and more antipathetic with our times. By using methods of microtomy and filming, the complicated feeling was recorded.

这个装置始于与歌德学院和北京跑酷合作的艺术研究项目,展品最终展览于方家胡同STUDIO X. 福绥境大楼是北京仅存不多的极具社会主义性质的居住建筑,在今天越发显得与时代格格不入.装置用切片和影像的综合方式将复杂的感受记录.

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Name:  Xin Chenguang
Educational Institution:  CAFA
Year:  Graduated July 2011
Nationality:  China
Email:  xinchenguang@hotmail.com