Mr. Jiang Yujie, Executive Director of Aedas, focuses on the background and functional requirements of each project, and is dedicated to creating unique, vivid, and content-rich architecture. He aspires to create value through design, achieving win-win outcomes for owners, users, the city, and the environment. In this interview, Mr. Jiang shares his understanding of cultural architecture and his thoughts on the Chinese market.

　　On the understanding of cultural architecture

Jiang Yujie: What is cultural architecture? Is architecture a manifestation of culture, a container of culture, or does it exist as part of culture? Is it too narrow to interpret whether something is cultural architecture by function? I tend to view the relationship between architecture, space, and culture in a broader way. I believe culture is the identity of a specific group of people at a specific time with respect to certain spiritual and life values, with its special temporal, spatial, and geographical background. Architecture presents the technology, needs, politics, class, aesthetics, and identity of the era, with special vernacular and geographical relationships. From this perspective, architecture itself is part of culture, and architectural phenomena are a corner of cultural phenomena. 

Although architectural phenomena exist as cultural phenomena, the idea that all architecture is cultural architecture is too wishful and cannot create a better urban environment and urban space. I believe that ideal cultural architecture presents a certain spirit of place; it can combine the essence and spirit of the project with the memory of users and the city. It provides an experience that connects the culture and background of your city. These buildings are not necessarily art museums or concert halls; they can also be residential, commercial, and office buildings that have emerged in large numbers in response to modern needs. Through these identifiable places, the urban fabric and background will appear more vivid, creating a cultural urban environment that can present diverse identities. 

On whom cultural architecture should belong to

Jiang Yujie: Culture does not have a question of belonging, only a question of identity, and it has connections and meaning for those who identify or do not identify with it. The same is true for cultural architecture. If a building or place can prompt people to reflect on its existence or environment or form an emotional connection with it, then the building holds meaning for that subject. Interestingly, this meaning and identity will change over time, and the role and definition of buildings and places in the city will also change with the temporal and spatial context. Through this change, we can see the evolution of values and political-economic backgrounds. The ownership of cultural architecture itself is a question of cultural identity and recognition, something that people of the same era and environment must think about and challenge together. Only by creating more identity can we create a more diverse and inclusive cultural society.

On the causes of cultural differences

Jiang Yujie: Architecture is closely related to culture, vernacular, living habits, social class, and aesthetic craftsmanship, and it is natural for different aesthetic tastes and spatial cultures to emerge. Interestingly, with the advent of globalization, international architects have brought international architectural styles and created a 'universal' spatial culture and aesthetic value, while also deliberately interpreting local culture, creating architectural phenomena that, although from the same cultural text, have vastly different aesthetics and expressions.

On how to view cultural architecture works around the world

Jiang Yujie: From the perspective of cultural architecture in a broad sense, cities around the world can always reveal many traces of history, and we can see the accumulation and dialogue, even conflict, of culture in the evolution of civilization. Compared to being an important 'individual', architecture is more understood and read as a 'collective' in the urban text. In China and some rapidly developing regions around the world, new cities and plans are taking shape under policy guidance and commercial demand. The declarative meaning carried by cultural architecture in a narrow sense sometimes exceeds its substantive function, and architecture often becomes a discussion of form and meaning, losing the possibility of deeper exploration of urban space and the future environment.

On my favorite cultural architecture

Jiang Yujie: I like architecture with a sense of place rather than just form, and I like abstract architecture that is not overly narrative—that is, housing does not have to look like 'housing', and commercial does not have to look like 'commercial'. I prefer architecture that includes public functions, can combine life and urban experience, and create dialogue, thereby creating the 'spirit of place' mentioned earlier and initiating discussion on urban culture and environmental identity. In all our projects, we strive to create places rather than forms. Among them, the Novotel Shanghai is a project I like very much. It is located in the Hongqiao Linkong Park, in a low-density, busy new office park with heavy traffic, at the starting point of the Beizhai Elevated Road. We used "Floating Courtyard" as the design concept, dividing the hotel's functions into two volumes, upper and lower, creating a semi-outdoor public open space on the second and third floors. While creating a calm, quiet room volume image that escapes the mundane world, we abstracted this public space into a highly recognizable visual symbol, making it part of the city's memory, creating a tranquil contrast in the busy airport area and enriching the urban fabric and experience.

On personal preferences and the actual creative process

Jiang Yujie: Cultural architecture does not necessarily have to reference cultural elements; cultural architecture in a broad sense includes all building types. I think function is important; good architecture must be integrated with function, not decorative architecture. Next is cultural vernacular; a deeper understanding of history and culture will always help us create more content-rich and vivid architecture. Finally, I think the most important thing is the creation of places and public spaces, which will help enrich the urban environment and internalize culture as part of life.

　　On how to view the massive rise of cultural architecture in China and its future trends

Jiang Yujie: Cultural architecture in a narrow sense is emerging in large numbers in China in response to policy and social needs. Without careful planning and supporting programs, it can easily become a symbolic existence without substantive function. We hold a cautious and encouraging attitude toward the emergence of cultural architecture in a narrow sense, hoping that rapid economic development can be followed by cultural soft power and diversification of the same quality. However, rather than encouraging massive narrow-sense cultural architecture, we look forward more to the large-scale urban planning, housing, shopping malls, and offices that are rapidly occurring all becoming cultural architecture, jointly creating a richer and more diverse living environment rather than a flatter and more uniform one. I believe that in the foreseeable future, real estate development will gradually be carefully controlled, and quality and spatial content will dominate development. Only by expanding the cultural and urban identity of architecture can we create a larger market and a better urban environment.