Theme Day China

Eva Lo

Despite its impressive history, China often remains shrouded in mystery for Westerners, especially when it comes to art, culture and architecture. In autumn 2024, we set off on a journey to this immense and enchanting country. We will visit projects by a new generation of Chinese designers who weave together age-old traditions and modernity. During this seminar, we will highlight the versatility of Chinese culture that underpins the unique identity of contemporary China and its architecture.

In the run-up to this trip, Archipel is organising a study day in October that zooms in on a lot of fascinating themes and provides insights into the stratification of Chinese culture. We invited several speakers who will take us on a voyage of discovery into contemporary China.

Mieke Matthyssen works in the Department of Oriental Languages at UGent and conducts anthropological research on Chinese health strategies and Chinese psychology, always from the perspective of Chinese philosophy, cosmology and medicine. She works in the research group East Asian culture in perspective: identity, historical consciousness, modernity.

Based in Beijing since 2010, Dutch architect Martijn de Geus combines his academic work as assistant professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Architecture and deputy director of the English Master’s Programme in Architecture with practical projects as co-founder of the international architecture practice maison h. He built his first building at the age of 19, after winning the competition ‘Who will come after Rem Koolhaas’.

Zhang Han is an architect, born in Beijing, and did her studies in Australia. As editor of ArchDaily China, she played an important role in making Chinese architecture visible in the international architectural discourse. She is founding partner of maison h, a creative design team, and teaches at Tsinghua University’s School of Architecture.

O-office Architects was founded in 2007 by HE Jianxiang and JIANG Ying in Guangzhou. O-office aims to return to the foundations of architecture and space to experiment with new design methods in the South China urban context. O-office approaches architecture through technology, art and media and juxtaposes it with the overwhelming background of “production” in contemporary China. In addition, O-office also uses design as a critical tool for investigating spatial and economic realities, maintaining a balance between practical and research-based sides.

AIM is an international collective founded by Belgian and Dutch architects Wendy Saunders and Vincent De Graaf in 2005. AIM brings architecture together with interior and product design to create fully integrated products and ideas. With headquarters in Shanghai and an office in AntwerpV, AIM is a global studio with a local feel.