City landmark: should not blindly pursue the Internet celebrity effect (urban renewal, what is art?)

　　Fang Xiaofeng

　　As a designer, when communicating with local governments or participating in urban construction projects, I often hear such a vision-hoping to turn new projects into new urban landmarks and at the same time become a place for Internet celebrities. It seems natural for the builder to have such a desire, but he has virtually drawn an equal sign between the net red punching place and the city landmark, as if he can become a net red and can also become a new landmark. The problem behind this phenomenon is worth exploring.

　　city ​​landmark:

　　Accumulation of life and time

　　Shaping new landmarks in the city is an honor, and the builders' ambitions deserve respect. Investigating the process of how landmarks are formed helps us better understand the connotation of landmarks.

　　A landmark is a very intuitive word, that is, a geographically iconic thing. Buildings can easily become landmarks, but not all landmarks are buildings. The scope and scope of various types of landmarks are different. Some landmarks only work in a small area, and many old place names reflect this situation. Some landmarks can often radiate a larger area, such as Beijing’s Qianmen and Jingshan Park. Such landmarks may have a strong visual signature, influence, or have a close relationship with people's daily lives and transportation. There is also a type of landmark that can reflect the image and temperament of the city, such as the Forbidden City complex in Beijing, the Bund complex in Shanghai, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and so on. These landmarks are not only visually distinctive, but also representative of the achievements of a certain historical stage of the city in which they are located, and more importantly, they can reflect or reflect the cultural character of the city where they are located, and constantly strengthen the cultural image of these cities during the communication process.

　　How to recognize and improve the visual form of the city's image? Some research perspectives deserve attention. For example, innovative survey methods allow respondents to draw a map of their city based on memory, so as to know which geographic and spatial information has a greater impact on people. Through similar research, we can find some blind spots when people perceive urban space, as well as deviations in past understanding-many large-scale buildings are "invisible" in the memory of citizens, that is, people may not see; while some small volumes Architecture, because it is closely related to people's daily lives, has become a landmark in many people's memories. It may be a small candy store on the corner of a street, or a newspaper kiosk on the side of a square.

　　Such a research perspective makes people realize that the so-called landmarks are not determined solely by visual effects. The formation of landmarks is closely related to daily life and requires time to accumulate. More importantly, behind it deeply reflects the value identity of the citizens of the city, which is the deep reason why it can represent local culture.

　　Net red building:

　　New social landscape

　　On the other hand, it is not difficult to find that the popularity of net red buildings is often based on a photo or a video. The reason for its popularity can be very simple, or it reflects the beauty of a certain moment, a certain angle, or shows a special style, or forms a strange effect, which may trigger people's love and curiosity. Or marvel.

　　According to the process and reasons of the landmark formation, the net red building photos reflect instantaneous, one-sided and partial information, and its authenticity is questionable. The formation of the net red building does not necessarily come from people's real experience, it does not require time to accumulate, and it can even be irrelevant to the local citizens. The traffic that promotes it to become a net red may come from different regions. In this way, you can understand why you cannot simply equate net red buildings with city landmarks. Net red building does have its value and meaning, but because its formation process and reasons are too simple, the photo may become a "spoof", and punching may become a cheap display. At the same time, another characteristic of Internet celebrities is often fleeting. After becoming popular online, they may soon be forgotten. In the field of construction with huge construction costs, these problems are worthy of alert.

　　Since entering the modern era, human society has experienced large-scale high-speed urbanization, and it has also exposed many problems. The international construction field has discussed these issues. Some people believe that the massive emergence of modern architecture has destroyed the integrity of the city, and large-scale construction has also caused the problem of "one side of the city". The urban cultural tradition has not been fully respected, the city's personality has been weakened, and the city's recognition has declined. Because of this, urban landmarks have become an era and universal issue. Today, with the rapid development of information technology, it appears as a blind pursuit of the Internet celebrity effect. Urban construction is a highly complex and contradictory issue, and its solution cannot be simplified. Many cities have held activities to appraise new landmarks in cities, but they are often lost in the end. That is why.

　　Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Urban and Architectural Styles", which requires the governance of architectural chaos such as "greediness, glamour, and blame", and the implementation of the "applicable, economic, green and beautiful" new era Architectural policy, explore the establishment of the city’s chief architect system, and further indicate the direction of urban architectural design. For the construction of super high-rise landmark buildings, the "Notice" lists clear specifications to curb the wind of blind planning and construction of "skyscrapers" in various places. It should be recognized that landmarks are not only visually iconic, but also a symbol of urban spirit. Successful landmark buildings should reflect the emotional identity and collective will of the general public. It is gratifying that in the construction in recent years, many cities have built new landmarks belonging to this era: Beijing's "Bird's Nest" and "Water Cube" have extended the city's central axis, and Daxing International Airport has become the world's largest The single terminal building, the Shanghai Lujiazui Financial Center and the Bund buildings are set across the river. The Guangzhou “Xiaoman waist” adds the graceful style of the Pearl River. The Shenzhen Civic Center embodies the city’s development with the image of “Dapeng spread its wings” Innovative spirit……

　　As a new thing, net red building deserves attention and research from all walks of life. From net red buildings to city landmarks, it's not just the accumulation of time. In this era of rapid development, information is constantly emerging and iterating, and the network world is complicated. In the face of urban construction problems, planners, builders, and designers all need to dive in, stick to the most fundamental value standards and cultural positions, and add The beauty of architecture contributes wisdom.

　　(The author is the deputy dean of the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University)