(Question from East and West) Zhang Li: How do the Beijing Winter Olympics venues reflect the "harmony but difference" of Chinese culture?

  China News Service, Beijing, October 26th, title: How do the venues of the Beijing Winter Olympics reflect the "harmonious but different" of Chinese culture?

  ——Interview with Zhang Li, Dean of School of Architecture, Tsinghua University

  China News Agency reporter Chen Hang Duyan

  The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics (hereinafter referred to as the Beijing Winter Olympics) will open on February 4, 2022. Beijing will become the first "Double Olympics" to host both the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics. city".

As the golden business card and landmark of the three competition areas of Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Winter Olympics venues not only use the heritage of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to the greatest extent, but also use technological means to transform and upgrade the "Water Cube" and other venues, and newly built and integrated venues. The National Ski Jumping Center ("Snow Ruyi") and the Shougang Ski Jumping Platform ("Crystal Shoes") with traditional Chinese cultural elements.

  How does the newly-built Beijing Winter Olympics venue reflect the integration with Chinese traditional culture, and how to serve the sustainable and comprehensive utilization of the game during and after the game, and share it with the world?

Zhang Li, the dean of the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University and the chief design officer of the Zhangjiakou competition area of ​​the Beijing Winter Olympics, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency "Ask East and West" to talk about the "harmony but difference" of the Beijing Winter Olympics venues.

The summary of the interview record is as follows:

Athletes can overlook the Great Wall when they start from the big jumping platform

China News Service: Where did your inspiration for the design of the National Ski Jumping Center and Shougang Ski Jump come from?

What traditional cultural elements are incorporated?

How to deal with the harmonious coexistence of the Winter Olympic venues and the surrounding environment?

Zhang Li:

The design of winter sports competition venues needs to determine the specific track curve and other standards according to the site selection.

The National Ski Jumping Center is China's first sports venue with ski jumping as its main purpose. During the Beijing Winter Olympics, it will host ski jumping and Nordic biathlon competitions.

The track is an "S"-shaped curve, which was determined by international experts.

  According to this curve, we use the architectural method to determine the outline of the stadium: a larger space is set at the top of the big platform, which is very conducive to use after the game.

The ring-shaped public space at the top is added with an "S" curve. The planning and design of the stadium looks like the shape of the traditional Chinese auspicious object "Ruyi". Therefore, the National Ski Jumping Center is also called "Snow Ruyi" by the public, realizing architectural design and China. The organic combination of traditional culture.

Data map: National Ski Jumping Center "Snow Ruyi".

Photo by China News Agency reporter Tomita

  Zhangjiakou belongs to the windy area. In order to improve the athletes' competition performance and the comfort of the spectators, the originally determined direction of the platform was rotated 20 degrees counterclockwise, so that the platform was located in the valley, and combined with the flanking structures on both sides of the track, Reduce the use of expensive wind protection facilities.

Especially when athletes start from the top of the jumping platform, they can see the remains of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty through the valley. This visual scene will positively affect athletes’ memories of the Winter Olympic venues.

  The ski jumping platform was built on the original industrial site of Shougang. This is the world's first permanent snowboard jumping platform and the first competition venue in the history of the Winter Olympics that is directly integrated with the reuse of industrial heritage. .

  The design of the Shougang ski jumping platform incorporates the elements of "flying" streamers in the Dunhuang murals, and the overall color of the jumping platform adopts a gradient based on the color of the Winter Olympics emblem. The overall color is colder, and the jumping area is yellow and red. The gradual pace is accelerated, so that the warm color ends when it is close to the ground, achieving the effect of different streamers flying to the sky, and trying to present the image of a big jumping platform leaping into the air.

  In addition, it is also considered that the big platform does not appear to be abrupt under the overall gray industrial background of Shougang Park. The overall height of the platform should not exceed the cooling tower next to it, and the platform should not be deep into the water too far, so as to minimize the invasion of the lake. area.

In this way, the "Flying" streamer looks agile and elegant against the reflection of Qunming Lake, complementing the old industrial area of ​​Shougang Park.

  The Shougang Ski Jump will permanently record how the Olympics are integrated into the urban renewal.

Data map: Night view of "Crystal Shoes" at Shougang Ski Jump.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Tomita

Let the competition venues integrate into the daily life of the public

China News Agency reporter: How do you understand the concept of "sustainability" put forward in the "Olympic 2020 Agenda"?

How to implement this concept in the design and construction of the Beijing Winter Olympics venues?

Zhang Li: There is a

global consensus on the concept of sustainable development.

The United Nations has formulated a total of 17 sustainable development goals, covering social, economic and environmental aspects, involving natural environment-friendly, technological and humanistic sustainable development.

  How to integrate the competition venues into the daily life of the public and achieve sustainable development is exactly what we have been thinking about and discussing.

The answer is that these competition venues used by athletes during the game should be integrated into the daily lives of the people, so that they can be used more closely and used after the game, rather than just for viewing and taking pictures.

  I am currently researching "urban human factors engineering", starting from the human life experience and the characteristics of the human body, quantifying the interaction between urban public spaces and people from different scales, substituting its laws into the current design, and analyzing existing sports The lack of hardware and software facilities in the venues should be supplemented and improved in a targeted manner.

  Taking the National Ski Jumping Center as an example, we made a "redundant design" (that is, redundant design technology), and made steps that go through from top to bottom on both sides of the large and standard jumping platforms.

These are not necessary for the competition, but they are based on the consideration of comprehensive utilization after the game.

  After the game, the National Ski Jumping Center will achieve outdoor sports such as skiing in winter and hiking in summer, and has the ability to provide two and a half hours of slow walking experience.

People can reach the summit of the stadium when they climb up the stairs, and the larger space at the top can be used for activities or catering and other services, so that the people can get a complete and rich sports experience.

Data map: National Ski Jumping Center.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Tomita

Drive urban resources to radiate to mountainous areas

China News Agency reporter: The Winter Olympics was born in 1924. Although it was 28 years later than the Summer Olympics, it has gradually aroused people from more countries to have a strong interest in ice and snow projects.

In your opinion, why can the vigorous development of ice and snow sports drive urban resources to radiate to the mountains?

Zhang Li:

Both capital and knowledge flow with people.

To deeply participate in and enjoy the ice and snow sports, you must leave the city and go to the mountains. In this process, the talents, funds and other resources gathered in the big cities will be able to flow.

  The vigorous development of ice and snow sports is precisely the process by which saturated urban resources radiate to the surrounding mountainous areas. This is a common phenomenon in global history.

Bringing urban resources and opportunities to the mountains, the Winter Olympics is the driver to promote this reverse balance.

  Throughout the history of the Winter Olympics, the venue is often an internationally influential city and its nearby mountains.

  In order to attract and retain resources, during the preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics, China has accelerated the improvement of transportation infrastructure.

The Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-speed Railway and Jingli Expressway provide faster transportation services and shorten the travel time between the cities where the three Beijing Winter Olympic Games are located. It also means that more resources and industries have been driven.

  Of course, only by protecting the natural environment of this place can we maintain its attractiveness.

Data map: Shougang ski jumping platform.

Photo courtesy of Shougang News Center

Show the image of China shared with the world

China News Service: Please take the Beijing Winter Olympics venue design as an example to talk about the difference between Chinese and Western architectural design and evaluation systems?

In your opinion, what kind of Chinese image will the Beijing Winter Olympics present to the world?

Zhang Li:

I use a rough brush to sketch this answer: In the field of architectural design, Westerners sometimes pursue the extremes of a single element, and Chinese people are more inclined to admit that there is a possibility of reconciliation between different contradictory elements.

  Liang Sicheng, the founder of the Department of Architecture of Tsinghua University, Guan Zhaoye, my postgraduate tutor at Tsinghua University, He Jingtang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Joan Busquets, a Spanish design master, all have a lot of insights in these aspects.

  Liang Sicheng emphasized: “Modern scholars’ approach to scholarship emphasizes evidence first, and takes real objects as the back of the theory. As the saying goes, “Hearing is better than seeing,” it is suitable for scientific methods.” Guan Zhaoye taught me, “Architecture should not simply pursue novelty, but architecture should be decent. ".

He Jingtang guided us to be a responsible architect in major projects.

Later when studying abroad, Juan Busquets drove me to "read" his hometown, Barcelona.

I gradually understand how the built space and the city affect personal life across scales, and are recognized by later history.

  These gave me very important perspectives and ways of thinking.

In my opinion, as an architect, one should not follow the crowd on the one hand, and on the other hand, he must be humble.

The architecture we do is for everyone and to serve the lives of as many people as possible. The most important thing for architects is to reach others through creative work.

  Nowadays, more and more architectural design practice opportunities are taking place in China.

In terms of the design of the Beijing Winter Olympics venues, the venues in Beijing, Zhangjiakou, and Yanqing are all supported by Chinese architects. Facts have proved that the Shougang Ski Jumping Platform in the Beijing Competition Area and the National Ski Jumping Center in the Zhangjiakou Competition Area have been The Olympic venues and facilities all carry many traditional Chinese cultural elements, which in themselves are a manifestation of cultural self-confidence.

  As for the evaluation of the venue design for the Beijing Winter Olympics, I think it will be verified in the future social life.

Among them, it includes not only the evaluation of the stadiums given by the athletes, referees, and coaches participating in the game, but also the evaluation of domestic and international parties including tourists and other groups when using it after the game.

  Witnessing the process of the Winter Olympics venues from scratch, I think the Beijing Winter Olympics will show the world an image of China that is more open, respects nature, values ​​sustainable development, and is more willing to share with the world.

(over)

About the interviewee:

  Zhang Li is the dean and long-term professor of the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University, the deputy chief architect of the Architectural Design and Research Institute of Tsinghua University, and the editor-in-chief of "World Architecture".

Director of the International Association of Architects, Executive Director of the Architectural Society of China.

He used to be the deputy director of the Engineering Planning Department of the Beijing Winter Olympics Bidding Committee, the person in charge of the venues and sustainable development technology, and the presenter. Now he is the person in charge of the planning and design of the Beijing Winter Olympics Zhangjiakou competition area and the Shougang ski jump venue.