Chris Hardie: An Architect Bridging East and West

Chris Hardie ―

An Architect Bridging East and West 一名“建筑师乐团”的指挥家

― An Architect Bridging East and West 一名“建筑师乐团”的指挥家

Ten years ago, ― Chris Hardie was invited to visit China to work in Tongzhou, a suburb of Beijing. At a time when foreign architects were traveling to the country pursuing the bold projects that have come to define so many Chinese city skylines, Hardie observed others like him, wading through train terminals with young translators, shaking hands. He had planned to stay for one month, but now, after one decade practicing in the East and one in the West, the Scottish-born architect is at a crossroads in his career, and he’s wondering, what’s next? 时光追溯到十年前，Chris Hardie第一次应邀来到中国，参与一 个位于北京通州的项目。当时外国建筑师们纷至沓来，他们来到 正在蓬勃发展中的中国，寻求大胆而极具有挑战的项目机会。如 今，这些项目勾勒出了中国众多城市的天际线。 在火车站，Chris发现有很多和他一样来中国追求创作机会的外 国建筑师都带着年轻的翻译，相互挥手交谈。Chris原计划只在 中国待一个月，而如今，在他二十多年的职业生涯中，竟有一半 时间是在中国度过的。现在，这位苏格兰建筑师正站在自己职业 生涯的十字路口，他也很好奇，自己接下来会做怎样的选择？

― An Architect Bridging East and West 一名“建筑师乐团”的指挥家

“I’ve always been drawn to a more authentic simplicity in design,” Hardie says. He began his undergraduate architecture education at the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture in Aberdeen, Scotland, which he describes as a “very technical school.”

“I remember going to my advisor in my second year, looking at him and saying, ‘I don’t know if this is for me.’ But then I went to Chicago, to the Illinois Institute of Technology, and my perspective on the practice of architecture completely changed.”

“我总是会被真诚、纯粹的设计所吸 引。”Chris说道。苏格兰阿伯丁罗伯特 戈登大学的斯科特•萨瑟兰建筑学院成 为Chris走上建筑探索之路的开端，他称 这是一所“非常技术型的学校”。 “仍然记得大二时我曾向导师提过 这样的疑问：‘不知道我是不是适 合学建筑。’但当我来到芝加哥， 来到伊利诺伊理工学院（IIT）后， 我的想法被彻底改变了。” 这段在伊利诺伊理工学院的求学经历， 对Chris产生了很大影响——他决定离开 欧洲，离开他从小生活的苏格兰。在芝 加哥，Chris第一次看到了摩天大楼，这 也是他第一次将“建筑学”视为一门设 计学科，而非工程学科。“那次经历为 我开启了职业生涯的大门，同时也印证 了我在苏格兰学到了许多核心的工程原 理，”他回忆道。师从Ila Berman以及英 国高技派建筑评论家Chris Wilkinson和 Jim Eyre，Chris找到了他建筑生涯的发 展方向，并且在回到英国后，继续探索 他基于工科思维和基础的设计实践。

Hardie’s years at IIT were pivotal: His decision to transfer marked his first time leaving Europe after growing up in rural Scotland, his first time seeing a skyscraper, and his first time seeing architecture as design, rather than engineering.

“This exposure opened up the profession for me, but also reaffirmed a lot of the core principles I’d brought from Scotland,” he reflects. Studying under Ila Berman and alongside guest critics Chris Wilkinson and Jim Eyre, followers of the British High-Tech movement, Hardie found his stride, and returned to the U.K. to pursue his geometric, material-based design ideals.

Shanghai Library East Shanghai, China

China’s Largest New Library

Client: Shanghai Library Size: 1,237,849 square feet

As one of the most populous citi

Completion Date: 2020 Sustainability: Targeting China 3 Star

proof innovative library for its gr

Hammer Lassen, as part of an in

square meter library will be loca

the city known for its iconic skylin

Park—the largest park in the city

Tasked with protecting the preci

conceived as a singular monolith

within the park. The main library house a 1200 seat performance

a dedicated children’s library, th

landscape courtyards and garde

↑ Shanghai Library East, Under Construction. 2020 上海图书馆东馆，在建，2020

→ On site at Shanghai Library East 摄于上海图书馆东馆施工现场

― An Architect Bridging East and West 一名“建筑师乐团”的指挥家

Diving into the European design world, Hardie took opportunities at firms that he felt shared his affinity for authenticity of form. Now, he’s been overseeing design at the combined Perkins&Will/ SHL Shanghai studio since 2008. Hardie has crossed many borders—political and ideological as much as geographic—but asserts that his design philosophy has stayed fairly constant.

回到欧洲设计界后，Chris选择了那些 和他一样追求真实纯粹建筑形式的设 计公司。自2010年以来，Chris开始负责 Perkins&Will/SHL上海工作室的设计工 作。Chris经历了很多跨界——不只是 地理上，还有思想上的——但他的设计 理念延续着他一贯的风格。 “我喜欢简单的东西。特别是作为一 名建筑师与别人沟通时，这点尤为重

“I like simple things, and that goes a long way when you think of architects as communicators,” he says. “In China, I am communicating complex and quite permanent design ideas to people whose language I don’t speak. Everything has to be drawn, delivered, and designed with an incredible amount of intention. And I’ve become very attuned to that.”

Hardie favors the use of architectural diagrams— visuals that, in simple terms, pictorially describe big, abstract ideas, particularly at the beginning of a design process. While these images are often accompanied by captions, or bits of dialogue delivered by Hardie himself, the verbal aspects of his English communications are methodically considered, each word and phrase chosen for its ease of translation and directness. “A successful piece of architecture is only possible if your idea is communicated well.

I’m very self-critical about legibility.” This selfdiscipline has taken Hardie and his Shanghai studio to new heights.

要，”Chris说道， “我不会中文，但我需 要与中国人交流复杂而且相对稳定的设 计理念。所有的设计都要深思熟虑，然 后画出来并且清楚传达。我现在已经很 适应这样的表达形式了。” Chris喜欢运用手绘草图来表达——特别是 在设计刚开始的时候，简单的草图可以将 庞大而抽象的概念可视化。这些图片通常 都附有说明，或是Chris自己写下的简短描 述——这些字句也经过了Chris系统的思考 和推敲，一词一句都要明晰易懂。

↑ Halifax Central Library, designed in collaboration with the tight-knit community 哈利法克斯中央图书 馆，设计中与社区紧密合作

← Completed Halifax Central Library 哈利法克斯中央图书馆

― An Architect Bridging East and West 一名“建筑师乐团”的指挥家

“A successful piece of architecture is only possible if your idea is communicated well. I’m very self-critical about legibility.” ― This self-discipline has taken Hardie and his Shanghai studio to new heights.

“只有当建筑师的想法能够被准确传达时，一座成功的建筑才有机会实现。我对 设计的可读性要求非常高。” 这样严格的自我要求将Chris和他的上海工作室带到了一个新的高度。

New Library in Mianyang, Sichuan Province, Southwest China 绵阳文化中心新图书馆，四川，中国西南地区

Usually, the designer’s favorite projects begin as competitions, where the design process is more free-flowing and driven creatively by the studio. Many Chinese cultural projects start this way, as they are run and overseen by the government rather than private clients. One of the designer’s current projects is the Shanghai Library East, unfolding in the city’s largest park and on track to be one of the largest libraries in the world. Hardie observes that his studio is at their best when the team is relaxed, inspired and collaborative in their approach to new competitions, and this library was no different.

“This is a significant project not just due to its size, or its site, but also because it’s a center of knowledge. Here, we let the symbolism guide our thinking.” The team took into consideration a myriad of factors, but most importantly the cultural heritage of Shanghai, evoking the library in the park as a scholar’s garden, with its center being the Gongshi, or Scholar’s Rock.

“While my vision for the design was very pure in its geometry, I was able to place it within the cultural context of the site and the country, which is an exciting thing that design allows you to do.”

很多建筑师都非常喜欢参与竞赛，因为竞 赛项目能给设计更高的自由度和创作空 间。中国的许多文化项目是由政府运营和 监管，而非私人开发，因此这类项目会需 要通过公开招标征集方案。目前，Chris 正在负责上海图书馆东馆的设计工作。上 海图书馆东馆，紧邻上海最大的城市公 园——世纪公园，是“十三五”时期上海 文化设施建设的重点项目，建成后有望成 为全球规模最大的图书馆之一。 Chris发 现团队在轻松愉悦、充满灵感、互相协作 的工作状态下，往往能够呈现出不错的作 品——上海图书馆东馆的设计过程也不例 外。 “上海图书馆东馆无疑是一个具有 重大意义的项目。不仅仅因为它庞大的建 筑体量和绝佳的地理位置，更因为它是城 市中的一个文化焦点。‘文化象征性’ 始终引领着我们的设计。”在设计过程 中，Chris的团队综合考虑了诸多因素，但 其中最重要的还是“上海“这座城市的文 化遗产。公园里的图书馆就像是一座属于 学者的园林，建筑的核心空间则如同中国 传统园林用以点睛的“太湖石”。“虽然 设计呈现出的建筑是一个非常纯粹的几何 形态，但如果能把它融入在场地甚至中国 的文脉，相信这样的设计一定是足以令人 期待的。”

― An Architect Bridging East and West 一名“建筑师乐团”的指挥家

As design director, Hardie sees the bigger picture: juggling all the projects the Shanghai studio is working on at any given moment. “It’s almost more like I’m a conductor of an orchestra than a designer,” he says. Especially when big projects, like his Shanghai Library East, take 5 or more years to complete . While in some professions you can see the results of your labor in minutes or days, Hardie’s work pays off in the long run.

“At the end of a project, on opening day, I remind myself that we’re the creators of such lasting icons to our moment or to specific places. I find that many of our Chinese clients are interested in symbolism: aligning their new 21st century building with the long history of the country. Here, they’re not interested in fads or novelty materials. They see their architecture as investments in a culture that has continually remained alive.”

作为设计总监，Chris需要站在更高的层面 统揽全局，他需要把控上海工作室所有推 进项目的设计品质。 “我更像是一支乐队的 指挥家，而不仅仅是一个设计师，”他说道。 尤其像上海图书馆东馆这样的大型项目， 需要五年或更长时间才能完成。日常中，很 多人的工作也许几分钟或几天就可以见到 成绩，而Chris则需要经过长时间的推敲、 磨合、等待后，才能收获最终的成果。 “一 个项目结束的标志，就是它落成开幕的那 天。我提醒自己，我们是这个地标建筑的创 造者，它们可能会在这个时代长久的存在于 这里。我发现很多中国业主热衷于象征主 义：他们希望建筑能与中国的悠久历史相结 合。对当下流行的或新颖的材料并不十分感 兴趣。建筑对他们而言更像是一种对文化 的投资，是一种具有持续生命力的事物。”

↑→ Proposal for a new Cultural Hub, known as the West Palace, in central Shanghai 上海市中心的一座全新文化枢纽

Hardie’s style, stemming from his education in Scotland and Chicago, has retained its purity. Even as he continues to refine his use of bold, geometric forms and authentic materials, he’s not afraid to assert what he likes, or what speaks to him as a designer.

“In our studio, we often brainstorm ideas by first looking at art. Paintings and sculptures, and artists in general, are so free in their thinking and expression. In architecture, we as designers often feel like we have to disguise our good ideas behind a fabricated value system—whether that’s a specific story, a system or pattern, or someone else’s idea of what’s legitimate.

Looking at art inspires me to refresh that auteur mentality that we can often lose when pressured to align our idea with some other external expertise.”

Chris的风格特点源于他在苏格兰和美 国芝加哥接受的专业教育，他的设计始 终保持着纯粹。他在不断尝试突破自己 在建筑几何形态和材质上的应用，作为 设计师，他并不害怕展现自己喜欢的东 西，或是表现打动他的设计。 “在我们的工作室，设计开始前我们经常 会通过欣赏艺术作品来汲取灵感。不论是 绘画还是雕塑，艺术家们的想法和表达都 是那么的自由。在设计的过程中，建筑师 的一些好的想法会被虚构的价值体系所束 缚——不论是故事线、系统、肌理，或是其 他人认为合理的想法都不能避免。欣赏艺 术能让我们重新振作，找回因外部声音而 被迫改变自己想法时失去的信心。”

― An Architect Bridging East and West 一名“建筑师乐团”的指挥家

Hardie and his team often refer to works by artists like Donald Judd, whose minimal yet evocative forms are highly architectural, and shape the space of their galleries in ways that make them seem almost like architectural interventions. And while Judd returned to similar iconographies over and over again— the cube, or his stacks—each time they were somehow fresh, somehow reinvented.

Chris和他的团队很喜欢Donald Judd等 极简主义艺术家的作品。他们的作品极 具建筑感，展览空间摇身一变，成为与 建筑师产生共鸣的建筑小品。Judd擅 长运用相似的立方体块，以及标志性的 堆叠手法，但是每次都让人耳目一新， 每次都是一种新的再创造。 Chris这样看待他的建筑作品：” 当我们 讨论新项目时，经常会提到我们过去的 项目，因为这是每个人都能达成共识的起

That’s how Hardie views his architectural output. “We speak about new projects in terms of our old projects quite a bit, as it’s a starting point that guarantees everyone is on the same page,” he says. Hardie and his team love the flexibility of rectilinear spaces, and expressing their pure geometries on the façade. “But sometimes I can get frustrated when someone says, ‘wait, we’ve done something like this before.’ Obviously we don’t want to repeat ourselves, but really, the danger is repeating something without improving it.” This constant refinement and selfassessment is what marks Hardie as a designer, as well as a leader. “My team works well when we’re self-referential, but with the knowledge that we’re always working with progress in mind, to truly see the full potential of an original idea, or get as close as we can.”

点。”Chris说道。他和他的团队不仅喜欢 灵活的线性空间，也喜欢在立面上表达纯 粹的几何形态。 “但当有人说‘等一下，我们 之前做过类似的设计’，那时我会觉得很 沮丧。我们不想复刻自己之前的设计，因为 真正可怕的是照搬、不加改进。”这种不断 自省和进取的态度标志着Chris成为了一名 真正的设计师和团队领导者。 “当团队参 考我们以往的设计作品时，我们总是会去 思考如何突破，这样才能尽可能地激发我 们原有设计理念的潜力。”

“we’re always working with progress in mind, to truly see the full potential of an original idea,”

Now finding himself at this poignant midpoint, between two career-changing decades, Hardie is reflecting on what that means, and also, what comes next. While the East/West idea is just a binary, the knowledge of a different culture, government, or people is invaluable for an architect, especially one as international as Hardie. The young designer knows that there’s so much more to come, and to build.

“Who knows, maybe next, I’ll find somewhere in the middle.” 如今，Chris发现自己正处于职业生涯的 十字街口。在东西方分别工作了十多年 后，Chris会回忆和反思过去，也会好奇下一 步将迎来什么。虽然东西方的概念是二元 的，但它们背后的历史、文化及习惯的差异 却是多元的，这样的经历对于建筑师、尤其 是Chris这样的国际建筑师而言，都是无价 之宝。这位年轻的设计师知道，还有无限的 未来正在等待着他。 “谁知道呢。也许以后 我就能找到平衡之道了吧。”

↑ Hardie and his son at home Chris与他的儿子

Selected Projects 部分作品

― Chris Hardie

Client: Ningbo Library Size: 338,041 square feet Completion Date: 2019 Sustainability: Targeting China Green 3 Star Awards: 1st prize, restricted invited international competition 业主：宁波图书馆 规模：31,405 平方米 竣工时间：2019 可持续性：中国绿建三星标准 奖项：国际邀标竞赛，第一名

Ningbo New Library ―

Ningbo, China

The Ningbo New Library forms the focal point in a new cultural quarter at the heart of the East New Town, a 16km2 new town for the important coastal city.

Based on the concept of an open marketplace that combines the most popular collections with open seating and study spaces the library opens to a new wetland landscape connecting visitors directly with their new landscaped surroundings.

From the marketplace visitors are led further up into the library collections via a central 28m high atrium in the form of a giant book stack containing study desks, reading booths and media spaces.

The exterior is clad in travertine stone with contrasting dark glazed cuts that create public landscaped external reading rooms for use in Ningbo’s pleasant spring and autumn months. 宁波图书馆新馆是东部新城核心区的文化据点。东部新城面积16平方 公里，是滨海重镇宁波的新城区。 以开放的文化市集为设计理念，结合最受欢迎的藏书、开放式座位 和学习区域，与全新的湿地景观融为一体，让观众在如诗如画的 风景中，尽享阅读的乐趣。 一座高28米的“中央公共大书架”，承载了自习桌、阅读区和多媒体 区的功能，将一楼的文化市集，与更丰富的文献书库建立联系。 建筑外立面浅色的哑光洞石与深色的玻璃幕墙形成对比，室外景观平 台作为公共阅读区的延伸，适宜在宁波风和日丽的春秋季使用。

― An Architect Bridging East and West 一名“建筑师乐团”的指挥家

― An Architect Bridging East and West 一名“建筑师乐团”的指挥家

― An Architect Bridging East and West 一名“建筑师乐团”的指挥家

Client: Shanghai Library Size: 115,000 square meters Completion Date: To be completed in 2021 业主：上海图书馆（上海科学技术情报研究所） 规模：115000平方米 竣工时间：预计2021年建成

Shanghai Library East ―

Shanghai, China

As one of the most populous cities in the world, Shanghai needed a future proof innovative library for its growing population.

Won by Schmidt Hammer Lassen, as part of an international competition, the new 115,000 square meter library will be located in the Pudong District—the area of the city known for its iconic skyline, and will sit on the edge of Century Park—the largest park in the city spread over 140 hectares.

Tasked with protecting the precious parkland surroundings, the project is conceived as a singular monolithic object floating above the tree canopy within the park. The main library volume floats above two pavilions that house a 1,200 seat performance venue, exhibition and events space and a dedicated children’s library, that will all open up towards a series of landscapt courtyards and gardens. 作为世界上人口最密集的城市之一，上海需要一个面向未来的创新型 图书馆，以适应其不断增长的人口。通过激烈的国际竞赛角逐， SHL 建筑事务所（Schmidt Hammer Lassen）最终赢得了这个总建筑面 积达11.5万平方米的新图书馆项目。建筑位于上海市浦东新区，该区 以其极具标志性的城市天际线而闻名。建筑紧邻上海最大的城市公 园——140万平方米的世纪公园。 项目旨在保留稀缺的城市绿地公园景观，建筑仿佛一座漂浮在公园树 冠上方的雕塑体。图书馆主体结构建于两个功能体块之上，其中一个 将容纳1200席的表演场馆、展览和活动空间，另一个则为儿童专馆。 两个馆区均面向一系列的景观庭院。

― An Architect Bridging East and West 一名“建筑师乐团”的指挥家

― An Architect Bridging East and West 一名“建筑师乐团”的指挥家

Client: NIO Size: 1,221 square meters Completion Date: 2018 Awards: SILVER Award, China Real Estate Design Award (CRED Award), 2019 业主：蔚来NIO 规模：1221平方米 竣工时间：2018 奖项： 地产设计大奖.中国2019年度银奖

NIO House Hangzhou West Lake ―

Hangzhou, China

Chinese electric car start-up NIO approached Schmidt Hammer Lassen to help them develop the vision for their automotive showrooms and user clubhouse concept known as NIO House. The site chosen was on the banks of the UNESCO World Heritage West Lake in Hangzhou.

Using the company logo and name “Weilai” which translates as “Blue Future” or “Blue Sky Coming” combined with the projects location on the iconic West Lake we developed a paired back palette of materials that created a distinct horizon line between the earth and the sky. Douglas Fir Timber and Terrazzo represented the earth, and mirrored ceiling represented the sky and the water of West Lake.

This concept went onto be adapted on all new NIO House projects. 国际型电动汽车初创企业——蔚来NIO，邀请SHL建筑事务所，在美丽 的杭州西子湖畔为其打造一个结合新型汽车展示空间和会员俱乐部， 被称作是“蔚来中心NIO House”的用户中心。 蔚来LOGO由象征着开放、未来的天空，以及象征着行动、前进的道路 组成，完美诠释了蔚来的品牌理念。天空与湖面一分为二的景色，也 为杭州展厅带来了设计灵感。花旗松板和素色水磨石，象征着大地； 镜面天花，则象征着天空和湖水。 这一设计理念后来被运用到几乎所有的新建NIO House中。

― An Architect Bridging East and West 一名“建筑师乐团”的指挥家

― An Architect Bridging East and West 一名“建筑师乐团”的指挥家