BUILD THEN SHOOT

BUILD THEN SHOOT

“Music is liquid architecture; Architecture is frozen music.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Architects tend to make good travellers – their professional background enables them to appreciate the “frozen music of structures” better.

Among a lot of them, there are the ones that can take brilliant photos, which are infused with their thorough understanding of the concretes and steel bars.

Interview and Translation by Madeline Weng Photos by Ozzie Au, Chen He, Leo Wu, He Hongcai

Long Museum West Bund, Shanghai

The photo was taken on a closed Monday in May, when there was scarcely any passer-by. The monochrome architecture stood lonely by the side of Huangpu River, like a concrete snake slowly crawling around the wasted discharge bridge. Seen from the inside, the museum looks like an empty grey tube stretching into infinity.

五月里的一個陰天，上海的龍美術館西岸館恰逢周一閉館，人跡稀少；它寂寥地佇立在黃浦江邊，素色的混凝土以蜿蜒的姿勢包裹著卸載橋，形成無限延伸的空洞。

(Photo by Ozzie Au)

“音樂是流動的建筑,建筑是凝固的音樂”。——德國詩人歌德

建筑師都是旅行家

不是攝影師的建筑師不是好的旅行家——在按下快門的那一刻，建筑師將他們對“凝固樂章”的理解融入鋼筋與混凝土之中，由鏡頭來詮釋這場化合反應。

Guangzhou Opera House, Guangdong廣州大劇院

Ozzie Au

Architect @Shenzhen

AN OUTBURST OF EMOTIONS

主觀感知的自由抒發

Nihao: How do you appreciate a modern building?

A: When I stand in front of a building, I appreciate the emotions it casts on me.

I observe not only its genres and materials, but also the surrounding environment. In the photos that I take, I blend in not only the weather and light, but also my mood at that instant.

For visitors that have no theoretical background, it helps to do some research before going to see a famous building.

Every building is like a book with its ups and downs. Inside a construction, space and arrangements change from room to room. The moment you feel touched by it, the moment you should pick up the camera – and that photo is a “book review” written by you.

Nihao:你如何欣賞建筑

A:觀賞建筑的時候，我重視建筑帶給我的片刻感受；建筑攝影不局限于體現它的風格流派，還應融入當時的天氣、建筑場所和個人心情等因素。每個空間、表皮的質感、場所的氛圍營造以及光與影的對話、人與場所的互動，都會給你帶來不同的感受。對于沒有建筑理論背景的游客來說，事先做一些參觀建筑背景的功課會有一定幫助的。

每當我走進一個建筑，我便把它當作一本書認真地閱讀。就像故事情節的跌宕起伏一樣，建筑也有空間的收與放，時而幽徑時而空曠；有的形態莊嚴簡約，而有的活潑豐富，充滿力量感與輕盈感。當你的心受到觸動，按下快門，照片就成了你的觀后感。

Interior of The Museum of Chinese Gardens and Landscape Architecture, Beijing中國園林博物館室內

AN ACCURATE WITNESS

設計意圖的準確表達

Chen He

Architecture photographer @Beijing

Nihao: What are the main features of architectural photography?

C: Architectural photographs are usually taken to professionally demonstratea designer's intentions, as well as the architectural space, its materials and macro-environment, e.g. the city and landscape. Architectural photography is also used for ancient architecture measurement and the reservation of historical materials.

This kind of photography mainly uses tilt-shift lenses, which are able to eliminate perspective distortion. Personally, I use a tripod for every photo when I shoot architecture. This is to avoid unwanted trembling that may affect the result. Apart from that, I like to use small aperture to ensure the depth of fleld.

Nihao:建筑攝影和其他類型的攝影有什么主要區別？

C:建筑攝影是通過攝影藝術來表達建筑師的設計意圖、建筑空間、建筑材料及建筑在“大環境”（如城市、景觀等）里的關系的專業攝影表達，除此之外也會用于古建筑測繪和資料留存。建筑的拍攝多會用到移軸鏡頭，這種鏡頭主要是用來消除透視變形。我對自己拍攝的要求是每張照片都要用三角架，主要是避免不必要的顫動對照片的影響。鏡頭盡量用小光圈來確保景深。

A FUSION OF OLD & NEW

新與舊的巧妙融合

Nihao: As a Chinese architect working in Milan, how do you flnd its modern buildings? What about Chinese new buildings in comparison?

W: Most of the modern buildings in Europe are located in Germany, Netherland and Northern Europe. As a country that enjoys a long and glorious history, Italy doesn't have as many modern buildings as its carefully preserved old ones. Unlike in China, we seem to take pride in having more tall buildings. Modern architectures in Milan try their best to blend in the original environment, instead of trying to stun people with an unconventional look. Their strategies are to maintain the dimension of the local buildings while fusing in modern elements like glazed fa?ades and rolled shading panels. It's a pity that in China, a lot of our modern buildings don't seem to take consideration of their surroundings. Take Guangzhou Opera House by Zaha Hadid for example, this supposedly fluid-looking building seems more like it is stuck among its surrounding mansions – that's just what I personally thought when I flrst saw it.

Basel-Vitra Campus, Switzerland瑞士巴塞爾

Leo Wu

Architect @Milan

“Architecture's greatest value in the future might not even be architecture.”

- Rem Koolhaas

Nihao: How do you appreciate modern architecture?

W: When I look at a new building, I analyze its usage of space, including its light and gray space; secondly, I like to see if there is any technical outbreak such as double-skin fa?ade and green roof; last but not least, its overall shape. Aesthetics vary from eye to eye, some like neat and square shaped fa?ade like some of Koolhaas's masterpieces, while some others prefer Zaha Hadid's almost “unbuildable” designs. To me, all buildings of aesthetic value deserve a good time of appreciation.

Nihao: 對比米蘭的現代建筑，你怎么看中國當下的現代建筑？

W: 歐洲的現代建筑主要集中在德國、荷蘭和北歐，而意大利作為歐洲古建筑比較多的國家，其現代建筑實際上并不多，跟高樓林立的中國大都市比起來顯得更少。我認為米蘭的現代建筑更重視融入周邊古建筑的環境。它們在外形上不求標新立異，而是在展現出新、古建筑反差美的同時讓整體視覺效果看起來和諧。遺憾的是，國內目前的很多建筑并沒有很好地考慮到周圍環境。例如被四周的大廈環住的扎哈的廣州大劇院，在周遭環境里顯出突兀感。再比如她在北京的Soho系列，一步步將內部空間妥協了，犧牲了原本與外部配套的的流動感，只留下了酷炫的外表，這在我看來是非常可惜的。

Nihao:你欣賞建筑時的角度是怎樣的？

W：我比較看重這三點：一.設計上對空間的使用，包括流線設計、光和灰空間的使用。二.結構和技術上的創新，包括大跨度、新結構、雙層立面、綠色屋頂等。三.造型美學，即外觀造型的審美價值。造型美學的欣賞因人而異，有人喜歡規整四方的玻璃幕墻的立面，比如德梅隆的很多作品；也有人喜歡扎哈那種具有流線型的、形狀各異的建筑。而我認為，只要有美學價值的都值得欣賞。

A Tell-Tale Shutter

城市氣質的真實記錄

Architectural photography is a loyal record of a city, since every construction has a story to tell.

每一處空間都訴說著一段故事，這些故事交織起來就構成了生活。

He Hongcai

Founder of ShuShe Architecture @Beijing

Nihao: What are your suggestions for architectural photographers?

H: A building is a piece of art, which is best presented in some certain angles. The fa?ade of a building usually abides by the logics of geometry, which tells the photographers exactly where the most unique viewing angle is. My basic requirement for the photographers who take photos of my work is that he/she should shoot a series of photos of the same space for various periods of time in a day. Only in this way is he/she able to grasp and then demonstrate the expressive force that different light has on the architectural space.

Nihao: How can visitors take good photos of architecture?

H: The beauty of architectural photography lies in the photographer's sensitive comprehension of the relationship between the building, the city and even its people. I suggest readers start by observing their very own living space, and make comparisons of how the buildings and roads change day-by-day. Dare to raise the camera in your hand and keep record of the beautiful angles of a building or a city– by doing this, you record not merely the beauty of mathematics, but your life too.

Nihao:你對拍攝自己建筑作品的攝影師的要求有哪些？

H:建筑作為一種藝術作品，需要沿著設計師的匠心尋找特定的拍攝角度。建筑的造型往往會遵循嚴謹的幾何秩序，而這種邏輯也正為攝影師提供了獨到的視角與和諧的構圖。我對攝影師的基本要求是能夠側重光線對于建筑空間的表現力，為同一處建筑空間在多個時間段進行拍攝。

Nihao：普通游客如何拍攝建筑？

H：建筑攝影的精妙之處正在于用鏡頭表現城市、建筑和人的精神氣質。我建議讀者開始有意識地關注身邊的生活空間，觀察和對比周邊每一棟樓、每一條路、每一個街區的變遷，捕捉生活場景中的微妙視角，用照片記錄建筑和城市，這同時也是記錄生活的方式。