建筑敘事的真實性基礎：張軻的作品

愛德華·科格爾/Eduard K?gel

尚晉 譯/Translated by SHANG Jin

作者單位：愛德華·科格爾事務所工作室/Studio Eduard K?gel收稿日期：2018-10-01

1.2 諾華上海園區5號樓，上海/Novartis Shanghai Campus –Building 5, Shanghai（攝影/Photos: 蘇圣亮/SU Shengliang）

今天，歷史建筑的文化仍在塑造著中國的流行民族特征。無論哪個手冊或宣傳材料都有大屋頂或寶塔。近年來又出現了另一種敘事：千篇一律的摩天樓城市為大屋頂和豐富的歷史形式提供了背景，卻毫無地方特色。人們的城市失去了從生活環境中建立認同的簡單觀念。不僅是功能單一的城市住區，還有審美貧瘠的概念，都使建立認同的過程和對住區的責任感復雜化。但會被大眾接受和關心的當代環境應是怎樣的？

大型文化建筑的形式和公共維護義務或許有一種象征效果，但在小尺度的日常文化上才能看到建筑干預的真正意義。建筑師如何理解他們的工作，為發現的文脈賦予怎樣的意義，這些問題與同使用者的緊密對話都是至關重要的。因為構成認同的建筑不會出現在繪圖板上，而需要一群倡導者和守護者去抵御各種材料衰落的日常跡象。

今天的世界在很大程度上是以表面形象為特征的。在這樣的世界中，建筑也因一種耀眼的外衣閃閃發光——它不會老化，而會破碎。這無疑是難以將建筑理解為一種人們用情感紐帶來支撐的文化的原因之一。因為沒有材料就只剩下形式，而那也可以是非常武斷的。號稱先鋒的建筑可能最終很快被丟到歷史的垃圾堆中，而它的象征力在建成時就已經枯竭。

因此，對于建筑師的問題仍是如何在特定的情況下自我定位。哪些知識是有用的，哪些手段會帶來成功？為了這個目的，就必須詳細分析材料文化的狀況，建筑師必須形成對技藝的認識。因為沒有實施項目的人就不可能創造出好的建筑。所以，找到既有傳統知識、又愿意學習可以納入其規范的新東西的工匠就是極為重要的。具有真實性的東西在傳統建筑上不過是由工匠、所用的材料以及人們日常生活的文脈創造出來的，如今卻不得不費盡心機去制造，而且需要恰當的維護。然而，社會的碎片已變得多元、混雜，這就是為何需要特別的考慮才能讓建筑的作用不只是承載功能的空間。建筑師與客戶進行理念上的協調是需要堅持的，有時甚至要改變最初的設想。因為不論誰在創新時，邁出第一步都是孤獨的，否則那就不是新的了。

張軻結合城鄉文脈的作品

如果有人要探索創新，就必須了解歷史，并對新的需求有概念。張軻在與清華的學生探討一個項目時問道：“我們可以將田園生活帶到城市中嗎？我們可以在鄉村創造出城市的舒適度嗎？我們可以找到一條結合二者優勢的替代之路嗎？”他在這里涉及到了對當代建筑舉足輕重的一些因素，而這不只是針對中國。不過，這些價值如何在給定條件下成立的問題便出現了。

張軻和標準營造完成的建筑有的位于大都市中心，有的在疏于發展數十年的偏遠地區。這就帶來了如何利用設計的手段在如此多樣的環境中抉擇的問題。張軻在各地要面對不同的建造目標。在北京是老合院建筑的翻新，在上海是新辦公建筑的未來，而在鄉村地區是以當地材料和現存技藝為基礎的新建筑。但他對項目總會從文脈出發，這在下文將進行評述：在北京，翻新是以給現存建筑增加當代使用的新要素為基礎的；在上海，建筑井然屹立在周邊校園的環境中；而在西藏或廣西的風景環境中，天然地形成了干預工作的出發點。這些特征在不同程度上也可以用在其他項目上。即使是事務所在北京城墻遺址上的最初項目，也體現出這種利用文脈并促發一種歷史性敘事的態度。這種敘事通過建筑的手段使建立認同并對其進行反思成為可能。對殘破城墻的悉心保護不僅讓人們看到城墻的悠久歷史，還有1960-1970年代經濟與發展處于低谷的艱苦。標準營造創造了一種紀念建筑，讓人回憶起錯綜的歷史過程，并展示出在北京城墻最后殘跡中承載的諸多層次。利用遺跡“原狀”的思路可以作為1950年代以彼得和艾莉森·史密森事務所為中心的英國建筑師與藝術家圈子所提出概念的變化形式來討論。這種敘事的促發在重要性問題上是至關重要的一點，而這無疑必須對當地人和游客都保持可讀、可闡釋的狀態。

諾華上海園區

多位建筑師，包括劉家琨、隈研吾、張永和、亞歷杭德羅·阿拉維納、張軻與迪納和迪納建筑事務所，以及參與景觀建筑的West8事務所，建造了諾華上海園區。園區位于浦東，在市中心與浦東機場之間連接黃浦江與長江的筆直的川楊河從這里流過。這家全球化的瑞士制藥公司將研發中心建在那里，并要滿足質量要求，讓建筑推動員工之間的創新性交流。這座6層的辦公樓在長方形的場地中有一個單層的延伸部分，其中有可變的工作空間，每層都構成了各自的特色。設計以單元網格為基礎，其空間形式是從中國傳統園林設計中獲得靈感的。單層的部分嵌入了合院，它以多邊形的基本元素為基礎，并體現在蜿蜒樓臺的造型上。這些合院的特色在于植物和表面覆板，它們與多邊形的空間審美和主體建筑的玻璃立面形成了平和的對比。這個立面也受到了設計的基本單元規則的影響，并帶有從遠處便可產生炫目表面的傾斜要素。

The historical building culture still shapes China's popular national identity today. There is no brochure or advertising material without curved roofs or pagodas. An additional narrative has been added in recent years: the generic skyscraper city,which provides a background for the curved roofs and historical variety of forms without any local reference. However, the city of the people has lost its simple identity-creating frame of reference from the living environment. Not only functionally onedimensional city quarters, but also aesthetically impoverished concepts complicate identification and thus the sense of responsibility for the neighbourhood. But what does a contemporary environment look like that is accepted and cared for by the population?

In the case of large cultural buildings, the form and the public mandate for maintenance may have a symbolic effect, but in the case of smallscale everyday culture the true meaning of an architectural intervention can be seen. The question of how architects understand their job and what significance they attach to the context they find is of paramount importance alongside the intensive discourse with the users. For an identity-forming architecture does not emerge on the drawing board,but needs advocates and defenders against the everyday signs of decay of all materials.

In today's world, which is very much characterised by superficial appearances,architecture also shines in a dazzling outfit that can't age but breaks. This is certainly one reason why it has become difficult to understand architecture as a culture supported by the population through an emotional bond. Because without the material remains the form, which can also be very arbitrary.A supposedly avant-garde building can end up on the rubbish heap of history so quickly and its symbolic power has already been exhausted with its completion.

The question therefore remains to the architect as to how he should position himself under the given circumstances. Which knowledge is useful and which measures promise success? To this end, the situation of the material culture must be analysed in detail and the architect must develop an understanding of craftsman ship. Because without the people who have to implement a project, no good architecture can be created. It is therefore extremely important to find craftsmen who on the one hand have traditional knowledge and at the same time are willing to learn new things that can be integrated into their canon. The authentic,which in traditional architecture was created simply by the craftsmen, the materials used and from the everyday living context of the population, has to be painstakingly produced today and then requires proper care. However, the social mosaic of society has become diverse and hybrid, which is why special considerations are needed to make a building task more than just a space in which functions are inscribed. It takes commitment for the architect to harmonise his ideas with those of the client,sometimes even against his original ideas. Because whoever does something new is always alone in the first step, otherwise it would not be new.

ZHANG Ke's Work in the Urban and the Rural Context

If someone is looking for the new, he must know the old and develop an idea of what is needed.ZHANG Ke asked for a project with students of Tsinghua University: "Can we bring bucolic life into the city? Can we create urban comfort in the countryside? Or can we find a novel alternative that combines the advantages of both sides?" He addresses here some aspects that are important for contemporary architecture not only in the Chinese context. However, the question arises as to how these values are possible under the given conditions.

The buildings ZHANG Ke and his firm ZAO/standardarchitecture erected are located both in the centre of the large metropolises and in the distant hinterland, where developments have been neglected for decades. This leads to the question of how one can act in such diverse environments with the means of design. Within the different locations,ZHANG Ke dealt with various construction tasks.In Beijing with renovations of old courtyard buildings, in Shanghai with the future of office work in a new building and in the rural area with new buildings based on local materials and existing craftsmanship. But he always behaves contextually with his projects, which are under review below:In Beijing the renovation is based on the existing building with additional elements for contemporary use, in Shanghai the building sits disciplined in the context of the surrounding campus and in the scenic context of Tibet or Guangxi the direct topography became the starting point of the intervention. These attributes can also be applied to other projects to varying degrees. Even the very first project of the office for the remains of the city wall in Beijing showed this attitude of bringing the context to speak and thus stimulating a historical narrative which,with the means of architecture, makes it possible to identify and reconsider identity. The careful preservation of the crumbling city wall not only reminds people about the long history of the wall,but also about the hardship of the 1960s and 1970s,when the economy and development generally were at their lowest points. ZAO/standardarchitecture created a monument that calls the complex historic process to mind and reports on the different layers embodied in the last section of the city wall of Beijing. The strategy to use the ruin "as found" can be discussed as a variation of the concept developed by the circle of British architects and artists centred around Peter and Alison Smithson in the 1950s. The stimulation of the narrative is an essential point in the question of importance, which of course must remain readable and interpretable for the local population and visitors.

Novartis Campus Building in Shanghai

Many different architects, including LIU Jiakun, Kengo Kuma, Yung Ho Chang, Alejandro Aravena, ZHANG Ke and Diener & Diener, with West 8 as one of the landscape architects, built the Novartis Campus in Shanghai. The campus is located in Pudong halfway between the city centre and the airport on the linear Chuanyang River, which connects the Huangpu River with the Yangtze River. The globalised Swiss pharmaceutical company built a research and development centre there that had to meet its own quality requirements and whose architecture promotes innovative communication among its employees. The sixstorey office building with a one-storey extension on a rectangular site contains flexible workplaces,which are differently composed with individual characteristics on each floor. The design is based on a cellular grid, which is inspired in its spatial form by traditional Chinese garden design. In the singlestorey part, courtyards are cut in, which are based on polygonal basic elements and are also reflected in the shape of the meandering pavilions. The courtyards are characterised by the planting and the surface covering, which provide a calming contrast to the polygonal aesthetics of the spaces and the glass facade of the main building. The facade is also influenced by the basic cellular principles of the design and consists of tilted elements that evoke a dazzling surface from a distance.

主體建筑以不規則的柱網和多邊形的核心空間為支撐，并留出大量可供個性化布置的自由辦公空間。封閉的核心房是附屬用房和電梯。彎曲的螺旋形開敞樓梯將各層連接在一起，猶如一座動感十足的雕塑。第二層到第五層有250多個工位，還有會議室和交流區——在第六層還有更多。

地面層有露天通道、小露臺和亭狀設施，讓人聯想到一種富有人性的城市景觀，可以徒步去感受，并構成了通向研發的創新世界的道路。設計的高品質在狹小的工作環境中創造出一種如畫的世界，以不生搬硬套的當代方式體現出多重歷史價值。樓面、墻面和天花的實體要素以白色和灰色為主，與木家具或樓梯的木扶手形成了對比。室內外相互交融，并以貫穿地面層多個區域的樓面覆板為支撐。這樣，介于景觀與城市之間的世界便被懸置，并因辦公樓高聳、通透的結構中的有機內在而改變。

北京共生院

北京白塔寺周邊地區近年來已成為老城區再發展的典型，其目的是保護數百年生長出來的傳統城市結構及小尺度建筑?，F存建筑的翻新或增建意在對住區進行提升，并讓居民參與其中。早先的內院翻新茶兒胡同“微雜院”兒童圖書館和藝術中心為張軻帶來了經驗，并在西城區的“微胡同”上得到升華。在這兩個項目中都必須用極少的資金在非常有限的空間中找到解決方案，并會產生一種走出本地、進入住區公共領域的效果。

通過“共生院”項目，張軻巧妙地探索了白塔寺歷史區城市肌理的可持續更新策略?，F存建筑位于老北京迷宮般結構中典型的短小的死胡同盡頭，圍繞一個150m2的院子來組織。建筑師用一個坡屋頂將U形的房子分為兩個單元，一個80m2、另一個8m2。在迷你單元上，設計師探索了壓縮現存建筑、并在最小面積中寄生復雜功能的高成本收益方案。在大單元上，設計師設計了帶廚房、浴室、洗衣房和倉儲空間的3.5m2服務核，提供了胡同中通常缺乏的便利。

老磚墻包圍著建筑，并用9cm厚的混凝土層加固。此外增加了帶露臺的一段和單側斜瓦頂，以及從入口到主院的混凝土廊道。混凝土用中國墨染色，為混凝土的美觀形象增加了深度。獨立的木構造和屋架保留了原貌，與樸素的混凝土形成和諧的對比。

不過，如今這個建筑群沒有用于居住，而是租給了科幻作家郝景芳，用于她的慈善教育計劃，每天對居民開放。

西藏娘歐碼頭

娘歐碼頭位于西藏自治區西南的林芝地區、尼洋河與雅魯藏布江交匯處。風景與自然對于旅游是至關重要的，它可以為當地人改善經濟。新建筑坐落在有緩坡的灣口之上，那里有帶老牧場的沙三角洲。河兩岸是更陡峭的小山，被層層柔和的無名山包圍。穿行路將兩座建筑一分為二。它們在山坡的曲折上宛如一條逶迤的長蛇。河岸上是碼頭，一條坡道和樓梯從那里進入第一座V形建筑的院子。這座建筑的屋頂既是一條坡道，也是俯瞰河道景觀和四周群山的觀景平臺。它被設計成可以從下一層院子進入的餐廳。這個院子是從一道大門進入的不規則方形。樓面和墻面都以當地用來覆蓋上人屋頂的石材制成。材料的這種同質性使融入地形的不規則形式化為與景觀一體的雕塑。街對面后續建筑的曲折形首先構成了一個二維平面，作為公共汽車場，而后在坡上是一個轎車場。下一個V形建筑有一座簡單的酒店，屋頂上的坡道通往山坡上。這個曲折的建筑群以一座小平臺上的建筑為終點，在那里遠眺山谷和碼頭的視線可以伸向遠方。酒店和坡道都覆蓋相同的當地石材，更強化了雕塑的印象，并使建筑形式超越了功能，而接近大地藝術。餐廳部分沒有用扶手，而是沿坡道堆放木柴外皮，將喜馬拉雅山惡劣氣候中的老化過程更清晰地展現出來。當地石材和木皮的簡約以其獨特性強化了雕塑的特征。

3.4 共生院，北京/Co-Living Courtyard, Beijing

5.6 娘歐碼頭，林芝，西藏/Niang'ou Boat Terminal, Linzhi,Tibet（3-6攝影/Photos: 王子凌/WANG Ziling）

The main building is supported by an irregular column grid and polygonal core spaces, which leave a lot of free offce space for individual arrangement.The closed core rooms are for ancillary rooms and elevators, while the meandering spiral-shaped open staircase connects the floors like a dynamic sculpture. From the 2nd to the 5th floor there are over 250 workstations with meeting rooms and communication zones, with further meeting rooms and communication zones on the 6th floor.

The ground floor, with its open passages, small patios and pavilion-like fixtures, is reminiscent of a humane urban landscape that can be experienced on foot and structures access to an innovative world of research and development. The high quality of the design creates a pictorial world in the narrow context of the working environment that reflects historical values in a contemporary way without making formal copies. The solid components of the floor, wall and ceiling are dominated by the colours white and grey, which are contrasted by wooden furniture or wooden handrails of the staircase. Inside and outside merge into each other,which is supported by the floor covering that runs through a number of areas on the ground floor.The intermediate world between landscape and city thus remains in abeyance and is transformed by the towering crystalline structure of the offices in its organic priming.

Co-living Courtyard in Beijing

The area around the Baitasi Pagoda in Beijing has in recent years become a case of redevelopment,in which the traditional urban structure, which has grown over centuries, is to be preserved with its small-scale buildings. The new renovations or additions to existing buildings are deliberately intended to enhance the quarter and involve the residents. The earlier renovation of an inner courtyard of the "Micro Yuan'er" children's library and art centre in Cha'er Hutong brought ZHANG Ke some experiences that were intensified with"Micro Hutong" in Xicheng district. In both cases,a solution had to be found in a very confined space with little money, which would also have an effect beyond the location into the public sphere of the neighbourhood.

With the project for the "Co-living Courtyard",ZHANG Ke subtly explores a sustainable renewal strategy for the urban fabric in the historic area of Baitasi. The existing building is located at the end of a short cul-de-sac typical of the labyrinthine structure of ancient Beijing and is organized around a 150m2courtyard. The architects divided the U-formed house with a pitched roof into two units, one with 80m2and second one with 8m2.With the mini unit, the designers are looking for a cost-effective solution for compacting the existing structure and parasitically nesting a functionally sophisticated use in the minimised area. For the larger unit, the designers developed a 3.5m2service core with kitchen, bathroom, laundry and storage space that offers the amenities that are largely lacking in the Hutongs.

The historic brick wall surrounds the property and was reinforced with a nine centimetre thick concrete layer. A segment with a patio and a onesided inclined tiled roof was added, as well as a covered concrete path leading from the entrance to the main courtyard. The concrete is dyed with Chinese ink, which adds depth to the aesthetic appearance of the concrete. The freestanding wooden construction and the roof substructure have been left in their natural appearance, creating a harmonious contrast to austere concrete.

Today, however, the ensemble is not used as a residential building, but was rented by the science fiction writer HAO Jingfang for her charity education program and is open every day for the residents.

Niang'ou Boat Terminal in Tibet

The Niang'ou Terminal is located in the Linzhi District in the southwest of the Tibet Autonomous Region, where the Niyang and the Yarlung Zangbo Rivers meet. The landscape and nature are important for tourism, which should bring an economic improvement for the local population.The new building is situated above a gently sloping bay with old pastures on a sand delta. On the banks of the river there are steeper hills, framed in layers by soft, nameless mountains. The through road separates the composition of two buildings. Both together develop like a continuous snake in the zigzag up the slope. On the bank of the river there is the boat dock, from which a ramp and stairs develop into the courtyard of the first V-shaped building. The roof of the first building is both a ramp and a viewing platform overlooking the river landscape and the surrounding mountains. The building is designed as a restaurant accessible from the courtyard one level below. The courtyard is an irregular square entered through a gate. The floor and walls are made of the same local stone that was used to cover the walk-in roof. This homogeneity of the material transforms the irregular form fitted into the topography into a sculpture that merges with the landscape. The zigzag figure of the further construction beyond the street first develops in a two-dimensional plane as a bus parking area and then as a car park up the slope. The next V-shaped building contains a simple hotel, over whose roof the ramp leads further up the slope. The zigzag complex ends above the buildings in a small platform from where the view over the valley and the pier can wander into the distance. The hotel and the ramps are also clad in the same locally available stone, which further reinforces the impression of a sculpture and moves the building form beyond its function into the vicinity of Land Art projects. In the restaurant section, instead of a railing, firewood sheath was piled up along the ramps to bring out the aging process even more clearly in the harsh climate of the Himalayas. The reduction of the local stone and the wooden sheath reinforces the sculptural character with its uniqueness.

7.8 龍脊愛心小學，廣西/Longji Primary School, Guangxi（圖片來源/Sources: ZAO/standardarchitecture）

廣西龍脊小學

中國西南的廣西自治區毗鄰越南，是相對貧困的一個省，但有豐富的文化和動人的景觀。那里有很大的自然發展潛力，但它需要創意、技能和教育。龍脊小學的新設計是標準營造給當地兒童的饋贈。如今他們在一座見證了更好時期的3層坡屋頂木建筑里上學。這座L形的建筑質量在所有教學建筑的標準之下。然而，沒有高質量的建筑，就無法找到優秀的教師，而孩子們就沒有機會發展自己的天賦。

現存的建筑屹立在谷底的坡地上，從那里可以俯瞰整個地區的梯田。山的一側是帶木屋的傳統村落，山在另一側聳立于梯田之上。在這個露天的位置上，建筑與地形條件緊密相聯。這個新設計在底部為師生提供了廚房。它嵌在山坡里，面向校園。在此之上木建筑有2層樓，每個有3間教室，由中間的開敞樓梯進入。底部靠近廚房的地方是新的開敞式側樓。它在同一個層高上，由棕紅色混凝土建成，利用地形設計了可坐人的樓梯，并在下端與帶小圖書館的多功能教室連接起來?？勺说臉翘菝娉坝^，并能用折疊門封閉起來，舉行活動。在現存木建筑與新的混凝土擴建部之間的角上有一個開敞的壁爐，讓人想到有2根木柱、并與食堂一體的主建筑。上方的平屋頂構有光柱，在室內形成了蜿蜒的光斑。真正的挑戰將出現在現存建筑翻新、新建筑建成之時。眾籌保證了所需的資金，而村中孩子們的未來成了城市人的事。人群的聯系對于建立共同的認識以及公開社會內的責任都非常重要。

結語

如果依次回顧一下上文介紹的4個優秀項目，就會看到張軻每次都有意識地將環境作為探討的出發點。首要的問題不在于審美決策，而是預期的用途、城市或景觀設計的挑戰，以及對決定結果的技藝的思考。盡管如此，這是一種獨立審美的產物，它將對全球建筑話語的借鑒與地方刺激結合起來。他在這里的創作將美國的教育與中國作品各地的條件融合在一起。

如果考察一下偏遠地區的建筑，就可以看到一種強烈的材料文化。它首先展示出人創作的過程，例如對石材的加工。粗野的表達成了一種指引人們認同的風格化手段。學校、碼頭或博物館等公共建筑尤其適合于此，因為它們用一種當代手法與一個地區普遍的表面化傳統借鑒方式形成了反差。這些粗野的手法利用了粗野主義中最好的東西，并以闡釋空間創造出一種混合結果。建筑與自然地形和尺度的結合使它們成為鄉村當代表達的典范項目。材料文化中微妙的粗野主義手法與粗野審美結合起來，限定出一種植根于當地的處理方式。只要使用者將這個結果理解為一種對他們認同的真實表達，那它如何得出的問題就是無關緊要的。

諾華園區建筑柔順、雅致的外觀與粗野手法相對立，盡管其基本設計思路也植根于一種利用歷史既成形式的思想。雖然傳統住區和偏遠地區的設計思路更多地以簡約為主，并且建筑是針對材料文化的；但在像諾華園區這樣的新建筑上，與歷史的呼應被轉化為一種當代城市材料的文化。這里形成了一個閉環，以當地情況和使用者的需求作為出發點，將環境小心地轉化為一種建立認同的建筑文化的新體系，不論在城市中心還是鄉村景觀。

當然，對鄉村現存構筑物或建筑的小型干預也帶來了成本的問題。一方面資金極其有限；另一方面審批過程會更簡單，并且無需與城市相同的標準。但是，最小干預的簡化與節約成本毫無關系，而需要的是一種在看似令人費解的“一切皆有可能”的態度。認同會在人們積極參與并能為他們的未來愿景負責的情況下形成。對于建筑師，這就意味著積極為可理解的審美努力，它會給居民帶來一種自豪感和自信。

開篇所描述的扭曲現象對于僅僅利用歷史的認同是不必要的，而當代建筑可以為一種不僅可以接受，而且能全面滿足各種需求的環境作出它的貢獻。

建筑師很難擺脫社會中的各種潮流和時尚。要意識到這一點并尋找有助于建立當代真實性的解決之道，比所有的榮譽都更有價值——因為這會幫助人們從歷史的眷戀和轉變走向與未來的對話。在本文討論的張軻作品中，有一點是明確的：促發這種討論是值得的。每個項目都必須找到它的獨特方式，使建筑不僅在建成之日后作為時間的標記是可讀的，同時還讓它的老化能符合建筑材料和社會的需求。建筑只是一種工具和建造條件的見證，但在未來它還會揭示出創造了這些建筑的社會的各種渴求與希望。□

Longji Primary School in Guangxi

The Autonomous Region Guangxi in the southwest of China at the boarder to Vietnam is rather one of the poor provinces, but it has a rich culture and an impressive landscape. There is a lot of natural potential for development, but it needs ideas, know-how and education. The new planning for the Longji Primary School is a gift from ZAO/standardarchitecture to the children there. Today they are taught in a three-storey wooden building with pitched roof that has seen better times. The quality of the L-shaped building falls below all standards for teaching buildings. Without a high quality building, however, no good teaching staff can be found and the children have little opportunity to develop their talents.

The existing building stands in a valley floor on a slope from where the view can wander over the terraced rice fields of the region. On one side of the hill is the traditional village with its wooden houses, on the other side the hill rises above the terraces for the rice fields. In this exposed location, the building is closely linked to the topographical conditions. The new design provides for a kitchen for the pupils and teachers in the basement, which is pushed into the slope and opens onto the schoolyard. Above this there are two floors in the wooden building, each with three classrooms,which are accessed by an open staircase in the middle.Next to the kitchen in the basement is a new open side wing in reddish brown concrete on the same level,which exploits the topography via a seating staircase and at the lower end merges into a multifunctional classroom with a small library. The seated staircase opens onto the landscape and can be closed by a folding door for events. In the corner between the existing wooden building and the new concrete addition there is an open fireplace, which is reminiscent of the main building with two wooden columns, and which then merges into the canteen. The flat roof above is structured by the light cannons, which create a wandering sunspot inside. The real challenge will come when the existing building is renovated and the new building is built. With crowdfunding, the money needed is secured and the future of the children in the village becomes a matter for the urban population. The connection of the population groups is important to make a mutual understanding, but also responsibility within society visible.

Conclusion

If we look at the four outstanding projects described above one after the other, we can see that ZHANG Ke very consciously makes the respective environment the starting point of his discussion.It is not primarily a question of aesthetic decisions,but of the intended use, urban or landscape planning challenges and reflection on craftsmanship that determine the result. Nevertheless, this results in an independent aesthetic that combines borrowings from global architectural discourses with local stimuli. His own career here combines with training and teaching in the USA and the conditions in the respective places in China where the works are located.

If we take a look at the buildings in the hinterland, we can see a strong material culture,which above all leaves the human working process visible, for example in stone processing. The rustic expression becomes a stylistic device that can orient the identity of the population. Public buildings such as schools, boat docks or museums are particularly suitable for this, because they counteract the ubiquitous superficial traditional reference of a region with a contemporary touch. These rustic manners employ aspects of brutalism in its best sense, and create a hybrid outcome with space for interpretation. The integration of the buildings into the natural topography and scale makes them reference-projects for a contemporary expression at village level. The approaches of subtle brutalism in material culture combined with rustic aesthetics help to define a locally rooted approximation. The question how the result came about seems not to be relevant, as long as the users understand the result as an authentic expression of their identity.

The smooth and elegant appearance of the Novartis building stands for the opposite of a rustic manner, although its basic design strategy is also anchored in a thinking that makes use of formal set pieces of history. While the design strategy in traditional neighbourhoods and the hinterland is more dominated by reduction and the architecture is oriented towards the culture of materials, in a new building such as Novartis the echoes of the past are translated into a contemporary urban culture of materials. Here, a circle closes that brings about the local situation and the needs of the users as a starting point for a cautious transformation of the environment into a new reference for identitycreating building culture; whether in the urban centre or in the rural landscape.

Of course, the small interventions in the existing structure or the buildings in the villages also raise a question of costs. On the one hand there is simply little money, on the other hand the approval processes are simpler and do not require the same standards as in the city. However, the reduction to the smallest possible intervention has nothing to do with cost savings, but with the preparation of an attitude in the formal gibberish of "anything is possible". Identity arises where the population is actively involved and where they can take responsibility for their vision of the future.For architects, this means actively working for a comprehensible aesthetic that gives the residents a sense of pride and confidence.

Then the contortions described at the beginning will be unnecessary for an identity that only makes use of history, and contemporary architecture can make its contribution to an environment that is not only acceptable, but can meet the needs in a comprehensive sense.

It is diffcult for architects to escape the trends and fashions within society. To be aware of this and to look for solutions that nevertheless make a contribution to create a contemporary authenticity is worth more than all honours, because it helps from the nostalgia and transfiguration of history into a dialogue with the future. In the case of the works by ZHANG Ke discussed here, it becomes clear that it is worth stimulating this discourse. Each project must find its own way of making architecture readable beyond the day of completion as a signal of its time, while at the same time allowing it to age in accordance with the building material and social needs. Architecture is only a tool and a witness to the conditions in which it was built, but in the future it will also tell of the desires and hopes of the society in which these buildings were realised.□