Uncertainty, Freedom, Creativity: Architecture to me

My interviewee is architecture major Hongmao Shi from Tsinghua University Beijing China, is currently on a semester exchange program in Technische Universität München. Because of curiosity and interest in architecture. I interviewed her, hoping to learn more about her and the architecture she was studying. The following is a Z for the interviewer and S for the interviewee, TUM stands for Technische Universität München.

Scaligeri Space

Z: Thank you very much for being able to accept my interview. First of all, can you tell me why you chose architecture as your major and why it attracts you?

S: In fact, I studied precision instruments at Tsinghua University from freshman to Sophomore, not architecture. Later, when I was working in some student organizations, I came into contact with design and became interested in it. Combined with my engineering background, I decided to transfer to the Department of Architecture to study architecture.

What attracts me to the architecture major is its uncertainty. It has no unique evaluation criteria, and it has very relaxed creative conditions. The discipline itself combines rationality and sensibility, science and art. It is more personal thinking about the specific space, which is enough to make me interested in it.

Z: So, what made you choose to come to TUM as an exchange student? Is it because of the city of Munich or TUM itself?

S: Both, I guess. First of all, Munich gave me the impression that it was born from ruins, and the history of different periods is presented here. After World War II, many of Munich’s buildings were bombed out, but after much debate among planners, the city was rebuilt in its original form. Thus, it gives the city carbon-paper-like richness. Of course, the teaching level of TUM’s architecture department is very strong and it is also very famous in universities around the world. This is another reason why I chose to come here.

Z: Then, in your exchange process, do you think China and Germany have any similarities or differences in the teaching of architecture?

S: In fact, the two countries’ education systems are different. But equally, both countries will involve you in practical design from your first year of college, allowing you to do more actual practice. The difference, then, is that the two countries have different design endpoints. In the domestic, we complete a design, most of the time only to the room layout and the determination of the internal and external styling. In Germany, it’s not just about the layout of the room, it’s also about how the building is built: the floor, the drainage, the strength and the connection of the floor, and so on.

Z: I know that as an architecture student, you need to go to the field to visit and study some famous buildings. So, where did you visit after you came to Europe? which buildings left you a deep impression? Are there any buildings that tourists don’t notice but you have to go to?

S: Yes, I have been to a lot of places. For example, the Postal Savings Bank in Vienna. It is one of Otto Koloman Wagner’s masterpieces, a kind of representative building in the transition from neoclassicism to modernism. Fondazione Querini Stampalia and Brion Tomb in Venice. There are also some urban residential areas, such as the one built-in Milan by Aldo Rossi. These are places that we must-visit, but visitors will not have much interest.

One of my favorite places I have been to is probably Carlo Scarpa ‘s Castelvecchio Museum in Verona. It is Carlo Scarpa’s creation. The most amazing place is called Scaligeri Space. Instead of putting the statue of Scaligeri, the builder and former ruler of the castle in the entrance, he put it on the 2.5 floors. You start by entering the courtyard of museum, and you can see it from a distance, and then the streamlined design allows you to see the statue on the first floor, as well as second floor, and even below the statue, about 1.5 floors, he designed a platform so that you can observe up close. It is equivalent to seeing this statue from different positions from different angles. The statue is like a lighthouse so that you can find a clear sense of direction on the edge of the lost, it will give you a wonderful feeling.

Z: From what you have said, I am curious about is for a building, compared to people who haven’t studied architecture,what do you focus on more?

S: We will also pay attention to the functional arrangement and decoration. But more, we pay attention to this space. That is, what kind of space and atmosphere has the architect created here, this is our most essential concern. For example, what is the area of the space? How high is it? What’s the ratio? What material is used? What kind of light is being introduced?

Z:I will keep an eye on that for the future of my trip.Speaking of the future, will you go into architecture after graduation and work as an architect?

S: I have a lot of different plans for the future, and I’m going to give myself more options. In the field of architecture, for actual construction, this can only be done by a few people, many people are at most just an assistant, or even a painter. The industry itself is hierarchical and is a more empirical industry. Anyway, for me, it’s up to the industry whether I go on to study architecture. As I said before, the most fascinating thing about architecture is its uncertainty.