Red ring 0.18

Author: Zhang Zaiyuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: This book, written in a memoir style, narrates the author's journey from an ordinary farmer's child to an internationally renowned architect through five chapters: "The Steps of Wuhan," "Red Ring 0.18," "First Snow on Luojia Mountain," "Flying Over Tokyo Bay," and "The Light of Bio Island." It details his struggles and significant events, particularly focusing on his study abroad and international exchange experiences to discuss modern architectural and urban design planning methods. The book is both accessible and profound, blending science popularization with academic research, offering a realistic reflection of a renowned architect's growth process and serving as a valuable reference for architecture students. The writing is easy to understand and humorous, making it a rare and insightful read on architectural culture in China.
2.6 My architectural life and drawing pen are inseparable.
Design competitions are like "battles."
In modern warfare, only those with high quality who master advanced strategies and tactics can defeat the enemy.
The primary key to participating in a design competition is the drawing tool.
As the ancients said, "A craftsman must first sharpen his tools before he can do his work well."
By carefully analyzing architects' design works published in international professional magazines, it's clear that those stunning lines are not drawn with ordinary drawing tools and techniques. Yet, if we are to compete with these masters, relying solely on our current drawing tools and skills would be self-destructive!
Participating in such a major international architectural design competition, I believe the first problem to address is how to improve drawing tools, and the most crucial point is the drawing pen.
I recalled the "Red Ring" drawing pen mentioned by President Cai. However, President Cai is attending a meeting in the National Building Materials Administration in Beijing and is said to return in two weeks. When I asked other classmates about this "Red Ring" pen, some had never heard of it, while others, though familiar with the name, claimed that this high-end pen is not yet sold domestically. It seems impossible to use the "Red Ring" pen for this design competition this time.
But why am I so the legendary "Red Ring" pen? Can't I start working without a "Red Ring" pen? Over-reliance on such a high-end pen might ultimately make me its slave.
This is a strange loop of traditional thinking. Whenever a high-end product is mentioned, people often say we will inevitably become its "slave" or worship it. But I don't think so. These views lack basic professional confidence. We pursue the world's best drawing pen because we first want to understand what makes it the best. Since foreigners use the world's best drawing pens to create the most beautiful architectural designs, why can't we Chinese be moved by this? Why must we be "slaves" to the "Red Ring" pen, rather than its friend or master? Similarly, Chinese people have the confidence and ability to use the world's best drawing pens to create beautiful architectural designs—this is the reason I yearn for the "Red Ring" pen.
If my architectural designs can enter a working orbit like a satellite, the drawing pen is the launch and transportation vehicle that sends the design satellite into orbit.
Like fish (fish cannot live without water), my architectural life and drawing pen are inseparable.
I yearn, I yearn for a day when I can obtain the world's best drawing pen—this is the aspiration and longing of an architect's life.