Architects are not drawing machines.

Author: Chen Zhanzhang et al.
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: To most people today, Chen Zhanzhang is a name they are unfamiliar with. He studied urban planning in Britain, learning from renowned masters. Before 1949, he drafted the "Outline Plan for the Construction of the Communist Political District" for Nanjing and proposed the development of Pudong for Shanghai. In 1950, he co-proposed the "Proposal on the Location of the Administrative Center of the Central People's Government" with Liang Sicheng, known as the "Liang-Chen Proposal." In 1957, he was wrongfully labeled as one of the "two major rightists" in the architectural field. This book includes Chen Zhanzhang's personal accounts, recollections from his friends and associates, and "historical archives" that are hard to look back on. It is the story of a city designer (planner) and architect, carrying a burning Chinese heart, a life that is rich, winding, and fraught with setbacks.
In the past, architects in China were generally referred to as engineers. In the West, calling someone an engineer might provoke protest. Europeans say: physicians restore (human) order, lawyers maintain (social) order, and architects create (material) order. The title of architect in China has now been restored, which is very necessary. In ancient Western civilizations, architects were not just a single type of engineer. The ancient Roman architect Vitruvius proposed the requirements for an architect, stating that "architecture is a science born from many disciplines, and the development of each discipline enriches its content; architectural science helps in evaluating other technical achievements."
The 15th-century polymath, architect, and artist Leon Battista Alberti's designs were centered on the human scale, focusing on the scale of buildings and urban environments. He proposed the following requirements for architects: first, the responsibility of architects to future generations and their personal honor—never to be ashamed of ignorance, recklessness, or stupidity in the eyes of posterity. "A building designed by a prudent, wise, and learned architect" should not only be admired by the wealthy but also adhere to the principles of thrift. Architects must reevaluate the history and theory of their profession and consider architectural design from a comprehensive environmental perspective. The idea of designing individual buildings in isolation from the overall urban environment should no longer persist. They no longer serve just one person but the entire society.
In China, the important issue facing us is the social recognition of the status of architects. Even today, architects are merely hired to "draw some sketches" for the "client." Architects accept design tasks from the "client" on a predetermined site and can only design according to these requirements, even catering to the personal preferences of the client's leadership. Such constraints on designers make it difficult for creative architectural activities to thrive.