互联网为我们所习惯的物质世界构造一重虚拟映射，并显露出“流量为王”的特质，这种新的环境对与物质相对应的精神层面也产生了影响。建筑师野城在本期《芳草说》中，剖析了数位中国建筑师对建筑之“精神性”的理解与实验，提示我们在“流量时代”保持更珍贵的追求和思考。

The Internet has created a virtual mapping of the material world we are accustomed to, and its distinctive quality of the "flow rule" also affected our spiritual world. In this issue of The View, architect YE Cheng analyzes the understanding and experiments of several Chinese architects on the "spirituality" of architecture and reminds us of more precious pursuits and reflections in the " flow era".

在早期人类还没有能力搭建构筑物之前，自然洞穴是人类的主要居所。拉斯科岩洞壁画让我们看到了古老人类在恶劣的生存环境下依然保有用艺术的方式去记录描绘原始生活的冲动。洞穴，是人类最早的居所。洞穴，更是人类最早的美术馆。早期人类通过洞穴壁画建立了一种仪式感，在还没有文字产生之前，就呈现出一种超越现实的精神性表达。人类最早的居所不仅是功能性空间，可以说同时也是最早的精神性空间。

Before early humans had the ability to build structures, natural caves served as the primary habitats for humans. Lascaux Cave Paintings amaze us with the impulse of ancient humans to record and depict primitive life in an artistic way despite the harsh living environment. Caves were not only the earliest dwellings of humans, but also the earliest art museums of the humankind. Early humans established a sense of ritual through cave paintings, which demonstrated such a spiritual expression that transcended the reality prior to the advent of characters. In addition to functional space, the earliest spiritual space can be also described as an attribute of the earliest dwelling of humans.

拉斯科岩洞壁画，法国西南部多尔多涅省，旧石器时代，距今1.7万年前

Lascaux Cave Paintings (Grotte de Lascaux)

Dordogne, southwestern France

Paleolithic Age

17,000 years ago

柯布西耶，朗香教堂，建筑摄影，2008

©野城摄影

La Chapelle de Ronchamp

Architectural photography

Le Corbusier

2008

© Photography by YE Cheng

漫长的农耕时代，东西方文明的建筑对于形式与功能，空间与精神都有不同的诠释。概略的来讲，东方的建筑从民宅到宫殿庙宇，空间形态和精神性都是一体的，斗拱成为形制贯通的基础构件。而西方的日常性建筑与宫殿教堂是不同的两个范畴。世俗和神性的合一还是分离，这恰恰反映了东西方哲学与世界观的差异。东方比较讲究融合与变化。道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。西方比较讲究分解，从物质到信息，都是用二元论来理解和改造世界。

Throughout the long Agrarian Age, the architectures of the Eastern and Western civilizations give different interpretations of form and function, space and spirituality. Roughly speaking, in the East, residential buildings, palaces and temples see their spatial form and spirituality blended in one, while dougong (a system of brackets inserted between the top of a column and a crossbeam) becomes the basic component of the formation linkage. In the West, however, everyday architectures, palaces and churches fall into two different categories. Either unity or separation of the secular and the divine precisely mirrors the discrepancies between Eastern and Western philosophies and worldviews. Fusion and variation are emphasized in the East. Chapter 42 of Tao Te Ching states: "One is the child of the divine law. After one come two. After two come three. After three come all things." The West pays attention to decomposition. Regardless of material and information, dualism is applied by the Westerners to comprehend and remold the world.

曼哈顿，鸟瞰摄影，1930

Manhattan

Aerial photography

1930

而到了工业文明时代，东西方都是技术压到一切。建筑，尤其是日常性建筑已然成为一种批量生产的标准化工业产品。柯布西耶说“住宅是居住的机器”，功能主义大行其道。神从文艺复兴走下神坛，建筑的精神性也在工业时代沦为资本标榜自我的工具。20世纪初曼哈顿已是高楼林立，特别那些具有教堂尖顶风格的摩天大楼，把对宗教的膜拜转化成对资本的膜拜。当然不可否认，仍有不少现代建筑师如路易斯·康，卒姆托等仍旧在建筑精神性的道路上苦苦追索。

In the era of industrial civilization, technology is overwhelming in the East and the West. Architectures (especially everyday architectures) have emerged as a type of mass-produced standardized industrial product. Mr. Le Corbusier formulated the famous definition of architecture as "the house is a machine for living in", where functionalism prevailed on a large scale. God says goodbye to the godhood unique to the Renaissance, and the spirituality of architecture also descends to an instrument for capital to flaunt itself in the industrial age. At the beginning of the 20th century, Manhattan had been already home to high-rises in large quantities. In particular, those skyscrapers with church spires translate the worship of religion into the worship of capital. Of course, it is undeniable that many modern architects, such as Louis Isadore Kahn and Peter Zumthor, are still strenuously blazing the path for the spirituality of architecture.

路易斯·康，索尔克学院，1965

Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Louis Isadore Kahn

1965

在中国这个大地，现代建筑确实是舶来品。中国城市发展最快的黄金三十年，我们确实造了很多新城，很多标新立异的大型地标建筑。中国已然成了全球著名建筑师的试验场。除去那些代表性建筑，大量的日常性建筑的水平只是为了满足功能。建筑的功能性，人性化和公共空间的营造尚且欠缺，更不要说建筑的精神性了。

In China with a vast territory, modern architecture is indeed imported from foreign countries. In the past flourishing three decades in witness of the fastest development of Chinese cities, many new cities have been certainly built, and many large-scale landmark architectures in unconventional styles have sprung up like mushrooms. China has become a testing ground for world-renowned architects. Except those representative architectures, a large number of everyday architectures are just for the purpose of function. The functionality of the architectures and humanization and creation of public space are still absent up to now, not to mention the spirituality of architecture.

张永和，垂直玻璃宅，模型照片，“重构乌托邦”建筑艺术展，深圳华美术馆，2018

©野城摄影

Vertical Glass House

Model Photo

"Reconstructing Utopia" Architecture and Art Exhibition

Shenzhen Hua Art Museum

2018

Yung Ho Chang

© Photography by YE Cheng

城市化发展速度太快，导致我们从城市管理者建设者到设计者没有时间好好思考。千城一面就是建筑精神性丧失的直观体现。建筑的精神性塑造需要大量的感知，沉淀和思考，需要空间和时间维度的双重积累。我们太多的的项目都赶着建筑师往前走，一个事务所一年同时做几十个项目都斯通见惯。这种大环境下谈建筑的精神性，是非常困难的事情。并不是说建筑师本身没有能力，而是他们在这个过程中身不由己。所以说中国这几十年盖了这么多新建筑，但很多建筑就是建筑垃圾。

The too fast pace of urbanization makes city managers, builders and designers have no time to think carefully. Duplicate of numerous cities is exactly an intuitive manifestation of the spirituality breakdown of architecture. Spiritual establishment of an architecture depends on not only a good deal of perception, precipitation and thinking, but also accumulation on both dimensions of space and time. Architects are hastily driven by too many projects, and it is commonplace for an architect firm to simultaneously undertake dozens of projects every year. Focusing on the spirituality of architecture is out of the question in such an overall environment. It's not that the architects themselves are incapable. Instead, they are thrown into passivity in this process. Therefore, so many new architectures have come out in China over the past decades, but many of them are producing "rubbishes".

垂直玻璃宅，建成照片

©非常建筑事务所

Vertical Glass House

Photo upon completion

©Atelier FCJZ

现在我们已经进入存量时代，粗放型的大建设时代已经结束，地产也直接从黄金时代跌入黑铁时代。这个历史节点也正是我们对于城市和建筑全面反思的开始。我本人也是在这个大的语境下开始对建筑的精神性进行多维度的思考。如果说比较能体现建筑精神性的中国建筑师的探索，可能还是在高速城市化刚起步的二十多年前的“实验建筑”群体比较有代表性。那个时期的年轻建筑师如张永和、王澍、刘家琨、朱锫等率先进行了实验性的建筑探索。

Nowadays we have entered the epoch of stock, while the epoch of extensive large-scale construction has ended. Real estate industry has also directly faded from Golden Age to Iron Age. This historical node also marks a good start for our comprehensive reflection over the city and the architecture. I also start to think about the spirituality of architecture from multiple dimensions in this context. The so-called "cluster of experimental architectures" rose more than 20 years ago, and high-speed urbanization just kicked off at that time. They are representative of the valuable explorations by Chinese architects to demonstrate the spirituality of architecture. During that period, such young architects as Yung Ho Chang, Wang Shu, Liu Jiakun and Zhu Pei took the lead in conducting experimental architectural explorations.

垂直玻璃宅，建成照片

©非常建筑事务所

Vertical Glass House

Photo upon completion

©Atelier FCJZ

2018年我在深圳策划的“重构乌托邦”建筑艺术展试图去挖掘和梳理中国几十位最具代表性的建筑师艺术家在早期的实验，其中就有张永和的作品。他是中国建筑师中探索建筑实验性的代表。

"Reconstructing Utopia" Architecture and Art Exhibition in Shenzhen, curated by myself in 2018, attempted to explore and review the early experiments by dozens of the most representative Chinese architects and artists. Some works by Yung Ho Chang were on exhibit. He is a representative of Chinese architects exploring for the architectural experimentation.

垂直玻璃宅 建成照片

©非常建筑事务所

Vertical Glass House

Photo upon completion

©Atelier FCJZ

我曾经问他建筑的本体是什么，他说“就是盖房子”。我理解他的意思是建筑师就应该好好盖房子，工程技术要过关，造型能力也要过关。他反对为形式而形式，关注生活方式的概念并从中生成空间形式。“重构乌托邦”展出了他的好几件代表性实验作品，其中“垂直玻璃宅”就是一种生活方式的乌托邦构想。早年他在美国教书的时候构思了这个每层楼板都是透明玻璃的柱状混凝土空间。这个卧室厨房厕所浴室都是上下左右通体透明的住宅很多年后才在黄浦江边盖出来。

I once asked Yung Ho Chang what the ontology of architecture was, and he answered: "Architecture serves the purpose of building houses". What he said is a truth driven home to me: An architect should do a good job in building houses, with the support of the engineering technology and modeling ability. He opposes to formalism, lays stress on the concept of lifestyle, and generates spatial form on this basis. The exhibition, entitled "Reconstructing Utopia", shows off several of his representative experimental works. Among these works, Vertical Glass House is indeed a utopian conception of a way of life. When teaching in the United States in his early years, he conceived such a columnar concrete space with transparent glass on each floor. This residential building, with entirely transparent bedroom, kitchen, toilet and bathroom, takes a striking posture by the Huangpu River of Shanghai many years later.

张永和，宁波东钱湖专家工作坊，2021

©Archidaily

Expert Workshop 2021 in Dongqian Lake, Ningbo

Yung Ho Chang

© Archidaily

张永和，宁波东钱湖专家工作坊，2021

©野城摄影

Expert Workshop 2021 in Dongqian Lake, Ningbo

Yung Ho Chang

© Photography by YE Cheng

张永和不太关注那些纯形式和风格的东西，他曾说把房子盖成一个像山的建筑还是盖成福禄寿本质上没有区别。他认为建筑就是建筑本身。建筑是搭建一个房子，有材料，有结构和建造，最后呈现出空间和体验。最近他提到的建筑的尽头是“那个空间”，我觉得就是指向建筑空间的本体存在。

Yung Ho Chang doesn't think much of those purely formal and stylish aspects. He once commented that there was essentially identical to build a house like a mountain or in shape of God of Fortune, God of Prosperity and God of Longevity in Sanhe City, Hebei. He believes that architecture is itself as such. Architecture implies building a house with materials, structure and construction, which finally presents space and experience. The outcome of the building, he has mentioned recently, lies in "that space", which points to the ontological existence of architectural space in my opinion.

张永和，宁波东钱湖专家工作坊，2021

©野城摄影

Expert Workshop 2021 in Dongqian Lake, Ningbo

Yung Ho Chang

© Photography by YE Cheng

张永和最近的一些研究也是在探索新的生活方式产生的新空间形态，我跟他一起去考察过宁波东钱湖的大师工作坊。这组群落建筑每个都是住宅兼工作室，但每个差异都很大，对建筑的基本组成如墙体、屋顶、梁、柱都有突破性的诠释，用相当纯粹的形式去探讨住宅建筑空间及其构件的原型。

Some of Yung Ho Chang’s recent studies are also groping for new spatial forms generated by new lifestyles. I went with him to make field research on master workshop in Dongqian Lake, Ningbo. These architectures serve as both residences and studios in essence, but each architecture is sharply different, and gives a groundbreaking interpretation of the basic components of the building, such as wall, roof, beam and column. They discuss about the prototypes of residential architecture spaces and their components in a fairly pure form.

王澍、陆文宇，未知花园，景观装置

“未知城市”中国当代建筑装置影像展，深圳坪山美术馆开馆展，2019

©野城摄影

Unknown Garden, Wang Shu, Lu Wenyu, Landscape Installation

"Unknown City": Chinese Contemporary Architecture and Image Exhibition, Inaugural Exhibition of Shenzhen Pingshan Art Museum

2019

© Photography by YE Cheng

王澍、陆文宇，未知花园，景观装置

“未知城市”中国当代建筑装置影像展，深圳坪山美术馆开馆展，2019

©野城摄影

Unknown Garden, Wang Shu, Lu Wenyu, Landscape Installation

"Unknown City": Chinese Contemporary Architecture and Image Exhibition, Inaugural Exhibition of Shenzhen Pingshan Art Museum

2019

© Photography by YE Cheng

我跟王澍老师最早是在巴黎建筑城的讲座上相识，他近年也参加了我策展的“重构乌托邦”和“未知城市”两个大展，我也一直非常关注他和陆文宇老师的研究和实践。他是中国少有的对东方性理解颇深的建筑师。他的建筑观念和意向来源于中国传统空间的意象，比如园林、大屋顶、砖砌、木构以及砖瓦夯土等传统材料。他说建筑是“脏的”，是“湿的”，这是我印象中对建筑本质表述和阐释非常感性直观而又深刻的理解。

Mr. Wang Shu and I first met at a lecture on Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine. In recent years, he has also joined in the two exhibitions entitled "Reconstructing Utopia" and "Unknown City" curated by myself. I also pay attention to researches and practices by Mr. Wang Shu and Mr. Lu Wenyu. Wang Shu is one of the few Chinese architects who gains profound insights into Orientalism. His architectural concepts and intentions are derived from the imagery of traditional Chinese spaces, such as gardens, large roofs, brickwork, wooden structures and traditional materials (such as bricks, tiles and rammed earth). According to him, architecture is "mucky" and "wet". Under my impression, this is an awfully emotional, intuitive and profound understanding of the expression and interpretation for the essence of architecture.

王澍、陆文宇，临安博物馆，2019

©野城摄影

Lin’an Museum

Wang Shu, Lu Wenyu

2019

© Photography by YE Cheng

十几年苦行僧般在杭州中国美院的修行，他的观念和思想养成从山水画，从园林，从文人士大夫的精神世界中来，而他的作品再现了一种现代语境下的中国传统建筑的超现实面貌。他通过颇为独特的建筑语言，用中国城市化进程中拆迁废弃的旧砖旧瓦对现代建筑进行了一种传统精神的材质修复与空间重构。他的讲座也常常会谈及山水和中国文人的世界观。

After ascetic practice at China Academy of Arts in Hangzhou over the past decade, his concepts and ideas develop on the basis of landscape paintings, gardens and the spiritual world of the literati and bureaucrats, while his works reinvigorate a surrealist look of Chinese traditional buildings in a modern context. Through a type of unique architectural language, he carries out material restoration of traditional spirit and spatial reconstruction for modern architectures by means of worn bricks and worn tiles, which were demolished and abandoned in the tide of China’s urbanization. His lectures also often shed light on "Shanshui" and the worldview of Chinese literati.

王澍、陆文宇，临安博物馆，2019

©野城摄影

Lin’an Museum

Wang Shu, Lu Wenyu

2019

© Photography by YE Cheng

另外一位建筑师马岩松的建筑实践也是倾注于山水之中，马岩松和王澍对山水的理解是很不一样的。马岩松也是我非常熟识的建筑师，可以说见证了他的“山水城市”理念的发展。他所构想的山水城市比较有未来科幻感，同时他的建筑造型和线条又试图追求传统山水画的笔法。这就形成了一种与一般的参数化非线性建筑不同的具有强烈东方写意形态的视觉冲击。

Ma Yansong, another architect, also puts "Shanshui" into architectural practice. Ma Yansong and Wang Shu uphold quite different understandings of "Shanshui". I am also well acquainted with Ma Yansong. It can be said that I witness the development of his concept—"Shanshui City". Conceived by Ma Yansong, "Shanshui City" seems as a futuristic science fiction. In addition, his architectural shapes and lines attempt to pursue the brushwork of traditional landscape painting. A visual impact is revealed through eye-catching oriental unconstrained pattern, differing from the commonly-seen nonlinear architectures under parameterization.

MAD 北京中央公园广场，模型照片，2013

©野城摄影

Beijing Central Park Plaza

MAD, Model Photo, 2013

© Photography by YE Cheng

山水城市是什么？很难用一种标准去衡量这个概念。如果你按照柯布西耶的建筑五要素去盖房子，那一定会产生现代主义建筑。但山水城市不同，它没有具体的规则和手法，本质上还是一种城市意象的写意表达。虽然说是城市，却也是马岩松很个人化的构想，其他建筑师也很难由此进行普遍性的山水城市复制。可能这也是东西方思维方式差异在建筑师创作中的体现。

What is "Shanshui City"? It is difficult to measure this concept with a single criterion. If anybody builds a house according to "Five Points of Architecture" proposed by Le Corbusier, modernist architecture will definitely come out. However, that’s another story for "Shanshui City", which presents no specific rules and techniques and is essentially an unconstrained manifestation of urban imagery. Despite the appellation of "city", it is also a rather personalized conception by Ma Yansong. For this reason, it is difficult for other architects to replicate "Shanshui City" to a broad extent. Perhaps this is also a proof for the differences in the way of thinking between the East and the West in terms of architects’ creation.

MAD 贵阳山水，模型照片，“重构乌托邦”建筑艺术展，深圳华美术馆，2018

©野城摄影

"Guiyang Shanshui", Model Photo, MAD

"Reconstructing Utopia" Architecture and Art Exhibition, Shenzhen Hua Art Museum, 2018

© Photography by YE Cheng

马岩松试图把山水意境融入非线性的曲面建筑之中，用山、树、瀑、雾等具有东方气质的自然元素来烘托这种可视化的山水意境。他批判方盒子建筑，他的建筑在现代主义城市中也显得格格不入。像马岩松这个年龄段的建筑师能把东方写意作为他主要思考和实践的方向也是难能可贵，让我们看到了中国现代建筑的另一种面相。

Ma Yansong desires to integrate artistic conception of "Shanshui" into nonlinear curved architectures, and uses natural elements with oriental savors (such as mountain, tree, waterfall and fog) to highlight such a visual artistic conception of "Shanshui". He criticizes architectures in shape of square box, and his architectures go against the grain in the modernist cities. It is also commendable that young architects like Ma Yansong can adopt oriental unconstrained brushwork as the main orientation to thinking and practice. Therefore, we can glimpse at another facet of Chinese modern architecture.

王澍、陆文宇，临安博物馆，2019

©野城摄影

Lin’an Museum

Wang Shu, Lu Wenyu

2019

© Photography by YE Cheng

王澍更偏向于对山水精神层面的理解和诠释，建筑形态上没有具像化的山水。他采用传统大屋顶、大坡道的形式变体，更注重建筑和环境的空间构成，通过布局、流线、移步易景来营造一种立体化的现代园林。他从哲学层面理解传统文化和中国山水，他的建筑也是在追求一种可体验的现代东方精神。我相信在未来的几十年，会有更多的建筑师进行这类东方性和现代性的交叉实验。

Wang Shu prefers to comprehend and interpret "Shanshui" under spiritual dimension, and there is no concrete "Shanshui" in architectural form. Wang Shu adopts the form variants of traditional large roofs and large ramps, lays more stresses on spatial composition of architecture and environment, and rolls out a three-dimensional modern garden through layout, streamline and everchanging scene at each step. He recognizes traditional culture and Chinese "Shanshui" from a philosophical perspective. His architectures also seek after such a modern oriental spirit that has access to hands-on experience. I believe that in the coming decades, more architects will devote to this kind of cross-experiment brimming with orientalism and modernism.

刘家琨，西村大院，装置照片，“重构乌托邦”建筑艺术展，安仁 OCAT 展区，2018

©野城摄影

West Village, Liu Jiakun, Installation Photo

"Reconstructing Utopia" Architecture and Art Exhibition, OCAT Anren Exhibition Site, 2018

© Photography by YE Cheng

刘家琨，西村大院，装置照片，“重构乌托邦”建筑艺术展，安仁 OCAT 展区，2018

©野城摄影

West Village, Liu Jiakun, Installation Photo

"Reconstructing Utopia" Architecture and Art Exhibition, OCAT Anren Exhibition Site, 2018

© Photography by YE Cheng

还有一位建筑师刘家琨的作品也颇具本土实验性。他专门制作的“西村大院”悬吊装置参加了我策划的“重构乌托邦”展。他早期小说写的很好，后来一鼓作气搞了建筑。他也是没有国外建筑教育背景的土生土长的中国建筑师。他长居成都，这个城市很闲散放松，充满生活气息。他的个人经历使其对于本土建筑精神性有着颇为独特的思考。

The works by architect Liu Jiakun are also full of experimental tastes, including especially-made suspension device West Village on show at "Reconstructing Utopia" Architecture and Art Exhibition. He ever published many top-class novels in his early years. Subsequently, he has taken on architect career in one go. He is also a native Chinese architect without overseas education background in the field of architecture. He lives in Chengdu, a city steeped in relaxed style and full of life. His personal experience endows him with unique reflection over the spirituality of indigenous architecture.

西村大院，建成照片，2015

©家琨建筑事务所

West Village

Photo upon completion

2015

© Jiakun Architects

西村大院，建成照片，2015

©家琨建筑事务所

West Village

Photo upon completion

2015

© Jiakun Architects

他对空间的理解和建构来源于中国本土的市井空间和市井文化，这样一种在地性的滋养造就了刘家琨建筑很有体验性但又不世俗的“烟火气”。而这种烟火气在他所建构的怀旧又现代的生活方式的空间演练之中上升为一种本土精神的诠释，建构了一种具有东方质感的异化空间。

Liu Jiakun’s understanding and construction of space originate from local folk space and folk culture in China. Such local nourishment results in experiential but unworldly "taste of mortals" in architectural works by Liu Jiakun. And this kind of sublimes to an interpretation of the local spirit in spatial manoeuvre of both nostalgic and modern lifestyle he constructs, thereby creating an exotic space with oriental texture.

西村大院，建成照片，2015

©家琨建筑事务所

West Village

Photo upon completion

2015

© Jiakun Architects

西村大院这个项目，没有采用一般地产项目那种高密度群楼模式，而是在场地周边围合成一个巨大如城寨的回字形连体建筑。场地内部的空间被完全解放出来，成为服务居民的巨大的社区公共空间。这里有公园，有竹林，有广场，有体育活动场地，还有露天电影的放映空间。而回字形的坡道贯穿整个建筑，成为连续不断的自行车道。你可以骑着自行车或者一路跑步从地面层一直跑到建筑的屋顶。整个巨大的循环流线制造了颇为戏剧性的邻里关系和日常情节。我想刘家琨也是在探索一种开放性的，尊重个体自由的，怀旧而又未来的，近乎乌托邦的集体生活方式。

Instead of high-density cluster building mode of general real estate projects, Project of "West Village" encloses the construction site into a huge  rectangular-ambulatory-plane conjoined building in the shape of a fortress. The space inside the site is completely liberated and changes into a tremendous community public space for residents. Park, bamboo forest, plaza, sports venue and open-air movie screening space are available here. The rectangular-ambulatory-plane ramp runs through the entire building and becomes a continuous bikeway. People can ride a bike or run all the way from the ground floor to the roof of the building. The whole huge circulation line gives shape to the quite dramatic neighborhood relationships and everyday life plots. In my opinion, Liu Jiakun is also exploring for an open-style and almost utopian collective lifestyle with respect for individual freedom and a perfect blend of nostalgia and futurism.

京城最小博物馆，旧城改造项目效果图，北京青龙胡同片区，2018

©野城建筑事务所

The Smallest Museum in Beijing, Rendering picture of the old city renovation project, Qinglong Hutong Area in Dongcheng District, Beijing

2018

© Wild City Factory

我本人一直很关注建筑精神性和建筑本体的问题，不仅通过策展的方式来呈现其他建筑师艺术家们对精神性的实践，我作为建筑师本身也在通过空间的建构来检验我对建筑精神性的理解。

I am always concerned about spirituality of architecture and ontology of architecture. While demonstrating the spiritual practices by other architects and artists with my curation efforts, as an architect, I also examine my personal thoughts on spirituality of architecture through the construction of space.

京城最小博物馆，建成照片，2018

©野城摄影

The Smallest Museum in Beijing

Photo upon completion

2018

© Photography by YE Cheng

2018年我在北京青龙胡同片区设计过一个"京城最小博物馆"。这座只有14平米的迷你博物馆却容纳了500件字画、器皿、篆刻、古籍善本等各种文化用品。这个空间本体就是乾隆的书房“三希堂”，可以说是重构现代文人精神的一个古典又未来的精神性空间。这个空间建成的时候就感觉像个多年的老房子，同时又有一种未来感。

In 2018, I designed The Smallest Museum in Beijing in Qinglong Hutong Area. This 14-square-meter mini museum contains 500 calligraphy and painting works, utensils, seal carvings, rare ancient books and other cultural goods. This space itself is "Room of Three Rare Treasures", a study room of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty. It can be said to be a classical and futurist spiritual space to remold the spirit of modern literati. Upon its completion, this space looks like a time-honored old house, brimming with futuristic characteristics.

DOMUS 135期封面作品，京城最小博物馆，2019

© DOMUS

The Smallest Museum in Beijing on the cover of DOMUS Issue No. 135

2019

© DOMUS

我在尝试找到一种适合当下语境的东方精神性，让参观者身临其境感受到一种时空的穿越和迭代。当你从雍和宫附近的破旧老城区穿越进一个狭窄的胡同，再进入一座有着两棵枣树的四合院，从四合院又穿越进一个迷你博物馆。其实这个空间虽小，它却充分利用了城市尺度的空间分层和节奏。有了青龙胡同片区这个外化的老立面，这个空间内在精神性的建构得以建立。参观者进入到这个空间，会有一种层层递进的仪式感。在这个空间内心会很静，宝物环绕，墙壁发出金光，像处在寺庙的藏经阁里一样。你不会去想着拿起手机，这里面的物件可以让你把玩很久。这里不只可以让你有博物馆日常的观看体验，你还可以近距离接触摸所有的展品。在这个嘈杂的尘世，我希望能营造一个可以走进内心反观自我的空间，一个可以独处，进而感知整个世界的小空间。这也便是“京城最小博物馆”所要达成的精神性。

I am trying to find an oriental spirituality tailored to the current context so that visitors can be immersed into time-travel and iteration. Please imagine that a visitor crosses into a narrow alley from the dilapidated old quarter near Yonghe Lama Temple, enters a quadrangle dwelling where two jujube trees grows, and walks into a mini museum from the quadrangle dwelling. In fact, despite small size, this space makes full use of the spatial layering and rhythm on urban scale. With the externalized outdated facade of Qinglong Hutong Area, the inner spiritual construction of this space is established. When visitors enter this space, they will be fascinated by a sense of progressive ritual. In this space surrounded by treasures, everyone enjoys peace of mind, and the walls radiate golden rays. This is similar to depositary of Buddhist scriptures in a temple. Nobody plays with his/her own phone, as he/she appreciate the valuable objects here for a long time. Visitors can not only gain the routine viewing experience in the museum here, but also touch all the exhibits up close. In this noisy world, I create this small space, in the hope that it can help people approach the innermost world and reflect on themselves, where they stay alone and perceive the whole world. This is exactly what the spirituality suggests, the desired goal of The Smallest Museum in Beijing.

京城最小博物馆，建成照片，2018

©野城摄影

The Smallest Museum in Beijing

Photo upon completion

2018

© Photography by YE Cheng

在这个网红建筑走红的流量时代，物质的传播效率要比信息低太多，实体建筑自然也在被被不断的媒体化和信息化。建筑空间是需要人置身其中，切身体验的。网红建筑却是用非常有限的信息最大限度的吸引眼球，这就逼迫网红建筑师为了流量不得不走过度形式化的路线，追逐于视网膜建筑的快感饕餮之中。网络只需要几张抓人的照片，几段爆款的视频足以。物质空间被数字虚构化，如同主播的脸被数字化美颜。当建筑专门为眼球生产建造，这就根本上违背了建筑学的初衷。

In this era of Eyeball Economy with upstart visits at the core, during which the Internet celebrity architectures are in vogue, the efficiency of material dissemination is much lower than that of information. As such, physical architectures are of course being constantly mediated and informatized. Architectural space requires people to place themselves in it and experience personally. The Internet celebrity architecture depends on confined information to attract attention to the greatest extent, which forces those Internet celebrity architects to take an overly formalized approach for upstart visits, and merely pursue the pleasant thrill for superficially showy architectures. The Internet is only stuffed with a few arresting photos or a few blockbusting videos. The physical space is digitally fictionalized, just as the face of real-life streamers digitally beautified under beauty camera. When architectures are built specifically for attention, this fundamentally goes against the original intention of architectural science.

柯布西耶，马赛公寓，屋顶照片，1952

Unité d'Habitation

Le Corbusier

Roof Photo, 1952

建筑是物质的、空间的、情感的和精神的交互场域。网络的界面损失了大量的信息，只取几个视角，建筑师的价值观自然被扭曲。纯粹的形式主义是媒体传播最爱的素材，建筑的精神性无从体验，更无人问津。在这样的氛围下，建筑的好坏标准竟然沦为上不上镜和流量高低，尤其那些以媒体传播和节目效果为出发点来设计的网红建筑大多沦为廉价的布景和低质量的废弃空间。

Architecture is an interactive field domain at material, spatial, emotional and spiritual levels. A lot of information is lost from the interface of the network, and only several perspectives are retained so that values of the architects are naturally distorted. Pure formalism is the favorite source for media communication. Unavailable experience is gained in spirituality of architecture, which is left without anybody to care for it. In such a context, the quality standards of architectures have been reduced to photogenic character and visitor volume. In particular, those Internet celebrity architectures, designed with media communication and program effects, mostly descend to cheap settings and low-grade abandoned spaces.

安藤忠雄，光之教堂，1989

Church of the Light

Tadao Ando

1989

建筑的三要素坚固、实用和美观，现在只剩下虚假的美颜。恰恰在这样一种背景下，还在探索建筑精神性的建筑师显得弥足珍贵。建筑的精神性贯穿了建筑的过去现在和未来，并将一直指引建筑学的发展，尤其希望年轻的建筑师不要被纷繁的网络扰乱心性。建筑没有捷径可以走，探索建筑本体始终是穿越各种表象直达空间本质的必经之路。最后我想引用王澍和我说的一句话作为结尾：“媒体是瞬间的，建筑是永恒的”。

A sturdy, functional and aesthetically pleasing architecture makes a difference (i.e., three elements of architecture). Ostensible whitewash of architecture remains at present. It is against such a backdrop that architects, who are still exploring for the spirituality of architecture, are very precious. The spirituality of architecture runs through the past, present and future of architecture, and will always be a guideline for the development of architecture. Young architects are especially expected to keep from being disturbed by the complicated Internet. Nobody can take a short cut in the field of architecture. Exploring for the ontology of architecture is always the only way to transcend various appearances and penetrate into the origins of space. In concluding remarks, I would like to end with pearls of wisdom from Wang Shu: "Media are in a twinkle, but architecture is an eternal existence".