2350. Beijing Daxing International Airport

 

Dear Ken,

"I really believe in the idea of the future."

(Zaha Hadid)

Best regards,

R

1383. UK Pavilion (The Seed Cathedral). Expo 2010 Shanghai, China

Dear Louise,

"This building is the only project we've done that looks more like a render that the render" (Thomas Heatherwick)

Cheers,
R

1326. Guangzhou Opera House

Dear Frank,

"As an architect, your client is no longer a single person or type of person - your client is everyone." (Zaha Hadid, 1950-2016)

Best wishes,
R

525. Shanghai 2010. Spain Pavilion

Querida Benedetta,

Enhorabuena por haber creado este edificio fascinante.
Cuando lo visité recordé un pensamiento de Coderch
sobre la importancia que tiene para un arquitecto el hacer
compatible el progreso con la humanidad que irradian las
viejas construcciones. Este Pabellón evoca no a una
construcción sino a un tipo de artesanía pero igualmente
antigua, humana y de gran utilidad.

Te deseo lo mejor.
R

368. CCTV Building. Beijing

Dear Jan,

"Early 2002 we received two invitations, one to apply to
consider what should happen at Ground Zero, the other
for the headquarters of China Central Television in Beijing.
We discussed the choice over a Chinese meal. The life of
the architect is so fraught with uncertainty and dilemmas
that any clarification of the future, including astrology, is
disproportionately welcome. My fortune cookie read,
"Stunningly Omnipresent Masters make minced meat of
memory" (Rem Koolhaas)

Cheers.
R

72. Beijing National Stadium

Dear Juan Luis,

A few days ago I read in the NYT about the new
Beijing Olympic National Stadium :
"Viewed from a distance, the contrast between its
bent steel columns and its bulging elliptical form gives
the stadium a surreal, moody appearance, as if it were
straining to contain the forces that are pushing and
pulling it this way and that. Philosophically, it suggests
the tensions just beneath the surface of a society in
constant turmoil."
Indeed China is a nation that is struggling to forge itself
a new identity, and this fantastic building designed by
Herzog & de Meuron will help to push in the right
direction.

Best.
R