15 Opinions on Weird Architecture, from Chinese Citizens Who Live with It

This week, the Wall Street Journalpicked up on an impressive report from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat [PDF], distilling the record-breaking stats down to the finding that the completion of 97 skyscrapers (defined as buildings of 200m or taller) in 2014 far outpaced the previous year, in which 71 skyscrapers were completed. More significantly, a solid 60% of 2014’s towers topped out in China, which in turn saw the completion of about 60% more buildings — up to 58, from 36 in 2013 — with projections of 100+ in the PRC alone this year.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping made headlines last autumn when he called for his country to put an end to “weird” architecture. It’s unclear as to whether his motivations were aesthetic or political, as Xi has mounted a high-profile campaign against government corruption and excess spending. Nevertheless, in the three months since he made the statement, at an art symposium on October 15, 2014, the government has not issued any architectural regulations or mandates, or even guidelines for what would be considered “weird.”

Xi’s remarks come at a time when more innovative designs, like Rem Koolhas’s CCTV Headquarters, are popping up on the Beijing skyline and smaller cities are attempting to establish landmarks by erecting more provocative buildings, like a Wuxi building shaped like a teapot. (As with Chongqing and Wuhan, Wuxi is home to four 200+ buildings completed in 2014; Tianjin tops the list for the most in a single city, at six.)

The Wharf Times Square (339m), Wuxi, by Aedas (photo via Skyscraper City)

Yet the vast majority of the 200m+ buildings — enumerated in the CTBUH report — are decidedly mundane. Here, then, are images of a few of the 58 Chinese skyscrapers completed last year… alongside an informal survey of 15 everyday Chinese citizens’ reactions to Xi’s edict:

I think China should build more funny-looking buildings… People look at their phones too much. It’s time to build more eye-catching architecture to divert attention away from [cell phones] and get people involved in the real world.

— Qianru “Martino” Chen, business owner

Buildings last for a long time, so I think function should always be the first priority. Cities require landmarks, but some buildings cost too much money. There needs to be a balance. If a big city has a few landmarks, that’s OK, but there’s been a trend in which cities try to build weird buildings to attract attention, and this has wasted taxpayers’ money.

— Maggie Wang, interior designer

I think the weird buildings are products of China’s unique aesthetics. These buildings are China’s approach to high-end architecture. They elevate China’s architecture industry and help establish China’s architectural status worldwide.

— Alana Fu, comedian

I am supportive of people who are trying to be creative. I think we especially need creativity in China, but I do hope [architects] can think the way I would when they design and ask, “What kind of buildings will still be impressive and able to appreciated by people hundreds of years from now, and not look like a joke?”

I think “weird” is a very subjective idea, so even if Xi [cancelled plans for buildings he didn’t like], what about the future? I think the more important thing is to have the architect understand more about what art is. Moreover, I think that rather than spending a lot money building all these strange big buildings to show off, they should spend money on building buildings that are affordable to average people. There are way too many new buildings with nobody living in them in China.

— Ice Tang, business owner

R&F Yingkai Tower (296m), Guangzhou, by Goettsch Partners (photo via jo.sau on Flickr)

[Weird buildings] can sometimes be fun to look at, but eventually these buildings become a permanent abomination on the city skyline. Unfortunately, most of these “weird” buildings were built in huge scales with huge budgets. The CCTV tower was designed by “starchitect” Rem Koolhaas. The design itself has some structural design significance, but it completely ignored the environmental and cultural context it’s in. A lot of the “starchitect” projects suffer from the same problem; they are massive and “weird.” China should stop building “weird” buildings, or rather, China should stop allowing certain developers/clients/designers to do whatever they want with the city landscape.

As a Shanghai native, I am very proud of what my city skyline has to offer; it would be heart-breaking for me to see it disturbed by “weird” buildings. I have been to other cities, like Beijing, Chengdu, Suzhou, Xiamen, and Harbin. They are all beautiful and full of buildings suited for their own cultural and environmental characteristics. I reckon the residents in these cities would hate to see weird buildings interfere with that as well.

— Luo Ye, editor/translator

Years ago, China had the same buildings everywhere. Then the government invited foreign architects to change the way the buildings looked. Now we have lots of different designs, but the buildings all respect China’s history. I don’t think China should stop building “weird” buildings. Xi Jinping’s complaint might be him wanting to tell the world that China has changed a lot. But this doesn’t mean we should stop building weird styles of buildings.

— Alice Wong, marketing manager

Chongqing International Trade Center (256m), Chongqing, by Chongqing Architecture and Design Institute and Kohn Pedersen Fox & Associates (Photo courtesy of KPF)

I really agree with [Xi’s] use of the word “weird.” I think architects want to make their buildings different and fresh. And yes, a lot of these buildings are fresh and different to Chinese people. But I don’t understand any great meanings behind them. I think they should stop making “weird” buildings. I think the buildings need to be suitable for the environment and good for people. But a lot of them seem like an awful waste of space and land.

— Wokky Lin, software engineer

I agree there is a lot of weird architecture in China: the big penis, the big coin, the big underpants, the big vagina, etc. They’re all inarguably weird and ugly. I do agree that China doesn’t need more of those ugly buildings. However, the president is in no place to make such a comment, whether it’s a “suggestion” or an “executive order.” Such a comment from the central leader, regardless of its intentions, will be interpreted as a government order, which the local governments will be forced to execute.

That begs the question, what is the definition of “weird?” Who has the authority to rule whether or not a new construction project is “weird?” Many times, there’s no clear distinction between “weird” and “creative”; “weird” means it’s different, and difference means diversity, and diversity leads to prosperity and creativity. Plus, many of the commonly acknowledged weird buildings are either owned by government institutes, or built with government funds, such as the big penis, the big vagina, and the big underpants.

In comparison, the SOHO Center in Beijing, a well-designed, futuristic office complex, was built by a private corporation. Clearly the government is in no place to tell people what is weird and what is not, and if a private corporation wants to squander their money on an ugly building and damage their own image, that’s their own business.

— Goodspeed Kwuich, writer/director

Sankee Plaza (231m), Nanning (photo via Skyscraper City)

I don’t think it is a good idea to stop building strange buildings. Though some of them are weird, some of them are strangely nice. For example, the Himalayas Center in Pudong is really fascinating. Architecture is a form of art, and you can never stop creation in art.

— Rosemary Zhu, PR manager

I think that buildings are a private matter and are the choices of the investors. Maybe the investors don’t think they are weird, or maybe they just made bad decisions. Before they build buildings, [developers] need to give the floor plans to the government to approve. If government officials don’t think that these buildings give a good image of the city, then why do the officials approve them in the first place? They can’t just wait for them to be finished and then say, “That looks stupid.”

They build crazy buildings all over the world, not only in China. People’s taste changes over time. Maybe it looks weird to us now, but in the future we will think, “Wow, that’s magnificent.” It gives diversity to the city. Also, what does the average person know about architecture? There is probably much more to building these landmarks than we realize.

— Ye Ye, marketing manager

99 percent of these skyscrapers are designed by western corporations. I assume they see China as a giant sketch pad. I am all for the new rule to stop building [“weird buildings”]. Then we could divert that money to other things, like education.

— Storm Xu, comedian

Ligao International (231m), Nanchang (photo via Skyscraper City)

I can appreciate the avant-garde flavor of these “weird” buildings. The reason that they are considered “weird” is because they were built out of context, out of touch with the local culture and the majority of people. I wouldn’t say China should stop building “weird” buildings, I agree with Xi Jinping’s comments [that architecture should appeal to the average Chinese citizen and that there should be more traditional Chinese art]. First of all, these buildings seem to be scattered around the city and did not appear to follow consistent city planning guidelines. They don’t seem to fit in the surroundings. [Secondly,] China has advanced so quickly in a economic sense that people have become less appreciative of traditions or Chinese culture. Not only do they look up to Western culture, but they sometimes disregard or are ashamed of traditional Chinese culture.

I think Chinese artists should be innovative and original and find a better way to integrate traditional Chinese culture with the modern world, advanced technology, and non-Chinese culture. With this goal in mind, if the art form comes out weird, that’s fine.

— Chen Shen, finance

I do feel that there are grotesque buildings in China, such as the one resembling three Taoist gods (I dislike it as it’s too bold and may be terrifying to see at night), and some interesting ones, like the one shaped into an ancient Chinese coin (I think it’s OK and in a way manifests the money fever in China). But I really do not think the CCTV tower is ugly or weird. I think it’s special, and it can become a landmark for Beijing. I love to see buildings with special designs in China, such as the Himalayas Center in Shanghai (which resembles a forest), because like most people living and working in cities, I’m fed up with buildings of the same look or style that dominate the city landscape, and I want to see something different. So I disagree that China should stop building so-called “weird” buildings.

— Chloe Sun, journalist

Wuxi Suning Center (328m), Wuxi, by RTKL (photo via Skyscraper City)

It’s hard to define a building as “weird.” The difference between art and bizarre lies in people’s aesthetic views. [These buildings] may look beautiful to artists but weird to the majority. I personally think some of them look good. They are different and creative, and not traditional Chinese style, which is good, though there’s room for improvement. I don’t think it’s a good idea to stop building “weird” buildings. Chinese people need something different to inspire them.

— Carrie Luo, market research

I think [“weird” buildings] have interesting designs and sometimes offer a good laugh, especially considering that they house CCTV and People’s Daily. Maybe China is the only place besides Dubai where we can see stuff like this. I don’t agree or disagree [that China should stop building “weird” buildings]. However, the city’s planning authority should know better than to put penis-shaped buildings up in the first place. I am just amazed by the fact that this kind of decision made it all the way up to the President Xi. That the artistic bar needs to be defined by President Xi is quite amazing.

— Yichuan Cao, student

With additional reporting by Ray Hu

Author: Audrey Murray