China's Amazing Building Transformation

By Dominic Gallello, CEO, Graphisoft

Every once in a while, a special time in the history of architecture emerges. This is a special time, and China is a very special place.

There is no other place on the planet today quite like it. In any major city there, if you look into the horizon, you will see between two and ten construction cranes in the landscape. Work is done 24 hours a day and new buildings that soar are going up, seemingly everywhere. China is using 54% of the world's production of concrete and 36% of its supply of steel. Thanks to China's enormous consumption of steel, steel fabricators in California are now quoting their prices like fish. They can tell you the price for today, but not for tomorrow. In most countries in the world, there may be three or four big and important projects. In China, three or four big and important projects may constitute just a "section of town".

In my recent meeting with the head of Science & Technology and IT for the Ministry of Construction (45 million employees), he grinned when I suggested there may be a slowdown in building. His prediction is the building boom will be non-stop for at least the next 20 years. Considering that China's plan is to move from 30% to 70% urban population density, it makes perfect sense. There is a tremendous need for residential, commercial and institutional buildings - everywhere!

How does this special time in China compare with other times in history - In the 1400s, it was Italy, spawned by the patronage from wealthy citizens and, even more, a wealthy Catholic church. Budapest's magical architecture was predominantly created in the space of just 20 short years at the end of the 1800s. In 1870, the municipality set up the Council of Public Works, which elaborated a grand master plan, and the city had the power to realize it. Singapore's dramatic transition in the seventies and eighties was masterminded by Lee Kwan Hew, the Prime Minister who was determined to thrust Singapore onto the world stage, in spite of the fact that the island nation had a population of just over 3 million. Russia's architecture, to a large extent, was driven by who was in power and what their priority was. For Stalin, it was big buildings with spires reaching into the clouds that symbolized Soviet power. For Khrushchev it was 5-story blocks, so people could have basic shelter. The Khrushchev era led to the temporary demise of the Soviet architect, as he had neither respect nor need for the profession. In Putin's modern day Russia, which is wealthy, thanks to having the world's second largest oil producing economy, it is all about variety and style.

So, in China, is it money, politics, economics or something else that is creating this juggernaut that is spending $400B per year on construction, representing 16% of it's GDP? The answer is all of the above! China has massive foreign reserves and "overseas Chinese" money has poured in over the last decade to finance this boom. Many Chinese leaders were engineers, and it seems they want to leave their legacy in great engineering feats. Hu Jintao, the President of China was a hydraulic engineer, and during the Cultural Revolution worked as a laborer on building projects. With China's intense national pride, it is no surprise that they are pouring $28B into the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The mastermind of the boom that China is experiencing today was Deng Xiao Ping. "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" created a market economy that is on fire, with 9% GDP growth last year, and has created the need for a whole new wave of building for people to live, work and play in.

So what kind of style is being defined in this building boom? Like current day Russia, there is tremendous variety. Like Deng Xiao Ping's politics, it is modern, "with Chinese characteristics". In Shanghai it is very tall buildings that are somewhat sleek. In Beijing, it seems like buildings are as wide as they are tall. Where do these designs come from? A combination of local architects and architects from around the world are designing China's future. Nikken Sekkei from Japan, Herzog & de Meuron from Switzerland and many more are leaving their fingerprint on the building landscape.

China is also a unique market on the people front. Construction is very low cost. Labor rates range from $4 to 12 dollars per day. It is also unique, in that architects are not only in high demand, but they are highly paid, relatively speaking. To become an architect in China is something coveted. One of the very top schools in China is Tsing Hua University in Beijing . The kids going in with the highest grade point averages choose architecture over any other curriculum!

The concerns of architecture in China are no different from the rest of the world: How to create better designs, be more productive and to integrate better into the construction process. In the China 5 year plan drafted by the ministry of construction, model based design and tools that integrate design and construction better are the mandate. Although design is done almost exclusively in 2D, like the massive move from DOS to Windows, China is on the verge of the same dramatic movement to model based design.

Interested in participating in this design revolution? There may be an opportunity. China is currently planning their Future Home project. The purpose is to create a new generation of building examples based on super low energy consumption, lofty comfort and totally environmentally sound projects. Plans are for traditional Chinese, American, Japanese, Canadian and Swedish, as well as other styles of buildings. Embassies involved in this project include the U.S., Canadian, Australian, French, UA, Swedish and Danish. Architects and construction companies from all over the world are encouraged to get involved. If you are interested in learning more about this project, write me at .

Whether you decide to try to participate in the Future Home project or are just planning an architectural pilgrimage, China gets my vote as a must visit!