Reported by: JIAN Zhu
Photographed by: JIAN Zhu
Translated by: WANG Xujie
Edited by: Jonathan Wylie
In order to enhance the cooperation and communication between Chinese and British colleges in the field of architecture education, the “2014 Chinese-British College Student Architecture Workshop” was held at HIT from September 15th to 26th by the Architectural Society of China and the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy.
Assistant President XU Xiaofei gave a speech at the opening ceremony. Thirty-seven teachers and students from nine universities in both China and Britain, including HIT, attended the workshop. During the workshop, Associate Professor LU Ming, and students, GUO Ziwei, HONG Fenghuan and YOU Zehao and all the other teachers and students were divided into 6 groups, where they discussed the problem of city design in the northern region of the Harbin Train Station and finally attained great design achievements.
This workshop required every group to create their own design conception, principles and strategy of their own region to reach the goals of “Optimization of traffic to clear the environment; Improvement of functions to revive center; and Integration of culture to recall memory.” After two weeks’ effort, every group completed their mission successfully. On September 26th, the workshop invited 15 experts from 9 universities, the Architectural Society of China, the HIT Architectural Design and Research Institute and the Academy of Urban Planning and Design as a review panel and the judges awarded 1 first prize, 2 second prizes, 3 third prizes, 1 Best Presentation Award, 1 Best Protection Award, and 1 Best Teamwork Award. The experts all agreed that the projects in this workshop were unique and meaningful, that the research and techniques were innovative and the results were of great theoretical and practical value to the region near the Harbin Train Station.
“This workshop promoted communication between Chinese and British students, let everyone experience the difference between western and eastern culture and enhanced mutual understanding between Chinese and British architecture education,” LU Ming, one attender, said. The region chosen for study is located in Harbin’s remarkable central area, which full of historical problems and heavy traffic. The design results can now be used as a reference to improve functions of Harbin’s central area, solving traffic area around the train station, while still protecting the city’s history.
Chinese and British teachers and students discuss the project
