重温基本

张利/ZHANG Li

从整体名声上说，我们的时代不是个对基本事物感兴趣的时代。随着量子物理学与混沌理论蔓延到我们日常生活的点点滴滴——或者至少被智者们声称是这样——似乎任何与绝对或基本有关的事物都变得过时了。正如基阿尼·瓦蒂莫所说，在后现代，一切都只是一种阐释而非结论，包括这个论点自身。

建筑学也发生了变化。宽泛的语义学联想总是试图让建筑学远离物质空间的纯粹喜悦；而且无论这些联想多么牵强，总在事实上被认为是学术新领域的定义。设计实践本身越来越接近文艺批评而不再是空间干预。

然而，还是有些人试图拒绝这种潮流的——张轲便是其中之一，他选择重新审视基本。在过去的20年中，他和他的同事长期致力于基于句法学的设计实践探索。无论是在密集的中国城市还是在广袤的中国乡村，他们的空间实验一直在延续。

张轲自主、中立的取向赋予了他的作品以一种颇具识别性的语言。对材料和空间的抽象、不涉及伦理（或接近不涉及伦理）的操作使他的作品对任何评述而言都是开放的。它们有时在中国和西方会得到截然不同的解释，这恰恰证明了这种抽象性和中立性。正是建筑学的基本，而不是别的任何任何东西，让张轲的作品成就其本身。在张轲的作品中能够看到几何：理性的、但令人愉快的多边形几何。它既不同于正统现代主义者的多米诺原型，又无视死硬派参数化主义者的炫技翘曲。那些相信欧几里德几何必然会导致无聊的人可能需要重新考虑一下自己的主张了，因为张轲的几何游戏确实取得了一定的有机复杂性，很容易让人联想到像沃尔特·弗德尔那样的非正统现代先锋试验。

在张轲的作品中能够看到光：充足，甚至过度的日光从四面八方渲染着通常十分狭促的室内空间，呈现出令人印象深刻的氛围。正是在由建筑的开口（窗户、隧道、光井，随便你怎么称呼它）带来的光晕下，张轲把他最大胆的冒险应用到材料与身体空间的互动之中。

在张轲的作品中能够看到材料：对巨石意象的痴迷使张轲致力于对不同的材料进行各种各样的实验，以试图模仿混凝土的三维塑性。其结果有时精彩绝伦，有时毁誉参半，但无论如何，从未枯燥乏味。

在张轲的作品中能够看到功能：或更准确地说，类似于功能的目的性。张轲的建筑通常突出泛化、柔性、粗犷但具有社会性企图的功能。它们从来不是其建筑的目的，而是支持其建筑逻辑的方法。在张轲的建筑中，有时我们很难找到具体的业主或最终使用者。但是，必须说明的是，既然功能中立性可以有助于让建筑保持更明确的设计自主性聚焦，那么何乐而不为呢？

最后，在张轲的建筑中能够看到乐观：对设计干预的乐观。与一些西方评论完全相反的是，对于过去的30年中国发生的超高速城市化，张轲的回应既不是抵抗也不是叛逆。他可以选择适应，但拒绝折衷纯粹的、由设计产生的价值。他试图在所有类型的建筑中找到合适的切入点，从那开始通过设计导致正向的改变。也许有人会说，张轲的设计乐观主义既是一种结果又是一种对他设计作品所处环境的适应性机制：很明显，在中国，最大的挑战与最大的兴奋长期共存。

我们在为一期专辑中浏览张轲的作品，希望通过它们重温建筑的基本。当然，对任何的基本而言，重温永远好于忘却。□

Our time is not known for its interest for the basics.With quantum physics and chaos theory flexing their muscles in our daily life, or at least said to be so, anything with hints to the absolute or the essential seems outdated.As Vattimo puts it, in the post-modern age, everything is just an interpretation rather than a conclusion, even this argument itself.

There has been shifts in Architecture as well. Broad semantic associations pulling architecture away from the pure joy of physicality of space, no matter how far-fetched,have become the de-facto definitions of new scopes that are widely celebrated. The practice of design itself is becoming more of critique than of intervention.

There are though, a few people trying to resist the trend. ZHANG Ke for one, chooses to revisit the basics.Over the past two decades, he and his colleagues have been committed to syntactical design enquiries and have been taking continuous experiments, both in the dense of superhigh-rise Chinese cities and in the thin of the vast Chinese countryside.

The autonomous, neutral approach of ZHANG Ke has imparted his works with an identifiable language. The abstract, ethics-free (or quasi-ethics-free) treatments of material and space are open to all kinds of commentaries.The fact that ZHANG Ke's works are sometimes interpreted dramatically differently in China and in the west is a proof of this abstraction and neutrality. It is exactly the basics of architecture, more than anything else, that make ZHANG Ke's work what they are.

There is geometry. Rational, yet delightful polygonal geometry that defies both the Domino of the orthodox modernists and the warping of the die-hard parametricists.Those who believe Euclidean geometry is only destined for boredom may have a second thought. ZHANG Ke has certainly achieved some organic complexity in his play of geometry, reminiscent of some non-orthodox modern pioneers those of Walter Foerderer.

There is light. Ample, even excessive daylight from all directions renders the usually humble interior spaces with an impressive aura. It is by the openings (windows, tunnels,wells, you name it) of light that ZHANG Ke take his boldest adventures into materiality and body space.

There is material. An obsession with monolithic quality drives ZHANG Ke to a variety of experiments, trying to mimic the 3D plasticity of concrete in all kinds of materials.The results are sometimes sound, sometimes arguable, but never boring.

There is the programme, sort of. General, flexible,broad-brush-definition yet social programmes are usually used to support ZHANG Ke's buildings. They are not the ends of the buildings, but the means. Sometimes it is even hard to find specific owners or users of certain buildings.After all, being programme-neutral helps to maintain more autonomous design focuses, so why not?

Finally, there is optimism: the optimism of design interventions. Quite contrary to some western observations,ZHANG Ke is neither resistant nor rebellious in his reaction to the super-fast urbanisation taking place in China in the past 30 years. What he cannot compromise, however, is the value generated purely by design. He tries to find the anchor point in all typologies from where he can deliver a positive change through design. One may argue that the design optimism of ZHANG Ke is both a product of and an adaptive mechanism to the environment his practice is in:the challenging and exciting situations in China.

Do let ZHANG Ke's works in this special issue take us to some basics of architecture. When it comes to the basics, it's always better to revisit than forget.□