On 22nd October, the “My Universities - International Architectural Education Summit” was held at Tianjin University (TJU), to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the School of Architecture. During the summit, several issues were deliberated, with particular emphasis on the future of architecture and architectural education, environmental and social issues, as well as the development of a more aesthetically beautiful China.
Held by the School of Architecture, Tianjin University, and jointly organized by Urban Environment Design (UED) Magazine, the summit involved prestigious architectural educators from Tsinghua University, Cardiff University, the University of Paris I: Pantheon-Sorbonne, Kobe University, University of California, Los Angeles and other well-known universities.
Famous alumni, deans of architecture schools at home and abroad, respectively, discussed three aspects of architectural education: TJU architectural education; China’s 80-year architectural education; and the future of architectural education.
Prof. Peng Yigang, one of the famed alumni in attendance (also academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences), delivered a speech about his memory of university life in TJU and his thoughts on the future of architectural education development. Zhang Baogui (CEO of Beijing Baogui Stone Art Company) addressed the concept of environmental friendly building materials. Reflections on architecture and architectural education were also shared by Cui Kai (academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering), Zhou Kai, Li Xinggang (Chinese national engineering survey and design masters) and Liu Fanglei (famous architect).
The second part of the summit consisted of free talk between honorable guests hosted by Yuan Dachang, the CPC committee secretary of the School of Architecture, TJU. Guests from the “eight Chinese leading universities in architecture education” put forward their observations on contemporary architecture education in China, and explored the future direction of development and transformation of architectural education.
During the third part of the summit, deans and professors from famous architecture schools abroad respectively gave speeches, elaborating on their views on the future development of world architecture. Prof. Ding Wowo (Dean of School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University) and Prof. Wang Weiren (professor of HKU Faculty of Architecture) hosted the seminar, and guests from home and abroad jointly expounded upon the future development model of architecture, discussed problems in current architectural education, and explored architectural talent training programs.
In the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping emphasized that it is necessary to enhance the ecological environment and sculpt a beautiful China. Correspondingly, from a global perspective, the future of architectural education should be closely related to and have a profound impact on the living environment, social ecology, and life of human beings.
By: Wei Shanshan
Editors: Qin Mian and Christopher Peter Clarke
