Atelier Feichang Jianzhu

Design Philosophy

At FCJZ, each project is treated as a research into one or several areas in architecture and urbanism, from the more basic design issues, including material, program, site, and space, to the pressing concerns of today, such as economy, sustainability, tradition and urbanity. These questions may be global but we believe that the solutions to them vary in different regions of the world. Besides, we see our practice as a cultural endeavor. Such attitude allows us to constantly cross the border between different disciplines, from conceptual design to art installation, and span between different scales, from city to furniture, in hope of making a contribution to the contemporary Chinese culture.

Due to the experimental nature of our practice, we need outdoor spaces to conduct construction studies and store material samples. As someone who was born and grew up in Beijing, I always enjoy courtyard. What we have now is not exactly a courtyard in the traditional sense but rather a vegetable garden with old single-story building on its north side on the outskirt of Beijing. In the garden, we grow cucumber, peas, tomatoes, sunflowers, etc. for our lunch and to snack on. From where we are, one does not find another building in sight. For an office that is intensely interested in urbanism, such setting might be too rural; however, I do think our work have been benefited from the tranquility of the environment. In the end, work habit overlaps life style.