Have a Dream, and Find a Way

先有个梦想，然后找到路径

Lecture Date: November 21, 2015

Lecturer: Monsieur Paul Andreu

Topic: Different Approaches to ArtisticCreation: Architecture, Literature and Paintings

Foreword:

Ayn Rand drew me to the lecture today aboutarchitecture, and Monsieur Paul Andreu turned the lecture to an openintrospection and retrospection, which was inspiring in a moving way. MonsieurAndreu touched on three main points throughout the two hours: design, changeand tenacity; during the final discourse with the audience including myself, I felt that I touched the soul of an artist and that made me tremble in awe andexcitement.

Point #1: Design

As far as I understand, Monsieur Andreuconsiders design to consist of three quintessential components: functionality,attention, and flow.

What is architecture? Monsieur Andreustarted by distinguishing buildings from architecture. Certainly, buildingsshould stress functionality and that only, but for architecture, design comesin to play—and plays a major role. He illustrated most of his designs,including international airports, theater houses, etc. His early worksemphasized on “rigid and precise geometry.” He cares about functional matters,the concrete ones, but at the same time, he likes peculiar features. Therefore,he created “poetical space” right up in the airport.

However, his designs are exquisite but farfrom flowery. He sees his work in a local context—“At this level of complexity,the airport becomes a simple model of a town”—but also as part of a globaldesign; that vision leads to his attention with “every piece of detail.” Asecond interpretation of Monsieur Andreu’s attention is how he values humanexperience in his work: the quality of life. He placed plenty of gardens, evenin airports, so that the whole place looks and feels greener. Efficiency is,after all, not the goal of life, but the spirit of quality; rushing through theplace can nevertheless be a pleasant though brief journey. He insisted that hewas doing something “full of sense” and argued against whoever argued againsthim, and he turned out eventually to be right.

Another of Monsieur Andreu’s personalcharisma is his lightheartedness, or perhaps just that idiosyncrasy of artists.He lets things flow: he does not like flower but sketched Shanghai OrientalPerforming Arts Center in a flower-shaped design because he wanted somethingwide open; green glass were employed to reflect and mingle with the sky; heasked himself “why not this?!” and his raw sketches then became the wild railsof an architecture. When asked about why the red color for that design, hesmiled, shrugged and said simply, “I don’t know.” Indeed, design should not beforced; it should instead be a spontaneous action, as if the drawing or wordsflow out of the creator as an extension of his/her body and mind. This isprobably why Monsieur Andreu joked casually, “I didn’t commandanything—really,” when the photos for presentation jumped forwardunaccountably.

Point #2: Change

Which is more important, harmony andconsistency, or bold, freshening, surprising designs? Monsieur Andreu favorsthe latter.

He loved to use the phrase, “insert newthings.” And his ambition to “foresee the necessities of the future” touchedand inspired me deeply because it seems that all great inventions are createdthis way. Inventors see ahead of time, and pragmatic artists like architectsforesee what people need and provide it for them before they even realize theyneed it. It is in disorder that people find new order. This in fact reminded meof how Voltaire disrupted the cosmic order of the time before him, and createda more rational era.

More fundamentally, the reason for “puttinganother chapter into the culture” is apparent: things need to be adjusted orinvented to accommodate even just a slightly different situation in a perfectlysuitable and hence absolutely specific way. You cannot copy from pastexperience because time and place and purpose have changed.

It is not just in his ideals that he loveschange; he brings the word down to concrete. In the performing arts center,light comes from the wall and there is no fixture of it. Red roof made of woodwears out in unpredicted ways and takes on different orientations, full orsurprises. “You want this kind of rhythm,” he commented on his architecture inTaiyuan.

Point #3: Tenacity

“I will always build the project I show,”the 77-year-old but very healthy-looking architect pronounced the words firmly,“Architecture is like that, you must have a dream, and you must find a way, justlike literature, life.”

Having conceived a brilliant idea, MonsieurAndreu makes it happen. He wanted the Osaka Maritime Museum to be underwater,and so he had the tons-weighing dome carried all the way to cover the boat fromabove. It was a challenging project and was done neatly under joined efforts ofdesigners from different countries.

With the jury for Beijing National Centerfor Performing Arts, it never surrendered until the work was perfect, and soMonsieur Andreu had to revise his designs countless times. Although open tocriticism and changes, he has his principles, one of them being, never accept ablunt entrance. On this point, though, I have to question—with all duerespect—whether Monsieur Andreu still considers functionality at the core ofhis design.

Afterword:

I stood in the long line which waited aheadof me to take photographs and have books signed. I just wanted to ask anotherquestion: why would you care for gardens if you do not like flowers? When itwas finally my time, I asked it. Monsieur Andreu shrugged and said, well I justlike gardens, but flowers are sex organs, and gardens with too many flowers arenot pleasant to the eyes anymore. Interesting, I commented—having heard earliercriticism about the queer design of elevator for the performing artscenter—that his work was perhaps viewed in this way as well. Monsieur Andreupaused for a brief moment and continued: that was out of stupidity—why botherfinding resemblance? Why the color red? Why this or that indeed. Whereas Ithought, inspired by the Matrix, that why is the only source of real power, thewhy might not matter so much as the beautiful thing itself. I whispered thanksand walked away with my friend, but Monsieur Andreu called me from behind. “Iwill be a philosophy student,” although a slip of the tongue made me say“philosopher” instead. The couple—I presumed—nodded in agreement, and so Ismiled, shook their hands, expressed heartfelt gratitude, wished them a safetrip home, which in retrospect should have been bon voyage, and turned.

I will become an artist the day I stoptrying to be artistic and simply be one. And as Monsieur Andreu noted, have adream, and find a way.

Report Date: November 24, 2015

Writer: Qingning Zhang (WFLA-IBDP, ‘16)

Quotes of

Monsieur Paul Andreu

You needto foresee the necessities of the future.

I willalways build the project I show.

Architectureis like that, you must have a dream, and you must find a way, just likeliterature, life.

讲座日期：2015年11月21日

主讲人：保罗·安德鲁（法国建筑师）

话题：建筑，文学，绘画，创作的不同路径

前言

美国哲学作家安·兰德的《源泉》一书挑起了我对建筑师这类艺术家的兴趣，又恰逢著名法国建筑师保罗·安德鲁在上图开办讲座，一时的兴起竟能得到满足，实为快事。安德鲁先生的讲座并未将重点放在技术知识上，反是分享他创造的经历与体会，感人至深又发人深省。在历时约两小时的讲座中，安德鲁先生三番两次提到这三个点：设计、改变、坚韧；在他与观众（包括我自己）最后的互动中，我仿若触及到了一个杰出艺术家的灵魂，它令人敬仰又激动。

所谓设计

依我拙见，安德鲁先生认为设计有三个重要部分：功能性、重视度、流畅性。

何为建筑？安德鲁先生首先表明，房屋与建筑不可混为一谈。房屋仅仅注重功能性（当然这对房屋而言确也足矣）但建筑却要求更精妙的设计，且这部分可谓是建筑的灵魂。安德鲁先生展示了许多个人作品，包括各大国际机场、剧院等，早期作品尤重“严苛而精准的几何感”。他关注功能性的、落到实处的事务，但同时也要求自己的作品有些特别之处。因此，他会在机场大厅上方营造一个“诗意的空间”。

安德鲁先生的设计精致但不花哨。他习惯将自己的作品置于当地情境中——毕竟，“这般复杂的机场相当于一个简化的小镇了”——但同时也视其为全球理念的一部分，并因此引入如环保设计等概念；这恰实又广阔的视野激励他重视创作及构筑中的每个细节。安德鲁先生的专注点也可从另一方面理解：他注重人类生活的品质。即使是机场设计中，他也尝试纳入花园的元素，以求整个环境能带来自然与舒适之感。毕竟，追求生活品质的精神才是生活的目标，而功效并不足以让都市人引以为傲；即使是匆匆路过，也应能享受到这短暂旅途中的乐趣。他当时坚持表示并极力维护说花园的引入是一件“相当有意义”的事情——事实证明，确实如此。

安德鲁先生另一个令人钦佩的性格特点在于他的艺术家那独有的率气。他让自己的所思所想不受限制地、完全自然地落于笔尖：他不喜欢花却将上海东方艺术中心设计成花瓣的形状因其全然外展、海纳百川的形态；他使用浅绿玻璃装饰外墙，使其与天空融为一体；他看到自己绘图纸上狂野的线条，反问自己说“这不是挺好的吗？”，这些狂野的线条成了中国国家大剧院的核心元素之一，变为了栏杆实体及柜台装饰等。当他被观众问及为何他选红色作为一建筑的主色调时，他微笑着耸了耸肩：“我也不知道。”确实，创作贵在流畅、自然，好像那画或字真是从作者笔下流露出来的、是作者身心的延续与外化般。这或许是安德鲁先生一句玩笑话的精髓之所在——在幻灯片不断自动跳进时，他轻松说道，“我什么都没控制、都控制不了——讲真。”

所谓改变

哪个更重要——和谐统一的设计，还是其中有大胆新颖甚至刺眼的元素？安德鲁先生偏向后者。

安德鲁先生喜用“嵌入新事物”这个短语。他立志“预见到未来的必需品”深刻地感动并启发了我，因为似乎所有伟大的发明都具有此共性。发明者近乎是预见未来，而如建筑师这类具有实干精神的艺术家或能在人们意识到他们必需什么事物之前就提供给人们。这新事物的引入必然导致一定的不协调，然而若人们能调和化解接纳这一新事物，便能达到新的平衡——发展、进化皆是如此。

从本质上看，安德鲁先生时常“在文化中开启新的篇章”的理由是明朗的：设计者需要调整或发明一个事物来适应于哪怕只是稍有不同的一个情境，此次达成完美的契合。设计者不能够全然采取先前的经验，因时间、地点、目的都已改变。

安德鲁先生力求不断改变、创新的理念并非一纸空谈。在艺术表演中心，照明系统嵌入墙内、变幻莫测；红木制的屋顶不同程度地磨损、衍发出不同的纹路，充满惊喜。“人们需要这种节奏。”

所谓坚韧

“我只要画得出来，就一定能建出来，”这位已七十七岁高龄却精力旺盛的建筑师笃定地说道，“建筑学就是这样，你得先有梦想，然后你要找到合适的路——文学、生命亦如此。”

当获得灵感时，安德鲁先生将其付诸于行动。他希望大阪海洋博物馆立于水下，于是他设计安排了将几吨重的拱顶盖于完工了的船只上，而非传统的自下而上的建造模式。这是个具有巨大挑战性的项目，但在几国建筑师的合力下竣工。

中国国家大剧院的建造评审委员会相当严苛（绝非坏事），要求安德鲁先生反反复复地修改设计稿件直到完美。虽然他公开接受批评和建议，但他也保有许多原则，比如，他永不会建造一个唐突的入口——在这一点上我却是不得不质疑安德鲁先生有否将建筑的功能性置于不可动摇的首位。

后记

讲座结束后，我排在等待与安德鲁先生合影并得到其书签名的队伍中，想问他对中国国家大剧院造型之独特使不少民众费解的状况有什么看法，问他如此设计的初衷何在。安德鲁先生顿了顿，质疑了这种大批量的、跟风式的误解，质疑了对万事都要询问“为什么”的“求知精神”。因先前受到《黑客帝国》的启发，我深信，清楚明白做事的原因能给人底气、筹码与力量；然而安德鲁先生作为一名艺术家，使我从另一个角度看待这个问题：若凡事只求刨根问底，事物本身的价值似乎被无形中无意义地削弱了。由于身后仍有许多热切的观众，我得到解答后便迅速道谢、转身了，安德鲁先生却喊我回来——我便告诉他我将读哲学。

终有一天，我将不再尝试着培养艺术气质，而是全然自然地当一名艺术家。借安德鲁先生励志之言——先有个梦想，然后找到路径。

撰写日期：2015年11月24日

作者：张卿宁（世外中学IBDP，2016届）

保罗·安德鲁先生语录

设计师需要预见到未来人们之所必需。

我只要画得出来，就一定能建出来。

建筑学就是这样，你得先有梦想，然后你要找到合适的路——文学、生命亦如此。

参考阅读：

1. 《保罗·安德鲁建筑回忆录》专著

著者：安德鲁, 周冉, 缪伶超, 王笑月

中信出版社 2015

上海图书馆索书号：

K835.656.16/3422

附注：

本书讲述的是建筑的创造。世界著名的法国建筑师保罗·安德鲁,同时作为一位作家,撰写了自己首部亲自执笔的建筑回忆录。回忆了他在法国、在中国以及世界各地设计和建造的建筑,从巴黎夏尔·戴高乐国际机场一直到中国国家大剧院,前者他为之工作了超过三十年,后者他花费了十年。书中还回忆了安德鲁工作的环境,遇到的人,他的思考和希望,以及在创造中碰到的种种困惑。

2. 《源泉》

著者：安·兰德(Ayn Rand), 高晓晴, 赵雅蔷, 杨玉

重庆出版社 2013

上海图书馆索书号：

I712.45/8122-7

简介：

《源泉》－“世纪之书”——七十周年纪念版，是青年志气与个人精神的象征，1943年出版以来总销量超过20,000,000册。2008年，奥巴马当选美国总统，奥巴马传记随之热销全美。然而，在全球经济危机阴影的笼罩下，美国各大畅销书排行榜的榜首并非奥巴马传记，而是安•兰德的《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》。美国人相信，能救美国的不是奥巴马，而是安•兰德。2010年，美国行为艺术家尼克•纽克曼驾驶汽车，跨越美国30个州，行驶1.2万英里，用GPS在“谷歌地球”上留下“请阅读安•兰德（Read Ayn Rand）”的句子，据说这是人类有史以来写下的最大文字。安•兰德：美国精神的奠基人，金融大鳄乔治•索罗斯、美联储前主席格林斯潘，美国前总统罗纳德•里根、顶级建筑师兰克•劳埃德•赖特，维基百科创始人吉米•威尔士、《花花公子》创办人休•海夫纳、埃克森美孚CEO雷克斯•蒂尔纳森、吉列公司CEO詹姆斯•基尔茨……无数世界顶尖人物的精神偶像。

名人推荐

是安·兰德1943年的小说《源泉》，把我从一个反战的集体主义者转变为一个自由主义者。

——美国内政部长盖尔·安·诺顿

我一直是安·兰德的客观主义哲学的热诚追随者。她的哲学思想，是我创建维基百科的起点。

——吉米·威尔士，维基百科创始人，《时代》周刊100位最具影响力人物

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