Please enlighten us, enlighten people, enlighten mortals and enlighten architects.

New Library of Sichuan Art College, Designed by Tang Hua

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Yesterday Mr. Xu Li asked me leading him to visit some architectures worth to visit in Chongqing. After one hour bus, we arrived the new campus of Sichuan Arts College, where, I personally thought, is the any place whose buildings can be called as architectures.

It has been one year since my last visit in Sichuan Arts College. There are some new architectures built or almost done in the new campus within this year. The new campus of Sichuan Arts College is surrounded with an eerie atmosphere, abounding with jowar cropland, strange sculptures along the road, knolls ranging one by one breaking the road into a stagger way. That means you as a visitor can’t grasp the landscape for the first glimpse, as if that the owner of this land was declaring an isolation from the exotic people. Indeed, they did be isolated by the boring city and daily life, didn’t they? Mr. Xu and I was shuttling through at the cropland, and amazingly, we found some original cottage concealing behind a cluster of bamboo. What a countryside scenery, peacefully and extraordinarily contrasting with a urban landscape which is only 200 meters far away from here.

This land is totally permeated by original countryside landscape, not vividly but desolately. As the urban sprawl, a lot of peasants abandoned their cropland and become building-workers, the building-workers who have been building the architecture which never belong to them onto their own cropland. Lost peasants, the crops lost the original essence of existence, and become landscapes and symbols, through which the new owners, who are as the same isolated as the peasants by the economy-oriented and efficiency-oriented era, can, express their attitude.

New Library of Sichuan Art College, Designed by Tang Hua, Elevation

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Mr. Xu Li told me he is a anti-urbanist, although he is a chief publisher of a architecture magazine. He was obsessed with the cottage presenting in the campus very much. So was I. But I am also obsessed with the huge elaborated artifact. Behind the cottage, over the jungle, a huge architecture stands there, lonely, tranquilly but powerfully, contrasting with not only the desolate landscape but also the ablare city. It is the library of the college designed by a famed Chinese architect Tang Hua. I was really captivated by the scenery, so solemn and magnificent. Mr. Xu Li had been shocked at that moment, but after a while, he come back to calmness, and he can’t imagine that this building saturated with power is designed by Tang Hua, because this architect in his eyes is so humble and peaceful. I explained to him that actually Tang is a metaphysician, and maybe through all his work he wants to express the reverence to divinity, that is in accordance with humility, and the aspiration to the super-mentality, that is in accordance with peace.

New Library of Sichuan Art College, Designed by Tang Hua, Main Entrance Space

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When we stand at the entrance space of the library, we are half surround by the huge eave, so, looking up to the welkin, we can see a half nature welkin constructed by sky, and another half is an artificial welkin constructed by concrete. Mr. Xu Li compared the two welkins, and said he has usually been moved by the grandeur of nature, because, as he said, according to the creation of nature, the individual life is insignificant, so it is really ridiculous that people have been hierarchized into different ranks, and he thought when he stand under the sky, he can feel exactly that the implication of the nature indicate the equality of Human-beings and all lives; but in the contrary, the artificial welkin, it indicate an overview gesture of rule and dominion whose fascination dose can attract people, as the consequence is devastating authoritarianism. Indeed according to human history, these kind of artificial spaces were always aligned with authoritarianism, from the alignment of ancient Rome and Colosseum to the Dome of Nazis, and the apotheosis to power have been concreting to spaces era after era. Mr. Xu Li ask me skeptically whether I am a latent authoritarianist. I answered not, and the any reason I was obsessed with these kinds of spaces is when I stood under this space, I feel I am just a mortal, and I believe that if every one feel themselves as a mortal, it is another way to approach equality.

We climbed to the top floor of the library. There is a platform over there. We can have a rest for a while. Leaning to the baluster and over viewing to the spectacular landscape, Mr. xu and I kept discussing about the interrelationship between power and space. Mr. Xu points me to look at the scenery of downstairs and said:” it is beautiful, right? Maybe the beautiful scenery is the reason that people chase power. I will be fascinated by this kind of feeling, and also be captivated by the huge magnificent architecture too, but my rational sense tell me I can’t do that, because if I don’t want to be ruled by other I will never rule others. So the most ideal world is like that…” he points at that cottage which we had just visited,” people lived here, like many ancient Chinese, are sustainable with the nature, and they taught their children with manner and traditional culture by explaining in words or communicating with hearts. That people enlightened themselves domestically, maybe it is a good way to keep traditional culture.”

After the words of Mr. Xu, I suddenly realized that what is most concerned by both of us is enlightenment. Maybe Mr. Xu’s approach is back to the countryside enlighten people domestically as the ancient chinese, while mine is to enlighten ourselves individually by using fundamental rationalism. Actually, I insist the enlightenment of self-consciousness is the only way to approach the boundary of human knowledge, beyond which there is the existence of deity where human can never arrive but just see. As other ancient subject, such as Mathematics, Geometry and Philosophy, Architecture, I personally thought, is a path to comprehend the deity. But it requires architects as the lot of us mortals enlighten ourselves by using rationalism and self-discipline, just liking what Louis I. Kahn had been doing.

At that moment, when I retrospect to the building, the death of Louis I. Kahn presents into my eyes. Louis I. Kahn is such an architect, through his work as if I can comprehend the existence of deity, because his work is so brilliant that I can’t believe it is built for the mortals. But what is more ironic is most of Kahn’s brilliant work was finally used by autarchy who thought themselves as deity. I guess this is the most grieved thing that a man who requires himself self-discipline dedicate all his life to deity but eventually found his endeavor was utilized by devil. Maybe this is just about the tragic destiny of architects. Kahn died at a lavatory in a train station, miserably and poorly, when he is in his return from Dacca where he went to for withdrawing his remuneration of design.

New Library of Sichuan Art College, Designed by Tang Hua, The Wall of Main Entrance

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New Library of Sichuan Art College, Designed by Tang Hua, The Stairs of Main Entrance

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New Library of Sichuan Art College, Designed by Tang Hua, Interior of Top Storey.

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New Library of Sichuan Art College, Designed by Tang Hua, Flatform at Top Storey

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New Library of Sichuan Art College, Designed by Tang Hua, Another Elevation

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Maybe I should agree with Mr. Xu, backing to the country, but meanwhile I really hope something enlightening us, enlightening people, enlightening mortals and enlightening architects.

New Library of Sichuan Art College, Designed by Tang Hua

(click the image to see original photograph)