We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Ling Chen ("LC").
Chen Ling is the co-founder and chief designer of WSP ARCHITECTS. He was elected as the top 10 new Chinese architect in 2005, one of the initiators of the international Chinese American architect club, a member of Chinese housing security expert group of the housing security and public housing policy committee, a member of the expert committee of Urban Planning, Land & Resources Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, and the 2015 Committee of the green housing design competition in Henan province; lecturer at the National Federation of industry and Commerce Design Alliance practice business school. So far, Chen Ling has done hundreds of planning and architectural design projects, his concept of "walkable city" has been published by numerous authoritative media in hundreds of planning and architectural design projects.
Ling Chen Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Ling Chen.
Ling Chen Design - Yida Creation City Exhibition Center
Ling Chen Design - Hebei Hua Ao Hospital Trauma Treatment Center
Ling Chen Design - Xixi Endliess Garden Multifunctional Club
Designer Interview of Ling Chen:
DI: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
LC : I studied Architecture in Wuhan University of Technology and then went to Paris to study more about it. My mother gave birth to me in Shanghai when she was on a business trip. Then I came back to Beijing with my grandmother to live with my parents when I was one and a half years old.Four people of three generations were packed in a 15-square-meter single dormitory allocated by my parents. My grandmother and I shared a single bed widened by wooden boards. The first private space belonged to me was a drawer in the upper right corner of the desk. Starting from carefully laying out my drawers over and over again, the dream of designing a comfortable home gradually emerges. My dream now is to design a beautiful city in the future.That’s when and why I wanted to be a designer.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
LC : WSP Architects is an international comprehensive design firm. WSP was founded in Munich, Germany in 1996. Thanks to the steady development in these years, WSP has established offices in Munich, Beijing, Shanghai, Hefei with over 100 planners, architects, landscape architects and interior designers. It has become one of the leading design institutes in the industry, holding rich management experiences for large-scaled projects and maintaining partnerships with many successful clients.All four principal architects and landscape designers——Mr. Wu Gang, Ms. Zhang Ying, Mr. Chen Ling and Mr. Knud Rossen possess European education background and practice experience. Directed by these talents, WSP has been well recognized by the public and the professionals of its creativity, its advanced design concept and its exploratory spirit which are well displayed in their urban planning and design, high quality residential, city complex, industrial/ office park, hospitality, cultural, landscape and interior design projects.The core advantage of WSP comes from its multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural and multi-national group of principal designers and its design team. Based on this advantage, WSP has buWilt up a work model that allows experts of various disciplines, engineers, manufacturers as well as clients to join force to work for the best quality. This unique work method and process ensure the flourish of ideas, the innovation of the designs and the final success of every project.
DI: What is "design" for you?
LC : It means everything to me.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
LC : Generally I am interested in every aspect of design, but as for my personal interest – I love urban design the most.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
LC : Every design I made is like my kid to me, it’s hard to tell which my favorite is.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
LC : Urban/City design
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
LC : I feel full of energy when doing my design.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
LC : I am more than excited to see it is realized.
DI: What makes a design successful?
LC : Design is a bit like long-distance running, a bit more persistent than others often gets you harvest which seems to be impossible. That’s how a designer become successful.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
LC : What I consider first is if it will make a contribution to the city and a good design should give users room for recreation.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
LC : It is important to do design from the perspective of pedestrians, not from the perspective of UAVs. A designer should always focus on the real users and stand on the users’ perspective
DI: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
LC : I live in Beijing right now and there are full of cultural heritages of this ancient city/country which surely affects my design, but it is hard to say the pros and cons, everyone has the unique opinion.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
LC : The projects in progress are reviewed every day. In order to do this, the key technique is to simplify the design so that it can be recited and the whole design can be made clear with a sketch. Not only ask do it yourself, but also everyone in the team.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
LC : Follow the fashion, try to lead fashion and stick to your own thinking.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
LC : Always think about the cities and the users first.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
LC : Find a "perfect grid" with 90% of the time and effort, and the design is over. The rest is to fill in the work, and life drama starts to be staged. These doesn’t need to be deliberately designed.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
LC : It depends on the project.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
LC : BIDU Inc. , Vanke, Infineon, LEGEND HOLDINGS, Hangzhou Normal university………
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
LC : I enjoy city/urban design most.When studying in Wuhan, I experienced the life of having breakfast on street and just using a mat as the bed to sleep. What I see in Paris is a spectacular urban axis similar to that of Beijing. Reading these different cities formed my own views on design. Humans are preparing to migrate to the space, and what are the similarities and differences between a city in space and a city on Earth? Don't make the Earth Cities into those primary bases in space. This is the most important work now and in the future.
DI: How can people contact you?
LC : You are always welcomed to find me through our website/wechat account or by emailing pr@wsp.com.cn.