Herzog picks 100 architects for Inner Mongolia housing project
Simon Conder ‘very surprised’ to be only UK designer picked for 100-day, 100-home project in Chinese desert region of Ordos
Herzog & de Meuron partner Jacques Herzog has selected 100 up-and-coming architects from around the world to design 100 homes in 100 days for one of the most remote corners of the globe.
The groundbreaking scheme, in Ordos in Chinese Inner Mongolia, aims to foster architectural diversity but features only one British architect, Simon Conder.
The list of young emerging talent, drawn up by RIBA Gold Medal winner Herzog on behalf of a Chinese developer, is dominated by the US with 22 practices and Switzerland with 14 — all bar one from Herzog & de Meuron’s home town of Basle — Mexico with nine and France with seven. Eyal Weizman, an Israeli designer who works as a senior lecturer at Goldsmiths College, is also representing Britain.
Although the territory is part of China, no Chinese architects are involved.
Elias Redstone, curator of the Architecture Foundation, described the selection as a “wake-up call” for British designers: “The UK produces great architects. While [the list] does not necessarily reflect the breadth of talent here, we have to take into account what is happening overseas.”
Conder expressed surprise at the lack of home talent involved and said he was “very surprised” to learn Herzog was aware of his firm, Simon Conder Associates. “It’s really surreal… a wonderful step into the unknown,” he said. “All we’ve had so far is an email last summer from Jacques Herzog asking if we’d be interested in designing a house in Mongolia. Then just after Christmas we got an email with the contract.”
Herzog’s involvement has come about through his connection with Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who is co-ordinating the project for client Ordos Jiang Yuan Water Supplies.
The project is divided into two groups of 50 architects, with the first batch already in China. Conder’s group is due to begin work in May.
Conder added: “We just got this Google Earth reference which is a dot in the middle of the China- Mongolia land mass. It’s really remote, although in China that doesn’t mean it won’t be a big city.”
Ordos city has a population of 1.4 million but the 197ha site is in an emerging residential district which “mainly consists of sand dunes, sparsely populated by wetlands”, according to official maps of the area.
Herzog refused to comment, but a spokeswoman said: “Ai Weiwei initiated the contact and
Herzog & de Meuron accepted the role of adviser. The final decision about the selection process is entirely up to the developer, so Herzog & de Meuron cannot comment on any practices currently on the list.”
The houses are scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
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Source : bdonline