In China, there are beautiful buildings, and then there are weird ones.  It’s the latter kind which President Xi Jinping wants to end once and for all.

A paragon of simplicity and elegance: the Shanghai World Financial Center

China is home to beautiful architecture.  For one, the ancient imperial palaces and temples are still a lovely sight to behold, exuding grandeur and elegance and an unmistakable character after all these centuries.  On a more contemporary note, there’s the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing (with its sleek curves, and titanium-and-glass dome) and the Shanghai World Financial Center (with its clean lines and dignified simplicity).

Somewhere along the way, something changed.

The construction boom years gave birth to a new breed of buildings in China: buildings that are audaciously designed.  The boom unleashed a creative outlet for architects and designers.  China’s immense land is a waiting tabula rasa where anything is possible.

Shenyang Imperial Palace

Beijing, for one, definitely went full force back in 2008, with its building constructions for the summer Olympics.  It had to wow the entire world after all. According to ChinaPost.com, both big-name designers from all over the world or younger unknowns saw the opportunity to create something that was remarkable, something they could endow with that “wow factor”.

It’s not just about making the tallest and the largest buildings, though.  Some designers went overboard with their designs, pushing the boundaries of art and architecture, and challenging everyone’s taste in the process.  Before long, China became home, too, to curious-looking, thought-provoking buildings that look like something else. A doughnut, a lotus flower, a horseshoe, a pair of big pants, a vagina, and a giant penis looking skyward.

Unconventionally Yours

Speaking in a literary symposium among various leading figures in art, Chinese president Xi Jinping expressed his concern over the growing number of bizarre architecture in the country.

Phallic and proud: the People’s Daily building in China (Photo from DailyMail.co.uk

Dezeen.com succinctly summed it up in its article entitled « No more weird architecture« .  The website also noted the ironic fact that the Chinese state newspaper, People’s Daily, which reported the news was headquartered in a building that’s shaped like a male sexual organ.

As per Dezeen’s own translation, Xi declared that good architecture « should be like sunshine from the blue sky and the breeze in spring that will inspire minds, warm hearts, cultivate taste and clean up undesirable work styles. »

It’s not clear if the President was simply imploring architects for a good ‘ol back-to-convention design for subsequent buildings in the country, or if he was actually imposing a moratorium to end this breed of provocative skyscrapers.

The Bizarre Ugly Buildings in China End Here

It’s interesting to note that even Chinese locals themselves aren’t too happy about this.  Chinese netizens have taken to social networking sites to criticize the changing skyline of their cities, thanks to these new bizarre, gimmicky buildings.  In particular, the penis-shaped People’s Daily headquarters was extensively mocked and criticized.  After all, public funds were used to erect (pun intended) the state-owned building.

Guangzhou Circle (Photo from Dezeen.com)

So in many ways, Xi’s call to action was a necessary one, if only to prevent public funds and precious materials from going to waste.  Some of these weird buildings have become egoistic projections of their creators (how much more egoistic can you get with a phallic looking building?)  These ugly buildings in China are meant to shock and provoke, not amaze and inspire.  German industrial designer Dieter Rams once proposed ten principles of good design.  Among them are Good design is unobstrusive, and Good Design Is as Little Design as Possible.  Clearly, those designers in China haven’t been reading Dieter Rams.

Or maybe we just don’t get it.  Maybe bizarre is the new beautiful.  Or is it?  In a country known for its strict censorship of media, it’s quite possible that building design will be the next thing to come under scrutiny.

Creative and crazy is good, but restrained elegance always wins.