Driving Sustainable Design

Working towards the integration of architecture with social development in Beijing, China is going to be a long, tedious fight but it’s one that this Professor is willing to take on

What started as a discovery of urban construction while on a field trip with one of his teachers, quickly became a dream of designing buildings that “create international communication”, and later resulted in China’s first doctoral architecture thesis on sustainable design in the country. Since completing his studies at the Tsinghua University School of Architecture in Beijing in 2011, Professor Song Yehao has had one goal – to introduce sustainable concepts into China’s architectural landscape and today, he continues the fight.

“What I understood about the sustainable design principle is very simple: make full use of the various natural conditions, such as local materials, natural lighting, natural ventilation etc, to ensure the building and the building users achieve a balance without affecting the user’s comfort; we do this in reducing the use of air conditioning, heating systems and other large quantities of non-renewable, artificial energy systems. Regional and local understandings are rather important to further initiate innovative design based on the understanding, and thus the design strategy always incorporates the latest technical measures or traditional climate adaptation design strategies at that time. We have also started to divert our concern in sociological development where it will subsequently improve the users’ life,” says Professor Song Yehao.

The Professor admits that a very important part of sustainable design is having time to complete the research. However, one of the biggest challenges he faces in China is the short design and construction period timeline. “I always feel some problems have not been thoroughly researched and fully understood yet I have to come up with design countermeasures. I often have to rely on experiences,” says Professor Song Yehao.

Describing Beijing’s current architectural scene as “rich and colourful”, the Professor refers to the variety of architecture within the city from newly built functional buildings such as the Beijing New Aiport, as well as the renovation and renewal of rural cities and old buildings. Also, utilizing the word “in bloom”, the Professor is seeing many global talents bring their knowledge and skills to Beijing which is added to the unique variety of the city’s architectural landscape.

As for the future of architecture in Beijing, Professor Song Yehao feels strongly about the integration between architure and social development. “It is likely that the solution to the sustainable transformation of existing buildings and the systematization of prefabricated buildings are the main two concerns for the future. In fact, what our team often discusses is how design can bring changes to people’s lives and how can we provide innovative and creative design solutions to realize the concept of architecture for the future,” says Professor Song Yehao.

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