Sky Mirror Xintiandi Style, Huangpu Public Realm, Chinese Urban Landscape, Architecture Images

Sky Mirror, Xintiandi Style, Huangpu

8 Jun 2020

Sky Mirror at Xintiandi Style Shanghai

Design: Lacime Architects

Location: Address: 245 Madang Rd, Huangpu, Shanghai, China

Photos © CAAI

对抗“社交孤岛”的天空之镜
Sky Mirror Fights “Social Isolated Island”

5月25日-6月8日，设计上海@新天地设计节再一次来临，本届主题为“Together！——不同而和”，试图改变当下社会愈加消极的社交态度，让每个独一无二的个体在闪光的同时，又能消弭沟通的推拒、屏障与隔阂，不约而同的走到一起!
From May 25 to June 8, Design Shanghai @ Xintiandi Design Festival was held again. This year’s theme is “Together! – Harmony in Diversity”. This event aims to change the increasingly negative social attitude in the current society, so that each unique individual can show his/her personality and eliminate the resistance, barriers and misunderstanding to communication. As a result, everyone can get together spontaneously!

日清设计Lacime Architects对设计节主题进行解读与重构，“天空之镜”由此应运而生。Original Identity Gallery 原境界美术馆作为品牌方参与了新天地入口互动装置的策划展示。
Lacime Architects interprets and reconstructs the theme of the Design Festival, thus the “Sky Mirror” emerges at the right moment. As the branding part, the Original Identity Gallery has participated in the planning and exhibition of the interactive installation at the entrance of Xintiandi.

1. 请介绍一下本次参与设计节的作品。
1. Please introduce the work for this Design Festival.

这次的作品其实是对近期设计的某艺术酒店的设计概念的呼应与延伸，以“同聚于蓝天”为旨，“天空之镜”为意，通过两个不同功能的不锈钢艺术装置——“镜”与“椅”的组合，试图引导人们完成并思考“一同坐下来看看天”这样在如今城市中显得另类却格外珍贵的行为。
With the theme of “Get Together under Blue Sky” and the derivative meaning of “Sky Mirror”, the work is actually an echo and extension of the design concept of an art hotel designed recently. It tries to guide people to “sit down and looking at the sky together” through the combination of two stainless steel art installations with different functions – the “mirror” and the “chair”, which is an unusual but extremely precious behavior in today’s city.

2. 请谈谈此次作品和本次设计节主题“不同而和”是如何呼应的。
2. Please talk about how this work echoes with the Design Festival’s theme of “Harmony in Diversity”.

当你彷徨于城市之间，不远处的街角传来约翰.列侬半个世纪前吟唱的梦，你是否还会为之感动？“其乐融融，同憩于蓝天”列侬想象未来的乌托邦是何等美好！但事与愿违，如今社交机制的改变让现实城市变得越来越像一座“交往孤岛”，哪怕是“看天”这样简单的行为，在愈来漠然、排他的“众生相”般的市井间，也显得格外的真诚珍贵。正因此，我们希望通着这套带有启示意义的艺术装置，将“不同”的“众生相”，“和”于“看天”这样简单的行为之中，哪怕只在倾刻之间，可能也能为城市与人际之间增添一些不同的体验。
When you’re wandering around the city and suddenly you hear John Lennon singing his dream from half a century ago on a nearby street corner, will you still feel touched? “People live in harmony under the blue sky”, what a beautiful future utopia Lennon imagined! However, the change of social mechanism has made the real city more and more like an “isolated island of communication”.

Even “looking up to the sky” such simple act becomes particularly precious in the increasingly indifferent and exclusive city where all walks of life live. Therefore, we hope to guide “different walks of life” to “look at the sky” in a harmoniously way through this enlightening art installation. Even if it is only for a moment, it may bring a different experience to the city and the human communication.

3. 您如何通过这个装置打造公共文化空间？如何让观众身临其境，获得独特的体验？
3. How do you use this installation to create a public cultural space? How to let the audience gain immersive and unique experience?

上海新天地是万千居住在上海的人们趋之若鹜的心怡之地，“新天地”之于“百姓”的这层关系，就像英国小说《月亮与六便士》中阐述的，其中“月亮”隐喻了“梦”的高洁与美满，而“六便士”则更表明了“现实”的残酷与真实，但这些并不妨碍你对“月亮”的向往和对“梦想”的追求。而回到我们的装置本身来看，宏观上，“天空”之于“看天的人”也有着这么一层“理想与现实”的关系，哪怕只有片刻，也启示了所有人对“梦”追求的权利。在微观上，作品追求整体上的视觉通透和高参与度，门、洞口、座椅的设置都极大的加强了成人与儿童参与的可能性，在空间上是流动自由的。而圆形本身就具有“聚”的属性，能加强场所的领域感和精神性，这一系列的措施都是为了让“坐下来看天”这个动作变得更加简单、自然。
Shanghai Xintiandi is a popular destination for millions of people who live in Shanghai. The relationship between “Xintiandi” and “common people” is similar to that in the English novel The Moon and Sixpence. “The moon” is a metaphor for the nobility and beauty of “dreams”, while “sixpence” demonstrates the cruelty and truth of “reality”, which do not hinder your yearning for “the moon” and the pursuit of “dreams”.

As far as our installation is concerned, the relationship between the “sky” and “people looking at the sky” also has this kind of “ideal and reality” relationship on a macro level. Even if only for a moment, it also reveals the right of all people to pursue “dreams”. On the micro level, this work pursues overall visual transparency and high participation.

The setup of doors, holes and seats greatly enhances the participation possibility of adults and children, thus creating a free-flowing space. In addition, the circle originally has the property of “gathering”, which can enhance the sense of domain and spirituality of the place. All these measures aim to make it easier and more natural for people to “sit down and look at the sky”.

4. 这段特殊时期有为你的生活和工作带来什么启迪吗？
4. What enlightenment did this particular time bring to your life and work?

网络与智能手机的出现改变了社交机制，让现实城市变得越来越像一座“交往孤岛”，而疫情带来的隔离期无疑更加剧了这种状况，漠然、排他的“众生相”般的市井之象变得愈加突出。身为一名建筑设计师，“聚”与“离”始终绕不开的问题，而这段特殊时期也更加强了我们对这个问题的思考。而本次的设计作品中，我们以“同聚于蓝天”为旨，“天空之镜”为意，通过两个不同功能的不锈钢艺术装置——“镜”与“凳”的组合，试图聚集、引导人们完成并思考“一同坐下来看看天”这样在如今城市中显得另类却格外珍贵的行为，也算是通过艺术对此类问题做出的一次回应。
Internet and smart phones has changed the mechanism of social activities and made the real city more and more like an “isolated island of communication”. The isolation period caused by the epidemic has undoubtedly aggravated this situation, and the city has become more and more unfeeling and exclusive. As an architect, “gathering” and “separation” is always a topic that can’t be neglected, and this special period has strengthened our thinking on this issue.

With the theme of “Get Together under Blue Sky” and the derivative meaning of “Sky Mirror”, this design work tries to guide people to “sit down and look at the sky together” through the combination of two stainless steel art installations with different functions – the “mirror” and the “chair”, which is an unusual but extremely precious behavior in today’s city. This is also an artistic response to such questions.

5. 现阶段如何平衡“Together”和“Social Distance”？
5. How to balance “Together” and “Social Distance” at the present stage?

“君子和而不同，小人同而不和。”（The master said, “the superior man is affable, but not adulatory; the mean man is adulatory, but not affable）我觉得“和”与“同”是两个概念，在中国先秦时期，“和”是一个非常重要的概念，它多指有差异性、多样性的统一，于“同”的同质化是有巨大区别的。比如烹调，必须将酸、甜、苦、辣、咸全调合在一起，达到五味俱全、咸酸适中，才能算上是上等佳肴；又比如音乐，必须将宫、商、角、徵、羽配合到一起，才能达到一种五音共鸣、声在宫商之外的境界，才算是上等美乐。所以我认为“距离与差异”是“和”的前提，“和”因“距离与差异”变得更为多样统一。这也好比我们的作品，“看天”这个过程并不因为“众生象”的参与变得复杂变味，反而我们通过“天空之镜”，让“差异”的个体共同“和”于“看天”这样简单的行为之中，也算是我对“和”与“离”的理解与回应。
Confucius said, “The superior man is affable, but not adulatory; the mean man is adulatory, but not affable.” I think “harmony” and “uniformity” are two concepts. In China’s Pre-Qin period, “harmony” was a very important concept. It mostly refers to the unity of differences and diversity, which is greatly distinct from the homogenization of “uniformity”.

In terms of cooking, a good dish must mix sourness, sweetness, bitterness, spiciness and salt to achieve a perfect combination of five tastes and a moderate proportion of saltiness and acidity. As far as music is concerned, it is necessary to coordinate Do, Re, Mi, So, La, so as to achieve a beautiful and harmonious musical state, and compose a fine and wonderful piece of music.

Therefore, I think “distance and difference” is the premise of “harmony”, and “harmony” becomes more diverse and unified because of “distance and difference”. Just like our work, the process of “looking at the sky” will not be complicated by the participation of “all walks of life”. Similarly, through the “Sky Mirror”, we can “harmonize” “different” individuals with the simple behavior of “looking at the sky”, which is also my understanding of and response to “harmony” and “separation”.

6. 你觉得设计节无法被取代的理由是什么？
6. Why do you think that the Design Festival cannot be replaced?

我个人认为首先应该明确两个概念，“艺术”与“设计”并不是等同关系，但可以有交集关系。“艺术”是上层建筑中的社会意识形态，多指观念形态的表达；而“设计”更多指通过某种机制或方法产生的形式，以解决某种特定问题这样一个过程。但这两者都有种相同的功能属性——依附于社会历史发展，适中围绕并试图解决特定时期的社会历史发展问题，它们不是决定与被决定的关系，而是一种相互影响的关系。而在我看来，“设计节”更像是“以艺术的思维来做设计”这样的设计师狂欢节，在这个维度里，“艺术”与“设计”是交融的关系，大家都与不同的“艺术观念”与迥异的“设计机制”启示并解决这不同的社会问题，我觉得这是最有意思的！好比这次的作品，我们以“天空之镜”来启示愈加漠然的“众生相”市井，这就是我们对如今社会现状的一种理解与回应。
Personally, I think it should be clear that the two concepts of “art” and “design” are not equal, but they can have an interactive relationship. “Art” is the social ideology in the superstructure, which mostly refers to the expression of ideology. “Design” refers more to the form produced by some mechanism or method to solve a particular problem.

However, both of them have the same functional attribute – they are attaching to the social and historical development, and focusing on and trying to solve the social and historical development problems in a particular period. The relationship between them is not one of deciding and being decided, but one of mutual influence. In my opinion, the “Design Festival” is more like the carnival of designers who uphold the concept of “designing with artistic thinking”.

In this dimension, the “art” and “design” has a harmonious relationship, and we all use different “artistic concepts” and different “design mechanisms” to inspire and solve different social problems. I think that’s the most interesting thing! Just like this work, we use the “ Sky Mirror” to inspire the increasingly indifferent city of “all walks of life”, which is our understanding of and response to the current social situation.

Sky Mirror, Xintiandi Style, Huangpu, Shanghai, China images / information received 080620

Location: Xintiandi Style, Huangpu, Shanghai, China

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