俞孔堅：給在華的外國設計師立傳

　　在中國和曾經在中國從事建筑、景觀與城市建設的設計師，在我看來可分為四類：

　　第一類是御用設計師，其中的重要代表是郎世寧（GiuseppeCastiglione，1688-1766）， 意大利人，本來是被教會派到中國傳教的，結果卻被康熙召進宮中，做了宮廷畫師，放棄了原本偉大的理想，終生侍奉康、雍、乾三朝大帝。為了討好皇帝，他甚至改變自己的油畫技法和當時先進的透視學原理，而屈服于皇帝的嗜好，人像都不能畫陰影，甚至連作畫題材都由皇帝指定。郎世寧的主要設計工作是奉命參與圓明園西洋樓的修建。他還專門向乾隆皇帝引薦了另一位天才——蔣友仁（Benoist Michael，1715－1774），法國人，原來也是被派到中國來傳教的。他精通數學、天文學及物理。原本可讓這樣的大才發展國家之科學與濟民之術，乾隆卻"不問蒼生問鬼神"，蔣友仁受寵若驚地被召到宮中設計噴泉跌水等游戲，先做了"諧奇趣"的大水法，后又做了蓄水樓、養雀籠、黃花陣、海晏堂、遠瀛觀等等之水法工程，一干就是12個年頭。以這樣兩位奇才為代表的外國御用設計師，皆可謂大才，本可以為中國的發展做出更有意義的貢獻、發揮更大的作用，卻不幸受困于權貴牢籠，其設計作品留給世人的無非那些作為封建帝王陪葬品的漢白玉殘石之類。

　　第二類是明星設計師，這類設計師本來是以獨特的個性和自成一體的風格而聞名于西方。20世紀80年代初，他們最早只出現在學院的教科書和雜志中，中國的開發商和政府并沒有邀請他們前來做設計，一來因為要價高——與當時中國設計師的價格相比，可謂天價；二來因為明星設計師往往有自己的個性主張，大多不愿聽從領導的意愿而設計；三者因為少數中國開發商愛占小便宜，只要方案不愿付錢，而中國城市決策者又善于"吸取各家優點"，先請名家做方案，轉身再交給言聽計從的本地設計師"綜合方案"，結果在國際上留下了不良名聲，所以，名家并不愿來華做設計。進入20世紀90年代后期，隨著城市開發的推進，因為出讓土地而富裕的政府和因為售賣樓盤而大發橫財的開發商，開始大著膽子、一擲千金地邀請明星設計師。特別是在歐美經濟不景氣和人民幣升值的近十年來，明星設計師更是不在乎自己的身份，紛至沓來，急于在中國的大小城市貼上自己的標簽。2008年的北京奧運會和2010年的上海世博會，以及此后的各種規模的園博會、大規模的新城設計競賽等，使中國成為國外明星設計師們的擂臺和實驗地。原本以特色和個性見長的明星設計師們，在中國被貼上了統一的"國際頂級設計師"標簽，稀里糊涂地成為城市決策者用以美化和標榜自己"國際化"和"世界一流"的道具。然而轟轟烈烈過后，他們只是在中國大地上扔下了一堆試驗品，其中不乏建成近十年而未能被使用的，還有一些因為施工質量跟不上，導致剛建成已近殘破，再加之大多數人不愿意背負高昂的維護費用這一包袱，因而就像一場盛大的宴會在結束之后，人走（領導換屆）茶涼，徒留杯盤狼藉。

　　第三類是商人設計師，這類設計師的目的很明確，來華設計是因為有利可圖。自20世紀80年代改革開放以來至今，"外國設計優于本土設計"幾乎成了社會的一種共識，這在很大程度上也確實是客觀的事實。在這種崇洋媚外的背景之下，中國的開發商和城市建設決策者們便將外國設計當作幌子。伴隨著"丹楓白露"、"香榭麗舍"、"塞納維拉"、"里拉維拉"等洋樓盤的出現，甚至"西班牙小鎮"、"意大利小鎮"、"德國小鎮"、"地中海小鎮"等也在中國大地上如雨后春筍般涌現，歐美設計師便憑借其嫻熟的經驗和技術積累，在中國市場上大展所長。與其在本國小規模的修補設計相比，中國有上百萬平方公里的建筑和景觀在向他們招手。他們獲得了明星般的禮遇，頭像和夸張的簡歷被用作售樓書的封面而得到隆重介紹，更有甚者將其巨幅照片和設計手稿懸掛在飛機場和城市廣場的廣告墻上大肆宣傳。為了擴展業務，這些外國設計公司在華成立了分公司，招聘年輕的中國設計人員，業務做得比其本國的本部公司還要大。與"土"設計師相比，"洋"設計師（無論真假）的收費都要高出很多。既然洋設計師如此吃香，一些國外學成歸來的中國人，或者并沒有留洋經歷的"土人"，也紛紛開設了取了洋名的設計事務所，再請一兩位歐魯巴長相的洋人做門面，有的甚至請專業洋人演員來匯報方案。殊不知，中國開發商們所追求的并非外國設計師的品質，"洋名"才是其價值所在，因此，這些外國設計師也常常只被邀請做到方案階段，施工圖往往由當地設計師完成。

　　第四類是苦行僧設計師，他們有著崇高的理想和極高的專業素養，他們雖不是當紅的明星設計師，卻集世界建筑、城市與景觀設計的經驗和教訓之大成，擁有最先進的設計理念。他們以批判的眼光勇敢地剖析歐美城市建設中所犯的錯誤，并希望這樣的錯誤不要在中國出現；他們苦口婆心，試圖說服處于"發燒"狀態的中國城市建設決策者和開發商，不要搞大街區、不要搞畸形的建筑、不要搞化妝的園林、不要搞美艷卻無用的城市、不要修大馬路和避免對汽車的依賴，而要發展自行車和綠色交通、公共交通；他們充滿熱情地向中國的城市決策者們傳播生態和可持續性，以及文化遺產保護的理念，呼吁中國的開發者們要愛護自己的家園，善待自己的老建筑和老城區；他們期望中國能在世界綠色設計中開創一個新局面，創造一種新生活。從20世紀80年代開始，這樣的設計師和智者一批批來到中國，又一批批地離去。他們常常不被理解，甚至被誤解："為什么你們美國人可以有高樓大廈、大馬路、開豪車，我們中國人就不能？"在滾滾而來的大發展、"現代化"的飛速車輪面前，苦行僧們的游說和設計被一次次無情地碾壓而過，留下一片哀嚎和嘆不完的遺憾："要是當年能夠聽取那位外國設計師的意見該多好！"我無數次聽到中國的市長們如是說。由于對理想的執著和對錯誤觀念的不妥協，這些外國設計師們并未能在中國大地上留下許多的作品，但他們在潛移默化地改變中國決策者們的理念和價值觀。"什么是好的設計"這一問題在這些前赴后繼的苦行僧設計師們和中國本土智者們的共同教化下，開始變得逐漸清晰起來。與其他幾類有著眾多"作品"的設計師相比，這些苦行僧設計師更值得我們尊敬，因為他們傳播的是推動中國大地走向健康的正確理念。我對上述四類設計師都非常尊重，他們對中國的發展或多或少起到了積極的推進作用：包括提高中國設計行業的收費標準、提升設計師在中國社會中的地位，以及推動技術的交流和進步。如果說我對上述其中的一些設計師在字里行間流露出某些遺憾的話，那是因為我實在感嘆他們生不逢時，或者說，中國這個大甲方實在尚未具備其應有的品位和品質追求，來接納這些優秀的國際設計師。與在中國實現精品設計相比，教育其甲方懂得欣賞設計乃是中國現階段最急需的，也是我對外國設計師們的最大期待。也正因為如此，我尤其贊美第四類外國設計師——苦行僧設計師，要給他們立碑、立傳，他們是推動中國城市建設和設計行業進步的最不能忽視的力量。

　　Designers, currently or previously, working in China in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban development can, so far as I know, be classified into four categories:

Category I: Imperial Designers. The key representative of this category is Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766), an Italian who was originally sent by the church to China on missionary duty, but was summoned by Emperor Kang Xi to become a court painter. He gave up his mission, instead devoting his life to serving Emperors Kang Xi, Yong Zheng, and Qian Long. In order to please the emperors, he even changed his painting technique, adding then advanced perspective rules. His work was highly controlled by the Emperor, for example, shadows were not allowed in portraits, and the emperors decided on the subjects of his paintings. Castiglione’s major design task was to participate in construction of the western mansions of the Old Summer Palace. He recommended Benoist Michael (1715-1774), a Frenchman who originally was also sent to China for missionary work, to Emperor Qian Long. Michael, highly adept at mathematics, astronomy and physics, could have contributed significantly to developing China’s national sciences and livelihood. However, common people were not the concern of Emperor Qian Long. Instead, Michael was summoned by the emperor to design fountains and cascades for the imperial court. He spent 12 years designing a fountain called Xieqiqu, and then famous fountains such as Yangquelong, Huanghuazhen, Haiyantang and Yuanyingguan. Foreign imperial designers, such as Castiglione and Michael, could have played a greater and more meaningful role in the development of China, but unfortunately they were confined within the court, leaving behind them only ruins of white marble and mortuary objects of past emperors.

Category II: Star Designers. This group of designers is famous in the western world for their unique characteristics and styles. Early in the 1980s they only appeared in academic textbooks or magazines, and were not employed by Chinese developers or local governments because they were: 1) extremely high priced compared to local Chinese designers; 2) too insistent in their own styles to design according to the will of officials; and 3) unwilling to come to China. At that time, China had a poor international reputation, and while some Chinese developers loved their ideas, they refused to pay foreign designers. Chinese urban planners were good at "absorbing the good points of all parties" by inviting well-known designers to draw up solutions and then giving them to local designers for a "comprehensive scheme". But late in the 1990s, as urban development was pushed forward, rich governments and property developers started spending money recklessly by employing star designers. Particularly, in the past decade when the western economy has been stuck by recession and the Chinese currency has appreciated, star designers, regardless of their reputations, have crowded into Chinese cities, to see their designs realized. The Beijing Olympics in 2008, the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, garden exhibitions of all types, and large-scale design competitions for new cities have turned China into an arena and experimental base for high profile foreign designers. Originally known for their personal characteristics and styles, these star designers were labeled uniformly in China as "top international designers", and were employed by urban policy-makers who wanted to brag about being "international" and "world-class". The result has been a pile of experimental objects, many of which were not in use ten years after construction, while other projects were in almost ruins upon their completion due to low construction quality. No one was willing to shoulder the high maintenance cost. The result resembles the aftermath of a grand party, where both the hosts and guests are gone, leaving behind a messed- up house.

　　Category III: Commercial Designers. These designers have a clear objective: they come to China because it is lucrative. Since the beginning of reform and opening in the 1980s, it has been a common consensus among Chinese developers that "foreign designs are better than the local ones", which, to a great extent, is true. Under such a guise of worshiping all things foreign, foreign designs have been used as a pretext by the Chinese developers and policy-makers for radical urban development. Residential projects, with such names as "Palace of Fontainebleau", "Champs-Elysées", "Seine Villa", "Leela Villa", and even "Spain Town", "Italian Town", "German Town", and "Mediterranean Town" have been emerging in large numbers. In these developments, western designers have a chance to fully display their skilled experience and techniques. Compared with small-scale "leftover" projects in their own countries, millions of square kilometers in China are open to architectural and landscape design and experimentation. In China, foreign designers have been treated like stars, their portraits and resumes printed on the brochure cover of housing projects. Some even have their photos and design manuscripts hanging for promotion at airports and on billboards in urban squares. To expand their business, these foreign design offices have established branches in China, employing young Chinese designers, and in some cases are larger than their home offices abroad. Compared to the local designers, these foreign designers, real or fake, charge much higher fees. Since foreign designers are so popular, some Chinese designers, with or without an overseas education, set up foreign-named offices and employ one or two European designers as window dressing, and even ask foreign actors to play as a designer to do presentations to clients. In short, Chinese developers do not care about the quality of foreign designs, but only their foreign name. As a result, foreign designers are often only involved in the concept proposal stage, and in these cases local designers often complete construction drawings.

　　Category IV: Designers who are indifferent to fame and wealth. With lofty ideals and high levels of professionalism, these designers might not be star designers, but are well versed in world architectural, urban and landscape design, and often have the most advanced design concepts. They analyze, through critical thinking, the mistakes made in the urban development of western countries, and hope not to make these same mistakes in China. They spend their time trying to talk frenzied Chinese policy-makers out of designing large street blocks, awkward buildings, and made-up gardens in glamorous but useless cities. They fight construction of broad roads in order to avoid dependence on cars, but instead to develop bicycle and public transportation systems. They speak with passion to Chinese urban policy-makers about ecology and sustainability, as well as cultural heritage protection. They ask Chinese developers to love and protect their own country, and to treat old buildings and new cities with the same respect. They hope China will start a new era and lifestyle based in green design. Beginning the 1980s, such designers and wise men have come, and then left China. They were not understood, or even misunderstood, and were asked questions such as, "Why can you Americans have high buildings, broad roads and big cars, but we Chinese cannot?"The rapidly turning wheels of big development and "modernization" grounds ruthlessly over the suggestions and designs of these types of idealistic designers, leaving behind wails and, later on, regret. "What if I had listened to the foreign designers!" is a sentence I have heard from the Chinese mayors time after time. Due to their ideals and uncompromising attitude, this type of foreign designer has not been able to leave many built works in China, but they have worked to change the concepts and values of Chinese policy-makers. Thanks to joint efforts made by designers and local Chinese, the question of "what is good design?" is becoming clearer. Compared to the prolific designers of the other three categories, these designers are more respectable in many ways, for they have been promoting an ethos of a healthier land for all of China.

　　I respect all four types of designers, and all have played a positive role in the development of China, including improvements in the income and social status of Chinese designers, and the exchange and advancement of technologies. If I have unintentionally showed a disregard for some of these designers that is only because I think they were not born at the right time. Or, in other words, without the necessary taste and pursuit of quality, China as the client, was not always ready to embrace talented international designers. Instead of pursuing quality design in China, what is most currently needed is to teach clients to appreciate good design. High quality design is what I have come to expect most from the foreign designers. Because of this, I admire in particular the foresight of designers in Category IV, the idealistic designers who are indifferent to fame and wealth. To these designers I want to raise a memorial and write biographies, for they are the most indelibly positive force that has contributed and promoted urban development and advancement of the design industry in China.

　　2004年于北京舉辦的某邀請招標發布會現場氣氛隆重而熱烈，重要領導親自到場發表演講，獲得設計邀請的8家設計單位中有6家來自外國，其中不乏國際知名設計公司。這樣隆重地邀請外國公司參與中國重要工程設計的項目，每年數以萬計（俞孔堅，2004年2月18日攝于北京）。

　　In 2004, an invested bidding release conference was solemnly and warmly held in Beijing, at which many heads of government attended and spoke. Six of the eight invested design teams came from aboard, including internationally renowned design firms. In China, such important engineering projects that ostentatiously invite foreign design companies to participate happen thousands of times every year (Taken by Kongjian Yu, Beijing , February 18th, 2004) .

原文出處：俞孔堅.(2013).外國設計師在中國.景觀設計學,1(5):5-9.
Source: Yu, K. (2013).Foreign Designers Venture into China. Landscape Architecture Frontiers, 1 (5):5-9.