讀後心得

Liu Jiakun, a 68-year-old Chinese architect, has won this year's Pritzker Prize. He has created more than thirty architectural projects in Chengdu and Chongqing, focusing on simple yet spiritually rich public spaces. His work encompasses academic, cultural, and commercial buildings, and he is committed to integrating local materials with eco-friendly concepts. What has earned him accolades in the industry is his architectural strategy, which breaks away from the limitations of a single style to create new scenes that adapt to each location. Four representative works include the Sculpture Department Building of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, the Shikeming Art Museum in Luyeyuan, the Suzhou Imperial Kiln Brick Museum, and the Bell Museum of the Jianchuan Museum Cluster, all showcasing his unique insights into materials and design. The jury noted that his works provide new thinking in the face of urbanization challenges.

The highest honor in the architecture world, the Pritzker Prize, was awarded this year to the architect Liu Jiakun from Chengdu.

The 68-year-old Liu Jiakun primarily creates tranquil and humble public spaces in Chengdu and Chongqing, having completed over thirty architectural projects, all located in China. His works are distributed in densely populated, open-space-scarce urban environments, including academic and cultural institutions, commercial buildings, and public areas of urban planning.

The jury praised his architectural works for their coherence and their ability to transcend various aesthetic or stylistic limitations. Liu Jiakun argues that architecture should be strategically driven rather than adhering to a specific style. He once noted, "Style is like a double-edged sword; it can make you memorable but can also limit you."

The Luyeyuan Stone Carving Art Museum combines traditional forms with contemporary humanities and technology, emphasizing architectural characteristics rather than just focusing on surface aesthetics. His architectural techniques are never repetitive; each project showcases a new daily life scene based on the needs of the location. He often uses local raw materials, which not only saves costs but also aligns with environmental protection principles, realizing the mission of "built for the community, by the community." The clever use of raw materials allows the architecture to display the texture and craftsmanship of the materials, forming a type of "imperfection" that becomes more precious over time. Here are four of his representative works:

• Sichuan Fine Arts Institute Sculpture Department Building: Located in a narrow corner of Sichuan Academy, it recreates the swirling patterns of traditional mortar craftsmanship in Chongqing, with details intentionally preserved, using materials reclaimed from the Wenchuan earthquake ruins, reinforced with local wheat straw fibers and cement to create "recycled bricks" that exceed the physical strength and economic benefits of the original materials, widely used in projects such as the Novartis Building and Shuijingfang Museum.

• Luyeyuan Stone Carving Art Museum: Hidden within a bamboo forest in Chengdu, it mainly collects Buddhist stone carvings, designed with a traditional Chinese garden layout, with the building's exterior walls using bricks as molds to create exposed concrete composite walls that cleverly introduce light, blending the entire building with the natural environment.

• Su Zhou Imperial Kiln Brick Museum: Located in the Suzhou Lu Tomb Ruins Park, it protects the ruins and showcases golden brick artifacts, creating an inward-facing garden space with an embracing layout, with a tree-lined path to the north isolating the outside, and layering various bricks to reflect the "Imperial Kiln" spirit and recreate the former production scene of golden bricks.

• Jianchuan Museum Cluster Bell Museum: Located in a commercial wasteland area of Chengdu, sunlight pours in through the circular ceiling into the brick wall courtyard, creating a strong contrast of tranquility, resulting in a unique spatial experience.

The jury stated, "In a world that can easily become homogeneous, he found a completely new architectural approach, simultaneously creating buildings, infrastructure, landscapes, and public spaces. His works provide us with influential new thinking to cope with the various challenges brought by urbanization."