China’s architectural renaissance

China’s cool building boom didn’t stop after the Olympics: many upcoming venues ventured into more organic and odd angled building shapes, assembled as complex 3D puzzles without much element repetition. One of my friends explained the magic of the 20:80 ratio, which he thinks is a major contributor to this renaissance.

 The early Manhattan High-rises such as the Chrysler building were beautifully constructed, with many elegant details.  The labor to material cost ratio was 20:80. As this ratio flipped over the century to 80:20, the buildings became boxier in shape, unless awarded by wealthy institutions.  In China this ratio seems to be 20:80, possibly explaining the surge in building complexity.

Look at the latest opera house in Guangzhou, designed by famous Zaha Adid, known for her hard to build structures, even with today’s advanced design and planning tools. The construction was challenging but successful and on time.  Other great examples are: Guangzhou’s twisted TV tower, the 2010 Asian games buildings and the Shenzhen Universiade games venues for 2011.