R E S O L U T I O N . 2 0 1 1

While walking around the city during the dreary days of winter I often don’t notice much around me as I usually have my gaze fixed on the sidewalk and my sights set on getting indoors as quickly as possible. Fortunately for me, I live in Shanghai; a place where I am constantly surprised by catching a glimpse of something cool and unexpected. This happened to me the other day as I was wandering near Taikang Lu with my son, Otto. We turned a corner and joy filled my heart as I spied this building that was wrapped in the most amazing flower petals. It is the LiuLi China Museum, a structure that houses ancient and contemporary Chinese glass works, but more importantly, it is a structure that fills passer-bys with delight.

There are many things I love about this building – first of all, its whimsy is a refreshing respite from the seriousness of the surrounding architecture. Secondly, the organic grace of the overlapping petal pattern is a most beautiful contrast to the modernist geometry of the building’s skeleton – neither would be as wonderful standing on their own. Lastly, the shifting layers of transparency and varied levels of light as the petals envelop the building and leap up toward the sky make it appear to dance.

Walking by this building reminded me that our built environment truly affects how we feel. It seems that we, as a society, are at a point where the numerous stresses of living through a recession have brought everyone’s spirits to an all time low - we all need to lighten up a bit, especially me! I have taken this as a calling for a brighter, lively and less precious approach to design in this new year – so, next time you hear me whine about a corner not aligning with an opening not aligning with a soffit – please tell me to shut up and remind me of this building, and the importance of my new years resolution to create spaces that enliven people’s everyday moments.