We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer about their original and creative design work. is an award-winning creative designer, that makes our world a better place with their original works.
("") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work . Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
: My first occupation was teacher. Later, I became a designer. Aside from thinking about design practices of business, I began to explore those things that could bring me the real peace and joy. For example, try to combine the education with the design, to create a comfortable, multifunctional and interesting learning space for the children. I draw the inspiration from the structure of geometry, the children’s building blocks, the traditional house roof of the local Yi ethnic group and the bright, rich colors of Yunnan province.
: I think the Zhuo Yu Pavilion is an innovative project for me. I can combine education with design in it. There are only two regular spaces for learning and activities in this school. So I want to build an additional space which I call “the third space” for the children. They can surf the internet, read, communicate, and develop some interesting activities involving play, art, music in it. Studying children’s characteristics of perception and mentality and interpreting the local ethnic and cultural contexts, this project advances a design concept of congregation of geometrical boxes to build the house within the house, or the space within the space.Integrating architecture and interior space, the project combines design with education, attempting to improve rural education through design, and enable the children in low-income areas to explore and discover the world towards a hopeful future.
: I hope the model of combining education with design will be promoted. I also hope to promote the development of education through design, especially in the country. Most of the schools I contacted welcome this project, but I must choose one as a pilot. And I also want to know whether the effects of structure, function, lighting, drainage, and the spatial proportion in this house are good when it put into use. Another important thing I care about is how much the children welcome this space, and how to make better use of it. I think this project is meaningful and valuable for me and the children. It can really make up for some lack of education system in the country. I believe and want to insist on influencing more people with design. This year, our public welfare program “Finding the Most Beautiful Rural Support Teacher” which will be carried out in Zhuo Yu Pavilion has begun. I hope that more charitable power will take part in our actions, and continue to help rural education in order to create a better future for children.
: From the site inspection at the end of 2015 to the project construction of the 2016, the design took eight months.
: In November 2015, I visited four elementary schools in the mountain area of Yuxi City, Yunnan Province, where the local children had very little communication with the outside world. Since then, how to build a unique, significant space for the children and transfer the positive value of the design has become my target. For us, this project is the first attempt to combine education with design, and it will also be the direction of design thinking in the future. We organized the investment and designed this building. This is our charity donation program.
: I think this is related to my teaching experience after I graduated from college. However, the teaching work of those years was too far away from what I learned in college, and I felt that I could not bring true aesthetic education to the child. So I resigned and entered a design company to display my ambitions, but I still focus on education. I think it is significant and worth continuing to do that give children more love in a good designed space.
: The focus of this design concept is to create a new vibrant and interesting space for the children expect the regular space such as classroom and playground. I believe a good design space can change the inner feeling of students. They can increase their interest in learning, improve their ability to cooperate and communicate, and develop their personal qualities more fully through various activities carried out here. We will do our best to improve the competitiveness of rural students for entering the community.
: The design creates a series of open spaces to compose a fun paradise for children’s study in this remote mountain: the sunken but quiet area is for reading; the main ground area is for internet, interactive communication and stage performance; the upper floor is for drawing, free play and an audience area for the show. I think this is a new design space in this school. If the classroom is regarded as the first space and the playground is the second space, then the third space means a place where there is freer, more interaction than classrooms and playground.
: The design starts from children’s characteristics of perception and mentality to construct a house within a house, or a space within a space. Through the dialogue and contrast between the traditional and modern, the project presents a sense of modern space, cultural context and historical inheritance.
: First of all, it is a research on requirements. In November 2015, I visited four elementary schools in the mountainous areas of Yi nationality, Yunnan Province. The local children in these schools had very little communication with the outside world. The children need a new place to develop their interest in learning and ability to communicate with other, and the teachers also need a new place to carry out the activities they want to do. Second, I know this project is welcomed by the school principals and the local education department when I connected with them, so I will get some important supports from them during the construction of this building. Third, I investigate any charities and material vendors that are willing to support our plan. In the end, I think this project will be a bridge connecting forces from all sides, and also a bridge connecting the education with design. It is meaningful and worth doing. I think it would work.
: Due to the lack of local professional construction teams, there emerged many construction difficulties. The project also encountered numerous problems related to the site survey, water proofing, and earthquake resistance. Through close communication and cooperation among the Creative Space Design team, the local architectural design institute, and other related design units of structure, electromechanical systems, the safety and construction progress of the overall project were fully guaranteed.
: The combination of design and education is an international proposition. I hope that this work will arouse the public's reflection on the education of children in rural and remote areas, and also hopes to broaden the breadth of children's view of the world, and bring them a pleasant environment to grow up in.
