Interview with China's celebrated architect and interior designer

Dai Kun

October, 2021

Dai Kun is China’s famed architect and interior designer. A multi-awarded designer, Dai Kun’s works are widely publicized in China’s media and showcased in the international design scene. He has authored several design books and served as the deputy director of the Chinese Furnishing Professional Art Committee. Asia Designers Directory interviews Dai Kun to find out more about his career journey and his contribution to China’s design scene.

 

As one of the leading interior designers in China who possesses an in-depth understanding of the country’s design landscape, can you share how has the design scene in China evolved amid rapid socioeconomic growth and a higher standard of living today, and how does this impact designers.

Interior design can inspire living, stir connections and impact our lives on a personal level. As living standards in a country rise, society’s requirements towards aesthetics and interior design will understandably change. To keep abreast with the evolutions and changing needs of our society, interior designers are challenged to rethink design, reinvent themselves, and curate designs that remain relevant.

 

作为中国著名建筑师及室内设计师,您对中国的室内设计领域有着深入的了解。您认为随着中国的迅速发展,人们生活水平和审美观的提高,人们对室内设计的需求如何演变?

室内设计关乎人生活的每一个方面。随着生活水平的提高和人们对品味生活的更高要求,室内设计在不断的迭代与进化当中。这样的急速发展的室内设计师也提出了更高的要求,一旦不能够保持学习和进步,就会快速的被市场淘汰。

 

 

You are an imminent figure in China’s interior design scene who has found success in creating interiors with global influence. Can you tell us about your career trajectory and in your pursuit for success, the challenges faced along the way?

Born in 1970, I am only now in my early 50s. I am humbled by the attention I am given in the industry and feel that my standing in China can be attributed to the fact that I started working at a young age. Over the years, I have amassed much experience and credibility, and hence a certain status in this field.

My success can be attributed to good fortune. Like many from my generation, I benefitted from China’s strong economic growth and thriving industrial activities even in my early years. I have also been blessed with many opportunities along the way. For instance, it was not easy enrolling in a university after graduating from high school, but I managed to enroll in the department of architecture – a life-defining event that has since sealed my destiny as a designer.

After graduating, I had another stroke of good luck as I landed a rare opportunity to work for Ma Guoxin, the chief designer of the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design. The stint proved to be a huge boost to my career. Under his guidance, I had the privilege of learning the ins and outs of the profession from one of the finest practitioners and academia in the industry. I also learnt best work practices that have been instrumental to my career growth.

Following the Asian financial crisis, the construction industry was riding on an upward trajectory as the economy rebounded sharply. Only 30 years of age, I decided to strike it out on my own and dived into the sea of opportunities. At that time, I was full of zeal and an impulse to succeed. A flourishing landscape provided young designers like myself the invaluable opportunity to hone our skills, with even room to make mistakes and grow.

After a decade, I decided to shift my emphasis from architectural design to interior design. With a background in architecture, I felt that I could provide a fresher and broader perspective, which few interior design practitioners could at that time, by approaching interior design with an appreciation for and understanding of architecture, and hence added much needed depth to many projects. 

In hindsight, I could not have enjoyed the freedom to switch fields with relative ease if not for a strong economic backdrop where opportunities were abundant. I consider this a privilege that my generation of designers enjoys.

 

您在中国设计界可谓是德高望重。请谈谈您的职业生涯,一路上遇到的挑战以及取得如此多成就的原因?

我生于1970年,50出头还算是个中年人吧,所以肯定谈不上德高望重。但是我确实理解经常被媒体和同行称为前辈,主要的原因可能是从我年轻的时候开始工作的关注度和媒体的曝光量就比较高吧。所以其实从40多岁的时候就已经开始被叫做”前辈”了。在我看起来我们这代人身上主要的标签其实就是幸运。不管是来自于大的时代发展的机遇,还是个人身上的一点点,些许的运气可能都帮到了我们很多。

在我高中毕业的时候,考入一所大学还不是一件很容易的事情,特别是如果想考进自己想学的专业。我很幸运的就考进了建筑系,这份幸运差不多就坚定了我这一生的职业,我就是一个设计师。

大学毕业以后幸运再次降临,我很顺利的进入了北京市建筑设计研究院在马国馨总设计师的办公室工作。今天看起来一个新进的年轻人可以在大师的身边工作学习,对于自己未来的道路是产生巨大影响的。这一段经历让我真正认识了行业,认识了行业当中那些优秀的人和他们做事的方式。

亚洲金融危机以后,在我30岁的时候,我离开原来的工作创立自己的公司。当时只是完全是年轻气盛,基于经过了亚洲金融危机以后看到身边的城市建设开始启动和发展,就按耐不住自己,想直接投入到建设的大潮当中去。幸运的是之后的十几年中国经济的高速发展,确实就提供了几乎是无尽的机会,给年轻的设计师用来学习和实践,甚至是试错与成长。我在做了十几年的建筑设计以后,又把工作的方向完全转向了室内设计。坦白说,在我看起来,在整个的社会环境,经济发展给予如此机会的情况下,个人所付出的辛苦努力其实都算不得什么。毕竟对我的上一代人来说,自由的转换工作状态,转换工作的领域,然后取得市场的认可,接纳乃至成功,几乎是不可想象的事情。

我之所以在十几年以前转向室内设计,实际上有一个很大的因素,就是我的建筑师背景。在那个年代,我发现我身边的绝大多数室内设计的从业人员都不太具有建筑设计的相关背景。而很多时候建筑师的思维方式和知识结构,在很多项目上又有可能是不可或缺的。所以我几乎是没有太多的犹豫跟着项目的需求就直接转换了工作的方向,而之后差不多是一发不可收。

也有很多建筑师朋友在不同的场合问我为什么能够转型取得成绩,而且还很顺利。我自己的反思其实主要是在于自己对设计始终还是抱有好奇心的,所以差不多任何一个没有经历过的领域,如果有机会的话都愿意去学习和尝试,没有太多因为过去取得的成绩而背负在自己身上的包袱。

我对于很多工作的判断,主要在于这件事情是不是有意义或者有趣?我有没有能力完成?如果可以的话可能就去试了,不太会瞻前顾后。就好像在很多同行的眼里,我或者是我的团队,对色彩有自己的独到的研究。但是事实上我之所以会写了一本教材,主要是因为我在中央美术学院代课。我又发现相关专业的同学在色彩设计这个领域并没有针对性的教材。所以就集中了自己两三年的业余时间结合着自己的工作经验去做了这件事情。《室内色彩设计学习》作为中央美术学院和中国建筑工业出版社的高等院校系列教材已经出版发行了六七年的时间。书中提出的一些学习和实践的方法,逐渐的被整个行业接受。

对我而言,我觉得在设计这件事情上始终保持着一个好奇心和兴趣,可能是最重要的一点。

 

 

You have many iconic works. What is your design philosophy and your approach towards each project.

Design is subjective. Based on a set of criteria and conditions, design to me is a problem-solving process where we bridge creative vision and reality. There can be infinite ways to dress a space, but a good designer is one who can best breathe life to a brief based on the given resources and requirements.

For me, every project begins with an analytical process, where I spotlight inherent traits such as the place, time, characteristics of the building and site. A design gradually unfolds as I take a multifaceted approach towards bringing together all elements. I tend to refrain from presupposing the outcome at the very beginning. Instead, I appreciate the process of letting a design slowly unravel.

您有很多杰出的代表作品。请您给我们分享以下您的设计理念以及您对待每个项目的做法?

对我来说设计就是一个因人而异,因地制宜的解决问题的过程。对于一个空间设计来说,总是有着它明确的一个需求,但是却有着无数个解决的方法可能性。我个人会觉得一个好的设计师总是可以依据着自己手头所得到的条件,找寻出一个符合当下情况的艺术的解决方式。

我的每一个设计总是会从对项目自身的分析,包括地域的、时间的、还有建筑自身特点,场地特点等等一系列的分析来展开。一个设计产生的过程经常是伴随着这些分析一起逐渐的显露出来的,我尽可能的不在设计之初去预设会出现什么样的结果。

我十分享受这种由项目自身带来的特别的条件和我的设计习惯之间碰撞出现的偶然。

 

 

What is the source of your design inspiration?

Coming from an architectural background, I feel that my approach towards design is more analytic and methodological, and not so much spurred by inspirations.

请问您通常是从哪里得到设计灵感呢?

 也许是因为我的建筑师从业背景吧。我的设计更强调分析而不是灵感。

 

You play an active role in China’s design associations to promote the education and advancement of Chinese designs. You have also published design books. What is your outlook on China’s design scenes moving forward?

Every generation of architects or interior designers is tasked with the mission to shape societies. I feel that our generation of designers is tasked to elevate the standard of China’s industry by means of anticipating and leveraging technology to be on par with international levels. We can achieve this by setting high standards for the work that we undertake.

As a designer, I believe that we should support the growth of new designers. At the same time, we must continually hone our designs to effectually raise the image and standard of the entire industry to make good progress.

In my bid to support new designers, for instance, I have jointly set up a charitable foundation with several like-minded, accomplished designers. We aim to raise funds to advance the educational and development opportunities of young designers in China. At the same time, I devote time to teach part-time courses in colleges and universities to help nurture the next generation of designers.

Professionally, I choose to adopt a more hands-on approach as I actively participate in projects’ designs, as opposed to delegating the creative work to my colleagues.

Generally, I am more focused on the process than the outcome. I hope that through ongoing efforts, I can continue to contribute to China’s design scene.

您在设计行业协会担当要职,负者推动中国设计的教育推广及发展, 也出版设计为主题的书籍。对于中国的设计和艺术发展,请问您抱有怎样的期望呢?

每一代的建筑师或者是室内设计师,都有他们自身的历史使命。这个使命既来自于时代给予他们的培育与机会,同时也受制于他们所在的环境。对我来说,我们这一代设计师需要完成的是尽可能在技术上和意识上接近行业的国际的水平。通过我们完成的工作,把我们所在的这个环境当中的室内设计水平尽可能的提升。

在这个过程当中,一方面我们要顾及到新人的成长。另一方面也要完成大量的设计实践去提升自己的设计能力,帮助整个行业树立更好的标准和审美。在第一个方面,我和一些优秀的设计师朋友们共同成立了创基金,我们用一个公益慈善的基金会来吸纳社会上各种资金,去帮助中国的教育和青年设计师的发展。同时我本人也常年坚持在一些高等院校里面兼职教授一些课程。在第二个方面,作为一个年富力强的设计师,尽量的让自己投入在设计的一线工作当中,不脱离开业务本身,更多的自己从事创作。

我对自己的期望并不在结果,而更多的在过程。我希望自己能够坚持在设计的前沿岗位上一直向前走。

 

 

 

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