Every year, the Pritzker Architecture Prize honors one architect from around the world. In the field of architecture, this award is much like a Nobel prize. This year’s win went to China’s Liu Jiakun. He uses his craft to celebrate the lives of ordinary citizens.
Liu was born in 1956. He lived through China’s communist “Cultural Revolution” and the severe famine that followed. At 17, the government forced him to work on a farm in the countryside. He says his life felt inconsequential. But then he was accepted into architecture school in Chongqing, China.
“[I] suddenly realized my own life was important,” says Liu. He started his own architecture firm, Jiakun Architects, in 1999.
Many architects focus on developing a unique, easily recognized style. Liu chose a different path.
“I don’t want to have a very clear or obvious style that can be recognized as mine just at a glance,” says Liu. “I hope that when I go to a specific place, I can use my methodology and strategy to adapt to local conditions. I like to fully understand the place, and then look for resources, problems . . .”
Liu has designed about 30 projects across his career. They range from academic institutions to commercial buildings and even civic spaces. He wants his work to serve the people and places where he builds.
“To simplify, the task of architects is to provide a better living environment for human beings,” says Liu, speaking in Mandarin.
Many of China’s cities face the challenges of surging populations. Public spaces quickly disappear as urban areas grow. Liu tries to create space for ordinary people even as he builds new buildings. In 2015, he created the West Village project. The five-story building spans a whole city block. He included surrounded pathways for cyclists and pedestrians.
“You have to leave the public the space they deserve,” says Liu. “Only in this way can the development of a city be positive and healthy, rather than being completely high-density, where people live in drawers and boxes . . . without even a place to go and no space for communication.”
God gives us gifts and callings as a way to love our neighbors. Builders and architects can love their neighbors by creating spaces that serve them well. How can you use your gifts to show God’s love to the people around you?
For [Abraham] was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. — Hebrews 11:10
