俞孔坚：给在华的外国设计师立传
在中国和曾经在中国从事建筑、景观与城市建设的设计师，在我看来可分为四类：
第一类是御用设计师，其中的重要代表是郎世宁（GiuseppeCastiglione，1688-1766）， 意大利人，本来是被教会派到中国传教的，结果却被康熙召进宫中，做了宫廷画师，放弃了原本伟大的理想，终生侍奉康、雍、乾三朝大帝。为了讨好皇帝，他甚至改变自己的油画技法和当时先进的透视学原理，而屈服于皇帝的嗜好，人像都不能画阴影，甚至连作画题材都由皇帝指定。郎世宁的主要设计工作是奉命参与圆明园西洋楼的修建。他还专门向乾隆皇帝引荐了另一位天才——蒋友仁（Benoist Michael，1715－1774），法国人，原来也是被派到中国来传教的。他精通数学、天文学及物理。原本可让这样的大才发展国家之科学与济民之术，乾隆却"不问苍生问鬼神"，蒋友仁受宠若惊地被召到宫中设计喷泉跌水等游戏，先做了"谐奇趣"的大水法，后又做了蓄水楼、养雀笼、黄花阵、海晏堂、远瀛观等等之水法工程，一干就是12个年头。以这样两位奇才为代表的外国御用设计师，皆可谓大才，本可以为中国的发展做出更有意义的贡献、发挥更大的作用，却不幸受困于权贵牢笼，其设计作品留给世人的无非那些作为封建帝王陪葬品的汉白玉残石之类。
第二类是明星设计师，这类设计师本来是以独特的个性和自成一体的风格而闻名于西方。20世纪80年代初，他们最早只出现在学院的教科书和杂志中，中国的开发商和政府并没有邀请他们前来做设计，一来因为要价高——与当时中国设计师的价格相比，可谓天价；二来因为明星设计师往往有自己的个性主张，大多不愿听从领导的意愿而设计；三者因为少数中国开发商爱占小便宜，只要方案不愿付钱，而中国城市决策者又善于"吸取各家优点"，先请名家做方案，转身再交给言听计从的本地设计师"综合方案"，结果在国际上留下了不良名声，所以，名家并不愿来华做设计。进入20世纪90年代后期，随着城市开发的推进，因为出让土地而富裕的政府和因为售卖楼盘而大发横财的开发商，开始大着胆子、一掷千金地邀请明星设计师。特别是在欧美经济不景气和人民币升值的近十年来，明星设计师更是不在乎自己的身份，纷至沓来，急于在中国的大小城市贴上自己的标签。2008年的北京奥运会和2010年的上海世博会，以及此后的各种规模的园博会、大规模的新城设计竞赛等，使中国成为国外明星设计师们的擂台和实验地。原本以特色和个性见长的明星设计师们，在中国被贴上了统一的"国际顶级设计师"标签，稀里糊涂地成为城市决策者用以美化和标榜自己"国际化"和"世界一流"的道具。然而轰轰烈烈过后，他们只是在中国大地上扔下了一堆试验品，其中不乏建成近十年而未能被使用的，还有一些因为施工质量跟不上，导致刚建成已近残破，再加之大多数人不愿意背负高昂的维护费用这一包袱，因而就像一场盛大的宴会在结束之后，人走（领导换届）茶凉，徒留杯盘狼藉。
第三类是商人设计师，这类设计师的目的很明确，来华设计是因为有利可图。自20世纪80年代改革开放以来至今，"外国设计优于本土设计"几乎成了社会的一种共识，这在很大程度上也确实是客观的事实。在这种崇洋媚外的背景之下，中国的开发商和城市建设决策者们便将外国设计当作幌子。伴随着"丹枫白露"、"香榭丽舍"、"塞纳维拉"、"里拉维拉"等洋楼盘的出现，甚至"西班牙小镇"、"意大利小镇"、"德国小镇"、"地中海小镇"等也在中国大地上如雨后春笋般涌现，欧美设计师便凭借其娴熟的经验和技术积累，在中国市场上大展所长。与其在本国小规模的修补设计相比，中国有上百万平方公里的建筑和景观在向他们招手。他们获得了明星般的礼遇，头像和夸张的简历被用作售楼书的封面而得到隆重介绍，更有甚者将其巨幅照片和设计手稿悬挂在飞机场和城市广场的广告墙上大肆宣传。为了扩展业务，这些外国设计公司在华成立了分公司，招聘年轻的中国设计人员，业务做得比其本国的本部公司还要大。与"土"设计师相比，"洋"设计师（无论真假）的收费都要高出很多。既然洋设计师如此吃香，一些国外学成归来的中国人，或者并没有留洋经历的"土人"，也纷纷开设了取了洋名的设计事务所，再请一两位欧鲁巴长相的洋人做门面，有的甚至请专业洋人演员来汇报方案。殊不知，中国开发商们所追求的并非外国设计师的品质，"洋名"才是其价值所在，因此，这些外国设计师也常常只被邀请做到方案阶段，施工图往往由当地设计师完成。
第四类是苦行僧设计师，他们有着崇高的理想和极高的专业素养，他们虽不是当红的明星设计师，却集世界建筑、城市与景观设计的经验和教训之大成，拥有最先进的设计理念。他们以批判的眼光勇敢地剖析欧美城市建设中所犯的错误，并希望这样的错误不要在中国出现；他们苦口婆心，试图说服处于"发烧"状态的中国城市建设决策者和开发商，不要搞大街区、不要搞畸形的建筑、不要搞化妆的园林、不要搞美艳却无用的城市、不要修大马路和避免对汽车的依赖，而要发展自行车和绿色交通、公共交通；他们充满热情地向中国的城市决策者们传播生态和可持续性，以及文化遗产保护的理念，呼吁中国的开发者们要爱护自己的家园，善待自己的老建筑和老城区；他们期望中国能在世界绿色设计中开创一个新局面，创造一种新生活。从20世纪80年代开始，这样的设计师和智者一批批来到中国，又一批批地离去。他们常常不被理解，甚至被误解："为什么你们美国人可以有高楼大厦、大马路、开豪车，我们中国人就不能？"在滚滚而来的大发展、"现代化"的飞速车轮面前，苦行僧们的游说和设计被一次次无情地碾压而过，留下一片哀嚎和叹不完的遗憾："要是当年能够听取那位外国设计师的意见该多好！"我无数次听到中国的市长们如是说。由于对理想的执着和对错误观念的不妥协，这些外国设计师们并未能在中国大地上留下许多的作品，但他们在潜移默化地改变中国决策者们的理念和价值观。"什么是好的设计"这一问题在这些前赴后继的苦行僧设计师们和中国本土智者们的共同教化下，开始变得逐渐清晰起来。与其他几类有着众多"作品"的设计师相比，这些苦行僧设计师更值得我们尊敬，因为他们传播的是推动中国大地走向健康的正确理念。我对上述四类设计师都非常尊重，他们对中国的发展或多或少起到了积极的推进作用：包括提高中国设计行业的收费标准、提升设计师在中国社会中的地位，以及推动技术的交流和进步。如果说我对上述其中的一些设计师在字里行间流露出某些遗憾的话，那是因为我实在感叹他们生不逢时，或者说，中国这个大甲方实在尚未具备其应有的品位和品质追求，来接纳这些优秀的国际设计师。与在中国实现精品设计相比，教育其甲方懂得欣赏设计乃是中国现阶段最急需的，也是我对外国设计师们的最大期待。也正因为如此，我尤其赞美第四类外国设计师——苦行僧设计师，要给他们立碑、立传，他们是推动中国城市建设和设计行业进步的最不能忽视的力量。
Designers, currently or previously, working in China in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban development can, so far as I know, be classified into four categories:
Category I: Imperial Designers. The key representative of this category is Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766), an Italian who was originally sent by the church to China on missionary duty, but was summoned by Emperor Kang Xi to become a court painter. He gave up his mission, instead devoting his life to serving Emperors Kang Xi, Yong Zheng, and Qian Long. In order to please the emperors, he even changed his painting technique, adding then advanced perspective rules. His work was highly controlled by the Emperor, for example, shadows were not allowed in portraits, and the emperors decided on the subjects of his paintings. Castiglione’s major design task was to participate in construction of the western mansions of the Old Summer Palace. He recommended Benoist Michael (1715-1774), a Frenchman who originally was also sent to China for missionary work, to Emperor Qian Long. Michael, highly adept at mathematics, astronomy and physics, could have contributed significantly to developing China’s national sciences and livelihood. However, common people were not the concern of Emperor Qian Long. Instead, Michael was summoned by the emperor to design fountains and cascades for the imperial court. He spent 12 years designing a fountain called Xieqiqu, and then famous fountains such as Yangquelong, Huanghuazhen, Haiyantang and Yuanyingguan. Foreign imperial designers, such as Castiglione and Michael, could have played a greater and more meaningful role in the development of China, but unfortunately they were confined within the court, leaving behind them only ruins of white marble and mortuary objects of past emperors.
Category II: Star Designers. This group of designers is famous in the western world for their unique characteristics and styles. Early in the 1980s they only appeared in academic textbooks or magazines, and were not employed by Chinese developers or local governments because they were: 1) extremely high priced compared to local Chinese designers; 2) too insistent in their own styles to design according to the will of officials; and 3) unwilling to come to China. At that time, China had a poor international reputation, and while some Chinese developers loved their ideas, they refused to pay foreign designers. Chinese urban planners were good at "absorbing the good points of all parties" by inviting well-known designers to draw up solutions and then giving them to local designers for a "comprehensive scheme". But late in the 1990s, as urban development was pushed forward, rich governments and property developers started spending money recklessly by employing star designers. Particularly, in the past decade when the western economy has been stuck by recession and the Chinese currency has appreciated, star designers, regardless of their reputations, have crowded into Chinese cities, to see their designs realized. The Beijing Olympics in 2008, the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, garden exhibitions of all types, and large-scale design competitions for new cities have turned China into an arena and experimental base for high profile foreign designers. Originally known for their personal characteristics and styles, these star designers were labeled uniformly in China as "top international designers", and were employed by urban policy-makers who wanted to brag about being "international" and "world-class". The result has been a pile of experimental objects, many of which were not in use ten years after construction, while other projects were in almost ruins upon their completion due to low construction quality. No one was willing to shoulder the high maintenance cost. The result resembles the aftermath of a grand party, where both the hosts and guests are gone, leaving behind a messed- up house.
Category III: Commercial Designers. These designers have a clear objective: they come to China because it is lucrative. Since the beginning of reform and opening in the 1980s, it has been a common consensus among Chinese developers that "foreign designs are better than the local ones", which, to a great extent, is true. Under such a guise of worshiping all things foreign, foreign designs have been used as a pretext by the Chinese developers and policy-makers for radical urban development. Residential projects, with such names as "Palace of Fontainebleau", "Champs-Elysées", "Seine Villa", "Leela Villa", and even "Spain Town", "Italian Town", "German Town", and "Mediterranean Town" have been emerging in large numbers. In these developments, western designers have a chance to fully display their skilled experience and techniques. Compared with small-scale "leftover" projects in their own countries, millions of square kilometers in China are open to architectural and landscape design and experimentation. In China, foreign designers have been treated like stars, their portraits and resumes printed on the brochure cover of housing projects. Some even have their photos and design manuscripts hanging for promotion at airports and on billboards in urban squares. To expand their business, these foreign design offices have established branches in China, employing young Chinese designers, and in some cases are larger than their home offices abroad. Compared to the local designers, these foreign designers, real or fake, charge much higher fees. Since foreign designers are so popular, some Chinese designers, with or without an overseas education, set up foreign-named offices and employ one or two European designers as window dressing, and even ask foreign actors to play as a designer to do presentations to clients. In short, Chinese developers do not care about the quality of foreign designs, but only their foreign name. As a result, foreign designers are often only involved in the concept proposal stage, and in these cases local designers often complete construction drawings.
Category IV: Designers who are indifferent to fame and wealth. With lofty ideals and high levels of professionalism, these designers might not be star designers, but are well versed in world architectural, urban and landscape design, and often have the most advanced design concepts. They analyze, through critical thinking, the mistakes made in the urban development of western countries, and hope not to make these same mistakes in China. They spend their time trying to talk frenzied Chinese policy-makers out of designing large street blocks, awkward buildings, and made-up gardens in glamorous but useless cities. They fight construction of broad roads in order to avoid dependence on cars, but instead to develop bicycle and public transportation systems. They speak with passion to Chinese urban policy-makers about ecology and sustainability, as well as cultural heritage protection. They ask Chinese developers to love and protect their own country, and to treat old buildings and new cities with the same respect. They hope China will start a new era and lifestyle based in green design. Beginning the 1980s, such designers and wise men have come, and then left China. They were not understood, or even misunderstood, and were asked questions such as, "Why can you Americans have high buildings, broad roads and big cars, but we Chinese cannot?"The rapidly turning wheels of big development and "modernization" grounds ruthlessly over the suggestions and designs of these types of idealistic designers, leaving behind wails and, later on, regret. "What if I had listened to the foreign designers!" is a sentence I have heard from the Chinese mayors time after time. Due to their ideals and uncompromising attitude, this type of foreign designer has not been able to leave many built works in China, but they have worked to change the concepts and values of Chinese policy-makers. Thanks to joint efforts made by designers and local Chinese, the question of "what is good design?" is becoming clearer. Compared to the prolific designers of the other three categories, these designers are more respectable in many ways, for they have been promoting an ethos of a healthier land for all of China.
I respect all four types of designers, and all have played a positive role in the development of China, including improvements in the income and social status of Chinese designers, and the exchange and advancement of technologies. If I have unintentionally showed a disregard for some of these designers that is only because I think they were not born at the right time. Or, in other words, without the necessary taste and pursuit of quality, China as the client, was not always ready to embrace talented international designers. Instead of pursuing quality design in China, what is most currently needed is to teach clients to appreciate good design. High quality design is what I have come to expect most from the foreign designers. Because of this, I admire in particular the foresight of designers in Category IV, the idealistic designers who are indifferent to fame and wealth. To these designers I want to raise a memorial and write biographies, for they are the most indelibly positive force that has contributed and promoted urban development and advancement of the design industry in China.
2004年于北京举办的某邀请招标发布会现场气氛隆重而热烈，重要领导亲自到场发表演讲，获得设计邀请的8家设计单位中有6家来自外国，其中不乏国际知名设计公司。这样隆重地邀请外国公司参与中国重要工程设计的项目，每年数以万计（俞孔坚，2004年2月18日摄于北京）。
In 2004, an invested bidding release conference was solemnly and warmly held in Beijing, at which many heads of government attended and spoke. Six of the eight invested design teams came from aboard, including internationally renowned design firms. In China, such important engineering projects that ostentatiously invite foreign design companies to participate happen thousands of times every year (Taken by Kongjian Yu, Beijing , February 18th, 2004) .
原文出处：俞孔坚.(2013).外国设计师在中国.景观设计学,1(5):5-9.
Source: Yu, K. (2013).Foreign Designers Venture into China. Landscape Architecture Frontiers, 1 (5):5-9.
