【记者】从图解上看，中国馆这次使用到城市轮廓线和山水轮廓线的象形设计类比手法。和其他国家相比，象形设计在建筑上对中国近代影响似乎很大，您是如何看待象形设计以及象形设计对中国现代当代建筑设计的影响。

　　Looked from the graphic, the China Pavilion of this EXPO uses pictographic design methods and elements such as the city skyline and the curved mountain profiles. Compared with that in other countries, pictographic design seems more influential in contemporary Chinese architecture. What’s your perception of pictographic design and its impact to contemporary Chinese architecture?

　　【陆轶辰】 我们对这个房子“像”什么一点都不感兴趣。好的建筑就和艺术品一样，不同背景的人可以有不同的诠释，如果大家对它的说法一致，反而说明这个艺术品的厚度不够，不足以承载各种深度的信息。比如说，我们乐见：老百姓们看到的是个竹屋面;领导们看到的是传统屋顶;建筑师们看到的是胶合木结构;参数化建筑师看到的是南侧自然抛物线和北侧直线之间的数理关系……很好，很和谐--建筑师的思考就在里面。

　　但我们有明确反对的，就是“具象”的设计。比如说传统图案、脸谱、灯笼、剪纸这些过于具象的符号模仿或浅薄装饰，这个是价值观问题，设计师应该寸步不让。中国馆在设计过程中有过各种大家难以想象的压力，但至少在建筑层面上，我们没有妥协，一些涉及到建筑层面的“装饰”，最后在工程过程中也基本上被建筑师消解掉了。更重要的是，我们在配合的过程中，看到了业主对建筑师的信任和支持。大家现在看到的，是包括业主、清华美院各专业、总包等各个方面全力配合获得的结果。要把这些背后的努力写出来，会是厚厚的一本书。

　　【陆轶辰】 We are least interested in what the building ‘looks like’. Good architecture is like good art. People with different backgrounds may have different interpretation to it. If the comments from everyone are the same, it means the art doesn't have enough depth to take the various insights. For example, we would like to observe that the general public sees a bamboo roof in the pavilion; government officials see the traditional roof; architects see glulam timber structure; parametric designers see the geometric relations between the curves at the south and the folded lines at the north, etc. That’s very good and harmonious. Our thoughts as an architect are in there.

　　And we also have what we clearly would not want to observe, the real symbolic design. When it’s about the superficial resemblance of the symbols and ornaments, architects should firmly hold their ground because it’s a question of values. During the design process there was all kinds of pressure that people can’t imagine now, but we didn’t set back, as least in the architecture part. Some ornaments at the interface with the architecture also were basically diminished by the architects. More importantly, we observed that the client of trust and support of architects. What everyone sees now, it’s actually a result of the extensive cooperation of the client, all design departments of Tsinghua University and the contractors in all aspects. If we want to write about the effort behind it, we could get a really big book.　　

↑ 中国馆南立面山水轮廓 (摄影：Sergio Grazia)