TEDxGuangzhou (TEDxXiguan) 2014-2023

一座改变中国的商业街区

Benjamin T. Wood

1998 年的上海还不是今天的模样。美国建筑师 Ben Wood 第一次来到中国，接下了一个项目，这个项目不仅改变了他的职业生涯，还深刻地影响了中国。

当时，中国还没有真正意义上的“公共空间”，所有的广场都仅用于政府活动。Ben 将一个老旧的社区进行改造，保留了其原有的结构，打造了一个让人们可以自由生活、表达自我的场所。

在中国高速发展的今天，许多城市正在逐渐失去自己的特色。摩天大楼、玻璃幕墙、钢筋混凝土，让城市显得千篇一律。但 Wood 认为，城市并不一定要如此。它们可以在保持现代商业竞争力的同时，保护和展现自己的独特文化与身份。

Wood 是一位美国建筑师，他设计了上海的新天地、佛山的岭南天地，以及中国乃至世界各地的多个著名项目。

A commercial block that changed China

Benjamin T. Wood

In 1998, Shanghai was not like it is today. Ben Wood, an American architect, came to China for the first time, took on a project that not only changed his career but also changed China.

Before there was no “public space” in China, all of the squares are only used for government sponsored events. Ben took what was an old neighbourhood, found ways to keep its original structure, and created a place where people can live and be themselves.

In this fast growing age of China, cities are losing their unique identities. Skyscrapers, glass, steel, concrete, they all look the same. Wood thinks it doesn’t have to be that way. Cities could preserve their very own identities whilst remaining competitive in today’s commercial world.

Wood is an American architect who designed Shanghai’s Xintiandi and Foshan’s Lingnan Tiandi, among other famous projects in China and around the world.