Yi Declaration | Eup architecture · office
Shangyi wings, the pole of the Quartet. "Yi", the national capital, the city.
Historically, the "city" has always been the spatial scale that the "craftsmen" of the Eastern Empire and the "Master Builders" of the Western countries have focused on. Architecture is the fabric of the city, and builders "build" because of "city". After the division of modern academic disciplines, the industry practice of architecture and urban disciplines has gradually drifted apart, and many urban problems such as urban governance, social economy, and ecological environment have few academic discussions and solutions at the scale of architectural design. In this context, the original intention of Atelier-i is to return architecture to the city and the countryside.
Founded in 2018, Atelier-i is a multi-scale international architectural design firm with offices in Paris and Shanghai. As a partner of the Grand Paris project in France and a consultant for urban renewal projects in Shanghai, Qingdao and other cities, the firm has innovatively proposed the methodology of "l'architecture intégrale", which takes the city as the starting point of architectural issuesHelp domestic and foreign customers maximize the comprehensive value of space, society, economy and ecology. The firm's projects involve different building types such as cultural buildings, office buildings, commercial buildings, medical buildings, and educational buildings, as well as urban design, planning, and interior design.
In the practice of holistic architecture, Atelier-i has also pioneered the application of the international cutting-edge theory of "resilience" to the practice of architectural design, and based on the connection points between cities, communities and architectural scales, it has explored the resilience-oriented methodology of "l'architecture intégrale", i.e., the Atelier-i 3i method:
i-situ Urban Symbiosis
Focus on the symbiosis between architecture and urban systems. Break down academic silos and use an interdisdisciplinary, integrated approach to develop a systematic evaluation system that covers different dimensions such as planning and governance, infrastructure and services, economic development, socio-cultural, risk and environment, to consider the suitability of architectural solutions to cities and communities.
i-Inclusive Co-creation
From design to implementation, the project continuously listens to the voices of building users and co-creates with them. In urban projects, a multi-participant collaboration mechanism is formed, in which developers, government departments, citizens/users, etc. participate in the whole cycle of the project, so as to ensure the interests of multiple parties and the sustainability of the project, and create a more dynamic, creative, open and democratic urban life system.
i-Insightful Stewardship
In the planning preparation stage, assist customers in market, policy and user research; At the project operation level, we help customers set project schedules and emergency plans, and assist customers in cost control and investment optimization; In the later stage of the project, we assisted the client to improve the "resilience" database, proposed operation and maintenance and risk response measures, and cooperated with the client to disseminate and promote the project concept.
In the process of exploring cutting-edge methodologies, Atelier-i, as an international pioneer firm, has realized urban landmark and public cultural buildings in many places, and promoted forward-looking academic research and international exchanges.
In 2022, Yi Architecture/Atelier-i participated in the 30th "Chaumont International Garden Art Festival", the most influential international landscape art festival, and the work "Garden of Illusion" became the only Chinese work among the 24 selected gardens for the exhibition. 2024, The design "Zuoquan Township Cultural Compound" by Yi Architecture/Atelier-i won the Silver Award of Cultural Architecture (International Design Awards) of the IDA 2023 International Design Awards, the Grand Prize of Public Architecture of the 2024 DNA Paris Design Awards, and was shortlisted for the 2024 THE PLAN Award in Italy. In 2023, Yi Architecture will also become the official partner of Grand Paris.
Atelier-i will continue to take key urban projects as the body of the firm, promote the circulation of innovation through experimental projects, and continue to provide breakthrough solutions for urban, vernacular and spatial issues, so as to achieve symbiosis between architecture and city, co-creation with users, and win-win with customers, and practice a sense of land responsibility.
Liu Xiangcheng
Managing architect and founder of the firm
National first-class registered architect
National first-class registered urban and rural planner
Ph.D. in Architecture, Belleville School of Architecture, Paris, France
Master of Architecture, Tongji University
Master's degree in Architecture and Urban Design, Belleville School of Architecture, Paris, France
MS MUI, Urban and Building Finance, ESSEC Business School, France
He has served as the chief architect of Paris Charbonjie Office and Tongji University Architectural Design and Research Institute (Group) Co., Ltd., and has rich experience in the design of large-scale landmark projects at home and abroad. He presided over the design of large-scale projects and landmark projects such as Huawei Headquarters Office Base, Chifeng Grand Theater, Chengdu University Town, and Gaobeidian Urban Complex. The projects he presided over have won the first prize of Shanghai Survey and Design Award and other awards.
In 2018, Liu Xiangcheng founded Yi Architects in Shanghai, and in 2021, he founded Illimité Architectes / Atelier-i, a French office, using his interdisciplinary and cross-cultural academic and practical background to guide the practice with the theory of "holistic architecture". His main works, such as Zuoquan Cultural Compound, have won high-level international awards such as DNA, IDA, AND THE PLAN; As the only Chinese work selected, the garden experiment "Garden of Illusions" was exhibited in the 30th anniversary exhibition of the Chaumont International Garden Festival in France, and was widely reported and interviewed by Chinese and foreign media. The firm cooperates with the highest level of architectural teams in China and France to enhance the exchange and integration of architectural creativity and practice between China and France, and continuously empower design and innovation through academic research and cultural exchanges.
Louis Donnet
Founding partner of the firm
Bachelor of Architecture from EPFL
Master of Finance in Cities and Buildings (MS MUI), ESSEC Business School, France
Worked for well-known architectural firms in Switzerland and Italy,
Among them is David Chipperfield Architects, winner of the 2023 Pritzker Prize.
His experience spans a wide range of areas, including the design and implementation of sports facilities, residential buildings, commercial spaces, cultural institutions and educational structures. Louis won first prize for David Chipperfield Architects for his work on the Caserma Piave Historic Building Renewal Project, which aims to convert a 19th-century barracks into an educational space for teaching, research and administration. Upon his return to France, he devoted himself to the field of real estate and urban development, where he was involved in the design and construction of timber-framed office parks and provided planning consulting services for urban communities.
Song Ka-shing
Founding partner of the firm
National first-class registered architect
Senior engineer
Master of Architecture, Tongji University
He used to work in Tongji University Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd., and has rich design experience in large-scale projects in China. The project includes educational buildings, residential buildings, cultural buildings, hotel buildings, vernacular buildings and other fields. He has presided over various complex projects such as design university campuses, vocational and technical schools, municipal fitness centers, and nine-year schools. He has presided over a number of projects that have won provincial survey and design awards. With the design philosophy of "local modernism", it pays attention to the dialogue between architecture and regional context and place, and the design works show the concept of harmonious coexistence between architecture and nature.
