Contract - July/August 2015 - 18

PHOTO: MEG WALTON

EDITORIAL

Think Globally, With a Focus on China

We have a lot to offer in this issue. Besides exclusively showcasing all
of the winners of the Best of NeoCon® (page 49) product competition,
we are pleased to present five diverse international projects from Europe,
Asia, and South America. The timing of this issue coincided well with
my recent travels.
In early July, I was fortunate to travel to Beijing and Shanghai,
China, to see both cities. The trip was eye-opening, not only to see
architecture and design, but to understand the people, history, and
culture of these cities that are both growing and modernizing at
breakneck speed. While some of the sights that I took in were historic,
they were nearly always surrounded by the present and future of China.
That is, they were surrounded by contemporary tall structures-
residential, office, hotel, and otherwise-either recently completed
or under construction as far as the eye could see.
On the trip, I was able to visit American hospitality designer
D.B. Kim., the vice president of hospitality design for Wanda Group who
has been living in Beijing for more than a year. See my interview with Kim
on page 144. In his current role, Kim leads a team of designers focused
on luxury hotels primarily in China. The Wanda Group hotels that he
oversees are designed for a new generation of Chinese clientele: one
that is more sophisticated, has wealth that its parents' generation did not
have, has greater freedom to travel, and is seeking contemporary luxury.
It's a new frontier, culturally and demographically, and one that will swiftly
evolve in our lifetime.
In the next 10 years, by 2025, Chinese cities will have an additional
350 million inhabitants compared to today in a rapid urbanization effort.
Putting that in perspective, the entire U.S. population today is about 320
million. And to be sure, though, about 60 percent of those 350 million will
be urbanized without leaving home as their towns will be designated
"urban" and growth will occur around them. Still, the numbers are
staggering as a huge segment of one country's population, representing
a significant portion of the world's population, transforms from rural to
urban, from an agrarian and craft economy to business and technology.
By 2030, just 15 years from now, one in eight people in the
world will live in a Chinese city. That is, one billion people will be urban
residents in China. By that point, 221 Chinese cities will each have
at least one million people. Today, only 10 U.S. cities have more than that.
18

Beijing alone has grown exponentially in just the last two
decades. It's hard to imagine life in Beijing a generation ago as the city
has expanded continually upward and outward. The city had about
13.5 million people in 2000, 19.6 million in 2010, and now has roughly
22 million inhabitants. As a focal point for significant development,
Beijing is the heart of a megalopolis called the Jing-Jin-Ji region that
will hold 130 million people across 82,000 square miles by 2030.
One may read this and think that, well, these are all interesting
numbers but they don't impact me here in the U.S. as a designer focused
on work in this country. But the changes do have an impact, and it is
important to see and understand. The world is becoming smaller. What
is happening in one part of the world is absolutely impacting the global
economy, the environment, and international relations, let alone design
trends. An entire segment of the world's population evolves as
perceptions are shattered, new ways of life are developed, and a culture
modernizes and urbanizes. And we must, at the very least, understand
the implications as we work toward the design of more humane cities.
Enter the Interiors Awards by September 14
And as we think globally, this is my opportunity to remind you to enter
your best recent projects in the 37th Annual Interiors Awards, which
honor the best in commercial interiors from around the world. The
entry deadline is September 14. Entries, which can be from any
location worldwide, are accepted in 14 professional categories,
as well as a student category. Winners will be published in our
January/February issue, and honored at the Interiors Awards Breakfast.
See page 26 to read about the five Interiors Awards jurors, and visit
contractdesign.com/interiorsawards to learn more and to enter.
Good luck!
Sincerely,
John Czarnecki, Assoc. AIA, Hon. IIDA
Editor in Chief
Visit contractdesign.com/editorial to read all of Editor in Chief
John Czarnecki's editorials.
contractdesign.com 	

JULY | AUGUST 2015
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Contract - July/August 2015

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