a+u 2026:01 Feature: Vector Architects
Content
a+u’s January issue features Vector Architects, founded by Gong Dong in 2008. From its earliest projects, the Beijing-based firm has prioritized the relationship of built work to its site, from ocean, to mountains, to the heart of the city, while investigating both natural and artificial landmarks for clues on how best to address the unique requirements of each program. While Gong Dong is no stranger to bold gestures, as evidenced by Seashore Chapel in Qinhuangdao, recent work, such as Jingyang Camphor Court in Jingdezhen, seems to retreat from view, knitting itself into the urban fabric until structure and surroundings become inseverable. While material continues to be critical to their capture and play of light, Vector Architects’ resolution to preserve nature, such as their decision to make 18-meter trees the nucleus of Liyuan Primary School in Shenzhen, attests to their ability to grasp the genius loci of their site. (a+u)
Manifesto:
Seeing into the Site
Gong Dong
Seashore Chapel
Seashore Library
Restaurant Y by the Sea
Essay:
Gong Dong and Vector Architects
Henry Plummer
Xiangshan Library
Mountaintop Theater
Tianye Art Museum
Cluster of Juxtaposed Courtyards – Xirang Hotel
Wulingshan Eye Stone Spring
Essay:
Lifelines in Plan and Perspective –
The Drawings, Paintings, and Buildings of Gong Dong
David Leatherbarrow
Jingyang Camphor Court
Revival of Ordinary Trees
Chapel of Music 86
Changjiang Art Museum
Essay:
News from the Sites
Dongyang Liu
Bishan Granary Art Center
Banyan Garden Community Art Center and Canteen
Liyuan Foreign Language Primary School
Steel Reed
Haibing Center of Nankai University
Haikou Cultural and Ecological Memorial Park
Shanghai Maritime Pavilion
Essay:
Vector Architects: Designing Intersections
Michele Bonino