Dr. Yuan Ye was invited to deliver a keynote speech at the Contemporary Chinese Architecture Creation Forum & New Architecture Forum

The 29th Contemporary Chinese Architecture Creation Forum & New Architecture Forum was held in Wuhan on May 22–23, 2026, with the theme:Human-oriented Intelligent Architecture · Uphold Tradition, Forge Ahead.

Organized jointly by the Organizing Committee of the Contemporary Chinese Architecture Creation Forum, the School of Architecture and Urban Planning of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and New Architecture Magazine, this forum carries forward its academic ethos cultivated over more than four decades. It gathers renowned architects and scholars at home and abroad to discuss challenges in current architectural creation, share practical experience and research findings, and envision future development paths, aiming to break new ground for architectural design.

China’s construction industry is currently undergoing a profound transformation from high-speed growth to high-quality development. The traditional extensive development model is no longer sustainable, and the sector urgently needs to overcome developmental dilemmas through transformation and upgrading. Against this backdrop, digital intelligent manufacturing, green and low-carbon development, industrial upgrading and talent cultivation have attracted widespread attention. As a core source of industrial innovation, architectural creation requires academia and practitioners to conduct theoretical reflection and explore practical approaches from multiple dimensions: shifting from grand narratives to localized responses, reshaping values, breaking disciplinary boundaries and pursuing diversified coexistence.

Dr. Yuan Ye delivered a keynote speech entitled From City to Countryside: Local Practice and Reflections at the forum.

His presentation focused on the strategic shift and exploration of Yuan Ye Studio in recent years, from designing urban public landmarks to pursuing rural local construction. He reflected on the misconception in urban development during the era of incremental expansion, where excessive emphasis on visual aesthetics deviated from real life. Drawing on typical rural architecture projects across regions — including the renovation of Jiangzhuang Village in Henan, Fushe Mountain Residence in Wugong Mountain of Jiangxi, zero-carbon tech rural residences in Zhuji of Zhejiang, Yuanquan Public Reading Hall for Children in Xinhua of Hunan, and Jiukouyan Rural Visitor Center in Suizhou of Hubei — he conducted in-depth discussions on regional cultural context, human-land relationship, construction strategies and professional cognition. The speech illustrated the significance of rural perspective and locality for contemporary Chinese architecture and urban-rural habitat development, and reaffirmed the core proposition of looking beyond formal appearances and returning to land, humanity and daily life.

Dr. Yuan Ye holds that architecture originates from daily life and proactively shapes and evolves alongside it. How to firmly re-anchor architecture to the land has become a new imperative for contemporary architecture.

Times keep changing, technologies advance rapidly, and social demands evolve constantly. Yet architecture shall always retain its rootedness in the land and its people-oriented essence. To achieve high-quality development of cities and architecture in modern China, we must break free from the trap of global homogenization, cast off the shackles of capital, online popularity, power and blind tech worship, and abandon the pervasive illusory postmodern landscapes. It is vital to reverse the predicament where architecture becomes subservient to external forces, realize value reconstruction and paradigm innovation, and re-root architecture firmly in the land.

Founded in 1984, the Contemporary Chinese Architecture Creation Forum (CCAF) was originally known as the Research Group on Modern Chinese Architectural Creation.

In March 1983, the editorial department of New Architecture held a seminar in Beijing to discuss ideas for architectural creation across the country. Building on this event, the first academic symposium hosted by the group was held in May 1985 at Huazhong Institute of Technology in Wuhan, now the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Over more than four decades of development and accumulation, CCAF has made remarkable contributions to enriching architectural creation, fostering a vibrant creative atmosphere and elevating the overall standard of architectural design in China. It enjoys a solid reputation and far-reaching influence throughout the architectural community.

Launched in 2013, the New Architecture Forum is an annual high-level academic event hosted by New Architecture Magazine. As of March 2026, a total of 20 sessions have been held. The forum focuses on current hot topics in architecture while revisiting classic themes to gain new insights. It has invited over a hundred distinguished scholars and master architects from home and abroad to deliver keynote speeches. Widely acclaimed by academia and practitioners alike, it has earned extensive influence in the industry.