New 4th Army Jiangnan Headquarters Exhibition Hall, Liyang, 2007
HISTORY
Zhang Lei studied in China at the Southeast University and then at Switzerland's ETH. He's currently a professor at the School of Architecture at Nanjing University. He set up AZL in 2000 in Nanjling after time spent on the international lecture circuit, mostly in Hong Kong and Switzerland.
APPROACH
Taking a pragmatic problem-solving approach to architecture is the AZL signature. 'Design should be concerned with solving problems with the most reasonable and direct way of construction,' says Zhang explaining that this strategy should be applicable to everything from small houses to the large-scale urban expansion. Mindful that the consumption of resources also needs to be kept in check, AZL's work uses 'ordinary materials like brick and concrete in their specific context and location.' For example, the new 4th Army Jiangnan Headquarters Exhibition Hall in Liyang demonstrates an almost geological response to material, with strata-like façades rising up from the bare earth. The recent Brick House is a modern interpretation of the traditional Chinese courtyard house.
FUTURE
AZL continues to work on a variety of scales, including courtyard housing in Nanjing, a restaurant in Yangzhou, and a clubhouse in the Xixi National Wetland Park. 'We'd like to work on more urban projects, says Zhang, 'thinking about planning and urban issues.' He feels the economic crisis will also end the 'pressure for quantity', allowing for a greater focus on quality.
AZL Atelier Zhanglei, 2-1205,5th, Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210008, China, Tel: 86.25 51861369, Fax: 86.25 51861367, atelierzhanglei@163.com
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