We still have faith in the primitive, tranquil, and eternal power embodied within architecture itself. It can travel through time and resist unrest and uncertainty. Architecture needs to address the context and respond to the realistic problems of social, political and environmental parameters. However, after solving all the problems, architecture needs to eventually retain its capacity of going beyond the constraints of reality, to reclaim its raison d'être, that is, to soothe our body and soul. Architecture is a medium to closely connect ourselves physically, mentally and emotionally with the world we live in. In our view, this is the courage as well as the ultimate responsibility that architecture should have.
Since the establishment of Vector Architects in 2008, among the miscellaneous clues in architecture, we focus intensely on the issues of Site, Light, and Making during the 15 years of practice.
Architecture takes root in a site, and the site makes architecture real. We believe every site, whether it sits in a natural landscape or an urban context, must possess certain energies with its own existence. These energies could be uncovered from its landscape, or from its inhabitants and their behaviors. The architecture’s mission is to orchestrate such energies through precise spatial tactics so that unique perceptions and ways of life can be shaped. It is like dropping a piece of rock in the water, generating undulating ripples, hence we feel the water flows. In this respect, a piece of architecture is no longer an independent object, but a medium to connect for things and to reveal.
Natural light, while illuminating the fixed, tangible materials and boundaries of space, simultaneously dissolves their physical limitations. Light imparts suffused and indescribable emotions and lends ambience to space. As the sun moves along its trajectory throughout the day within the shifting conditions of weather and seasons, the evoked intangible quality also changes, implying the sentiment of space and the rhythm of life. In architecture, light is a phenomenon for our eyes to observe, and an aura in which to immerse our body and soul.
Making is the fundamental of architecture, and the process of making is a series of operations and manipulations of “materials.” This is manifested in the intricacies of the design as well as the skills and labor with hands and body during the construction, which all leaves traces on the architecture. In the Chinese construction industry, issues such as delays, chaos, and defects are precisely the potentials to be turned to architects’ advantages. We adhere to our strategy of working together with builders. For every project, we send a site architect to participate in the entire process of construction – from the research, experiment, and manufacture of building materials, to the prototyping and calibration of joints and details, and to the full extent of on-site supervision and coordination, in order to ensure the full implementation of initial design intentions. This long adaptive and collaborative process has given us more hands-on opportunities to learn from local builders, allowing us to review upon the limitations of the design and documentation process so to avoid inconsistency between drawings and construction.
Founder / Design Principal of Vector Architects
Foreign Member of French Academy of Architecture
DONG Gong founded Vector Architects in 2008. He was elected as the Foreign Member of French Academy of Architecture in 2019. He has been teaching design studios at Tsinghua University and Central Academy of Fine Arts. He was also appointed as the Plym Distinguished Visiting Professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Visiting Professor of Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy.
He and Vector Architects have been invited to various major exhibitions, including the first Chinese architecture exhibition at MoMA New York; the 2018 “FREESPACE” Venice Biennale, and have won international awards such as “The Gold award of ARCASIA Award for Architecture”(2022); “RIBA International Awards for Excellence”(2021); “100+ Best Architecture Firms” selected by Domus (2019); nominated for the Swiss Architectural Award (2018); the overall winner of the Italian “Archmarathon Awards” (2016); and the “Design Vanguard” selected by Architectural Record (2014).
In 2019, the renowned architectural journal AV Monographs published a monograph of Vector Architects titled "Cosmopolitan Vernacular" (vol.220). His projects have been also widely published in Casabella, Arquitectura Viva, The New York Times, A+U, Detail, The Architectural Review, L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui, Lotus, Domus and many others.
DONG Gong has been invited as a guest speaker and critic by academic and professional institutions including Tsinghua University (China), the University of Hong Kong (China), the Technical University of Madrid (Spain), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich-ETH (Switzerland), la Société Française des Architectes (France), Polytechnic University of Turin (Italy), and Casabella Formazione (Italy).
DONG Gong's practice has earned international recognition by his representative works, including Seashore Library, Seashore Chapel, Yangshuo Sugarhouse, Renovation of the Captain’s House, Pingshan Art Museum, Haibing Center at Nankai University, Jingyang Camphor Court, and People’s Elementary School.
2023 Bazaar Design Awards 2023, Five Star Design Award - Designer of the Year
2023 WAACA, Honourable Mention in the category of Achievement Awards, Yangshuo Sugarhouse
2023 Iconic Award, Winner in the category of Architecture, Luxelakes Floating Headquarters
2022 Seaside Library, one of the ten outstanding architectural projects of "Salute to 30 Years of Chinese Contemporary Architecture and Cultural Observation" from The Economic Observer
2022 ARCASIA Awards for Architecture, in Category E Integrated Development, Yangshuo Sugarhouse
2021 RIBA International Awards for Excellence, Yangshuo Sugarhouse and the Renovation of the Captain’s House
2021 Iconic Award, Best of Best in the category of Architecture, Changjiang Art Museum;
2021 Iconic Award, Winner in the category of Architecture, Pingshan Art Museum, Haibing Center of Nankai University
2020 Prix Versailles, World Selection, in the category of campuses, Haibing Center of Nankai University
2020 Germany “FRITZ-HÖGER PREIS”, Nominee Award, in the category of public buildings, recreation and sport, Changjiang Art Museum
2019 Architecture Biennale of Pisa International Award, Vector Architects
2019 Domus 100+ Best Architecture Firms, Vector Architects
2019 The 13th International Sustainable Architecture Award, Honorable Mention, Alila Yangshuo
2018 Swiss Architectural Award, nominated candidate
2018 Archmarathon International Awards Milan, in the category of Retrofitting, Alila Yangshuo
2018 Iconic Award, Best of Best in the category of Architecture, Alila Yangshuo
2017 Blueprint Awards, Highly Commended, Best Non-Public Project—Residential, Renovation of the Captain’s House
2017 Blueprint Awards, Commended, Best Public-Use Project with Public Funding, Suzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum
2017 German Design Award, Winner, Library in the category Interior Architecture, Seashore Library
2017 German Design Award, Special Mention, Residential Building in the category Architecture, Renovation of the Captain’s House
2017 AR House Award Shortlist, Renovation of the Captain’s House
2017 National Excellent Engineering Survey and Design Award, Suzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum
2016 DFA Design for Asia Awards, Grand Award, Gold Award in category of Culture, Public and Exhibition Spaces, Seashore Library
2016 Iconic Award, Best of Best in the category of Public Architecture, Seashore Chapel
2016 Archmarathon International Awards Milan, the Overall Winner, Seashore Library
2015 A&D Trophy Awards, Best of Category (Institutional/Public Space), Seashore Library
2015 Gold Pin Design Award, Best Design of the Year (Space Design), Seashore Library
2014 "Design Vanguard 2014" Selected By [Architectural Record]
2013 National Excellent Engineering Survey and Design Award, Zhangjiawo Elementary School
2012 Finalist for Young Architect Award, China Architecture Media Awards, Dong Gong
2012 WA Chinese Architecture Award, Eco-Farm Series—Harvest Pavilion
2012 Good Design is Good Business Award, CR Land Guanganmen Green Technology Showroom
2010 China Architecture Media Award (Finalist for Best Architecture Award, Finalist for Best Young Architect)
2010 12th Venice Biennale of Architecture New Chinese Architecture at CA’ASI Works Collection Competition 1st Prize
