Zelin Huang, founder of Aether Architects in Shenzhen, China, is a Chinese architect known for exploring relationships within architecture. His work examines the interplay between gravity, function, materials, context, human interaction, and time. As a Class 1 Registered Architect in China, Huang integrates phenomenology with architectural design, creating dynamic spaces that adapt to environmental needs.
Huang’s architectural journey began in art, culminating in a pivotal encounter with Alvaro Siza’s Boa Nova Tea House during his senior year. This experience highlighted architecture’s ability to encapsulate daily life through both physical and abstract dimensions. Drawing on Chaos Theory, Heidegger’s phenomenology, and Lao Tzu’s philosophy of softness, his work emphasizes transformation over static design, echoing traditional Chinese spatial concepts of harmony among architecture, nature, and human experience, as seen in Chinese gardens.
Key to Huang’s practice are “Micro-ecological geometry” and “Multidimensional relationships,” which focus on evolving architectural forms and merging diverse functions in response to environmental demands. His process involves in-depth client discussions, site analysis, and clay modeling to refine spatial dynamics before formalizing designs. Notable projects like the Air Mountain Pavilion exemplify his principles of lightweight construction, environmental responsiveness, and seamless interior-exterior integration.
What inspires you?
The contemplation of “relationships” serves as the fundamental starting point for my architectural design approach. This involves considering the building-to-gravity connection, its relationship to function, materials, the surrounding context, human interaction, the past, and the future. Through this process of relational thinking, I gradually uncover the potential to shape architectural forms and spaces.
What inspired you to become an architect?
Since junior high school, I’ve been captivated by the beauty of art, and I pursued an undergraduate degree in art studies. However, a clear understanding within me emerged that becoming an artist was not what I envisioned for my future. There was a specific day in my senior year of college when, while browsing in the academy library, I stumbled upon a book featuring a structure designed by Alvaro Siza: the “Boa Nova Tea House.” This building revealed to me a quality in architecture that I had previously been unaware of – the art of embodying daily life. It was not the kind of “art” that is confined to galleries or purely personal creations; instead, it was a blend of the tangible, reflecting human needs in everyday life, and the abstract, in the form of environmental phenomena. I realize that this profession, which combines the tangible and the abstract, the real and the surreal, the personal and the societal, serving both functional needs and provoking thought, is precisely what I aspire to engage in – that is, the profession of architecture.
How would you describe your design philosophy?
In my daily contemplation, several key concepts resonate, including the Chaos Theory’s notion of an inherently uncertain world, Heidegger’s phenomenology on space and boundaries, and Lao Tzu’s philosophical idea of the softness of things. These diverse thoughts, rooted in different epochs and cultural contexts, all point to the concept of “liveliness and flexibility.” My understanding of architecture’s nature in the world embodies this quality – it is not a static outcome but a medium that fosters dynamic phenomena, encouraging transformation and evolution.
What is your favorite project?
There are many architectural works that have inspired my thoughts, but if I were to choose one to share, the Teshima Art Museum by architect Ryue Nishizawa immediately comes to mind. The museum, a massive concrete structure, coexists harmoniously and engages in dialogue with its surroundings – people, sunlight, plants, animals, and wind – in a gentle and fluid manner. It is an artificial space that seems to blend seamlessly into its natural environment, presenting an integrated, holistic experience. Upon entering its interior, one’s consciousness is drawn into a profound focus, observing and sensing the blend of tangible and intangible aspects of the space. A remarkable aspect is that, despite the intensity of one’s observation and sensory engagement, the atmosphere within the building doesn’t induce fatigue; instead, it creates a soothing and comfortable environment for the visitor.
What is your favorite architectural detail?
Many exquisite classical or contemporary architectural details captivate me, but one detail, that consistently inspires me both in its constructive logic and its consideration of environmental phenomena, is the foundation structure in traditional Eastern wooden architecture. This foundation is composed of three parts: a compacted natural earth base, a layer of stones placed on it, and wooden columns resting on the stones. These elements form the “foundation joint,” serving both structural and relational purposes. The joint acts as a junction where isolation and complementarity coexist, catering to structural engineering needs while addressing architectural climatology, particularly in ventilating and moisture-proofing structures in hot and humid regions. Moreover, it manifests as a landscape feature, seamlessly bridging the gap between man-made structures and the natural world. The concept of fulfilling multiple practical functions while also serving as a scenic interface between architecture and nature is what draws me to this particular detail.
Do you have a favorite material?
It’s a challenging question, and I worry that answering “none” might seem insincere. In my contemplation, there is no inherent superiority between stones and steel. While steel undergoes industrial processes, its elemental origins are ultimately derived from nature, just as stones are. The choice of materials for a project is based on the characteristics of the site, the suitability of materials to address specific needs, and the desired dialogue between the built structure and its surroundings. In my perspective, I don’t think there is an “absolutely better” material; therefore, any material that has the potential to contribute to a successful architectural outcome is, in my eyes, admirable.
What is your process for starting a new project?
In the initial phase, I strive for more dialogue with the client. After these conversations, I distill a set of key project phrases, both in terms of functionality and concept, based on the understanding from our discussions. Using these keywords as a foundation, I then begin to explore the site dynamics through preliminary handcrafted models, typically using clay as my material. The softness of clay allows me to explore the spatial flow within the site, rather than focusing on the immediate architectural form. By understanding the spatial dynamics, I can then proceed to more concrete architectural plans and form studies.
How do you balance function and creativity in your designs?
Achieving a relative balance between functionality and creativity can be challenging for an architect alone. This equilibrium necessitates a client’s trust in the architect’s professional expertise, encompassing both tangible technical skills and intangible expressive abilities. While exercising abstract or creative thinking, I constantly reflect on ensuring that the client’s initial functional requirements and practical constraints, such as cost, are not overlooked. This kind of abstract contemplation, while respecting the client’s concrete needs, ultimately contributes to striking a balance between functionality and innovation in a project.
How does the environment influence your work?
The spatial representation in Chinese gardens and landscape paintings has long inspired my thoughts on space. Among these traditional art forms, the most profound influence on me is the approach to “seeing” – how in these settings, architecture, plants, water, animals, people, and clouds interweave harmoniously to create a living environment or spatial experience. This perspective transcends mere form and pertains more to the relational and interpenetrative aspects of the elements within the space. It is a spatial concept that is concerned with the dynamics of their coexistence, not just their physical appearance.
How do you collaborate with clients to achieve their vision?
I make a conscious effort to communicate extensively with the client, seeking to understand or intuit their expectations for the project. I endeavor to uncover the “values” that the client or the project embodies, and then I attempt to harmoniously coexist these values with my own architectural design values. One key aspect that makes architecture “vibrant,” in my opinion, is its capacity to incorporate and embody a diverse range of values.
What inspired the Air Mountain Pavilion?
There are many conditions that contribute to the formation of Air Mountain. It is not initially based on a single concept but gradually emerges based on some basic conditions after communicating with the client. For example, the client requested that the building be lightweight, the impact on the grassland be minimized, the construction time be relatively short, and the building be as transparent as possible while meeting soundproofing requirements so that internal activities can be visible to external people. The client also hoped that the building could serve as a place for people to gather both indoors and outdoors. Eventually, key elements such as lightweight, transparency, multi-dimensional spaces, acoustic effects, and rapid construction led to the final design concept and outcome of the building.
How did materiality shape Air Mountain Pavilion?
After summarizing the project requirements and analyzing the relationship with the site environment, I began to consider the possibility of achieving the client’s needs while creating a building that gently floats on the grass, appearing semi-transparent within the site. The visibility of the building’s exterior would not be due to its physicality, but rather the background of trees, grass, and people inside the building would define its form and boundaries. Under these conditions, if we could solve the technical challenges, membrane materials would be the appropriate choice for this project (especially in terms of construction time and cost). Through research and experimentation, we found a construction method that met the goals of sound effects, architectural structure, and spatial phenomena – the double-layer membrane construction method (similar to the concept of double-layer curtain walls). The distance between the two layers of membranes, determined by the thickness of the air gap between them, would strike a balance between the acoustic properties and structural strength of the internal space.
What advice would you give to young architects?
Architecture is a dynamic concept that evolves with different people and values in different eras. The awareness of architectural functionality or aesthetics varies to some extent in each era, but regardless of the type of architect the new generation hopes to become, I would advise young architects to, if conditions allow, visit different cities in person as much as possible, observe different architectures, and if possible, make sure to spend some time sitting inside those buildings.
