Zhu Xiaodi is a Chinese architect and founding principal of ZXD Architects, a Beijing‑based practice rooted in deep theoretical inquiry and expressive spatial thinking. A Tsinghua University alumnus, Zhu previously served as Chairman and Chief Architect of Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD) before establishing ZXD in 2020. Under Zhu’s leadership, ZXD pursues architecture as a medium of cultural dialogue—integrating Eastern and Western sensibilities, contemporary art thinking, and site‑specific narratives. The firm’s portfolio spans landmark works such as Encore Mount Wutai Theater, Dunhuang Theater, and Soft Square in Changshou Village, each defined by formal innovation and tectonic clarity. Zhu’s scholarship and public role—as a professor at Tsinghua and guest lecturer elsewhere—reinforce his holistic commitment to architecture as an expressive, socially engaged discipline.
What inspires you?
My heightened sensitivity to the living environment—encompassing my aspirations for society and my love for nature and history—fills me with intense passion. I am eager to speak on their behalf, and for public spaces. I walk this path alone, but I will keep exploring with unwavering persistence.
What inspired you to become an architect?
Having loved painting since childhood, I enrolled in the Architecture program at Tsinghua University. Since then, architecture has become my most powerful medium to express myself and convey my emotions. As an architect, one must not only fulfill clients’ commissions but, more importantly, articulate one’s own attitudes and ideas. It can be said that architecture is an interpretation of oneself.
How would you describe your design philosophy?
Architectural design dominated by industrial civilization emphasizes space production, seeking to shape architecture into an eternal material entity that combines practicality and monumentality. As the times evolve, the new technological civilization is transforming our ways of living, working, and thinking. The public’s perspectives of appreciation and the channels for widespread dissemination have brought about tremendous changes in the architectural context. Urban images and architectural information flow rapidly across massive media platforms, turning “meaningful space” into a textual object that gradually detaches from physical entities. How to make architectural works widely recognized, quickly memorable, clearly interpretable, accurately understood, and deeply empathetic has become a new focus in contemporary architectural creation. To explore the uniqueness shared by Eastern and Western cultures, it is essential to expand the boundaries of architecture, incorporate the thinking of contemporary art, and create “architectural installations” that convey concepts and evoke emotions. To quickly establish widespread recognition and impression, it is necessary to enable effective interaction between the architectural entity, its multiple textual representations, and the viewers. The architectural entity should be used to accurately convey cultural concepts, social awareness, and the creator’s personal insights. Only by being deeply rooted in the unique temporal‑spatial attributes and distinct characteristics of the site where the architecture is located can we ensure the precision of the concepts and thereby trigger deep empathy. Therefore, for each project, ZXD Architects conducts systematic research on the site, space, media, and concept‑expression, ultimately developing the architectural design scheme.
What is your favorite project?
My favorite projects include Encore Wutai Mountain Theater, Encore Dunhuang Theater, Maiji Mountain Visitor Center, Shenzhen Pingshan Soft Square, and Beijing Qinghe INNNG International Talent Community.
What is your favorite detail?
What I care about most, or rather my favorite detail, is finding a metaphorical object through which I can channel my emotions—an object that embodies my understanding of architecture. This differs significantly from what is commonly referred to as “architectural details.”
Do you have a favorite material?
I have no preference for specific materials; each project represents a new attempt to find answers for translating my emotions. The material that enables the most accurate expression is my favorite, or rather, the material that aligns perfectly with the intended direction of architectural expression is ideal. It is not merely a physical material, but rather an object that carries spiritual expression.
What is your process for starting a new project?
For every design project, I make it a point to visit the site in person with my fellow architects. This approach may increase investment and potentially impact efficiency, but I believe it is well worth it. Because when I am on‑site, facing the unique conditions of the location, my mind races with ideas as I engage in a dialogue with the environment. It also allows me to listen to the client’s visions and expectations for the project and discuss specific issues with them. Such fundamental information and materials are extremely valuable, as they may guide the direction of the design. Back at the studio, a series of reflections, discussions, and repeated design iterations to address the site’s conditions and client needs begins. Finally, the moment I find the “object” that embodies my understanding of the project, everything becomes effortless. At that point, I feel a sense of complete freedom, as if everything is a carefully prepared coincidence. The design work becomes so relaxed and joyful, with all the spatial concepts and corresponding materials naturally converging.
How do you fuel your creativity?
I believe that only human emotions possess true uniqueness, distinct from the thoughts of any other person at any other time. Yet, everyone has emotions—where does their arousal come from? It must be the site. Research on the site itself, as well as the city, natural landscape, and humanistic history associated with that site, all fall within the scope of my investigation. I seek an entry point from the aspects I focus on, and this entry point is precisely the existing temporal‑spatial energy inherent in the site. My design evolves through constant discovery in this cognitive process; I view architectural creation as a process of discovery, which is also the core of my persistent pursuit and source of joy.
What inspired Maiji Mountain Visitor Center?
It was during my ascent along the cliff face of the Maiji Mountain Grottoes that I discovered the natural force hidden behind this unique landform—a fault‑cliff geological structure formed by the interaction of two mountain ranges. Similar landforms can be found in the surrounding areas, and my observation revealed they are distributed in a circular pattern. This gave me a crucial insight: forces are in constant confrontation, dissipation, and release. When creating the form of the Maiji Mountain Visitor Center, I incorporated this inherent interaction of forces and the imagery of opposition, ultimately resulting in a design where six building volumes interpenetrate each other.
How did materiality shape Maiji Mountain Visitor Center?
Maiji Mountain Visitor Center adopts red sandstone as its cladding material. Given the limited local construction capabilities, a curtain wall system is essential to ensure the completion quality; at the same time, cost is also a restrictive factor, so we ultimately use small red sandstone panels. Their mottled texture creates a connection with the red sandstone of the Maiji Mountain cliff faces. For the upward‑curving parts of the building volume, metal panels featuring mural elements from the Maiji Mountain Grottoes are used as ceiling materials.
What advice would you give to young architects?
My advice to young architects is: Let us have faith in architecture. To me, architecture is something of a religious presence. Without such an attitude, it is impossible to truly respect architecture, and thus impossible to persevere in this field.
