Financial freedom starts with smiling at life

The Singapore World Architecture Festival is known as the "Oscars" of the architecture world, and the prestige of its awards is self-evident.

Even a "category winner" award in a single competition can elevate you to a high position in this industry.

Not to mention the "Building of the Year" award, which is given out only once a year, with firms and designers from all over the world vying for it fiercely.

Winning this title naturally brings global influence.

The evaluation process is also very rigorous.

The judging panel is also impressive.

First, there is internationalization. The judges come from all continents around the world, covering different perspectives from the East and West, developed countries and developing countries, to ensure the breadth and inclusivity of the judging process.

Secondly, it crosses fields, covering a very wide range, including not only top architects worldwide, but also well-known scholars, media professionals, urban planners, artists, and more, analyzing and scoring from different perspectives.

Finally, to ensure the fairness of the judging process, the judges are replaced significantly each year to prevent a "clustering" of judges, avoid aesthetic rigidity, and prevent corruption.

This year's judges are said to be the most numerous in history.

Founder of the Spanish architectural firm EMBT.

A legendary figure in the architectural telecommunications movement, a recipient of the Pritzker Prize, the highest honor in architecture, and the founder of CRAB Studio.

Founder of the Portuguese firm Aires Mateus.

The world's most sculptural Danish designer.

...and other top architects worldwide.

Also present were prominent figures from major mainstream media outlets, representatives from internet platforms, and representatives from independent media.

This year's World Architecture Festival's annual award is touted as being comparable to the Pritzker Prize, the highest honor in architecture.

Haitangxi brought her own work, the "Return to Home·Future Innovation Park"—a distinctive industrial park she created for Jiangbei City—to the competition, aiming for the annual awards.

She is very confident in her work.

However, there is a hurdle to overcome: winning the "Category Excellence Award" during the on-site presentation segment.

Dong Chenggong, who is now walking towards her to greet her, is already well-known and is hailed as the second most influential architect in the Chinese community. The first is undoubtedly Ma Yansong, who is on a pedestal.

His entry for this year's competition has already won the top prize at the "Yesu Asian Architectural Artists Association Awards" earlier this year.

It is also the most popular category for the "Public and Commercial Buildings" award this year.

Within the industry, it is widely predicted that Dong Chenggong will easily win this category of award and then compete for this year's grand prize.

To be honest, facing such a strong opponent, I was definitely a little nervous, but rather than nervous, I preferred to approach my peers with appreciation and respect.

Dong Chenggong took the initiative to greet her, and she politely returned the greeting.

"Didn't Mr. Jiang come with you, Mr. Hai?" Chen Jie, the studio partner standing next to Dong Chenggong, suddenly asked with a smile.

This designer is considered quite well-known in the industry and can produce two or three representative works.

"For such an important competition, I think Mr. Jiang should accompany General Hai. From any perspective, Mr. Jiang is your strong support."

Chen Jie's words didn't sound very pleasant.

They are clearly deliberately malicious.

The implication is that Haitangxi's talent and ability are questionable; her securing so many good projects and rapidly rising to fame in domestic circles is simply due to the support of the Jiang family.

Haitangxi wasn't angry at all. With a friendly expression, she said to Dong Chenggong, "Mr. Dong, does your partner usually communicate with you in this tone in private?"
If that's the case, I think your work efficiency will be greatly reduced.

Chen Jie frowned.

Dong Chenggong didn't reply, but just smiled and patted Chen Jie on the shoulder, telling him to be more polite.

However, Chen Jie couldn't help but mutter, "I heard that Mr. Jiang has a good relationship with the Li family? Why does President Hai need to go to all this trouble and come all the way here to make a statement?"

Haitangxi's expression remained largely unchanged as she replied, "I remember watching Mr. Dong's open lecture at Tsinghua University when I was a graduate student at Stanford University."

He looked at Chen Jie and said, "Back then, President Chen was probably Dong's assistant. Now he's a partner."

A smile suddenly appeared on his face.

The meaning behind it is for Chen Jie to experience for himself.

Chen Jie's face darkened. He understood what Haitangxi meant, that she was the one who lacked ability and relied on connections to get in.

Haitangxi continued, "I remember Mr. Dong saying something in a public lecture at Tsinghua University that I still remember vividly: you said that luck is the soul of a designer, luck is the opportunity to be seen, luck is the moment of inspiration, and luck is also connection and resonance."

The soul of a designer is a magnet that attracts and creates luck.

This sentence greatly inspired me and broadened my horizons.

Dong Chenggong: "Thank you for the compliment."

Clearly, no one understood the true meaning behind Haitangxi's sudden remark.

Haitangxi then added with a smile, "Before I met Mr. Jiang, I completely believed what President Dong said."

However, after a year of developing my career back in China, my understanding may differ somewhat from that of you, Mr. Dong, a senior colleague.

I believe luck can be created, for example, by having a vast network of contacts.

Personal connections are perhaps the soul of a designer.

After speaking, he looked at Chen Jie again: "The soul I understand is connections, the soul that President Dong understands is luck, so what is the soul of a designer that President Chen understands?"
Don't tell me it's because of skill!

After saying that, he turned around and left without looking at him again.

Chen Jie felt a strong sense of irony.

He belongs to the type who has average ability, no prestigious school background, few connections, and no luck.

Haitangxi's words completely humiliated him.

"The real test will be on stage," Chen Jie said stubbornly, unable to swallow his pride.

Dong Chenggong reminded him, "Some things are better left unsaid; just keep them to yourself."

After all, she is a woman of the Jiang family.

There's also a hint of disdain for sea turtles in his words.

……

On-site presentation.

After Chen Jie finished his presentation on behalf of the firm, he felt good, even more so than his performance in Lishui last time.

He felt that if the judges were fair and impartial, he would definitely get a relatively high score.

Not long after, a few designers went to Haitangxi.

"Please welcome Ms. Haitangxi from Xishan Xingju Studio to give her presentation!" the host announced.

Haitangxi straightened her clothes, stood up, and walked confidently toward the stage.

"We've arrived in Jiangbei City!"

Chen Jie noticed Jiang Beicheng walk into the hall and sit directly in the front row of the guest seats.

The "Category Winner" selection process is open to the public, but it's not exactly friendly to ordinary people and media. It's not like a marketplace where just anyone can come in and comment; the organizers welcome celebrities and influential media outlets. Someone like Jiang Beicheng can come and go freely.

Dong Chenggong noticed that several judges on the judging panel turned around to greet Jiang Beicheng, and his expression turned serious.

It seems he's going to miss out on this category of award.

Many people in the Chinese community know that Mr. Jiang holds a prominent position in Singapore, has a good relationship with the Li family, and is a leader among Singaporean Chinese entrepreneurs.

He certainly has the ability to manipulate the outcome of the competition.

Even if Jiang Beicheng doesn't spend time and money to bribe the judges, the judges might still give him face from a personal perspective and give Haitangxi a high score.

Dong Chenggong remained silent.

It's often said that this year's "Singapore Architecture Festival" is the most prestigious yet, but that may not be the case now.

Taihai Tangxi was about to begin his presentation, but he and Chen Jie's gaze remained fixed on Jiangbei City.

Haitangxi turned around and stood on the stage, her gaze immediately locking onto her man. She smiled and looked at Jiang Beicheng, then calmed her breathing and began her presentation.

The PowerPoint presentation behind her showed the project she brought to the competition: Homecoming Future Innovation Park.

And the theme: "Weaving Innovation: From Functional Containers to Living Communities".

First of all, her temperament alone makes a very good first impression.

Haitangxi was narrated in fluent English.

It catered to many judges from Europe and America, while also avoiding translation errors.

The judges smiled.

Start with confidence and poise.

"Distinguished judges, guests, ladies and gentlemen:

Hello everyone.

I am Haitangxi, the founder of Xishan Xingju. I will now give a presentation on "Returning Home·Future Innovation Park".

Before I introduce this project, I ask everyone to imagine a traditional industrial park in their minds.

Holding a laser pointer, Haitangxi paced around the stage, guiding the judges and guests' thinking: "A traditional industrial park should have a neat grid of roads, isolated office buildings, open lawns, and streets that only briefly see people during lunchtime before quickly returning to silence..."

It's more like a highly efficient but cold machine; I call it a 'functional container' that exists to work.

The term "functional container" was novel and immediately piqued the judges' interest.

Haitangxi continued, "When we took over the 'Homecoming Future Innovation Park' project, we asked ourselves a profound question: In an era that encourages cross-disciplinary collaboration, relies on inspiration, and yearns for connection, do we still need such machines?"

Or, to put it another way, can we create a new paradigm where industrial parks are no longer just workplaces, but rather 'ecosystems' that inspire innovation?

The concept of "ecosystem" is undoubtedly the hottest market concept right now, which makes people speculate about "industrial park ecosystem".

The opening of Haitangxi was very guiding in its thinking.

The judges were also following her line of thinking.

Haitangxi flipped through the PPT and said confidently, "We got the answer we wanted: this ecosystem is a breathing, growing, and evolving organism."

What we want to create is a 'community of life'!

It's another very novel word.

Jiang Beicheng listened attentively from the audience, and he had to admit that his first wife had excellent eloquence and public speaking skills.

Haitangxi continued, "First, we need to weave connections, rather than simply dividing areas."

This is a complete rejection of the rigid traditional 'planning-zoning' model.

Here, research and development buildings, laboratories, startup incubators, cafes, libraries, and apartments are no longer isolated islands.

We connect them all through a vibrant 'innovation green corridor'.

This green corridor is not only a transportation artery, but also a social corridor and a crossroads for the exchange of ideas.

It can be sunken into an open-air theater, raised into a scenic bridge, or expanded into a shared courtyard.

We deliberately compressed the physical distance between buildings and maximized their 'probability of meeting'.

Great innovations often don't happen in formal meeting rooms, but rather in chance encounters in a coffee corner, casual conversations at lunch, or flashes of inspiration during a walk.

"Secondly, we design the 'soil' rather than the 'bonsai'."

Bonsai are meticulously pruned and lack the power of wild growth. We don't want to create a perfect but rigid 'bonsai'. Instead, we focus on cultivating a fertile 'soil'.

This land boasts a robust digital infrastructure that allows data to flow as freely as air.

This land features a highly flexible building structure, with office floors whose height and load-bearing capacity can adapt to the needs of different companies, from biotechnology to artificial intelligence.

This land is also a rich sharing platform. From expensive 3D printing labs to pilot production workshops, from large conference rooms to quiet thinking pods, all resources are shared, just to lower the threshold for innovation and give every tiny idea a chance to take root.

Architecture no longer plays the role of a cold, impersonal work container, but rather a framework and backdrop, reserving infinite possibilities for growth in an unpredictable future.

Haitangxi smiled and flipped through the PPT again, "Finally, we 'return home,' embrace the warmth of everyday life, and return to our true human nature."

The driving force behind innovation is always people.

Humans need inspiration, and they also need life. Therefore, we boldly integrate production, life, and ecology.

The park not only has world-class laboratories, but also top-notch kindergartens, community clinics, and a distinctive food street.

We introduced an artist residency program, allowing engineers to stumble upon a performance art piece during their lunch break.

We preserved the original woodland on site and transformed it into Central Park, allowing programmers to take a jog during their lunch break.

Innovation happens naturally when a scientist solves a problem with a colleague while picking up their child, or when a designer finds inspiration at a community market.

Here, the boundaries between work and life are blurred. The industrial park is no longer an isolated island on the edge of the city; it is itself a miniature city full of life, a community that people are willing to stay, live, and strive for.

Distinguished judges and guests, we are stepping into a future driven by creativity.

The industrial park of the future should not be a machine that prioritizes efficiency. It should be like an ancient forest with complete ecological niches, allowing towering trees, shrubs and even moss to find their place, depend on each other and thrive together.

Our proposal is called "Homecoming Future Innovation Park".

It is not a perfect end, but a vibrant beginning. What we are weaving is not just a building, but a living community where innovation can happen naturally.

thank you all. "

A polite bow.

When I looked up, I heard deafening applause from the audience.

The judges on the panel engaged in a heated discussion.

Dong Chenggong and Chen Jie, sitting in the back row, had blank stares.

Undeniably, this is a near-perfect, ready-made statement.

Not only is he eloquent and possesses exceptional public speaking skills, but the inspiration, design concept, and even the feedback on human nature in this plan are also remarkably sophisticated. (End of Chapter)