Poetry and pragmatism: the Chinese architect behind Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium

Li Xinggang can be regarded as something of a prodigy. In an architectural context, his early career trajectory was meteoric. Only seven years after graduating from Tianjin University’s prestigious school of architecture in 1991, he was selected to participate in the French government-sponsored initiative, 50 Chinese Architects in France.

In 2001, in his early 30s, he was appointed deputy chief architect of the China Architecture Design & Research Group (CADG) in Beijing. The largest of China’s state-owned design institutes, CADG is an interdisciplinary practice with expertise spanning architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, civil and structural engineering and historic preservation. In the UK, its scale is only comparable to Foster + Partners. With 2,500 employees, it operates internationally in more than 60 countries. Previous projects include Gardens by the Bay in Singapore and Bandaranaike International Conference Hall in Sri Lanka

Li’s profile further notched up when, in 2002, he was appointed as the lead Chinese architect for Herzog & de Meuron’s competition entry for the 2008 Beijing Olympics stadium. For over two months, he was based in Basel in Switzerland, undertaking intensive design work with the Herzog & de Meuron team. He personally carried the finished proposal back to Beijing. The Bird's Nest scheme submitted by the Chinese-Swiss consortium stood out with its innovative steel-grid structure and 'cradle of life’ concept, realised in the final iconic stadium.

Li’s rapid ascendancy was the result of historic opportunity as well as personal talent and innovative vision. 1990s China saw an architectural revival following a significant period of political and economic stagnation. Globalisation and a growing economy meant an increased demand for new buildings and large-scale infrastructure projects, epitomised by the city-wide developments undertaken for the Olympics. Foreign architects flocked to the country for work, leading to an international exchange of ideas. Greater exposure to modern styles and global trends also led, conversely, to an increased appreciation by Chinese architects of their own heritage and its architecture’s unique regional characteristics.

The creation of Atelier Li Xinggang

While leading on the design of the Bird’s Nest in 2003, Li founded his own studio, Atelier Li Xinggang, a research-driven design unit inspired by Herzog & de Meuron’s chief-architect-driven mode. Housed on the top floor of the imposing CADG headquarters in Beijing, the atelier is a boutique studio physically accommodated within a state institution.

On leaving the lift of the design institute, you depart a world of civil servants at their desks and enter a cluttered, creative environment: a sequence of book-lined rooms crammed with physical models and design pin-ups.

It represents a fusion of two different types of organisation, which confounds the UK’s partition of experimental private practice and public service, where relatively few architects now remain in government employment, whether in local authorities or city councils.

Operating simultaneously as CADG’s chief architect and the principal of his atelier, Li orchestrates technical expertise and engineering resources within the institute, while leading on cutting-edge design and research. This allows for a seamless integration of interdisciplinary knowledge and resources with design innovation.

This fusion is apparent in Li’s leadership of major projects, such as the Yanqing competition zone for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics where he proposed a strategic framework for prioritising the site’s natural ecology. His atelier refined the technical solutions while CADG provided engineering execution. The outcomes, in turn, enriched CADG’s technical expertise. For the National Sliding Centre, the team conducted extensive literature research and field studies to overcome climate protection challenges, achieving a seamless integration of the landscape and architecture, as well as sports functionality and an immersive visitor experience.

Li Xinggang’s entrepreneurial approach within the institutional framework is further enhanced by teaching and research collaborations with universities such as Tsinghua and Tianjin University, where he is a professor. This has allowed him to continue his own design and academic explorations while expanding the institute’s mission.

The Chinese garden and the poetic arrangement of landscape

Throughout Li’s career, the traditional Chinese garden has remained a constant preoccupation. It is an interest undoubtedly influenced by his mentor, Peng Yigang, whose analysis of Chinese garden spaces using modernist architectural principles had a widespread impact on architectural design.

Building on the work of his predecessor, Li has evolved the accepted concept of the garden in Chinese architecture into ‘shengjing’ (胜景), a notion that encompasses both the poetic arrangement of landscapes and the culturally infused spiritual experience they offer. This allows him to embed large-scale artificial structures and highly complex technological systems into natural environments, such as the Yanqing competition zone, in a culturally meaningful way.

It also lends itself to the exploration of traditional spatial culture in various types and scales of contemporary architectural projects. For instance, in the layout of the Jixi Museum in Xuancheng, an ancient town in the south-east Chinese province of Anhui. The museum features multiple courtyards, patios and lanes, which are expressed in its undulating roof that, in turn, mirrors the mountainous landscape surrounding landscape. The courtyards preserve as many of the existing trees on the site as possible while creating comfortable outdoor spaces and reinterpreting the spatial layout of the vernacular Huizhou architecture.

Integrated geometry and poetic scenery

The title of the RIBA exhibition, Integrated Geometry and Poetic Scenery, represents both Li’s philosophy and design approach. (It is also the meaning of the Chinese name of Li’s atelier.) Integrated geometry’ refers to the required integration of fundamental architectural elements, including form, space, structure, materials and even construction. Poetic scenery describes the spiritual dimension that emerges from the profound interaction between architecture and its surrounding environments, whether wild natural landscapes or artificial urban fabrics.

This concept of spatial creation is rooted in the interplay between the artificial and the natural, and draws from traditional Chinese culture and philosophy. Its application in Li’s work is dependent on both a poetic sensibility and professional pragmatism, employing the most current design skills and technologies. Expressing a deep cultural respect for the natural environment, it has a universality that has particular international resonance in the context of climate change.

Integrated Geometry and Poetic Scenery by Atelier Li Xinggang is showing in the Practice Space at the RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London, from 26 March to 23 April 2025.

Andong Lu is curator of Integrated Geometry and Poetic Scenery and professor in urbanism and architectural theory at Nanjing University.

Helen Castle is director of publishing and learning content at the RIBA