Chinese architect Zhang Ke, the founder of the firm standardarchitecture, has been awarded the 2017 Alvar Aalto Medal. Presented by the Museum of Finnish Architecture, the Finnish Association of Architects SAFA, the Architectural Society, the Alvar Aalto Foundation and the City of Helsinki, the medal recognizes an architect who, in the words of the Museum of Finnish Architecture, is "exceptionally accomplished in the field of creative architecture and has carried on Aalto’s legacy of sustainable, humane design."

Zhang Ke is the founder and partner of standardarchitecture, an architecture firm based in China. Still relatively new, the firm has roughly 40 staff members, half of which are from China. Despite their status as a fledgling office, standardarchitecture has already completed a varied range of projects, including urban interventions in the iconic hutongs of Beijing and tourism infrastructure in the Nepal region. In 2015, Zhang Ke and his firm were the focus of an exhibition at the AEDES Gallery in Berlin, titled “Contemplating Basics.” In this interview, Zhang Ke talks about the importance of learning at different schools, as well as his own beliefs about the duty of an architect, the importance of context and his desire to tell stories in architecture.

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• Architects

  standardarchitecture

• Location

  Beijing, China

• Category

  Houses

• Design Team

  Zhang Ke, Zhang Mingming, Dai Haifei, Ao Ikegami, Zhang Yanping, Huang Tanyu

• Client

  Camerich

• Area

  30.0 sqm

• Project Year

  2013

• Photographs

  Chen Su, Zhang Yanping, Zhang Mingming

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• Architects

  Standardarchitecture, Zhaoyang Architects

• Location

  Nyingchi, Xizang (Tibet), China

• Category

  Learning

• Area

  430.0 sqm

• Project Year

  2009

• Photographs

  Chen Su