Belgian architect has influence on urban fabric of Shanghai
Belgian architect Wendy Saunders arrived in Shanghai 19 years ago driven by curiosity and a desire for a change of scene. Like many others, she was drawn to the city and has been actively involved in the country's construction boom for the past years. She runs AIM Architecture as co-owner and principal architect.
Wendy Saunders co-founded AIM Architecture in Shanghai.
Before we talk about AIM Architecture — would you please introduce yourself?
I am Wendy Saunders — I grew up in Bruges, Belgium, and studied architecture in Ghent. I worked in Amsterdam for a long time and did a year in Australia before coming to Shanghai in 2005. I have two children, born and raised in Shanghai, and I run AIM, an architecture and design company together with my partner Vincent de Graaf.
Why, after living in Shanghai for a few years, did you decide to strike out on your own to build up a business?
Well Shanghai has always been an exciting place for architects and designers and at first I worked in a local architecture company, which was interesting, but at that time it meant that you would never really touch building sites or materials. And I wanted to be more involved in creating places and spaces. At the same time I was fascinated by the contrast in Shanghai so I wanted to truly to captivate the duality of that somehow in my work.
I wanted to have an influence on the urban fabric of Shanghai which I grew to love: the vibrancy of street life, the imperfections and contrast of different worlds coming together. It seemed a very natural thing to do.
Fotografiska Shanghai was designed by AIM Architecture with the building showing off its layers of history, transformed from a former bank warehouse to a hub of art and culture.
AIM Architecture transformed a series of former oil silos in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, into Cotton Park, a mixed-use community space surrounded by a public garden and play areas.
What makes Shanghai's business environment so remarkable?
Well, as they say, everything is possible but nothing is easy. There is always this feeling that you can do anything, reinvent yourself and be successful. Undeniably, there is an entrepreneurial spirit here and people are curious and want to experience new things.
What were you trying to bring to the local community?
For me it was always trying to create places where I also would love to be. In the beginning it was also about showing that designed spaces didn't have to be all shiny and polished. That there is beauty in imperfection and vernacular materials and objects. Now it's also about reactivating certain buildings and areas and creating places where you can be a local in a big city like Shanghai. Let spaces communicate with their surroundings. Make unique spatial experiences that stir emotions in people.
AIM Architecture has taken their community-centric design to the street with this Harmay Fang project at the corner of Anfu and Wukang roads.
AIM Architecture won the "Designer of the year" award from dezeeen in 2023.
What are the biggest challenges setting up a business here? How do you stay motivated?
Setting up a business in China can be doubt-filled. As a foreigner you are really diving into the unknown. And It can be scary. Luckily we started our company when we had nothing to loose and had this naivety that we could do it.
For motivation: Get out of the office, travel and most importantly get out of your comfort zone. That's so important. Every project is a new blank sheet full of new possibilities but also uncertainty. That can also be exhausting of course. But for me it's important to resist doing the same that I did before, which doesn't inspire me at all. But if you for one reason or another do need to do the same, then at least build on it, add to it, manipulate it, always change where you can.
Saunders lectures at a Sino-Dutch creative forum in Guangzhou last year.
What was the moment that made you most proud?
So many moments. Big and small. Sometimes I am just proud I made it through the day, or that I finished a project phase on time or held my cool in a difficult meeting. Because one thing that architecture and design is that it's an emotional rollercoaster but it's also a business. And being both is incredibly hard.
I have the bad habit of always looking at the things that didn't go well or that I could have done better. But the praise for our work and achievements do help of course, so yes, I am proud of that and of the people I work with.
What are you working on?
I hope to change the world, one project at a time.
Who is a female-role model who inspires you?
For me discovering the female brutalist architect Lina Bo Bardi was a defining moment. When I saw her work it really inspired me, inspired me to be more daring, powerful but also just sometimes crazy. And of course as a student, Zaha Hadid was the most famous female architect and showed us all that it wasn't just a man's world.
Do you have any advice for women entrepreneurs?
Yes! Just do it. And do it your way. I think I wasted a lot of time, doubting myself and looking (mainly) at any surrounding male leadership and trying to see how I could be that. It took time to find my own voice. And I am not ashamed to say I still learn and work on it every day. I hope that never stops.
