Cover on chaos. Renovation of the Captain's House by Vector Architects

Gong Dong, was born on Chinese New Year's Day 1972 (February 15), into an intellectual family in Beijing. His parents were professors. His father taught hydraulic engineering at Tsinghua University, and his mother was a chemist at Beijing Jiaotong University. His birth falls in a year marked by different events that will mark his generation: the death of Liang Sicheng, one of the key founders of Chinese architectural education, the historic visit of US President Richard Nixon and the announced return of Deng Xiaoping to the political scene.

His family surname "Dong" comes from Jinghai County in Tianjin, a place not far from Beijing, and if we look back his ancestors can be found in Hongtong County in Shanxi Province, in northern China. His name "Gong" refers to "power" in hydraulic engineering. In common usage, "Gong" also means "academic performance and achievement."

Gong Dong received Bachelor & Master of Architecture from Tsinghua University, followed by a diploma from the University of Illinois where he received the Master of Architecture. He also had an exchange experience at the Technical University of Munich. During his study in America, Gong Dong received several awards including the Excellence Award from the Steedman Fellowship International Architectural Design Competition, 2000; First Prize from the American Institute of Architects Chicago Chapter’s Student Design Competition,2001 and the Excellence Award from Malama Learning Centre International Architecture Design Competition,2002. Before establishing his practice he worked for Soloman Cordwell Buenz & Associates in Chicago, then at Richard Meier & Partners and Steven Holl Architects in New York.

VECTOR ARCHITECTS was founded in 2008, in Beijing. During seven years of practice, we have always believed that design needs to confront problems, and it should be the attitude an architect ought to possess. Instead of enforcing the architect's self-consciousness or following icons and superficial forms, a good design has to respect the existing environment with the support of logic and reason. The contemporary Chinese design industry today is rather blundering in that the rapid production and pursuit of landmarks in height, size and form have become mainstream.

Architects no longer devote their efforts to the fundamental and substantial truth of architecture. In this environment, the persistence of confronting problems remains essential and crucial. In every project, Vector Architects is devoted to discovering the unrevealing relationship and various possibilities in the existing context. Through their design, they create new perceptions and experiences, which are exclusive to each project. The sense of "being here" is uniquely established and reflected in the percipient's emotions and actions. Therefore, space, being the vessel of living, has formed an irreplaceable connection between place and experience.