Hi everyone! I recently arrived back from my month in June filming my documentary. I have yet to delve into the post production phase of the project, however shooting over the month went even better than I could have imagined.
The film focuses on sustainable city design in China as well as the work of a joint research project, which has been going on for over thirty years between MIT and Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. This summer is the culmination of their work, which now involves urban designers and architects from Cambridge University and a University in Munich. During the month of June faculty, masters students and PHD students from these Universities are creating options for sustainable design in the urban villages of the city of Taiyuan, China.
Due to China’s rapid urbanization, the cities are growing, but in not the most effective or efficient way. It is as if there are a bunch of puzzle pieces of a city, but instead of putting the puzzle pieces together, the pieces are simply getting hastily stacked on top of one another, with no thought to functionality and form.
I interviewed professors and designers from around the world – the top in the field of architecture and urban design and discussed with them their thoughts on these issues and the relationship between MIT and Tsinghua University and what their work is doing to help. Through understanding the work that MIT and Tsinghua has been doing, I believe that my documentary will paint a picture of how China is rapidly transforming. Many of my interviewees discussed this transformation as well. As this is my ninth time in China, I have seen this transformation and am getting a understanding of why and how it is happening and by creating this documentary, I am learning what needs to be done.
I am excited to start the postproduction phase of the project over the next few months. Tsinghua even said that they would like to screen my movie next summer at the 30th Anniversary of the collaboration of MIT and Tsinghua!
