Benjamin T. Wood
Encyclopedia
Benjamin T. Wood is an American
architect
who designed Shanghai's famous Xintiandi
, which means “New Heaven and Earth,” a refined cluster of traditionally styled Shanghai brick town houses near the old French Concession district.
Wood flew the Mach II Phantom RF-4 jet aircraft for the US Air Force for five years.
At 31, he enrolled in a graduate architecture program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
. Upon graduation, Wood worked with Benjamin C. Thompson
at Benjamin Thompson and Associates. He started his own firm with Ecuadoran Carlos Zapata in 1998 with a commission to rebuild Soldier Field
, the Chicago Bears' stadium.
Wood also designed the 100,000-seat Olympic Stadium located in historic Washington Park for the USA 2016 Olympic bid. The design called for most of the stadium seating to be disassembled, leaving behind a small bowl and the track.
has become a symbol of the changing aspirations China has for Shanghai.
Xintiandi’s influence “is such that every city wants to have one.” Wood has applied his formula to projects all over mainland China, from Chongqing to Wuhan to Hangzhou. In Hangzhou he adapted 10 blocks of a sleepy lakeside area into a resort with pagoda-style roof-scapes, trellis-covered walkways and a high-tech conference center. For his $80 million Cambridge Watertown project in Zhujiajiao, he has proposed narrow canals inspired by China’s 13th-century water-town plans stitched together with picturesque foot bridges and semi-detached contemporary-style condos.
As Paul Goldberger
pointed out, "Xintiandi
is so successful that Shui On has been asked to replicate its formula elsewhere in China, and other developers are trying to build copycat projects. Christopher Choa, an American architect who lives in Shanghai, told me, “It has become a verb. Developers say to architects, ‘Can you Xintiandi this project for me?’ The young Chinese people come because they think it’s trendy, the foreigners come because they think it’s historically significant, and the old people come because they feel nostalgia.” Since Xintiandi opened, Shanghai has begun to preserve much more architecture than it ever did before. During the first forty years of Communist rule, the city’s main promenade, the Bund—a remarkable series of ornate stone office and bank buildings, many of them masterworks of Art Deco
from the nineteen-twenties—fell into serious disrepair. But the area is now being restored, and it has become an extremely desirable address: one building, Three on the Bund, was renovated by Michael Graves
and contains an Armani boutique, an Evian spa, and a Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
who designed Shanghai's famous Xintiandi
Xintiandi
Xintiandi is an affluent car-free shopping, eating and entertainment district of Shanghai, China. It is composed of an area of reconstituted traditional shikumen houses on narrow alleys, some adjoining houses which now serve as book stores, cafes and restaurants, and shopping malls. Most of the...
, which means “New Heaven and Earth,” a refined cluster of traditionally styled Shanghai brick town houses near the old French Concession district.
Wood flew the Mach II Phantom RF-4 jet aircraft for the US Air Force for five years.
At 31, he enrolled in a graduate architecture program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. Upon graduation, Wood worked with Benjamin C. Thompson
Benjamin C. Thompson
Benjamin C. Thompson was an American architect.Thompson was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, graduated from Yale University in 1941, then spent four years in the United States Navy fighting in World War II...
at Benjamin Thompson and Associates. He started his own firm with Ecuadoran Carlos Zapata in 1998 with a commission to rebuild Soldier Field
Soldier Field
Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...
, the Chicago Bears' stadium.
Chicago
Wood's relationship with Chicago runs deep as he designed the modern Soldier Fields Stadium.Wood also designed the 100,000-seat Olympic Stadium located in historic Washington Park for the USA 2016 Olympic bid. The design called for most of the stadium seating to be disassembled, leaving behind a small bowl and the track.
China
Wood's work at XintiandiXintiandi
Xintiandi is an affluent car-free shopping, eating and entertainment district of Shanghai, China. It is composed of an area of reconstituted traditional shikumen houses on narrow alleys, some adjoining houses which now serve as book stores, cafes and restaurants, and shopping malls. Most of the...
has become a symbol of the changing aspirations China has for Shanghai.
Xintiandi’s influence “is such that every city wants to have one.” Wood has applied his formula to projects all over mainland China, from Chongqing to Wuhan to Hangzhou. In Hangzhou he adapted 10 blocks of a sleepy lakeside area into a resort with pagoda-style roof-scapes, trellis-covered walkways and a high-tech conference center. For his $80 million Cambridge Watertown project in Zhujiajiao, he has proposed narrow canals inspired by China’s 13th-century water-town plans stitched together with picturesque foot bridges and semi-detached contemporary-style condos.
As Paul Goldberger
Paul Goldberger
Paul Goldberger is the Architecture Critic for The New Yorker, where since 1997 he has written the magazine's celebrated "Sky Line" column. He also holds the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at The New School in New York City...
pointed out, "Xintiandi
Xintiandi
Xintiandi is an affluent car-free shopping, eating and entertainment district of Shanghai, China. It is composed of an area of reconstituted traditional shikumen houses on narrow alleys, some adjoining houses which now serve as book stores, cafes and restaurants, and shopping malls. Most of the...
is so successful that Shui On has been asked to replicate its formula elsewhere in China, and other developers are trying to build copycat projects. Christopher Choa, an American architect who lives in Shanghai, told me, “It has become a verb. Developers say to architects, ‘Can you Xintiandi this project for me?’ The young Chinese people come because they think it’s trendy, the foreigners come because they think it’s historically significant, and the old people come because they feel nostalgia.” Since Xintiandi opened, Shanghai has begun to preserve much more architecture than it ever did before. During the first forty years of Communist rule, the city’s main promenade, the Bund—a remarkable series of ornate stone office and bank buildings, many of them masterworks of Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
from the nineteen-twenties—fell into serious disrepair. But the area is now being restored, and it has become an extremely desirable address: one building, Three on the Bund, was renovated by Michael Graves
Michael Graves
Michael Graves is an American architect. Identified as one of The New York Five, Graves has become a household name with his designs for domestic products sold at Target stores in the United States....
and contains an Armani boutique, an Evian spa, and a Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant.