Bureaus Exclusive

Architect sees potential in central, western China

By Ji Fan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-05-28 19:58

HEFEI - More foreign investors have begun to set eyes on less-developed central and western China, instead of just focusing on metropolitan areas such as Beijing and Shanghai, as more business potentials await them, said an architect from Spain on May 27.

Professor Lorenzo Jose Barrionuevo Esteban, who heads an international enterprise with offices in Europe, the United States, Saudi Arabia and China, said in an interview that "Anhui is a land of opportunities" and he can "make a difference" here.

He stressed that some problems loom large amid the development of the real estate sector in China.

Barrionuevo moved to Barcelona with his parents from a nearby town when still young. Immersed in such a fabulous city, with Antonio Gaudi-designed buildings everywhere, he naturally developed an affection for architecture and made it his career.

Despite the fact that skyscrapers are mushrooming day and night in various cities in China, the majority of those buildings are more of a "fast-food" economy than the real art of architecture, meaning most of them are knockoffs and resemble each other, said Barrionuevo, who is also a visiting professor at many universities, including Hefei University of Technology in East China's Anhui province.

"Just stamp, stamp, stamp, here and there," he said, adding that "in a word, uniqueness is what lacks in modern Chinese architecture."

Touching on reasons he chose to set up a new office in Hefei, the provincial capital, Esteban said that he was amazed by the Hui-style architecture and the potential business opportunities in Anhui, as more and more foreign investors began to set their eyes on less-developed central and western China, instead of just focusing on metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai.

Esteban is also ambitious about designing some landmark buildings in the Spanish style for various cities in Anhui.

"Anhui is a land of opportunities, and I have many projects here," he stressed, saying, "With the support of the local government, I hope we can make a difference."