Experts at Chengdu gathering find space to discuss

Chang explains that, when the expectations of the new generation of young people regarding architecture and campus life have changed, architects will focus more on the kind of design that can accommodate multiple needs and inspire more possibilities.

Senior urban planner Li Xiaojiang indicates that, in the process of urban planning, urban space and services should be available for people from different backgrounds, cultures and identities. Inclusiveness can be a source of urban vitality, he adds.

Architecture critic Zhou Rong, associate professor at the Department of Architecture at Tsinghua University, also points out the significance of openness and inclusiveness in architecture design.

Zhou says: "Much of the logic of planning and designing our cities, to this day, has been born purely from a visual perspective." He cites the example of Pingshan Performing Arts Center in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, where the space is, uniquely, offered not only to showgoers who can enter the venue, but also to those who cannot afford the tickets. The latter have access to the exterior part of the center, where they can sit down, dance and relax.

Speaking of the changes in the way people perceive cities in an era of fast-paced technological advances, Fei Jun, professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and a cross-media artist, presented cases combining art and technology, for example, a piece of equipment that enables people to talk to water. The equipment uses an artificial intelligence program to analyze people's emotions in their voiceprints, and then makes the water — through different types of rippling — respond to these varied emotions.

With such cases, Fei explains, it shows the possibility for people to go beyond their physical limitations to experience and interact with their city.