The opening ceremony of THAD 60th Anniversary and Tsinghua Academic Design Week is held on Oct 25.

The Architectural Design and Research Institute of Tsinghua University Co (THAD), a subsidiary of Tsinghua Holdings Human Settlement Construction Group that is affiliated to Tsinghua Holdings, celebrated its 60th birthday in Beijing on Oct 25, when it opened its 2018 Tsinghua Academic Design Week.

The THAD was established in 1958 for architecture high education and academic research, and it has gone through 60 years of innovative practice in architectural design.

Professor Zheng Li, vice-president of Tsinghua University, highly praised the achievement of the THAD, saying that THAD has made outstanding contributions to the discipline development of architecture in China's higher education over the past six decades. It is a witness and also a part of China's different modern historical development stages.

Professor Zheng Li, vice-president of Tsinghua University, speaks at the ceremony.

Wu Xi, chairman of Architecture Design and Research Institute of Tsinghua University, hosts the ceremony.

Many renowned experts from the world's finest architectural institutes and agencies took part in the celebration and delivered speeches at the keynote forum of Tsinghua Design Academic Week, which was hosted by Professor Zhuang Weimin, dean of Tsinghua's School of Architecture.

"The brilliant speakers expressed their ideas and practices that reflected many issues emerging from rapid process of urbanization concerning cities, countries, villages, and environment," said Zhuang Weimin, "Some of the brand-new topics inspire us to fully use our creativity in design and architecture."

Wolf D Prix,  co-founder, Design Principal and CEO of COOP HIMMELB (L) AU, gives a speech at the Masters Forum named "Life, Project, Philosophy", in which he presents his classic works, including European Central Park, Propeller City and the Pearl of the Emirates.

Caroline Bos, co-founder and principal urban planner of UNStudio, gives a speech entitled "Knowledge Matters." She focuses on the meaning of architecture and knowledge as well as the links between them. Architects should help people to live a better life with their designs, she says. 

Panel discussion

There are exhibitions, forums and publications to be held during the THAD 60th Anniversary and Tsinghua Design Academic Week, to review the establishment and development over the past 60 years.