New Book Launch: “GLA Architecture Practice, 2010–2025”

On the afternoon of February 1, 2026, GLA’s new book launch event, “LIFE³: Life·Living·Vitality,” was successfully held at the Tsutaya Books store in Hangzhou’s Tianmuli. The event brought together a distinguished lineup of guests—including university professors, partners, fellow designers, media representatives, and photographers— who engaged in in-depth discussions from diverse perspectives, unraveling the symbiotic code that connects architecture with a wide array of contexts.

 

△ Event Venue

 

At the outset of the press conference, Song Ping, founding partner of GLA, provided a detailed account of the book’s genesis and its central themes. Titled “GLA: Architectural Practice 2010–2025,” the volume encapsulates fifteen years of GLA’s practice and reflection, systematically organizing our explorations and insights into market evolution and spatial design across four chapters. In addition, Wang Chaohui, Chief Planner at Greentown China—key witness and collaborator throughout GLA’s fifteen-year journey—was invited to offer his best wishes and a forward-looking perspective.

 

△ Song Ping, Founding Partner of GLA

△ Wang Chaohui, Chief Planner of Greentown China

 

Subsequently, in the presence of the attending guests, Professor Luo Qingping of the Department of Architecture at the College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Associate Professor Chen Xiang, Head of the Department of Architecture, and Wang Chaohui and Song Ping jointly unveiled the new book, marking the official public release of this work that embodies both wisdom and practical experience.

 

△ From left to right: Wang Chaohui, Song Ping, Chen Xiang, and Luo Qingping.

 

 

The intellectual highlight of the event centered on two topical salons that closely reflected the pulse of our times. The first salon, titled “Architecture Transforms Real Estate,” was moderated by Li Qian, founder of ArchiDogs Media, and brought together Chen Xiang, Wang Chaohui, Zhang Wei, a senior partner at gad, and Ye Jun, a partner at GLA, to explore how architects, developers, and designers—each occupying distinct social roles—view architecture’s reshaping of real estate’s product logic and value standards.

 

△ From left to right: Wang Chaohui, Ye Jun, Chen Xiang, Zhang Wei, and Li Qian.

 

The second salon featured the debate topic “Real Estate Shapes Architecture.” Moderated by Ma Kun, founder of the WeChat public account “Siwen,” the discussion brought together Luo Qingping, Zhang Xiaoxiao, chief architect at goa Elephant Design, Song Shuhua, general manager and chief landscape designer at GTS Lanson Design, and Hong Haibo, founding partner at GLA. Together, they explored how, against the backdrop of profound transformation in the real estate sector and a broader market downturn, the architecture and design professions—along with their practitioners and institutions—can redefine their value, uphold their core professional ethos, and chart a path toward sustainable development.

 

△ From left to right: Hong Haibo, Song Shuhua, Luo Qingping, Zhang Xiaoxiao, Ma Kun.

 

Two dialogues, two sides of the same coin—this encapsulates the core consensus that has emerged from GLA’s fifteen years of practice: real estate and architecture are mutually empowering, co‑evolving, and symbiotically intertwined. Through this book and this event, GLA seeks to spark broader conversation, calling on the industry to adopt a more integrated, dialectical perspective in rethinking the power of design and the logic of development.

 

The new book has arrived, and the road ahead is long. GLA looks forward to continuing to stand side by side with everyone, putting our vision into practice together!