Dai Fudong

Dai Fudong (; 25 April 1928 – 25 February 2018) was a Chinese architect. He was a lifelong professor of Tongji University and the founding director of the university's Institute of High-tech Building Technology. He was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1999. He emphasized the use of local and natural materials in his designs, and summarized his design philosophy as "modern bones, traditional soul, and natural clothing". Over a career spanning more than 50 years, Dai and his wife Wu Lusheng designed about 100 projects together.

Early life and education Dai was born on 25 April 1928 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, Republic of China, with his ancestral home in Wuwei, Anhui. He was the eldest son of Kuomintang general Dai Anlan and his wife Wang Hexin . When he was 13, his father died in the Burma Campaign of World War II, and his mother donated the entire death benefit of Fabi $200,000 she received from the government to build the Anlan Memorial School in Quanzhou, Guangxi. The family later fell into financial difficulty as Wang raised four children on her own. Although Dai Fudong was interested in painting, he decided to study architecture so he could support the family.

Early career: designing Mao's Villa In 1958, Dai, Wu, and their colleague Fu Xinqi were appointed co-designers of the Meiling Guesthouse at the East Lake in Wuhan. Halfway through the project, they were invited to watch a performance with Mao Zedong, and were told that the guesthouse would be Mao's personal villa in Wuhan. Mao spent much of his later years at Meiling; Dai and Wu did not see the completed building until 1978, when it was opened to the public as a tourist attraction after Mao's death. He later donated the medal and the certificate to the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution. They specialized in small and medium-sized buildings including offices, hotels, and university buildings. They emphasized the use of local materials, strove to utilize limited resources for the maximum benefit, and focused on human comfort and artistic value.

Dai published seven books, 107 research papers, and a translated book. He also held two patents.