Can you pick out any major trends in or characteristics of contemporary Chinese design and architecture?

I think it's safe to say that people are expecting a real theatrical quality. Some of the more flagrant western architects, such as Rem Koolhaas and Steven Holl, have been able to do some exciting work that is appreciated by the Chinese.

One of the things that came out of the panel discussion was that Chinese consumers want the latest and greatest. Where does this obsession with the new come from?

As a developing country, people still remember the dirt-floor house and power outages. It's living memory and anything that is old is associated with deprivation. Having something new represents having arrived or status. There is no appreciation for vintage or nostalgia the way we understand it. The sad thing that's happening because of this is the widespread demolition of China’s architectural heritage. For example in Beijing, a favorite city of mine, a lot of the traditional courtyard houses have been destroyed. What is encouraging, however, is that the ones surrounding the Forbidden City are being bought up and renovated by Hong Kong pop stars. So there is actual gentrification happening, which over here we kind of shrug our shoulders at, but there it represents a nascent appreciation for an important part of the country’s culture.

You mentioned that one of the cultural reference points was a yearning for individualism and one of the challenges for brands was to create an individual consumer experience. Can you describe how that translates into the actual design of products, or its expression through art and architecture?

In Chinese architecture, you are looking at giving strong individual identities to all of these buildings. Each building is an expression of its owner. You can connect it to a yearning for individualism that has developed since the more regimented times before China’s opening up. In terms of products for the consumer, what we do at Nike is to give them an experience that is as customized as possible. For example, people can design their own footwear and apparel and have them delivered in 3-4 weeks. Our stores are designed to support a service model that treats the consumer as an athlete competing in his or her sport.

Can you share your experience working with designers in China? Has anything changed over the time you've been working there?

When I first went over there as an intern, Chinese designers didn't have any confidence in their own abilities. One of the most heartening things is that there is a whole creative class that has developed. In that sense, it's becoming much like the rest of the world. There is a new generation who has much more sophisticated view of the world and the role that design plays. The people who are making the biggest waves right now are the foreign-educated Chinese coming back.

Related to the emergence of a creative class, you spoke about the fact that there was no distinction between art/design and commerce in China. Can you expand on that idea?

There is less stigma, for artists, in working with corporations than you might expect in the West. It might have to do with the fact that corporations have less “baggage” in a country where capitalism is still relatively new. There is an arts district in Beijing (798) where many companies (including Nike) go far beyond simple sponsorship of the arts, instead presenting (sometimes elaborate) interpretations of their brands, messages and identity. These installations live comfortably alongside more traditional galleries and public art, and make 798 the most unique visual arts destination anywhere.

Are there any names that we should keep an eye out for?

I really like Studio Pei Zhu in Beijing, NAIL in Hong Kong, and have seen some interesting work from HUGE Architects in Shanghai.

In the future, do you think "Made in China" will be replaced by "Designed in China"?

“Designed in China” is already a reality. Like many developing countries before it (think Japan), China will make the move from being solely a producer to a conceiver/producer. Two good examples are Lenovo computers, and the British car brand MG. A Chinese company bought the MG brand a few years ago, and is now producing updated versions of the classic car that are as appealing as what BMW did with Mini Cooper.