Co-hosted by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and ARCHINA, the RIBA China-UK 2025 Forum themed "New Modernism in Architecture" was grandly held at RIBA's London headquarters in May. The forum brought together top architects, policymakers, and industry leaders from China and the UK, fostering a landmark cross-cultural dialogue on architectural innovation. Notably, this event marked the last large-scale professional academic forum at RIBA's London headquarters before its building renovation. 

The forum was chaired by Helen Castle, RIBA's Director of Publishing and Scholarship. Dr. Valerie Vaughan-Dick, RIBA's Chief Executive, and Li Liyan, Minister-Counsellor for Cultural Affairs at the Chinese Embassy in the UK, were among the attendees who delivered speeches. The forum aimed to create a high-level dialogue platform for Chinese and British architects, promoting international exchanges through RIBA's global perspective and China's innovative architectural practices. 

Representative architectural firms from both countries were invited to the forum. Local participating institutions included Foster + Partners, Allies and Morrison, Arup, Hopkins Architects, and Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA). Centered on the theme "New Modernism in Architecture: Theory, Practice, and Future," the forum set three key topics: urban renewal and contextual inheritance, cultural public and mixed-use spaces, and landmark architecture and industry-city integration. 

Zhuang Ziyu, founder and leading architect of BUZZ Architecture Office, delivered a speech under the topic "Cultural Public and Mixed-Use Spaces." He joined representatives of Chinese and British architects in exploring new spatial narrative relationships and the potential of mixed-use formats based on current lifestyles and specific scenarios. Drawing on BUZZ's 10 years of architectural practice, he elaborated on the concepts of "sense of locality" and "fluidity" in Eastern spatial narratives. 

During their stay in London, the Chinese architects delegation also visited Zaha Hadid Architects, Heatherwick Studio, Allies and Morrison, Arup, and Foster + Partners. Through keynote speeches and roundtable discussions, they conducted several academic exchanges and dialogues with top British architectural design teams.