Zurich today, Hong Kong the day before yesterday and Shanghai the day before that – ETH architect Xi Zhang has certainly carved out a successful career. With one office in Zurich and another in Shanghai, she generally shuttles between the two on a monthly basis. And business is booming. “We offer what the market needs,” says Zhang, explaining the secret of her success. “Swiss quality in China and Chinese speed in Switzerland!”

Born into a family of artists in Xi’an, her father soon realised that Chinese painting was not the right direction for his daughter. “I have a different kind of personality,” says Zhang. “I’m fidgety and more focused on multitasking. I need to get things done in five minutes and then move onto something else.”

At school her strengths lay more in the natural sciences, so her family hit on the idea of architecture, a subject that combines technical skills with artistic creativity. Zhang began her studies at Tongji University in Shanghai in 1997, and it quickly became clear that she couldn’t have chosen a better subject. “I was lucky. It was just perfect.”

Chance, luck or skills

After completing her degree in 2002, Zhang was determined to gain experience abroad. Switzerland was her destination of choice. “The reason was simple,” Zhang says. “ETH is the best architecture school in the world.” She was determined to study there, but problems emerged with her visa and she missed the start of the ­semester. It seemed her luck had run out – but then fortune intervened. To bridge the gap until the next semester, she applied for an internship at Herzog & de Meuron. She was accepted and was subsequently taken on as a junior architect. One of the projects she worked on was the Bird’s Nest national stadium in Beijing. “I gained hands-on experience at one of the very best ­architecture firms,” says Zhang with a smile. “I was very lucky indeed.”

Xi Zhang often talks about chance and luck, yet almost never mentions her evident skills and numerous talents. But she does readily admit how hard she has always worked to achieve the success she enjoys today. There were times when they had no projects at all, and other times when the whole team had to work late into the night, even at Christmas. “Everything we do is worthwhile,” the young Chinese architect says. And she is equally convinced that what goes around, comes around. “If I smile at you, you smile straight back. But the more visionary the idea, the longer that reciprocity takes.”

Zhang’s career as a self-employed architect began in 2006 as soon as she had completed her degree. With an ETH Master’s degree in her pocket, she returned to Shanghai and founded her architectural firm EXH Design in collaboration with a partner. “When I was studying at ETH I hadn’t realised just how much I was learning above and beyond architecture itself,” she recalls. From closing contracts to identifying phases in which particular care has to be taken in managing co-workers, it was only later that she understood just how much ETH had taught her. So when she started up her own firm, the young entrepreneur fished out her old books and re-read them. “This time it wasn’t for an exam, but for myself.”

A new way of thinking

Today, her firm employs 22 people in China and three in Zurich. It wasn’t until 2016 that she made the leap to Europe, so the Zurich office – a bright, minimalist affair superbly situated right next to Lake Zurich – is still in its infancy. There are also some significant cultural differences between the two offices. “Here in Zurich, everyone talks about work-life balance, but I don’t make a distinction between those two things,” says Zhang. “My goal is to draw energy from whatever activity I’m doing, whether it’s work or holidays. I work hard, but I find it genuinely inspiring.”

She was also inspired by her ETH degree programme. “ETH was like an ocean of knowledge for me,” Zhang enthuses. “I took in so much.” One example she cites is the history of architecture: in China, Zhang learned which events had happened in which year, but the emphasis in Switzerland was on innovations from each particular era. That gave a dynamic and vibrant edge to history lessons – and the young ­Chinese student quickly learned how to apply that knowledge herself: “Applying the methods I learned at ETH to examine my own culture shows me just how many treasures my homeland has to offer.”

ETH also gave Zhang plenty of opportunity to ask probing questions and freely express her own opinions. That taught her a new way of thinking in ­addition to her training as an architect. “ETH opened my eyes – in fact it gave me a whole new perspective on things,” says Zhang with a smile.