Building A Revolution
Chinese Architecture Since 1980
Publication Year: 2006
Published by: Hong Kong University Press, HKU
Cover
Title Page, Copyright
Download PDF (217.5 KB)
pp. iii-iv
CONTENTS
Download PDF (150.6 KB)
pp. v-
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Download PDF (413.2 KB)
pp. vi-vii
The idea of writing a book in English on Chinese architecture germinated in the late 1980s when I was trained at the University of Hong Kong, supervised and influenced by a group of planning and construction scholars with a global outlook and a remarkable insight into Asia. Professor Sivaguru Ganesan sharpened my eyes in viewing the place I had been raised and later worked as an architect in for years. ...
PREFACE
Download PDF (1.4 MB)
pp. viii-xiv
In the 1980s. China adopted the open-door policy and unleashed a drive towards modernization. Twenty years later, after a period of intense activity, China's GNP was ranked sixth in the world. Together with a number of other Southeast Asian countries, China boasts one of the fastest developing economies in the world. From 1991 to 2000, the average annual economic growth was 10.1 percent...
Maps
Download PDF (354.6 KB)
pp. xv-xvi
Photos
Download PDF (2.4 MB)
pp. xvii-xxiv
Part I - Cultural Transformation
CHAPTER ONE: EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ARCHITECTURE
Download PDF (1.4 MB)
pp. 2-11
The criteria for evaluating architecture are multifaceted and vary according to the social and cultural context, in China and in other countries. It is widely accepted that social context has a profoundly important influence on architecture (Musgrove 1987; Rapoport 1969; Norberg-Schulz 1975). This chapter analyzes contemporary Chinese architecture from a variety of perspectives...
CHAPTER TWO: "NATIONAL FORM" AND CHINESE IDENTITY: BURDEN OR CHANCE?
Download PDF (2.3 MB)
pp. 12-29
In the early 1980s, following the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), two architectural projects captured the limelight and once again provoked considerable discussion and comment concerning "national form." One of these was the Fragrant Hill Hotel, designed by I.M. Pei and built in 1981...
CHAPTER THREE: THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE
Download PDF (2.4 MB)
pp. 30-48
Chapter Two presents the story of how China's identity and architecture have developed in tandem over the past century. The desire for a strong Chinese national identity has been spurred by worries about losing the country's distinctive cultural heritage to globalization and internationalization. ...
Part II - City and Dwelling
CHAPTER FOUR: SURVIVAL STRATEGIES: BEIJING, SHANGHAI, AND GUANGZHOU
Download PDF (2.3 MB)
pp. 50-60
The international influence and the eminent trophy buildings discussed in Chapter Three usually appear first in the coastal cities. This proves a phenomenon in modern China: development has always proceeded unevenly in its territory, gradually spreading from the coastal cities of the east to the undeveloped interior of the west. ...
CHAPTER FIVE: URBAN DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR BETTER LIVING
Download PDF (2.0 MB)
pp. 70-85
The fundamental changes in the cityscapes of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other Chinese cities are a result of numerous projects of urban design, which have been part of the urban renewal movement since the 1980s. Most traditional Chinese towns had only linear, straight streets. ...
CHAPTER SIX: FORM FOLLOWS POLICY: THE EVOLUTION OF CHINA'S HOUSING
Download PDF (2.0 MB)
pp. 86-102
The previous five chapters extend the discussions in various architectural discourses of macro problems (Chapters One, Two, and Three) and macro-scale (Chapters Four and Five). This chapter concerns a building type: housing. Housing is a problem not only of building design but also of social and economic significance. ...
Part III - Architects and Creations
CHAPTER SEVEN: PORTRAITS OF CHINESE ARCHITECTS
Download PDF (3.1 MB)
pp. 105-129
The colorful and diversified performance of Chinese architecture, described in the previous chapters, is propelled by the numerous hands of building professionals, known and unknown. This chapter highlights a group of architects who exerted their influence mainly in the last two decades of the twentieth century. ...
CHAPTER EIGHT: EXPERIMENTAL ARCHITECTURE: THE RISING OF THE YOUNGER GENERATION
Download PDF (3.2 MB)
pp. 130-155
Chapter Seven describes the prominent architects in China, most of the people who shone in the 1980s and graduated before 1967. The Cultural Revolution (1966-76) interrupted the continuous training and supply system of professionals. During those ten years, China's universities stopped taking new students and suspended entrance examinations. ...
CHAPTER NINE: BEHIND THE BUILDING REVOLUTION: PRIVATE PRACTICE UNLEASHED
Download PDF (1.1 MB)
pp. 156-163
The previous chapters have mainly discussed architectural designs, relevant trends, and theories. However, China's architecture had performed awkwardly in a socialist system of a planned economy for decades before 1980; since then it has to first free itself of the shackles of the old system. This chapter discusses the forces behind the building revolution: emerging private practice and how it evolved from the old socialist system. ...
CHAPTER TEN: CHINESE ARCHITECTURE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: AN EPILOGUE
Download PDF (950.1 KB)
pp. 164-170
The previous nine chapters talk about architecture, a very visible profession that speaks for a nation. However, where and how will this nation go, in turn, determines its future shape of architecture. This chapter first analyzes the directions and scenarios of China's development in the twenty-first century. ...
APPENDIX I
Download PDF (1.2 MB)
pp. 171-181
APPENDIX II
Download PDF (1.2 MB)
pp. 182-190
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Download PDF (865.3 KB)
pp. 191-196
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS
Download PDF (279.2 KB)
pp. 197-198
INDEX
Download PDF (473.1 KB)
pp. 199-204
E-ISBN-13: 9789882200463
Print-ISBN-13: 9789622097445
Page Count: 232
Publication Year: 2006
