Contemporary Architecture In China

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Contemporary Architecture in China

Author : Xiangning Li
Publisher : Images Shenyang
ISBN 13 : 9781864707793
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (77 download)

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Book Synopsis Contemporary Architecture in China by : Xiangning Li

Download or read book Contemporary Architecture in China written by Xiangning Li and published by Images Shenyang. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: - Critical analysis of 60 projects from 60 architects in China - Highly illustrated throughout with rich technical details Architectural exhibition is an important aspect in the study and transmission of architectural culture. The academic thoughts and design styles that influence the trends of global architecture are all established through one or a series of important architectural exhibitions. This book is produced based on the GSD (Harvard Graduate School of Design) autumn exhibition: 'Towards a Critical Pragmatism: Contemporary Chinese Architecture'. It reveals a unique perspective of contemporary Chinese architecture by showcasing 60 works from 60 contemporary architects within five thematic categories: cultural, residential, regeneration, rural, and digital. The selected architects attempt to maintain, from the earliest moments of the design process to its finished outcome, a certain level of critical thinking and quality. It is a record of the continuous evolution and growth of contemporary Chinese architecture and hopes to open up a new avenue from which to encourage further conversation regarding both the present and future state of China's architecture culture.

中国当代建筑大系

Author : 刘克成
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9787538177909
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (779 download)

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Book Synopsis 中国当代建筑大系 by : 刘克成

Download or read book 中国当代建筑大系 written by 刘克成 and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 本书通过对当代中国本土博物馆的案例展示, 印证了当代中国建筑师游走于传统与现代之间的探寻之旅, 同时也反映出了中国的传统文化与建筑哲学之间的共生关系.书中每座博物馆案例都通过自身的鲜明个性, 艺术的展现方式传达出优雅与高尚的气息, 在建筑, 室内与景观的互动过程中, 表达出建筑师对于藏品, 氛围以及观众感知体验的尊重.通过对本书的阅读, 除了能够对中国当代建筑师的设计风格及理念有一定了解之外, 还能感受到博物馆作为一种独特的文化建筑, 通过自身的比例, 空间, 色彩与质感的组织传递出独特的文化内涵与意识形态.

Chinese Architecture and the Beaux-Arts

Author : Jeffrey W. Cody
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 0824861019
Total Pages : 410 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (248 download)

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Book Synopsis Chinese Architecture and the Beaux-Arts by : Jeffrey W. Cody

Download or read book Chinese Architecture and the Beaux-Arts written by Jeffrey W. Cody and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2011-01-31 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early twentieth century, Chinese traditional architecture and the French-derived methods of the École des Beaux-Arts converged in the United States when Chinese students were given scholarships to train as architects at American universities whose design curricula were dominated by Beaux-Arts methods. Upon their return home in the 1920s and 1930s, these graduates began to practice architecture and create China’s first architectural schools, often transferring a version of what they had learned in the U.S. to Chinese situations. The resulting complex series of design-related transplantations had major implications for China between 1911 and 1949, as it simultaneously underwent cataclysmic social, economic, and political changes. After 1949 and the founding of the People’s Republic, China experienced a radically different wave of influence from the Beaux-Arts through advisors from the Soviet Union who, first under Stalin and later Khrushchev, brought Beaux-Arts ideals in the guise of socialist progress. In the early twenty-first century, China is still feeling the effects of these events. Chinese Architecture and the Beaux-Arts examines the coalescing of the two major architectural systems, placing significant shifts in architectural theory and practice in China within relevant, contemporary, cultural, and educational contexts. Fifteen major scholars from around the world analyze and synthesize these crucial events to shed light on the dramatic architectural and urban changes occurring in China today—many of which have global ramifications. This stimulating and generously illustrated work is divided into three sections, framed by an introduction and a postscript. The first focuses on the convergence of Chinese architecture and the École des Beaux-Arts, outlining the salient aspects of each and suggesting how and why the two "met" in the U.S. The second section centers on the question of how Chinese architects were influenced by the Beaux-Arts and how Chinese architecture was changed as a result. The third takes an even closer look at the Beaux-Arts influence, addressing how innovative practices, new schools of architecture, and buildings whose designs were linked to Beaux-Arts assumptions led to distinctive new paradigms that were rooted in a changing China. By virtue of its scope, scale, and scholarship, this volume promises to become a classic in the fields of Chinese and Western architectural history. Contributors: Tony Atkin, Peter J. Carroll, Yung Ho Chang,Jeffrey W. Cody, Kerry Sizheng Fan, Fu Chao-Ching, Gu Daqing, Seng Kuan,Delin Lai, Xing Ruan, Joseph Rykwert, Nancy S. Steinhardt, David VanZanten, Rudolf Wagner, Zhang Jie, Zhao Chen.

Architectural Encounters with Essence and Form in Modern China

Author : Peter G. Rowe
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 9780262681513
Total Pages : 312 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (815 download)

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Book Synopsis Architectural Encounters with Essence and Form in Modern China by : Peter G. Rowe

Download or read book Architectural Encounters with Essence and Form in Modern China written by Peter G. Rowe and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A study of traditional and modernist attitudes toward architecture in China from the 1840s to the present. Built around snatches of discussion overheard in a Beijing design studio, this book explores attitudes toward architecture in China since the opening of the Treaty Ports in the 1840s. Central to the discussion are the concepts of ti and yong, or "essence" and "form," Chinese characters that are used to define the proper arrangement of what should be considered modern and essentially Chinese. Ti and yong have gone through various transformations--for example, from "Chinese learning for essential principles and Western learning for practical application" to "socialist essence and cultural form" and an almost complete reversal to "modern essence and Chinese form." The book opens with a discussion of cultural developments in China in response to the forced opening to the West in the mid-nineteenth century, efforts to reform the Qing dynasty, and the Nationalist and Communist regimes. It then considers the return of overseas-educated Chinese architects and foreign influences on Chinese architecture, four architectural orientations toward tradition and modernity in the 1920s and 1930s, and the controversy over the use of "big roofs" and other sinicizing aspects of Chinese architecture in the 1950s. The book then moves to the hard economic conditions of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, when architecture was almost abandoned, and the beginning of reform and opening up to the outside world in the late 1970s and 1980s. Finally, it looks at the present socialist market economy and Chinese architecture during the still incomplete process of modernization. It closes with a prognosis for the future.

Original Copies

Author : Bianca Bosker
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 0824837835
Total Pages : 178 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (248 download)

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Book Synopsis Original Copies by : Bianca Bosker

Download or read book Original Copies written by Bianca Bosker and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2013-01-31 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A 108-meter high Eiffel Tower rises above Champs Elysées Square in Hangzhou. A Chengdu residential complex for 200,000 recreates Dorchester, England. An ersatz Queen’s Guard patrols Shanghai’s Thames Town, where pubs and statues of Winston Churchill abound. Gleaming replicas of the White House dot Chinese cities from Fuyang to Shenzhen. These examples are but a sampling of China’s most popular and startling architectural movement: the construction of monumental themed communities that replicate towns and cities in the West. Original Copies presents the first definitive chronicle of this remarkable phenomenon in which entire townships appear to have been airlifted from their historic and geographic foundations in Europe and the Americas, and spot-welded to Chinese cities. These copycat constructions are not theme parks but thriving communities where Chinese families raise children, cook dinners, and simulate the experiences of a pseudo-Orange County or Oxford. In recounting the untold and evolving story of China’s predilection for replicating the greatest architectural hits of the West, Bianca Bosker explores what this unprecedented experiment in “duplitecture” implies for the social, political, architectural, and commercial landscape of contemporary China. With her lively, authoritative narrative, the author shows us how, in subtle but important ways, these homes and public spaces shape the behavior of their residents, as they reflect the achievements, dreams, and anxieties of those who inhabit them, as well as those of their developers and designers. From Chinese philosophical perspectives on copying to twenty-first century market forces, Bosker details the factors giving rise to China’s new breed of building. Her analysis draws on insights from the world’s leading architects, critics and city planners, and on interviews with the residents of these developments.

House of the Dragon

Author : Gestalten
Publisher : Gestalten
ISBN 13 : 9783899558722
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (587 download)

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Book Synopsis House of the Dragon by : Gestalten

Download or read book House of the Dragon written by Gestalten and published by Gestalten. This book was released on 2021-04-20 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new design expression is being formed in China as architects look internally for visionary design instead of toward the West.

China's Architecture in a Globalizing World

Author : Jiawen Han
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 9780367322274
Total Pages : 184 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (222 download)

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Book Synopsis China's Architecture in a Globalizing World by : Jiawen Han

Download or read book China's Architecture in a Globalizing World written by Jiawen Han and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-05-14 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: China is currently in the midst of an unprecedented building boom and, indeed, interest in Chinese contemporary architecture has been fuelled by this huge expansion. Through a cutting-edge theoretical discussion of Chinese architecture in relation to Chinese modernity, this book examines this phenomenon in detail. In particular, it highlights how changes in the social-political system, the residual influence of Mao and the demands of the market have each shaped and determined style and form in recent years. Using key case studies of Liu Jiakun, Cui Kai, and URBANUS, it analyses the intricate details of historical pressures and practical strategies affecting Chinese architecture. In doing so, it demonstrates that Chinese architects contribute in specific ways to the international architectural discourse, since they are actively engaging with the complex societal transition of contemporary China and managing the dynamics and conflicts arising during the process. China's Architecture in a Globalizing World: Between Socialism and the Marketoffers a lens into the innovation and uniqueness of architectural design in China. As such, this book will be useful for students and scholars of architecture, Chinese culture and society and urban studies. rchitecture in a Globalizing World: Between Socialism and the Marketoffers a lens into the innovation and uniqueness of architectural design in China. As such, this book will be useful for students and scholars of architecture, Chinese culture and society and urban studies.

New China Architecture

Author : Xing Ruan
Publisher : Periplus Editions (HK) Limited
ISBN 13 : 9780794607579
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (75 download)

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Book Synopsis New China Architecture by : Xing Ruan

Download or read book New China Architecture written by Xing Ruan and published by Periplus Editions (HK) Limited. This book was released on 2015-03-24 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Featuring hundreds of photographs and extensive commentary, this modern architecture and design book showcases the dynamic structures of today's China. by China's booming cities are evolving at a dizzying speed, and her new wealth has created a dynamic environment for architecture and construction. New China Architecture documents the spectacular transformation modern China has undergone in recent decades as the heady push to prosperity has inspired architects from China and around the globe to produce striking new designs. Award-winning professor of architecture, Xing Ruan, covers the entire range of China's most captivating new building projects—from Shanghai skyscrapers to public buildings in Beijing and Guangzhou, and from cutting-edge private homes and gleaming new airports to theaters and universities throughout China. Over the past few decades, architects, urban planners, and design aficionados everywhere have watched China's spectacular urban transformation with awe, and New China Architecture offers them a closer look at the country's most innovative new buildings.

Chang'an Avenue and the Modernization of Chinese Architecture

Author : Shuishan Yu
Publisher : University of Washington Press
ISBN 13 : 0295804483
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (958 download)

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Book Synopsis Chang'an Avenue and the Modernization of Chinese Architecture by : Shuishan Yu

Download or read book Chang'an Avenue and the Modernization of Chinese Architecture written by Shuishan Yu and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2013-01-23 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this interdisciplinary narrative, the never-ending "completion" of China's most important street offers a broad view of the relationship between art and ideology in modern China. Chang'an Avenue, named after China's ancient capital (whose name means "Eternal Peace"), is supremely symbolic. Running east-west through the centuries-old heart of Beijing, it intersects the powerful north-south axis that links the traditional centers of political and spiritual legitimacy (the imperial Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven). Among its best-known features are Tiananmen Square and the Great Hall of the People, as well as numerous other monuments and prominent political, cultural, financial, and travel-related institutions. Drawing on Chang'an Avenue's historic ties and modern transformations, this study explores the deep structure of the Chinese modernization project, providing both a big picture of Beijing's urban texture alteration and details in the design process of individual buildings. Political winds shift, architectural styles change, and technological innovations influence waves of demolition and reconstruction in this analysis of Chang'an Avenue's metamorphosis. During collective design processes, architects, urban planners, and politicians argue about form, function, and theory, and about Chinese vs. Western and traditional vs. modern style. Every decision is fraught with political significance, from the 1950s debate over whether Tiananmen Square should be open or partially closed; to the 1970s discussion of the proper location, scale, and design of the Mao Memorial/Mausoleum; to the more recent controversy over whether the egg-shaped National Theater, designed by the French architect Paul Andreu, is an affront to Chinese national pride. For more information: http://arthistorypi.org/books/chang-an

China: the New Creative Power in Architecture

Author : Chris Van Uffelen
Publisher : Braun Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9783037682678
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (826 download)

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Book Synopsis China: the New Creative Power in Architecture by : Chris Van Uffelen

Download or read book China: the New Creative Power in Architecture written by Chris Van Uffelen and published by Braun Publishing. This book was released on 2020-11-03 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: About the most important and interesting contemporary architects from China and their projects at home and abroad.

Chinese Architecture and Metaphor

Author : Jiren Feng
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 0824861167
Total Pages : 322 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (248 download)

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Book Synopsis Chinese Architecture and Metaphor by : Jiren Feng

Download or read book Chinese Architecture and Metaphor written by Jiren Feng and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2012-05-31 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Investigating the historical tradition of Chinese architectural writing from antiquity to the twelfth century, Chinese Architecture and Metaphor reveals significant and fascinating social and cultural phenomena in the most important primary text for the study of the Chinese building tradition. Unlike previous scholarship, which has reviewed this imperially commissioned architectural manual largely as a technical work, this volume considers the Yingzao fashi’s unique literary value and explores the rich cultural implications in and behind its technical content. Utilizing a philological approach, the author pays particular attention to the traditional and contemporary architectural terminology presented in the Yingzao fashi. In examining the semantic meaning of the architectural terms used in the manual, he uncovers a systematic architectural metaphor wherein bracketing elements are likened to flowers, flowering branches, and foliage: Thus pillars with bracketing above are compared to blossoming trees. More importantly, this intriguing imagery was shared by different social groups, in particular craftsmen and literati, and craftsmen themselves employed literary knowledge in naming architectural elements. Relating these phenomena to the unprecedented flourishing of literature, the literati’s greater admiration of technical knowledge, and the higher intellectual capacity of craftsmen during the Song, Architecture and Metaphor demonstrates how the learned and “unlearned” cultures entangled in the construction of architectural knowledge in premodern China. It convincingly shows that technical language served as a faithful carrier of contemporary popular culture and aesthetic concepts. Chinese Architecture and Metaphor demonstrates a high level of engagement with a broad spectrum of sophisticated Chinese sources. It will become a classic work for all students and scholars of East Asian architecture.

Designing Reform

Author : Cole Roskam
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 030023595X
Total Pages : 297 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis Designing Reform by : Cole Roskam

Download or read book Designing Reform written by Cole Roskam and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2021-11-30 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Investigating the rich architecture of post-Mao China and its broad cultural impact In the years following China's Cultural Revolution, architecture played an active role in the country's reintegration into the global economy and capitalist world. Looking at the ways in which political and social reform transformed Chinese architecture and how, in turn, architecture gave structure to the reforms, Cole Roskam underlines architecture's unique ability to shape space as well as behavior. Roskam traces how foreign influences like postmodernism began to permeate Chinese architectural discourse in the 1970s and 1980s and how figures such as Kevin Lynch, I. M. Pei, and John Portman became key forces in the introduction of Western educational ideologies and new modes of production. Offering important insights into architecture's relationship to the politics, economics, and diplomacy of post-Mao China, this unprecedented interdisciplinary study examines architecture's multivalent status as an art, science, and physical manifestation of cultural identity.

A Philosophy of Chinese Architecture

Author : David Wang
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1317505670
Total Pages : 212 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (175 download)

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Book Synopsis A Philosophy of Chinese Architecture by : David Wang

Download or read book A Philosophy of Chinese Architecture written by David Wang and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2016-12-08 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Philosophy of Chinese Architecture: Past, Present, Future examines the impact of Chinese philosophy on China’s historic structures, as well as on modern Chinese urban aesthetics and architectural forms. For architecture in China moving forward, author David Wang posits a theory, the New Virtualism, which links current trends in computational design with long-standing Chinese philosophical themes. The book also assesses twentieth-century Chinese architecture through the lenses of positivism, consciousness (phenomenology), and linguistics (structuralism and poststructuralism). Illustrated with over 70 black-and-white images, this book establishes philosophical baselines for assessing architectural developments in China, past, present and future.

Investigation on the Influence of Chinese Traditional Elements in Contemporary Building Design by Western Architects in China

Author : Razak Basri
Publisher : GRIN Verlag
ISBN 13 : 3640977998
Total Pages : 137 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (49 download)

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Book Synopsis Investigation on the Influence of Chinese Traditional Elements in Contemporary Building Design by Western Architects in China by : Razak Basri

Download or read book Investigation on the Influence of Chinese Traditional Elements in Contemporary Building Design by Western Architects in China written by Razak Basri and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2011-08 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2010 in the subject Art - Architecture / History of Construction, ( Atlantic International University ), course: Doctorate in Architecture (PhD), language: English, abstract: China is transforming in terms of economy, social, culture and physical development. Due to this, rapid urban development in China threatens the urban fabric of Chinese cities. Development has attempted to balance strong Western influences with traditional Chinese forms and has met mixed results. Although, it is already in existence of a new current of Chinese regionalism in architecture but this trend could be further improved by careful applications of the principles of architecture. This thesis presents five case studies of current Chinese completed building projects in two major urban settings; Beijing and Shanghai, designed by Western architects. Each case study is examined in each of the basic elements of architecture in relation to traditions and modern architecture. These case studies are then used as the foundation for specific recommendations for future development of contemporary Chinese architectural regionalism, in particular focusing on ways to integrate traditional or vernacular techniques, devices and forms with modern needs, modern technologies, and foreign influences in order to enhance the regional culture and built environment. There is distinction made between Beijing and Shanghai in which Beijing is more of a historic city emphasizing Chinese government, while Shanghai is more of an economic nerve of China emphasizing trade, finance and international business. Together, the two cities form the forefront of the built environment showcase of China.

Beautified China

Author : Kris Provoost
Publisher : Lannoo Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9789401461696
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (616 download)

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Book Synopsis Beautified China by : Kris Provoost

Download or read book Beautified China written by Kris Provoost and published by Lannoo Publishers. This book was released on 2019-10-07 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Beautified China shows the country's modern architecture in new light" - CNN Style Photo-Series "Provides an abstracted look at China's iconic architecture," - ArchDaily.com. This book of stunning photographs by architect and photographer Kris Provoost captures the wave of the architectural revolution in China. Internationally renowned architects such as Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Ole Scheeren, Herzog & de Meuron, Daniel Liebeskind and many others have been engaged in creative, futuristic, and flamboyant projects in China in recent years. The sky is literally the limit, both in terms of construction, use of materials and design. Unimaginable forms, which defy all rules of gravity, come to life in immense skyscrapers. Beautified China offers an overview of these revolutionary designs, capturing their surreal impact in photographs that explore the free play of form that characterises each building. The book features essays by Rem Koolhaas, Ma Yansong & Ole Scheeren, among others, and each photograph is accompanied by information pertinent to the project, including function, environment, and context. AUTHOR: Kris Provoost is a Belgian architect and photographer. After receiving his Master's in Architecture, he moved to China, where he further expanded his career. He worked for, among others, Zaha Hadid Architects & Buro Ole Scheeren. He also focuses on architectural photography. His work has previously appeared in CNN Style, Dezeen, ArchDaily, Designboom, gooood, That's Mag Beijing, Time Out Shanghai, Abduzeedo, Fubiz, and T-Magazine. SELLING POINTS: * A photo essay by Belgian architect and photographer Kris Provoost capturing the boldest and most iconic structures of the architectural revolution in China * Striking images of fantastical buildings from unexpected angles and perspectives 180 colour, 40 b/w images

Beautiful China

Author : Richard J. Weller
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781943532810
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (328 download)

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Book Synopsis Beautiful China by : Richard J. Weller

Download or read book Beautiful China written by Richard J. Weller and published by . This book was released on 2021-02-16 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beautiful China is the title of the Chinese government's broad policy to ensure the traditions and esthetics of Chinese culture not only survive as heritage but apply to contemporary society and to the future. Beautiful China is also nested within the larger policy concept of creating an "ecological civilization." Applied to a nation of over 1.3 billion people and the second most powerful economy in the world, these policies are arguably the most fascinating socio-political experiment taking place anywhere in the world today. This book is the first serious consideration of this policy and what it means for the design professions in contemporary China.

Building in China

Author : Jeffrey W Cody
Publisher : The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press
ISBN 13 : 9882378749
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (823 download)

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Book Synopsis Building in China by : Jeffrey W Cody

Download or read book Building in China written by Jeffrey W Cody and published by The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press. This book was released on 2021-01-15 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Building in China is about striking an architectural balance between the pull of monumental tradition and the push of technological novelty. Centering on the dynamic period of post-imperial and pre-Communist China, the book focuses on the building and city planning initiatives of Henry Murphy, a little-known American architect who initially ventured to China in 1914 to design a campus for the Yale-in-China programme, but who then found himself captivated by a professional and cultural challenge that lasted two decades: how to preserve China's rich architectural traditions while also designing new buildings using up-to-date Western technologies. Murphy's buildings were compromises — " wine in old bottles" as he once called them — and the book uses those "tles" as lenses through which to understand not only Murphy's quest to find a middle ground for his architecture in China, but also to gaze at a tumultuous society facing an uncertain future. Murphy's buildings were more than vessels for either aesthetic visions or technical expertise; inadvertently they became political emblems, as Chinese rulers such as Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen's son called on Murphy for city planning advice to complement their hopes for urban reconstruction. There are few serious studies of Western architects in the twentieth century who practiced in non-Western contexts, and those scant studies that have been published concentrate largely on British, French or Dutch examples in colonial settings. Hence, the book makes significant contributions to the fields of both American and Chinese architectural history.