A History of Design Institutes in China

A History of Design Institutes in China
Author: Charlie Q. L. Xue
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2018-07-11
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 135135678X

A History of Design Institutes in China examines the intricate relationship between design institutes, the state, and, in later periods, the market economy through a carefully situated discussion of significant theoretical and historical issues including socialist utopia, collective and individual design, structural transformation, and architectural exportation, amongst others. It shows how, over the past six decades, China’s design institutes have served the state’s strategy for socialist construction and urbanisation to create socioeconomic and cultural value. Through first-hand research, authors Xue and Ding reveal how the tensions between pragmatism, creativity, collaboration, and resistance have played a crucial role in defining architectural production. Appealing to academics, researchers, and graduate students, this book provides a much-needed contribution to the discourse on architectural history, building practices, and policymaking in contemporary China.

China's Design Revolution

China's Design Revolution
Author: Lorraine Justice
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2012
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 0262017423

The evolution of Chinese design and the major shift in the culture of creativity in a post-Mao China. China is on the verge of a design revolution. A "third generation" of the People's Republic of China that came of age during China's "opening up" period of the 1980s now strives for fame, fortune, and self expression. This generation, workers in their thirties and forties, has more freedom to create--and to consume--than their parents or grandparents. In China's Design Revolution, Lorraine Justice maps the evolution of Chinese design and innovation. Justice explains that just as this "third generation" (post-Revolution, post-Cultural Revolution) reaches for self-expression, China's government is making massive investments in design and innovation, supporting design and creative activities (including design education programs, innovation parks, and privatized companies) at the local and national levels. The goal is to stimulate economic growth--and to establish China as a global creative power. Influenced by Mao and Confucius, communism and capitalism, patriotism and cosmopolitanism, China's third generation will drive the culture of design and innovation in China--and maybe the rest of the world. Justice describes and documents examples of Chinese design and innovation that range from ancient ceramics to communist propaganda posters. She then explores current award-winning projects in media, fashion, graphic, interior, and product design; and examines the lifestyle and purchasing trends of the "fourth generation," now in their teens and twenties. China's Design Revolution offers an essential guide to the inextricably entwined stories of design, culture, and politics in China.

Exporting Chinese Architecture

Exporting Chinese Architecture
Author: Charlie Qiuli Xue
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2022-08-18
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9811927863

This book studies the unexplored history of China-aided architecture erected in the developing world since the 1950s. By 2019, over 1,000 buildings had been delivered to more than 160 countries, including parliament houses, convention centers, stadiums, gymnasiums, theaters, schools, hospitals, libraries, railways, and stations. These projects, which have played a significant role in promoting economic transformation, cultural engagement and social and environmental well-being, have largely been overlooked or misunderstood by the international community. Why did China donate so many foreign-aid buildings? How were these buildings built in the remote land of developing countries with intricate influences and limited resources? Have they helped modernize the recipient countries? The authors of this book use a wide range of representative projects built in different historic periods and geographical locations as case studies to address the above questions from various perspectives. This book fills an enormous gap in modern architecture in China and the world. It offers architectural students and scholars in various disciplines the necessary knowledge on "diplomatic architecture"; informs architects the appropriate methods of cross-border design and low-tech building; teaches government officials the best practice of donating and receiving foreign-aid buildings; and enhances public awareness of cultural diversity in Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Latin America. With abundant first-hand materials, historical pictures, and drawings, the book is a must-read for those who are interested in modern architecture and developmental aid in the world. China’s architecture abroad, notably in Africa and Asia, has been perceived with both fascination and anxiety. Based on a wealth of sources often difficult to access for scholars from outside China, this book links the history and present of China’s architectural mobilities in ways that will stimulate new debates in architectural history and urban studies. - Łukasz Stanek, Professor of Architectural History, The University of Manchester, UK

China Homegrown

China Homegrown
Author: Andong Lu
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 150
Release: 2019-02-07
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1119375975

Today, architecture in China is at a watershed. Over the last decade, rapid urbanisation and the burgeoning economy turned the country into a playground for the world’s signature architects, making it possible to realise extravagant forms and structures at a vast scale. The Chinese government has now drawn a line under this phenomenon by issuing a directive calling an end to the ‘oversized, xenocentric, weird’ buildings devoid of character or cultural heritage that have sprung up across the country, requiring that urban architecture be 'suitable, economic, green and pleasing to the eye'. This government directive comes at a time when homegrown architecture has become increasingly self-assured and reflective in its approach. A new generation of architects in China in their 30s and 40s are emerging, and in a wholly contemporary way they are exploring local responses to often bewildering urban and rural conditions and serious social and environmental challenges. This is often expressed through a revival of interest in traditional street patterns, courtyards and gardens. At the same time, architects are also recognising the opportunities to harness the potential of China’s established manufacturing base to develop prefabricated building systems. Innovative practices are employing new modes of working, such as research-based studio teaching and exhibitions, field workshops, cross-disciplinary collaboration, laboratory-based practice, design think-tanks and collective projects, generating a vibrant culture of design research. Contributors: Lu Feng, Murray Fraser, Xiao Fu and Wei You, Xiahong Hua and Shen Zhuang, Xinggang Li, Yichun Liu, James Shen, Yehao Song, Hui Wang, Shuo Wang, Xin Wang and Qiuye Jin, Philip F Yuan and Xiang Wang, Li Zhang, Xin Zhang and Jingxiang Zhu. Featured architects: Archi-Union Architects, Atelier Archmixing, Atelier Deshaus, Atelier Li Xinggang, Integrated Architecture Studio, LanD Studio, META-Project, People's Architecture Office, SUP Atelier, URBANUS and Zaoyuan Gardening Studio

Designing Reform

Designing Reform
Author: Cole Roskam
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2021-11-30
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 030023595X

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.

Hong Kong Architecture 1945-2015

Hong Kong Architecture 1945-2015
Author: Charlie Q. L. Xue
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2016-06-13
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9811010048

This book focuses on the transformation from colonial to global – the formation, mechanism, events, works and people related to urban architecture. The book reveals hardships the city encountered in the 1950s and the glamour enjoyed in the 1980s. It depicts the public and private developments, and especially the public housing which has sheltered millions of residents. The author identifies the architects practising in the formative years and the representatives of a rising generation after the 1980s. Suffering from land shortage and a dense environment, the urban development of Hong Kong has in the past 70 years met the changing demands of fluctuating economic activities and a rising population. Architecture on the island has been shaped by social demands, the economy and technology. The buildings have been forged by the government, clients, planners, architects, many contractors and end-users. The built environment nurtures our life and is visual evidence of the way the city has developed. Hong Kong is a key to East Asia in the Pacific Era. The book is a must-read for a thorough understanding the contemporary history and architecture of this oriental pearl. Endorsement: “Hong Kong sets an extreme example of hyper-density living. MTR’s Kowloon Station project offered my firm the unique opportunity to contribute to a new type of fully integrated three dimensional transport mega-structure, conceived as a well-connected place for people to live, work and play. Through Charlie Xue’s book, one can see how a compact city works and high density integrated development indicates a sustainable path for modern city making.” Sir Terry Farrell, CBE, Principal, Farrells "Well researched and refreshingly well structured, Charlie Xue's latest book comprehensively shows how Hong Kong's post-war urban architecture both tracks and symbolizes the former British colony's rise to success - a must read for architecture and culture buffs alike." Peter G. Rowe, Raymond Garbe Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor. “An essential addition to the growing literature on Chinese architecture, the title of the book belies the full scope of Xue’s extensive history. Covering Hong Kong’s postwar transition from defeated colony to Pacific Age power house, Xue expertly traces the evolution of the city’s ambitious and innovative programs of integrated high density urban design and infrastructure, as well as changing architectural fashions. In a time when many Western governments have all but abandoned public housing programs, Xue’s book is a timely reminder of what can be achieved.” Professor Chris Abel, author of Architecture and Identity, Architecture, technology and process and The Extended Self.“/p>

Chinese Silks

Chinese Silks
Author: Juanjuan Chen
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012
Genre: Silk
ISBN: 9780300111033

The first comprehensive history of China's most luxurious textile and its enduring influence on Chinese civilization and art Over the past fifty years, archaeological explorations in China have unearthed a wealth of textile materials, some dating as far back as five thousand years. In this magnificently researched and illustrated book, preeminent Western and Chinese scholars draw upon these spectacular discoveries to provide the most thorough account of the history of silk ever written. Encyclopedic in breadth, the volume presents a chronological history of silk from a variety of perspectives, including archaeological, technological, art historical, and aesthetic. The contributors explore the range of uses for silk, from the everyday to the sublime. By directly connecting recently found textile artifacts to specific references in China's vast historical literature, they illuminate the evolution of silk making and the driving social forces that have inspired the creation of innovative textiles through the millennia. Published in association with the Foreign Languages Press, Beijing

Contemporary Urban Design Thoughts in China

Contemporary Urban Design Thoughts in China
Author: Jin Duan
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2022-07-08
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9811909415

This book proposes and systematically discusses four trends of thoughts in contemporary Chinese urban design. As the first book to systematically introduce contemporary Chinese urban design thoughts, this book objectively displays the macroscopic picture of contemporary urban design development of China from the time dimension, sorting out seven historical stages and three disputes. This book is mainly divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the vertical description, taking the major events in the seven historical stages as the context, combing the macro picture of the development of contemporary urban design in China in the last 100 years, and describing the three controversies in this process: contention, subject, and legalization. The second part focuses on horizontal observations, puts forward and systematically discusses the four trends of thought formed in the development of contemporary urban design in China, including “Design of Form,” “Synthesis of Design,” “Control of Design,” and “Design of Rule”. This part discusses their development background, theoretical support, and key concepts in detail and finally conducts critical thinking. The whole book is based on historical events, archives, and papers published in Chinese academic journals. While sorting out, summarizing, and objectively discussing, it also makes a critique of urban design activities and academic thinking in China, which will greatly benefit scholars and readers who are interested in urban design history of contemporary China.