Towards a New Normal: The Blurred Landscape of Architectural Research in China. (1st April 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, John
• Other Names: Saunt Deborah guestEditor.; Greenall Tom guestEditor.; Marcaccio Roberta guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: Architectural design. Volume 89:Number 3(2019)
• Page Start: 120
• Page End: 125
• Publication Date: 2019-04-01
• Subjects: China -- Mao Zedong -- Local Design Institutes (LDIs) -- Socialist Realism -- Tongji University -- Tongji Architecture Design Group (TJAD) -- Hong Kong -- Singapore -- Dongguan -- Guangzhou -- Vanke -- Vanke Architecture Research Centre -- Z+T Studio -- GBBN -- Zero Carbon Centre -- Wang Shu -- Chang Yung Ho -- Zhang Ke -- ZAO/standardarchitecture -- Wang Zigeng -- PILLS -- Li Xiangning -- 'critical pragmatism' -- 'post‐criticality' -- Han Tao -- Central Academy of Fine Arts -- Beijing -- THANLAB -- Chinese Academy of Oil Painting -- Pier Vittorio Aureli -- Brussels -- Dogma -- 'Cultural Workers' -- Florence Charterhouse -- Italy -- Le Corbusier -- Convent of Saint‐Marie de la Tourette -- Lyon -- France -- London School of Architecture -- WeWork -- Assemble; 729
• DOI: 10.1002/ad.2445
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-8504

Abstract

Abstract : The legacy of the Soviet era and 40 years of market‐led reform have given the Chinese architectural profession a unique profile. Architect and researcherJohn Zhang, who teaches a China‐focused studio at the University of Westminster in London, sets out its three main strands, each of which blends domains that are largely separate in the West. From state‐owned Local Design Institutes often affiliated to universities, to commercial developers with in‐house design capabilities, to a new generation of theoretically engaged architects who use their practice as means to establish their critical positions, he investigates their genealogy and approaches, and explores their pros and cons as models of architectural practice.