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On May 18, 2024, the University of Pennsylvania awarded Lin Huiyin (林徽因) with an architecture degree, exactly 100 years after they refused to admit her into their undergraduate program because she was a woman. [...]
With the news of Lin’s belated degree quickly going viral on Chinese social media, her name is again in the public eye. It is therefore a good opportunity to revisit her legacy and correct the prejudice and stereotypes that have overshadowed Lin’s story.
— The World of Chinese
Lin Huiyin’s story was included in the Weitzman School’s 2022 exhibition ‘Building in China: A Century of Dialogues on Modern Architecture,’ which examined her and her classmates' influence in China after 1920. Often detracting from it are accounts of her personal life and relationship... View full entry
When asked about why skywells have caught more attention of modern Chinese people, Wang [Zhengfeng] says that the courtyard is also designed to serve as a gathering space for families or communities, and comes with ritual meanings. "Perhaps changes in the way of life could also trigger vernacular nostalgia among people living in concrete and glass forests.”
"It won't be easy to be sustainable by learning from the past without reflecting on our current behaviours."
— BBC
Lightwells are of course, a common passive cooling method in modern Western designs, but in China, their popularity is partly driven by a budding “vernacular nostalgia” for traditional features and concepts. The government’s push towards greener building standards and a 2060 net zero carbon... View full entry
What can a western architectural education do in a developing country? The legacy of one of the leading design colleges in America is being examined as such in a new exhibition called Building in China: A Century of Dialogues on Modern Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania’s Stuart... View full entry
Powerhouse Company's "Paper Roof," the new design for a reception center in Tianjin, China has been completed. The form is a transparent glass block topped by a light sweeping roof inspired by traditional Chinese architecture. Photo by Weiqi Jin Photo by Weiqi Jin Photo by Weiqi Jin The roof... View full entry
As a certified National Economic and Technological Development Zone in China, the Chengdu Science and Technology Industry Incubation Park had a planning area of 330,000 square meters. The park is positioned as a platform to help foster the growth of "health-tech" companies. One of its strategies... View full entry
Beijing-based NEXT architects, the Dutch Institute for heritage and marketing (IVEM), Smartland Architects, Total Design and a group of local artists have crafted a revitalization plan for the historic village of Dafang in China's Jiangxi Province. As part of an effort to... View full entry
A government statement says "plagiarising, imitating, and copycatting" designs is prohibited in new public facilities.
The statement says buildings "reveal a city's culture" - and that "large, foreign, and weird" designs should be limited.
The guidelines also clamp down on new skyscrapers - limiting them, in general, to a maximum of 500 metres.
— BBC
A new government directive released jointly by China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and National Development and Reform Commission seeks to halt the further spread of Western-inspired copycat architecture, a common appearance in many Chinese cities. Duplitecture definition from... View full entry
Wang Shu and his wife, Lu Wenyu, of China’s Amateur Architecture Studio want to protect Chinese culture and history by returning to artisanal building techniques and the use of materials such as natural stone, wood and bamboo. Wang Shu’s rejection of what he calls “professional, soulless architecture” has almost become a war cry. That kind of architecture, he believes, is ruining China. — South China Morning Post
Amateur Architecture Studio focuses on creating work that transcends the black and white divide of traditional and modern architecture. The duo have made it their mission to bring back handmade work and natural materials into modernization. China Academy of Art Xiangshan Campus by Amateur... View full entry
As the Pritzker Prize marks its 40th anniversary with the upcoming 2018 edition, the award which has come to be known internationally as architecture’s highest honor welcomes two new members to its jury: architect and 2012 Laureate Wang Shu and André Aranha Corrêa do Lago. They will... View full entry
“Everybody in China has been moved to a new location or a new city, new town, new apartment... But with such a big movement, or revolutionary change, there is very little discussion or very little meaningful challenge — intellectual challenge — about what architecture is in this fast developing society.”
Despite the country's building boom, Ai says that the state of China's architectural philosphy has largely remained stagnant because conversation is stifled.
— asiasociety.org
Ai Weiwei, along with former ambassador to China Uli Sigg, journalist Martin Meyer, and Jacques Herzog, discussed architecture's role in contemporary Chinese society as part of a panel hosted by Asia Society Switzerland. Weiwei referred to architecture alongside any aesthetic discussions, as... View full entry
Back in February, the Chinese central government demanded an end to all mainland construction of buildings that are “oversized”, “xenocentric” or “weird” and a move toward architecture that is “pleasing to the eye”.
Fast forward five months, and a 12-story toilet has been built in Henan province.
— the Independent
Ironically enough, the building is home to the North China Water Conservancy and Electric Power company.For more on the state of architecture in China, check out these links:China plans to build an underwater "space station" in the South China SeaMegatall Shanghai Tower receives CTBUH signboard... View full entry
Across the continent, Chinese companies are building highways, railways, sports stadiums, mass housing complexes, and sometimes entire cities.
But China isn’t just providing the manpower to fuel quickly urbanizing African cities. It is exporting its own version of urbanization, creating cities and economic zones that look remarkably similar to Chinese ones.
— qz.com
Related in the Archinect News:Urban China: Chinese Urbanism in AfricaA Look at Africa's Modernist ArchitectureAdmire the diversity of African vernacular architecture in this growing online database View full entry
The Hebei Academy of Fine Arts in China’s Hebei Province has constructed a new campus in Xinle City that, rather than resembling local architecture, adheres more to Gothic and European styles. Specifically, it bears a striking resemblance to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. [...]
But the new building is actually called “Cinderella’s Castle,” and was modeled on structures from medieval Europe. Unfortunately, the building has little to do with Cinderella or Hogwarts.
— Entertainment Weekly
Previously: Chinese Colleges Are Trying to Look Like the Ivy League View full entry
As money has piled up in recent decades, Chinese are turning to culture and the country is in a museum-building boom. Last year one museum was built every day on average, though the rush has since “slowed” to about one every three days, says Cathy Giangrande, co-author with Miriam Clifford and Antony White of the “Chinese Museums Association Guide,” an updated version of their 2009 book “China: Museums.” — NY Times
EMG set up EMGdotART Foundation [in 2012] – the first art and culture foundation established by a Chinese enterprise, to have a permanent gallery and headquarters in the heart of Venice, Italy."More than roofs, doors, courtyards or staircases, adaptation is fundamental for the understanding of... View full entry
