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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
People’s Architecture Office (PAO) has completed a public restroom in Beijing shaped by a single meandering wall. Named Amoeba Public Restroom, the project is located in Manshan Park, a popular destination in Mentougou, Beijing known for its markets, exhibitions, and music performances. Image... View full entry
OPEN Architecture has shared construction photos of its new Sun Tower project, which recently topped out in the coastal Chinese city of Yantai. The program of the 164-foot tower is divided into three parts from the ground up. The semi-outdoor theater contained at its base gives way to a mid-level... View full entry
MAD Architects has shared new images of its recently completed temporary The City of Time installation for the Aranya Theater Festival in China. The project, which ran from June 12th to June 25th in the seaside resort community, brought together 300 artists and 131 group works under one maze-like... View full entry
Construction has commenced on the MVRDV-designed Chengdu Jiaozi Courtyard Towers in the city’s financial district. The mixed-use complex comprises three office towers and a conference center sitting atop a ring-shaped plinth, with an architectural language that “recalls the traditional... View full entry
MAD Architects has shared an update on its nearly-complete China Philharmonic Concert Hall in Beijing. The project encompasses almost 280,000 square feet of total building area and features an organic two-story volume sheathed in a translucent membrane-like facade the firm says is reminiscent of a... View full entry
Heatherwick Studio has revealed the design of a new public exhibition hall in Shanghai. Named the ‘Orbit’ and located along the city’s West Bund waterfront, the scheme has been designed to be “seemingly accessible from 360 degrees.” Image credit: Heatherwick Studio Outside, the... View full entry
Shanghai-based firm 100 Architects has designed a playground in Hangzhou driven by the shape of the Chinese character Mă (马), which means horse. Graphic © 100architects Called Mă Way, the park is the latest in a series of projects by the firm that revolve around the concept of the... View full entry
Opening week for the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale wasn't short of excitement, reflection, criticism, and social commentary from the architecture community and the general public. With that said, another piece of controversial news was recently reported by the Italian news and analysis website... View full entry
Following last week’s visit to California-based McClean Design, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to Beijing this week, where we explore the work of OPEN Architecture. Founded by Li Hu and Huang Wenjing, the firm established its Beijing office in 2008 after spending some formative... View full entry
Beijing-based SYN Architects has offered a look inside their recently-completed Tiangang Village ‘Living Room’ in Baoding, China. The project saw the renovation and expansion of an existing village committee building, as well as the reactivation of surrounding buildings and outdoor spaces... View full entry
UNStudio has just unveiled plans for another new mixed-use development project in the Chinese city of Nanjing. Dubbed K.Wah G72, the scheme will enact what they call a “lifestyle waterfront community” space along the city’s Qinhuai River, with the new home of the UCCA Centre for Contemporary... View full entry
Architect and MAD founder Ma Yansong has completed an art installation set within an abandoned market in China’s Guangdong province. Titled 'Timeless Beacon,' the project sees the three-story structure wrapped in reflective film and topped with a colorful cloth covering. Image credit: Lu Yu... View full entry
China is pushing forward a draft development plan to construct some 245 new museums in its capital by the year 2035, according to reports coming out of Beijing last weekend. The plan from the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau calls for there to be a total of 460 museums by the end of the... View full entry
Inside the edifice, which resembles the monolithic housing blocks seen across China and stands as tall as the London tower that houses Big Ben, the pigs are monitored on high-definition cameras by uniformed technicians in a NASA-like command center. Each floor operates like a self-contained farm for the different stages of a young pig’s life: an area for pregnant pigs, a room for farrowing piglets, spots for nursing and space for fattening the hogs. — The New York Times
A 26-story structure is, of course, the world’s tallest free-standing pig farm, according to the Times. It will be joined by a twin hog-raising center in October. The draconian forms are evocative of the measures required by China’s status as the world’s largest consumer of pork products and... View full entry