China s Twenty First Century New Urban Experiment:

Transcription

1 China s Twenty First Century New Urban Experiment: The Architectural Dynamics between Rem Koolhaas Globaliza on and Wang Shu s Localiza on within the Built Environment Kimberly Michelle Irby Submi ed in Par al Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Architectural History at The Savannah College of Art and Design August, 2013 Kimberly Michelle Irby The author hereby grants SCAD permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic thesis copies of document in whole or in part in any medium now known or herea er created. Signature of Author and Date Dr. David Gobel Commi ee Chair (Sign here) (Date here) Dr. Patrick Haughey Commi ee Member (Sign here) (Date here) Dr. Thomas Gensheimer Commi ee Member (Sign here) (Date here)

2 China s Twenty First Century New Urban Experiment: The Architectural Dynamics between Rem Koolhaas Globaliza on and Wang Shu s Localiza on within the Built Environment A Thesis Submi ed to the Faculty of the Architectural History Department in Par al Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts in Architectural History Savannah College of Art and Design By Kimberly Michelle Irby Savannah, GA August, 2013

3 Table of Contents ABSTRACT... 1 INTRODUCTION.. 2 CHANGES IN EASTERN CHINA (LATE 20TH 21ST CENTURY). 5 REM KOOLHAAS & GLOBALIZATION WANG SHU & LOCALIZATION CONCLUSIONS WORKS CITED ILLUSTRATIONS

4 China s Twenty-First Century New Urban Experiment: The Architectural Dynamics between Rem Koolhaas Globalization and Wang Shu s Localization within the Built Environment Kimberly M. Irby August 2013 Abstract: This thesis investigates two competing approaches to building in early twenty-first-century China by analyzing the works, theories, and writings of Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas and native architect, Wang Shu. Their respective contributions reflect the unprecedented and revolutionary architectural and urbanistic changes that started in the mid-twentieth century and are continuing today in China. During this period of rapid economic growth, the construction of new cities and massive building projects have created a void in the social, cultural, and environmental development within China s new cities. Both Koolhaas and Wang address these changes in their work and theories, yet they do so in different ways. Examining their work allows us to ask informed questions about the future development of Chinese and global architecture and urbanism. 1

5 The true grandeur of a city depends on the intelligence of its built organization and social relations and on the connections between its public spaces, on the beauty of its monuments, and finally on the wisdom with which we exploit its natural resources in the interest of its population. It depends, above all, on how the population identifies itself with the present and the past. 1 ~ Leon Krier INTRODUCTION In recent years China has become a global focal point for architecture, urbanism, and city planning. Progress and innovation are everywhere apparent in China. In their attempt to become a world power, the Chinese are creating cities at overwhelming rates and magnitudes, to the extent that, according to some critics, they are creating an entirely new generation of cities. 3 Technological innovation has become a determining factor in a race to see who can build bigger, taller, and faster. Mega-scale projects initiated by the Chinese government have a high impact on the built environment; not only have they dismantled traditional neighborhoods and cultures, they have displaced millions of innocent people. A process conceived by a desire for economic growth has over time neglected the socio-cultural aspects of urban life. Hyper-architecture has replaced the traditional city as a means of achieving global recognition. Among many architects and engineers seeking to leave their mark on the revolutionary explosion of mega architecture and urbanism in China, Rem Koolhaas and Wang Shu stand out as exceptional. Koolhaas, one of the most celebrated architects, urbanists and theorists of the present age, has contributed much by way of his building projects and his writings, to advance a new globalized paradigm for building in China. Wang Shu has, likewise, through his buildings and teaching, promoted a vision for contemporary Chinese architecture and urbanism, but his 1 Text of a television address by Leon Krier, Een oproep aan de bevolking van Luxemburg (An appeal to the people of Luxemburg). J. Vos and J. van der Meer, Leon en Rob Krier. Tu Delft, 1979, quoted in S. Umberto Barbieri and Leen van Duin, eds., A Hundred Years of Dutch Architecture Trends Highlights, (Rotterdam: NAi Publishers, 2003), Jeffrey Johnson, China: Today s Future City?, (lecture, SCAD Lecture series, Savannah, Georgia, January 31, 2013). 2

6 more localized approach based on Chinese architectural traditions and philosophy, stands in sharp contrast to the globalism of Koolhaas. It is noteworthy that both Koolhaas and Wang are recipients of the American-based Pritizker Prize, recognized by many in architectural design community as the discipline s most prestigious award. This thesis compares and contrasts the work of these two celebrated architects in the light of social, cultural and economic changes taking place in China today. The purpose of this comparison is to address a question posed by the Pritzker Prize Jury in its comments about Wang Shu s work: The question of the proper relation of present to past is particularly timely, for the recent process of urbanization in China invites debate as to whether architecture should be anchored in tradition or should look only toward the future. 4 To address this question, I begin by summarizing the scope of the writings, theories, and experimental practices of Rem Koolhaas and Wang Shu that are involved in producing the new urban environment in China. I will then attempt to contextualize their work by highlighting environmental, social, cultural, preservation, and economic factors that are shaping architectural practice in China. I will also explore the extent to which their work addresses humanizing qualities in the built environment. As unprecedented rapid transformations are unfolding, China is creating a new globalized identity by showing its power to the world through megastructure design and mega-city approach. The events that started several decades ago have escalated to the Japanese born Metabolist/Megastructure approach. The lavish architectural and urban experiments of today are designed by celebrity architects from the West and sponsored by Chinese political leaders are replacing traditional urban landscapes. Included among the foreign architects awarded projects 4 The Pritzker Architecture Prize, Biography, (accessed 2/4/2013), 5. 3

7 are, Norman Foster, Herzog & de Meuron, Paul Andreu, Zaha Hadid, and Rem Koolhaas. Each of these architects has brought their starchitect quality and megastructural designs to China s urban milieu. Rem Koolhaas s Chinese Central Television Building (CCTV) in Beijing, labeled as the second largest office building in the world, is a prime example to the urban changes in China. 5 Its abnormal shape and megastructural scale juxtaposed to the historic architecture of Beijing accentuate the massive and radical developments occurring in China s urban landscape (Figures 1 & 2). Native architect, Wang Shu, is working on a localized level attempting to bring back Chinese culture through his architecture. Wang Shu is quickly gaining recognition in China and throughout the world as one of China s leading architects. In 2012, he became the first Chinese to win a Pritzker Prize. The projects by Wang exemplify a tectonic approach with minimalist treatment of materials, an analytical opening of tectonic relations, and a focus on space and spatial experience with a careful use of light, texture and space in between, according to Jianfei Zhu. 6 Wang stands out not only for his contemporary architectural designs, but most importantly, for what he is trying to achieve. Over the past several decades China has emerged architecturally into radical changes with much emphasis on economic growth and globalization. What is concerning about this situation is the lack of their own Chinese culture influencing the architecture and urban infrastructure in order to create a more livable city. For Wang Shu, it is time to bring the culture and social aspects back to China. According to Wang, the biggest problem for China now is not about the economy -- it is about the fact that people have lost 5 Calum Macleod, China Puts Twist on Traditional Skyscrapper, USA Today, January 17, 2008, under World, (accessed February 4, 2012). 6 Jianfei Zhu, Architecture of Modern China: A Historical Critique, (New York: Routledge, 2009),

8 confidence in their culture. 7 The challenges that are being faced in an ever-growing global society are prescribing traditional, cultural, and social architectural characteristics to Chinese cities during the twenty-first century. CHANGES IN EASTERN CHINA (LATE 20 TH 21 ST CENTURY) With more people leaving the rural land and migrating toward the city for a new life, China has rapidly converted its landscape into a megacity conglomeration. China, through decades of political upheaval has purposefully demolished houses and displaced people in order to become a substantial economic powerhouse. Land that was once a major source of agricultural production is rapidly being urbanized. Since the mid-1900s there has been a steady shift in China s population from rural to urban. Based on census data for 2011, for the first time, the population peaked to fifty-one percent who are now living in urban developments compared to the forty-eight percent living in rural areas. This is a significant increase considering that only ten percent lived in an urban setting in Major urban alterations and socio-cultural upheaval began to take place as the Communist Party took over in 1949 under Mao Zedong. Cities transformed from small, hierarchical, administrative centers as derived in traditional Chinese urban developments to industrial sites scattered haphazardly throughout the urban fabric. The Socialist movement that emerged in China at this time was heavily influenced by Soviet planning patterns and architecturally by the Beaux-Arts Movement. These extensive changes destroyed much of 7 Wang Shu, China s Wang Shu: From Builder to Prizker-winning architect, under Human to Hero, (accessed 2/13/2013). 8 National Bureau of Statistics, China

9 China s cultural heritage making way for ring roads, industrialization, and work-unit compounds (danwei). 9 The newly applied spatial patterns altered the social and working organization within the city. The poor use of land planning allowed for industrial sites to locate within the city center and residential neighborhoods creating little to no separation of work and livable space. 10 This may have provided more efficient means to control society and work production. This method of industrial town planning was the progeny of eighteenth-century planning as expressed, for example, in Claude Nicholas Ledoux s ideal city of Chaux, the Royal Saltworks at Arc-et- Senans. Based on the design, the danwei consisted of approximately ninety percent of the entire urban population. 11 Another method of control by Mao was the implementation of the registration card hukou which was designed to limit the freedom of movement to and from the city and country. The hukou and danwei both designated a certain yield to the population within the city that would lead to poor development in urban growth and eventually become static. In addition to these urban changes was the occurrence of the Cultural Revolution ( ), in which Mao ordered the destruction of the Four Olds - old customs, culture, habits, and ideas. 12 As leader during the Cultural Revolution Mao s philosophy was, without destruction, there can be no construction. 13 This tabula-rasa attitude led to the wide-scale erasure of various architectural and urban traditions. Though attempts of preservation were made by Chinese architects, the political leaders had different plans and were not interested in 9 Thomas J. Campanella, The Concrete Dragon: China s Urban Revolution and What it Means for the World, (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008), Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., Kate O rff, Landscape: Zhuhai, in Project on the City 1: Great Leap Forward, ed. Chuihua Judy Chung, Jeffrey Inaba, Rem Koolhaas, and Sze Tsung Leong, (Cambridge, MA: Taschen GmbH, 2001),

10 preserving the past. With these changes came the closing of schools and universities, this created a large generation gap in architects and architectural practices. Coming out of the Cultural Revolution after the death of Mao presented a huge challenge for Deng Xiaoping who was faced with the task of undoing the ravage produced by decades of political upheaval. The socialist ideology of social and spatial equality that was administered by Mao appeared no longer relevant during the Reform Era starting in The Reform Era consisted of efforts to reshape the chaotic mess created by Mao. Efforts involved the release of hukou controlling the flow of migration into the cities and the elimination of the danwei to make way for the urban transformation into a globalized economy; both actions altered the urban landscape more severely than before. This period brought rapid urban growth and with it, the problems of urbanization, including traffic congestion, pollution, and overcrowding, as the governmental shift away from social concerns and directed its efforts toward economic development. Deng s interest in the late twentieth century was to catapult China into the modern world. By the early 1980s global trade was becoming more relevant in the force of modernization by way of better and faster technology. As China emerged from the Cultural Revolution, in which identity was drastically severed from traditional culture, the new political leaders attempted to implement identity through globalization, an attitude that heavily influenced architectural representations. With an influx of Western architects practicing in China in the late twentieth century, the changes had a prominent role on the style of architecture. The popular Beaux-Arts style that reached China in the 1920s had maintained its popularity throughout the Socialist era and at the beginning of the Reform Era. I.M. Pei attempted to re-create China s identity through this very 7

11 style with a hint of contemporary flare. In an interview with the Harvard Asia Pacific, Pei points out that the initial design as attributed by the government was to entail a tall building within the confines of the city next to the Forbidden City which Pei found to create a discontinuity with traditional harmony. 14 Pei compromised and designed Fragrant Hill Hotel on the outskirts of Beijing between 1979 and Traditional aspects were emulated and mixed with contemporary features to create a new vernacular style of architecture as a way to return cultural identity to China through architectural characteristics (Figures 3-6). Unfortunately, the prospect for a return to cultural roots through the new vernacular movement was short-lived because it did not fit as an appropriate style for the country s march toward globalization. 15 The Beaux-Arts style that first appeared in the 1920s and continued into the early 1980s was no longer fashionable. Though the western presence was highly favorable, the interest now projected towards economic development. The heightened emphasis on global architecture was made possible by the open-door policy. In the 1980s western architects and technology were permitted into China whereby new cities were created and enhanced. Deng s open-door policy generated the enthusiasm to start experimental cities incorporating Special Economic Zones that would spur better regulations on spatial planning. After ten years of experiments and city development the implementation of other architectural and urban incentives began as part of globalizing China; many of these initiatives include: Satellite towns, megablock development, the concept of the megalopolis, and the central business district. 14 I.M. Pei, Finding Roots, Harvard Asia Pacific Review, summer 1997, (accessed April 28, 2013). 15 Linda Vlassenrood, Making Change Sensible, in China Contemporary, trans. Robyn de Jong-Dalziel, (NAi Publishers, 2006), 33. 8

12 Starting in the 1990s symbols of globalization started appearing as satellite towns and themed park cities. 16 This sprawl of suburbs replicates entire Western towns in what Fulong Wu calls transplanting cityscapes. In the changes after the socialist era Wu considers these transplanting cityscapes as a socially constructed process which envisages globalization as the core of social change. 17 This imagined globalization process through mimicking Western cities is applicable to what he constitutes as a means of social transformation from the socialist danwei to the bourgeois state of living (Figures 7-9). Delving even deeper into the understanding of these satellite cities we can draw from Dieter Hassenpflug in his work, The Urban Code of China. Here Hassenpflug differentiates and generalizes the urban characteristics and qualities of these peripheral cities. Many of the satellite cities and theme parks appear in areas surrounding the city center to generate a pattern of One City with multiple radiating Villages or satellite cities. 18 This could be experienced in a similar manner to the Western methods of Traditional Neighborhoods or New Urbanism; however, in China this has become part of the marketing campaign for branding. 19 These satellite towns, as extensions of the various new cities, have become part of the revitalization process in China s global economic plan. The scale of these towns combined with a gated neighborhood community brings forward a setting that creates the image of high quality living. This has become an appealing aspect and selling point of the satellite towns. As part of the globalization process, Wu states, basing their imagination on Western lifestyles seems more 16 Campanella, Fulong Wu, Transplanting Cityscapes: The Use of Imagined Globalization in Housing Commodification in Beijing, Area, (2004), (accessed May 19, 2013). 18 Dieter Hassenpflug, Urban Fictions, in The Urban Code of China, trans. Mark Kammerbauer, (Birkhauser GmbH: Basel, 2010), Ibid., 63. 9

13 effective way to open the niche market. 20 Globalization has had a prominent influence on the built environment not only in the suburbs, but in the city--in some cases, the megacity--where new urban environments are built to meet the demand brought by massive population growth, but also to devise another component to China s branding. Architecture in various facets of the world has come to represent global power and with the help of starchitects. The city has become a morphing agent to meet the economic needs of world trade, advanced communication and an increasing population. Located in the heart of the new cities are megastructures, which help to define the Central Business District (CBD), another representative of China s initiative and Special Economic Zones. In order to achieve most of these initiatives the razing of existing structures and towns has wreaked havoc on the cultural landscape. As part of the redevelopment process in Singapore, the entire city was razed and started anew after release from British rule in The urban renewal program applied by the new governmental regime in Singapore became an urban experiment as the city quickly turned into a test bed of the tabula rasa. 22 In 1995 Rem Koolhaas wrote a poetic essay titled, Singapore Songlines, which provided a description and analysis of Singapore s urban transformation and called for Asian acceptance to megastructure architecture. This analysis is important to understanding urbanization and change in Asian culture addressing the augmentation of a rapid urban population. At the time Singapore Songlines was written, approximately 80% of the Chinese population was rural. 23 Today, that percentage is almost half-and-half, with fifty-one 20 Wu, (accessed May 19, 2013). 21 Rem Koolhaas, Singapore Songlines, in S M L XL, 2nd ed. (New York: Monacelli Press, 1997), Ibid., Ibid.,

14 percent of the people now residing in urban areas to rural. 24 Within his review and synopsis of Singapore, Kooolhaas predicts the changes that will apply to the new urban milieu throughout China. Koolhaas claims, there will be new Singapores across the entire mainland. Its model will be the stamp of China s modernization. 25 This prediction, in conjunction with his research on the Pearl River Delta, has held true. Shenzhen, part of the Pearl River Delta, was another experimental laboratory under the reign of Deng Xiaoping in late twentieth century at the introduction of the Open Door Policy. 26 The implications set forth in the urban experiment demonstrated building practices similar to the occurrences in Singapore. The razing of current infrastructure and the speed of construction with the use of prefabricated materials became a rallying point for a modernized China. Modern techniques, such as the curtain wall, methods already well-established in the West were becoming the symbol for modernization and technological advancement throughout China. 27 The consequence of these advancements not only affects the environment, but society as a whole. In Koolhaas research conducted by students at Harvard Design School on the Pearl River Delta indicated that architecture in China is no longer a function for human society, rather a reflection of economic desire and mostly emphasizes, quantitative measures like construction volume, capital investment, construction time, cost, and profit return National Bureau of Statistics, China 2012, (accessed February 22, 2013). 25 Koolhaas, Singapore Songlines, Rem Koolhaas, Content, (Los Angeles: Taschen, 2004), Nancy Lin, Architecture: Shenzhen, in Project on the City 1: Great Leap Forward, ed. Chuihua Judy Chung, Jeffrey Inaba, Rem Koolhaas, and Sze Tsung Leong, (Cambridge, MA: Taschen GmbH, 2001), Ibid.,

15 REM KOOLHAAS & GLOBALIZATION Rem Koolhaas is one of the leading architects in incorporating these means into the built environment and has played various and significant roles in China, in addition to his research, analysis, and interpretation about Singapore and Pearl River Delta. His designs exemplify the fast pace of growing business districts and are demonstrated by his genius on urban planning, architecture, and social and economic development. Koolhaas has created a philosophy that lends itself to a new form of new urbanism. One that is created in the mindset of bigness developing within the urban fabric generating new forms and new spaces that work in opposition to the laws of architecture where form no longer follows function. Koolhaas does not shy away from the abnormal, he sets forth a practice that not only enhances, but also questions the various realms of architecture - only through Bigness can architecture disassociate itself from the exhausted artistic/ideological movements of modernism and formalism to regain its instrumentality as vehicle of modernization. 29 Koolhaas declaration on the city strives to inoculate it from stagnation; as it is constantly evolving and should stay fresh. The landscape becomes free from the controlling planners and is allowed to mature naturally. As stated by Okwui Enwezor the architect must not become the hermeneutic savant of space, but operate in it like a virus, between forms, social conditions, economic structures, political ideologies. 30 The methods and practice of Rem Koolhaas in urban redevelopment allows the city to reshape itself and to become new again. An interesting aspect of his notion about bigness is that eventually the building becomes the city, that is, the 29 Rem Koolhaas, Bigness, in S, M, L, XL, (New York: The Monacelli Press, Inc, 1995), Okwui Enwezor, Terminal Modernity: Rem Koolhaas s Discourse on Entropy, in Considering Rem Koolhaas and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, ed. Patteeuw, Veronique, (Rotterdam: NAi Publishers, 2004),

16 building is the city or the representation of the city. 31 This is particularly true for many of his designs, but is best expressed in the CCTV building built in Beijing and completed in 2012, which will be discussed in further detail later in this paper. The city has become the reflection of a fast-paced society and its architecture has become the symbol of power in the economic landscape. Acting as a vehicle of modernization, Koolhaas turned to the megastructure concept to demonstrate the possibilities of creating a hybrid, utopian, globalized city. The idea of the megastructure is not a new concept to the Asian community. The term megastructure was first coined by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki in his book Investigations in Collective Form in With the influence of Kenzo Tange, the megastructure was interpreted as a mass-human scale form which includes a Mega-form, and discrete, rapidly-changing functional units which fit within the larger framework. 32 The style produced and created by the Japanese was essentially their answer to the modern movement and thus started the Japanese Metabolist school of megastructuralists. 33 The Metabolist group became the catalyst in megastructural developments in which, design and technology should be a denotation of human vitality. 34 Koolhaas is a product of this megastructure boom of the 1960s, which helps explain his support of the new urban methods portrayed through the megacity concepts of bigness and New Urbanism. Sanford Kwinter, a professor with Koolhaas at Harvard University s Graduate School of Design defends this stance; Bigness he calls soft urbanism, meaning that the urban environment is, dynamic flexible, ad hoc, rule-based urbanism free of controlling obsession 31 Koolhaas, Bigness, Reyner Banham, Megastructure: Urban Futures of the Recent Past, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1976), Ibid., Rem Koolhaas and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Project Japan: Metabolism Talks, (Taschen, 2011),

17 with certainty, predictability, or performance. 35 Urbanism now creates a free flowing state that does not conform to any one rule, but is allowed to act under whatever condition it may be presented with, and is free to change with time. Drawing from the Japanese and the metabolist point of view, it was recognized that the megastructure was suitable for preparing for increasing population densities and as Koolhaas states, freer ways to organizing congestion. 36 The concept of big and re-creating an urban center with a strong identity could be as Kwinter states, an important new concept and may well be the place where the new urbanism begins. 37 If this is the case then the true identity of place could become lost. The loss of contextualization through globalization and the megastructure creates a homogenous architecture that eventually impacts the cultural identity of place. Even Koolhaas believes that the language of architecture has disappeared through the process of globalization. 38 The homogenization and stripping of urban identity constitutes what Koohaas considers a Generic City. The process is most apparent after portions of the city are razed for various reasons to make way for new development. The notion of the tabula rasa, as seen more often in China and Asian cities, leaves a generous blank canvas for architects to work with. This is part of the reason China has become so appealing to architects as the city has become their experimental urban laboratory. The hazards behind the idea of a generic city wipes away its historic past; this became most evident in Singapore and Shenzhen, two of China s more viable experimental laboratories. 35 Sanford Kwinter, Politics and Pastoralism, Assemblage, No. 27, Tulane Papers: The Politics of Contemporary Architectural Discourse, (Aug. 1995), Koolhaas, Singapore Songlines, Kwinter, Paul Fraioli, Reinventing the City: An Interview with architect Rem Koolhaas. Journal of International Affairs Spring/Summer (2012), issue The Future of the City. (accessed January 2013). 14

18 Today, Beijing is vying for global recognition and is starting to take part in the new urban experiments with Rem Koolhaas leading the way with his megastructure development of the new CCTV building. In 2002, Rem Koolhaas won the commission to create the Chinese Central Television (CCTV), CCTV Media Park, and CCTV Service Building in the heart of Beijing s Central Business District (Figures 10-11). These buildings are all part of China s revitalization process in the Central Business District (CBD). The elaborate complex has accommodations for TV making production studios, business offices, a theater-hospitality center, a hotel, shopping, restaurants, and a media park. 39 His perception about big is not about height; with the CCTV building, his interest was developing a work environment that allowed for the most efficient human function and interaction within the buildings. During this process, Koolhaas wanted to avoid the typical vertical skyscraper; instead in the design for the CCTV headquarters he applied geometric forms to create a protruding three-dimensional skyscraper. 40 The Deconstructivist methods used to design the CCTV building create a workable space for employees with unobstructed land below, allowing for open urban space below and a new identity for Beijing s Business District. The interior environment he created looks out onto nature in the courtyard space below from three circular viewports in the upper level of the protruding arms attached to the two towers (Figure 12). This is not an external experience as typified by traditional building methods and techniques which often feature courtyard designs. The functional features offer work space for employees, but they also act as a tourist attraction with the inner loop that is open to the public and provides excellent views overlooking Beijing, especially the CBD and the Forbidden City. The engineering of the steel framed structure allows 39 Koolhaas, Content, Office of Modern Architecture, Projects, -headquarters (accessed May 21, 2012). 15

19 for this unique design and the gray-glass skin blends the invasive mass into the skyline so it isn t as obtrusive within the urban fabric. As the CCTV complex represents the very vastness of Koolhaas bigness it is also indicative of China s new identity as a globalized nation. As Koolhaas eloquently states, Architecture is a hazardous mixture of omnipotence and impotence. 41 The designs created by Koolhaas and his firm do not conform to traditional behavior, instead they project the very mindset of the Avant-Garde. William S. Saunders, another professor at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, values some of Koolhaas ideas, but those on bigness and urbanism he considers abstract, monolithic, and simplistic. 42 WANG SHU & LOCALIZATION The fondness with which government officials view the megastructure/megacity is at the forefront of the revitalization process. Other alternatives need to be considered however before traditional aspects are forever lost in a nation with such a rich history. There are a number of Chinese architects working towards a more tradition based, culturally influenced architecture, but the one who is most recognized is Wang Shu. Just as I.M. Pei wanted to find an alternative to the architecture of Hong Kong and Singapore in the 1980 s; Wang Shu of the twenty-first century is designing an architecture that is an answer to the hyper-development of the megastructure and megacity in which traditional methods of design are being ignored. 43 Globalized architecture is, by definition, out of context; it does not attempt to harmonize with past traditions, and is thus criticized for creating a loss of culture and disconnection with society. Globalized architecture identifies with a single building and not the 41 Rem Koolhaas, Introduction, in S, M, L, XL, (New York: The Monacelli Press, Inc, 1995), xix. 42 William S. Saunders, Rem Koolhaas s Writing on Cities: Poetic Perception and Gnomic Fantasy, Journal of Architectural Education, vol. 51, No. 1 (Sep., 1997), Pei, (accessed April 28, 2013). 16

20 urban form, environment, or society as a whole. Wang Shu has become an advocate of reintegrating Chinese culture and humanity back into the Chinese system. Wang is counteracting the megastructure form and believes, one problem of professional architecture is that it thinks too much of a building. 44 In 1997 Wang Shu and partner Lu Wenyu founded the firm Amateur Architecture Studio and through traditional methods of design and socio-cultural factors he provides a more hands-on approach at recognizing past Chinese ideals and learning how to infuse tradition with the contemporary. He has sought to create human scale projects and to preserve the built environment in ways that are eco-friendly. Having witnessed the political system of Mao over the decades, Wang decided to apply his practice of architecture for the greater good of humanity. He has always lived and studied in China, unlike many of his colleagues who studied architecture in Europe or America. As part of his personal training, Wang works with local craftsmen. For ten years he worked hands-on in renovation and construction projects to better understand how Chinese architecture was made. It was during this time that he questioned where the Chinese experience of tradition had gone and through this realization he was able to develop the process of linking the past to the present to create continuity within the built environment tradition is continuity. 45 During this experience Wang became even more conscious of his work and how it affects Chinese people and their environment. 44 The Pritzker Architecture Prize, Wang Shu 2012 Laureate Media Kit, under Biography, (accessed 2/4/2013). 45 Bert De Muynck, Wang Shu: Local Hero [2008] Published in Mark Magazine #19 April-May 2009, (accessed April 09, 2013). Jonathan Louie, Q&A> Building with Heart, The Architect s newspaper, (accessed March 22, 2013). 17

21 Wang associates much of his practice of architecture to designing in a fashion similar to a traditional Chinese landscape painter. 46 His method of incorporating nature into the basis of his design adheres closely to many Chinese architectural traditions and he feels this is important in maintaining his support of Chinese culture. To Wang this means a philosophy and a value system, both of which have been seriously jeopardized over time during China s various transformations. 47 Through the incorporation of nature and ideals of designing like a traditional landscape painter, Wang can create spatial characteristics that provide for a better coexistence between nature, architecture, and humanity. This is best expressed in his design of the Xiangshan Campus, China Academy of Art. Here Wang emphasizes the horizontality of the architecture replicating the undulating landscape of the rivers and mountains (Figures 13-15). Wang strives through his design to illustrate that there are alternatives to building without destroying. This reflection should not come as a surprise; according to Wang, China has demolished more than 90 percent of its traditional buildings in order to become modern. 48 It has been highlighted that Wang s winning of the Pritzker Prize was a sign to strengthen calls for the celebration and preservation of what remains of China s architectural heritage and urban fabric. 49 The traditional means of Chinese architecture is not meant to last forever, only a short period of time, Wang is familiar with this and states, it is not permanent, and that is a good thing; however, the building should not be demolished either. 50 Buildings should be allowed to play out its lifespan and when a particular function is no longer needed reuse the existing 46 De Muynck, (accessed April 09, 2013). 47 Wang Shu, China s Wang Shu: From Builder to Prizker-winning architect, October 25, 2012, (accessed 2/13/2013). 48 Elena Sommariva, Interview with Wang Shu, Amateur Architecture Studio, Domusweb.it, September 30, 2010, under Architecture, (accessed April 14, 2013). 49 The Financial Times LTD., China, China s Star Architect Blasts Demolition Culture, (accessed February 05, 2013). 50 Wang, China s Wang Shu (accessed 2/13/2013). 18

22 structure for a new purpose. This not only preserves the past, but establishes continuity within the urban fabric and is best expressed in two design projects, Zhongshan Lu Pedestrian Street, in Hangzhou and the Ningbo Art Museum, in Ningbo, China. The Zhongshan Lu Pedestrian Street created a magnificent streetscape that helps transport one back in time. Many of the store facades date as far back as the Qing Dynasty and reflect century s worth of architectural styles. 51 This section remained untouched by Wang in efforts to maintain and preserve the history of the street. In doing so, Wang not only preserved buildings from being completely demolished, but he preserved China s memory of architecture by adhering the new architecture to the old. The context in which Wang works creates an intimate feel within the urban fabric, not only in spatial features, but preservation of past details. Wang states, my work is not just about space: It s also about memory and accumulated layers of time. It is here that we can find an image of China s future. 52 Another excellent example of Wang Shu s exemplary efforts at preservation is expressed through his architectural work on the Ningbo Contemporary Art Museum. This project enabled Wang to conserve a historic portion of an old ship industrial site along the harbor in Ningbo. For various reasons, parts of the original building needed to be demolished, but rather than raze the entire site, Wang chose to keep the beacon tower and internal layout. 53 Being that this site was connected to the port, Wang designed the museum in a way to reference past and present. The building accentuates a horizontal line and bestows, in the manner of Le Corbusier, ship like characteristics expressed throughout the architecture (Figures 16-17). At an earlier date the 51 Evan Chakroff, Amateur Architecture: A New Vernacular?, under Features, (accessed February 12, 2013). 52 Margot Brody, Wang Shu on Moving Chinese Architecture Forward, We are Design Bureau.com, April 4, 2013, (accessed April 12, 2013). 53 Fang Zhenning, Christophe Pourtois, Marcelle Rabinowicz, Wang Shu: Introverted Vision and Extroverted Vision : Ningbo Art Museum, in Heart-Made, (Brussels: Europalia International, 2009),

23 building was an embarkation point, so during renovation Wang applied two loading areas in almost the same location as the disembarkation point. 54 The building is set on a platform and to enter one must walk up a ramp, almost as if loading from a dock onto a ship. These minute features allow Wang to generate a space that is reminiscent of a period, not just through architecture, but experience. Wang believes, architecture should work hand-in-hand with time. 55 Establishing a framework of past, present, and future architecture that should all have a continuity in which place and time are reflected and remembered. Environmental conditions are worsening in many parts of China, especially Beijing. As globalization continues to escalate, environmental standards tend to diminish. The construction of globalized architecture lends more toward pre-fabricated, industrialized materials that generate more wasteful product. Due to car emissions, dirty diesel fuel, and local industries the smog pollution has reached an all-time high the highest it s been since With China s rapid urbanization massive demolition projects have taken place destroying buildings, homes, and history. Wang Shu has stepped forward with his theories and practices of localized architecture to provide a cultural identity to China and in different respects can address the environmental issues. Many of his materials used for his detailing comes from renewable regenerating natural materials, such as bamboo. This is not only economical, but also sustainable because it grows quickly and is less devastating to the environment than is the use of non-renewable materials. Wang believes in being less wasteful and prefers the use of real material. His 54 Zhenning, Pourtois, Rabinowicz, Introverted Vision, The Pritzker Architecture Prize, Wang Shu 2012 Laureate Media Kit, under Biography, (accessed 2/4/2013), Damian Grammaticas, Airmageddon : China Smog Raises Modernisation doubts, BBC News, January 31, 2013, under World-Asia-China, (accessed January 31, 2013). 20

24 interest in real or natural materials is his answer to the demolition taking place. 57 A majority of his projects demonstrate this very method of eco-friendly and environmentally conscious design. The Xiangshan Campus, China Academy of Art and Ningbo History Museum feature materials that were salvaged from demolition sites around Southern China (Figures 18-21). The Xiangshan Campus incorporates over seven million bricks and tiles that have been in existence for several decades. 58 The use of these reused materials not only helps prevent waste, but acts as another connection to China s past and possesses a form of craftsmanship in his built works. Wang Shu believes, materials are about our lives. It is a high level of craftsmanship which gives us confidence in the real things that we have around us. 59 As part of his design process the location of each building is just as important as the materials used. With extensive use of the terrain and topography, Wang constructively manipulates the buildings arrangements to face the base of the Xiangshan Mountain. Wang comments in an interview that the building as an object is not important. It s the buildings relation to nature that most interests me. 60 As Wang creates an environment that is not only relative to human scale, but incorporates the use of the natural landscape as part of the design process he quickly begins to establish elemental factors that are not limited to physical qualities, but natural as well. Throughout his projects Wang incorporates the use of smart growth design principles by way of natural daylight, insulation, and cross- 57 Jonathan Louie, Q&A> Building with Heart, The Architect s newspaper, (accessed March 22, 2013). 58 Zhenning, Pourtois, Rabinowicz, Introverted Vision, Edwin Heathcote, Building Society: Wang Shu, Financial Times, March 29, 2013, under life&arts>arts, (accessed April 11, 2013). 60 Bert De Muynck, Wang Shu: Local Hero [2008] Published in Mark Magazine #19 April-May 2009, (accessed April 09, 2013). 21

25 ventilation features. 61 The ecological practice is most evident in Phase I of the Xiangshan Campus. Wang also employs traditional architectural typology, making frequent use, for example, of courtyard plans as means to reducing a building s overall footprint. 62 This is not only found in his horizontal projects such as the Xiangshan Campus, but his Vertical Courtyard Apartment in Hangzhou (Figures 22-24). While many of Wang s designs are developed on a horizontal influence relating to traditional Chinese landscape paintings, his Vertical Courtyard Apartment deviates from this and is one of his most innovative designs. The courtyard house at one time was the most popular design style for most buildings, not just houses. 63 This construction uses a small footprint and instills the archaic qualities of a courtyard. The use of this traditional characteristic becomes reflective to the human relationship to the natural environment as well as a representation of socio-cultural qualities. The emphasis of tradition and re-inscribing it into the built environment is one of Wang s most important attributes. He takes into account preservation whenever possible, but the biggest challenge for Wang is to re-instill a sense of culture back into society before it is completely forgotten. Wang is popular for saying, lost tradition means a lost future. 64 His incorporation of local principles is evident throughout all his projects as he attempts to unite the past to the present. 61 Evan Chakroff, Amateur Architecture: A New Vernacular?, under Features, (accessed February 12, 2013). 62 Ibid. 63 Wang Shu, China s Wang Shu: From Builder to Prizker-winning architect, under Special: Human to Hero, October 25, 2012, (accessed 2/13/2013). 64 Danielle Rago, Wang Shu Wins the 2012 Pritzker Architecture Prize, Domusweb.it (accessed February 13, 2013). 22

26 The Library of Wonzheng College at Suzhou University is another example of a way to connect architecture in nature. According to Wang, he attempted to adhere to the garden style of Suzhou and set the building discretely between water and mountains. 65 To maintain the scale of the building to nature, Wang buried one of the three stories below ground so the building would not dominate the landscape. The top two stories are elevated on pilotis and piers rising over an artificial lake. The building is constructed with a two story glass panel façade which overlooks the lake and permits natural light, creating an area for reading and reflecting. The floor plan is designed to recreate the feel and scale of alleyways in China s southern cities. 66 The association with southern city planning is typical in part of Wang s design scheme and is most evident in his streetscape plan in Hangzhou. The Zhongshan Lu Pedestrian Street in Hangzhou is part of an old imperial road from the Song Dynasty and as mentioned earlier, some of the architecture dates back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. As part of the renovation project Wang designed the Imperial Museum as a contemporary addition to the long line of buildings and managed to maintain the architectural continuity (Figure 25). The museum features a long, elaborate cantilevered roofing system. In order to support the leverage of the extended roof, Wang had to revert back to traditional construction methods and apply an interlocking timber arch, a system typically found in bridge construction 67 (Figures 26-27). The restoration process of the Zhongshan Street, in general, not only incorporates contemporary architectural elements, but also preserves the memory of the 65 The Pritzker Architecture Prize, Wang Shu 2012 Laureate Media Kit, under Biography, (accessed 2/4/2013), Xing Ruan, Wenzheng College Library, in New China Architecture, (North Clarendon: Vermont: Tuttle Publishing, 2006), Laura Bossi, Wang Shu s Time Machine, Doumusweb.it, May 29, 2010, under Architecture, (accessed April 1, 2013). 23

27 emperor s road and shows traditional Chinese construction techniques. 68 Wang s input on the design renovations demonstrates his strong design principles in localized architecture. Wang maintains scale with historic buildings and through innovative traditional construction techniques he reinserts a sense of nostalgia in his contemporary building. These qualities and factors are also exemplified in the streetscape portion of this project. Urbanization needs to be harmonious with past, present, and future developments in order to maintain continuity and that is what Wang tries to accomplish. The street enhancements Wang made on Zhongshan evoke a sense of place through memory, tradition, and craft. Wang re-inserted a canal down the center of the old street; a feature that demonstrates not only creates a pedestrian friendly environment, but evokes humanizing qualities. This is reminiscent to characteristics of traditional southeast Chinese urban planning where the infrastructure of urban form was lined with canals that ran parallel to commercial streets. 69 These past elements were embedded in social and cultural characteristics that created livable cities. Within these settlements, core values were established and used in shaping the built environment. According to Pu Miao some of these values included creating a holistic environment and making of full use of natural opportunities. 70 The role these features were used for in the past are similar to the aesthetic principles Wang tries to incorporate into his design values. 68 Laura Bossi, Wang Shu s Time Machine, Doumusweb.it, May 29, 2010, under Architecture, (accessed April 1, 2013). 69 Pu Miao, Seven Characteristics of Traditional Urban Form in Southeast Asia, Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review, vol. 1, 1990, (accessed April 1, 2013), 39, Ibid.,

28 CONCLUSIONS The building projects developing in China range from small scale to mega scale. The mega-projects, according to Jianfei Zhu, are invariably government sponsored, and are awarded to outside architectural firms and engineers. It is only on small scale projects that Chinese architects are found. 71 Foreign, celebrity architects are creating an urban landscape that is discontinuous with China s past. Koolhaas, who epitomizes the mega-structure starchitect is also its greatest apologist. Wang Shu, on the other hand, heralds a localized, traditional approach to contemporary architecture. Western architects working in China can be viewed as an infringement on the nation s cultural identity. For Koolhaas, however, globalization is not a flaw; it is an inevitable and thus desirable end. In his view, globalization lends virtuality to real buildings, keeps them indigestible, forever fresh. 72 The intermingling of cultures allows one to become knowledgeable in various sectors of the world which promotes for a better method of building rather than relying on a single style or a typical plan. Variation in the built environment is, in Koolhaas view, important and something to be encouraged. Wang Shu s philosophy represents a counteraction to globalization. His methods address particular issues occurring in China today. As Wang Shu states, the overflow of global standards in the architecture industry damages culture diversity." 73 Wang is a representative of a group of architects and artists, including Ma Qingyun, Zhang Lei, Chang Yung Ho, Liu Jiakun, and Ai Wei-Wei who studied art and architecture in China in the Post-Mao Era and are now seeking to redefine the standards of Chinese art and architecture. Wang Shu s application of the 71 Jianfei Zhu, Architecture of Modern China: A Historical Critique, (New York: Routledge, 2009), Rem Koolhaas, Globalization, in S, M, L, XL, (New York: The Monacelli Press, Inc, 1995), Global Times, Sustainable Urban Planning for China s Future, Globaltimes.com, May 28, 2012, (accessed 2/04/2013). 25

29 tectonics of tradition and culture to contemporary vernacular architecture distinguishes him the most from other Chinese architects. Koolhaas and Wang represent two different approaches to contemporary Chinese architecture and urbanism. Under closer examination, however, these two versions employ many similarities. In regards to preservation, both architects believe that not all architecture is meant to last. Eventually, building materials will disintegrate and new methods and materials will take their place. In addition, the use of certain facilities may change, altering the initial function of a building and redefining the use without destroying the continuity of the built environment. Koolhaas and Wang agree that demolition of existing buildings must be limited. The danger of the tabula rasa, according to Koolhaas in Singapore Songlines, is that it never stops; it becomes a constant, therefore architecture is only temporary and ultimately impossible. 74 This analysis almost becomes the case-in-point for every city in China. This impossible development of architecture essentially disrupts the built environment and creates discontinuity not only of time but also of place. Wang Shu recognizes the issues of the urbanization process as having a negative impact on culture, society, and the environment. In his view, the forever fresh that Koolhaas demands for architecture through globalization detracts from the built environment as a whole. Though Koolhaas designs and builds megastructures, he blatantly admits that bigness can destroy an environment. And yet, he believes, the significant benefits that make up for bigness can be renewed when the regeneration process begins. 75 As new buildings form they create new environments, establishing functional indoor environments that compete with urbanism. 74 Koolhaas, Singapore Songlines, Koolhaas, Bigness,

30 Koolhaas theory about the size of architecture also poses questions about the environment: does the megastructure accommodate the current environmental issues, that is, is the city introverted to the interior space to provide for a large population in a place with high pollution? Or, is the megastructure a contributing factor to a polluted environment? Are environmental issues actually being addressed or is the architecture merely adapting to the environmental conditions? With sixteen of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, the pollution in China is astounding. 76 Most of these conditions are attributed to factories in and around the city, as well as the rise in automobile usage. Also of valued concern are the arising issues with infrastructure, natural resources, water, and waste reduction. 77 As these conditions worsen, some measures have already been taken towards more sustainable developments. In recent past some of the newer cities have been experimenting with sustainability and creating an eco-friendly environment 78 (Figures 28-29). Much of this progression has been driven by Western designers such as Peter Calthorpe and global engineering firm Arup. The pace at which China is developing is unparalleled, and yet, with today s technology, it is not necessarily surprising. One point of modernization pertains to efficiency of materials, cost, and production. As technology enhances the ability to perform a project in less time becomes more probable. In terms of globalization these methods become more enhanced in the design. Jianfei points out that most Chinese large scale projects are handed over to Western architects and engineers. Arup has become highly influential and widely used throughout various development processes. Arup s contribution to the CCTV building by Koolhaas is a 76 Laurence Liauw, Introduction: Leaping Forward, Getting Rich Gloriously, and Letting a Hundred Cities Bloom, Architectural Design, vol. 78, No. 5, ed. Helen Castle, Yongyuan Yin and Mark Wang, China s Urban Environmental Sustainability in a Global Context in Consuming Cities: The Urban Environment in the Global Economy after the Rio Declaration, ed. Nicholas Low, Brendan Gleeson, Ingemar Elander, Rolf Lidskog, (New York, NY: Routledge, 2000), Helen Castle, Dongtan, China s Flagship Eco-City: An Interview with Peter Head of Arup, Architectural Design, vol. 78, No. 5, September/October 2008, ed. Helen Castle,

31 prime example with its atypical shape and high dependency on a strong structural system. The engineering and technical aspects differ drastically from those practiced by Wang Shu and other Chinese architects/engineers. With the use of local and traditional construction practices and material, Wang applies amateur engineering principles to his work. Many of his buildings are designed and furnished with old brick, wood, and concrete. The use of concrete not only limits the design style of a building, but in China it is thought to impair the structural integrity of the building. There have been several instances throughout Shenzhen where the use of concrete has deteriorated and caused several buildings to collapse. 79 Even Wang describes the use of concrete as cheap, but he still tries to implement the material with his traditional construction techniques. 80 The use of concrete in China cuts corners by integrating the cheaper substance of sea sand into the mix creating a less stable building material. 81 While Wang s application of amateur practices does not lessen the quality of his work, it can limit the scale and scope of his work. 82 This however is not a bad thing. In some respects, the justification for the high standards of contemporary architecture brought forth by many Western architects is not quantifiable architecture and in some cases is considered wasteful; not only monetarily, but in materials and function. An excellent point explained by Charlie Q.L. Xue takes into consideration the fact that, these projects use a lot of immature technology, not fully tested, and consume too many materials and energy; they are inappropriate for a developing country, with an average annual GDP of just 79 Ian Steadman, Poor-Quality Chinese Concrete Could Lead to Skyscraper Collapses, Wired.com, March 21, 2013, (accessed March 29, 2013). 80 Wang Shu, China s Wang Shu: From Builder to Prizker-winning architect, under Special: Human to Hero, October 25, 2012, (accessed 2/13/2013). 81 Steadman, (accessed March 29, 2013). 82 This is not to imply that Wang Shu uses the cheaper concrete material, but wanted to express the short cuts being made in China pertaining to the use of concrete and how it affects the structures stability. 28

32 US$900 per person. 83 Just as the practices seen by Koolhaas, Arup, and other Western firms, the magnitude of development may present new challenges to the engineers, however, there are other factors. What then, in respects to quality versus quantity, are the cost and benefits of globalization? The disappearance of cultural identity, the reconfiguration of spatial order and a rise in environmental concerns are chief concerns of Wang. Koolhaas is not unconcerned about these issues, but his approach is less dogmatic. He presents many variations on his opinion of the city and the urban fabric. In fact, he continuously vacillates between many ideas, the tabula rasa and the overgrowth of architecture within the city. The instantaneous razing or building of a city was once thought to be impossible, though both are occurring in Asian cities today. In today s world cities are getting bigger and urban life is getting faster. Urbanization in China epitomizes the contemporary global phenomenon. Globalization has always existed in one form or another, however, the newest trend is creating a system of chaos within the built environment. Even Koolhaas points out that bigness in architecture and urbanism are working in opposition rather than in harmony. 84 For many urban theorists the problems caused by globalization are unprecedented. Problems arising from globalization and megastructures as mentioned throughout this paper include dehumanizing events which result in a lack of architectural continuity, cultural heritage, and displacement. How does the trade-off of economic power affect the socio-cultural environment? Traditional methods such as those proposed by Leon and Rob Krier are something to reconsider: the restoration of a traditional architectural culture is the only way of achieving buildings that are spatially characterized by continuity, clarity and precision, and that are capable 83 Charlie Q.L., Xue, Building Revolution: Chinese Architecture Since 1980, ( Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2006), Rem Koolhaas, Bigness, in S, M, L, XL, (New York: The Monacelli Press, Inc, 1995),

33 of being used for a variety of purposes. 86 In Wang s refusal to succumb to the current architectural trends of China in developing a worldly, globalized style, he instead has taken upon himself to create a more localized contemporary style. Wang is not a traditionalist in the same sense the Krier brother s describe; in some regards he presents a new ethos to Chinese architecture. His work has been described by Thorsten Botz-Bornstein as critical regionalism, but more aptly it could be described as contemporary vernacular architecture. 87 A more detailed explanation is given by William S. W. Lim in saying: The notion of a contemporary vernacular can.be defined as a self-conscious commitment to uncover a particular tradition s responses to place and climate, and thereafter to exteriorize these formal and symbolic identities into creative new forms through an artist s eye that is very much in touch with contemporary realities and lasting human values. 88 Heinz Paetzold elaborates that contemporary architecture is a poor representation of nostalgia, therefore, the contemporary vernacular practiced by Wang cannot be seen as a nostalgic return to regional practices. 89 Also, the more Westernized traditional architecture, as seen in China that has become associated with theme park characteristics typically attempt to create a nostalgic atmosphere, but what they really create is a marketing brand as previously mentioned. At best, Paetzold further emphasizes, contemporary vernacular, then, is an attempt to re-appropriate valuable but historically marginalized cultural traces doomed to commercialization by the 86 S. Umberto Barbieri and Leen van Duin, eds., A Hundred Years of Dutch Architecture Trends Highlights, (Rotterdam: NAi Publishers, 2003), Thorsten Botz-Bornstein, Wang Shu and the Possibilities of Architectural Regionalism in China, in Nordic Journal of Architectural Research, Volume 21, No, 1, 2009 under archive, (accessed February 4, 2013). 88 William Lim and Tan Hock Beng eds., Contemporary Vernacular. Evoking Tradition in Asian Architecture. Singapore: Select Books Pte Ltd 1998: 23, quoted in Heinz Paetzold, Beyond Description: Singapore Space Historicity, ed. Ryan Bishop, John Phillips, Wei-Wei Yeo (New York, NY: Routledge, 2004), Heinz Paetzold, Beyond Description: Singapore Space Historicity, ed. Ryan Bishop, John Phillips, Wei-Wei Yeo (New York, NY: Routledge, 2004),

34 powers of global culture industries and thereby threatened to become merged in the trivialities of Disneyland or theme parks. 90 The architectural extremes happening in China and around the world raise numerous questions: In what ways can global and local architecture coexist in an urban environment to provide a social, ecological, spatial complex that forms a livable city? Perhaps the more fundamental question of What constitutes a livable city? should first be asked. From Le Corbusier, to Frank Lloyd Wright, to Lewis Mumford, and Jane Jacobs, this has been the right question about the city. Theories proposed by Le Corbusier allotted for a massive population of several million people. His utopian plan called for vertical structures to house a multitude of occupants leaving vast amounts of land open for public interaction. As a reaction to Le Corbusier s theory, Lewis Mumford believed that cities should be of medium density with a strong emphasis on social needs; he states, limitations on size, density, and area are absolutely necessary to effective social intercourse; and they are therefore the most important instruments of rational economic and civic planning. 91 Rational" is an interesting term that seems to have become lost with modern urban planning, not just in China, and has since been replaced with radicalization. The New Urbanism, led by Andrés Duany and inspired by Leon Krier leans towards a contextualist or rationalist approach to architecture and urbanism. Krier believes that the denser the city population becomes, it will eventually get so congested, no longer function, and will lead to what he calls, vertical sprawl. 92 The products of the New Urbanism have been criticized by 90 Paetzold, Lewis Mumford, What is a City, in The City Cultures Reader Second Edition, ed. Malcolm Miles, Tim Hall, and Lian Borden, (New York, NY: Routledge, 2004), Peter Hetherington, The Godfather of Urban Soul, The Guardian, Tuesday 27 June 2006, (accessed May 24, 2012). 31

35 many for their theme park qualities and their suburban, greenfield locations on the outskirts of the cities. New Urbanism stands at the opposite end of the spectrum to what Rem Koolhaas proposes in his component of bigness. The city has become a New Urban experiment for architects to test their ideas with the megastructure/megacity concepts. The rapid development and destruction of the existing built environment creates what Christopher Alexander illustrates in A City is not a Tree as artificial. According to Alexander natural cities develop spontaneously and over many years of overlapping, where artificial cities are deliberately created by designers and planners. 93 Even Wang Shu postulates, if you want to copy something that was accomplished in 200 years, it s very difficult. New York was not designed by architects, it was designed by time. 94 The hybrid coexistence of global and local architecture in the complex matrix of the built environment does not seem impossible. Architecture and urbanism continue to evolve while embracing past cultural influences and instilling the present conditions of today. It is impossible to predict the future, but a cautious understanding of the dynamics of urban growth could enable urban planners to maintain the flow of continuity. Rem Koolhaas states, What I see more than anything is the inability of almost every political system to anticipate, mobilize, and take precautions for the future, even when it is obvious that cities will grow or shrink rapidly. 95 This lack of anticipation has become a critical factor in the destruction of many Chinese cities. 93 Christopher Alexander, City is not a Tree, repr., Design, No 206, February 1966, 46-55, (accessed May 5, 2013), Jane Perlez, An Architect s Vision: Bare Elegance in China, NYTimes.com, August 9, 2012, (accessed April 11, 2013). 95 Paul Fraioli, Reinventing the City: An Interview with architect Rem Koolhaas, Journal of International Affairs Spring/Summer (2012), issue The Future of the City, (accessed January 2013). 32

36 With so much focus on the economic factors within the city, there has been a significant neglect on the social responsibilities of place. Based on Alexander s analysis, Chinese cities are essentially deconstructed, disjointed fabrications creating further barriers among social, economic, and cultural layers that make up the city. A livable city is not just about scale, but the continuity of the urban fabric as various elements overlap. Dating as far back as antiquity, Vitruvius noted appropriate uses of architecture and delivered methodological contingencies on how to build. It was important that the process focused on more than just the building, but also the site location, material, and ecological elements in ways to incorporate the buildings within the urban fabric to frame a context for a livable city. This holds true for the antiquity of Non- Western settlements that had similar methodological elements to the construction of the built environment. A building is more than something to look at or provide shelter; it is a fundamental component in the built environment, one that plays a major role in how we as humans interact and creates a functional program for the community as a whole. Traditional methods regardless of region are the founding principles of architecture, but with new technology and new expressions of architecture, creative designs are making their way into the urban milieu and are providing a new meaning to architecture. As architecture continues to evolve, it still holds true to certain characteristics philosophized during Antiquity. Rhys Carpenter theorized that in Antiquity architecture was used to express the mentality and civilization of its builders as though whatever man consciously makes could fail to be eloquent of himself! 96 Today, after almost two centuries of rapid technological change, could it be that this observation is still true? The process will be never ending and architecture will continue to become a stage set or an expression of society just as it did in Antiquity. Respecting the past and 96 Rhys Carpenter, The Esthetics of Greek Architecture, in The Esthetic Basis of Greek Art, (Bloomington, Ind, 1959),

37 ingenuously integrating the new with the old will only enhance the built environment and make it a more interactive and livable place. Architecture is a fascinating conundrum of careful integration of tradition with modern, technological enhancements. The revolving process that brings it about shall forever remain in question. 34

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41 Figure 1: CCTV complex under construction demonstrates only a small portion of the demolition occurring throughout China. Photographed by Iwan Baan. Figure 2: Complex designed by OMA/Rem Koolhaas & Ole Scheeren demonstrates the massive scale occurring throughout China. Photographed by Iwan Baan. 38

42 Figure 3: Fragrant Hill Hotel by I.M. Pei Figure 4: Interior view of Fragrant Hill Hotel by I.M. Pei. Figure 5: Interior view of Fragrant Hill Hotel by I.M. Pei. Figure 6: View looking out of Fragrant Hill Hotel onto the landscape by I.M. Pei. 39

43 Figure 7: Replica of English village Thames Town outside Shanghai Figure 8: Replica of English village Thames Town outside Shanghai Figure 9: A replica street scene in Hiuzhou, China of Austria s UNESCO town of Hallstatt. 40

44 Figure 10: Landscape Plan of the complex designed by OMA/Rem Koolhaas & Ole Scheeren. Image by OMA Figure 11: Areal view of Central Television Station (CCTV) by Rem Koolhaas & Ole Scheeren Photographed by Iwan Baan. Figure 12: Central Television Station (CCTV) by Rem Koolhaas & Ole Scheeren Photographed by Iwan Baan. 41

45 Figure 13: Xiangshan Campus, China Academy of Art by Wang Shu. Photographed by Iwan Baan Figure 14: Xiangshan Campus, China Academy of Art by Wang Shu. Photographed by Iwan Baan Figure 15: Xiangshan Campus, China Academy of Art by Wang Shu emphasizes the undulating landscape and expresses the importance between nature, architecture, and humanity. Photographed by Lv Hengzhong. 42

46 Figure 16: Ningbo Contemporary Art Museum by Wang Shu; photograph by Lv Hengzhong. Figure 17: Ningbo Contemporary Art Museum by Wang Shu; photograph by Lv Hengzhong. 43

47 Figures 18-21: Various projects by Wang that feature materials salvaged from demolition sites around Southern China. Figures 18 & 19: The Xiangshan Campus by Wang Shu. photographed by Amateur Architecture Studio. Figures 20 & 21: China Academy of Art by Wang Shu. Photographed by Iwan Baan. 44

48 Figure 22: Vertical Courtyard Apartments in Hangzhou by Wang Shu. Photographed by Lu Wenyu. Figure 24: Vertical Courtyard Apartments in Hangzhou by Wang Shu. Photographed by Lu Wenyu. Figure 23: Vertical Courtyard Apartments in Hangzhou by Wang Shu. Photographed by Lu Wenyu. 45

49 Figure 25: Imperial Museum exterior view. Photograph by Iwan Baan. Figure 26: Imperial Museum interior view Figure 27: Example of bridge construction replicated in Wang s design. 46

50 Figure 28: Dongtan Eco-City, Rendering of one of China s Eco-City initiatives developed by Shanghi Industrial Investment Corporation (SIIC) and Arup. Figure 29: Rendering of Tianjin Eco-City, a sustainable city project developed collaboratively by governments of China and Singapore. 47