Chinese urban development

[bhchao]

Do you think that Chinese architecture and cities being prototypes of Western design and urban layout is sustainable for China? Must China emulate or incorporate Western designs to make its cities great? Do you feel that architecture in China are becoming copycats of Western architecture, rather than using home-grown designs or blending ancient styles with modernist influences?

[gato]

Maybe, no, and yes. What do you think?

[esoyohoo]

The problem is the people like the western design, they consider the western design is cooler and more modern.

And another problem is the traditional Chinese design needs big yard but low-rise building. Currently the land is owned by the government and only real estate can rent the land for 70 years. In order to max the profit, why should they choose the Chinese traditional design to only make very limited people to buy the houses.

[msittig]

I don't think it's a matter of eastern vs western -- I see a lot more research and implementation of sustainable architecture in Europe and North America than in China. Most of the west has moved beyond endless blocks of high-rise apartments because their economies have allowed it. I support what esoyohoo says, that the economic and legal incentives in China push developers toward high-density development.

[imron]

The bigger problem I see is not western design, but often poor implementation of that design and or use of sub-standard materials in construction meaning that many buildings built today will basically be falling apart in several decades time. Property developers seem to be all about making as much money as they can, rather than constructing buildings that will last (yes there are plenty of exceptions, but also enough real examples for it to be a worry).

[frankwall]

If you look at statistics regarding the rate of urbanisation in China, its understandable that they want to accommodate people quickly, cheaply and effectively. Also, given China's rapid development, western cities have shown that they work...things are highly functional there. And its probably best to implement a similar strategy in order to make the most of your economic growth.

[roddy]

It would be equally understandable if they just slowed down on urbanisation, rather than chucking up shoddy buildings at a rate of knots.

When's your essay due, bhchao?

[jkhsu]

I'm a bit confused by this topic. I get the point about shoddy buildings and poor construction. But what exactly is the difference between "Western design and urban layout" vs "Chinese design"? If we're talking about the design of metro/subway systems for example, is there really a "Chinese" design? What about layouts of buildings and streets? Is it about including more 胡同s, 四合院s, etc.? Same thing for architecture. Is it just about including Chinese stylistic elements? For example, let's take the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai. The "Chinese" element is that it looks like a tiered pagoda. Other than that, it's just a modern skyscraper. Taipei 101 is similar in that it resembles a bamboo with 8 tiers of a pagoda. There's nothing Chinese about the Tuned Mass Damper inside that keeps the building from swaying, or the HVAC system, etc.

If we're talking about the topic of "Modern Architecture and City/Urban Planning", is there really a "Chinese" vs. "Western" issue? Anyone, feel free to chime in.

[anonymoose]

I don't know that high density high-rise building is a western design. In fact, with a few exceptions, I'd say rather that it's an eastern phenomenon.

[Outofin]

I don't feel Chinese cities are anything similar to American cities. American cities are like, in the middle is the downtown, with older building and highrises and skyscrapers. In suburbans are endless streets and houses. Chinese cities build walled neighborhoods. Some walled communities are so large that they have their own stores, barbershops, restaurants. Their roads are often restricted to public use.

[carlo]

I’m not an expert, but I wonder what people mean exactly when talking of Western design. As outofin says, the layout of American and Chinese cities is not that similar after all, although both have skyscrapers. European urban landscapes are totally different: renovated old buildings, narrow streets etc.

The challenge of dealing with huge population densities is typical of modern times: neither Chinese or Western traditions can help much when dealing with the problem of millions of migrant workers moving to cities. Then in China we often call “Western” anything that is not traditional: we automatically associate modernity with becoming “Western”, a relic of the 西学东渐 era. In fact, this is an unprecedented global experience.

Eg, in China the secondary market for residential housing is still very weak: everyone I know wants to buy new apartments. In Japan, I’m told, a house of 30 years is basically ready to be torn down and rebuilt. Contrast this with European cities, where the newest building I have ever owned is at least 150 years old. Hard to say which approach is more sustainable.

[xiaocai]

It may be a different story in Japan. Not too many buildings can withstand so many earthquakes every year for 150 years.