Shanghai's architecture

[wushijiao]

Most of China's bulings are ugly, old, concrete, shoddy, Stalinist designs. But the country is in a housing boom and many of these old ones will be torn down to make way for the new. This gives the country a unique oppurtunity. According to this article, Shanghai's architecture, specifically Xintiandi could be used as a model because it successfully combines old Chinese style with the modernity, instead of just faux-Western.

Thoughts?

http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3751110

From the article:

Chinese architecture has rarely been this confident. In the old days, it was strictly governed by the emperor, who imposed restrictions on height, colour and design. The first contemporary builders were heavily influenced by foreign styles in the early part of the 20th century. Succeeding generations, constrained by war and communism, generated few ideas, preferring endlessly to repeat a “big roof” style that harked back to imperial times. Now China has the money and the talent—foreign architects who are now begging to work there, returning Chinese and home-grown graduates—to be different.

[bhchao]

Now China has the money and the talent—foreign architects who are now begging to work there, returning Chinese and home-grown graduates—to be different.

Even the future Shanghai World Financial Center is designed by a foreign firm. I recently read that in cities like Dongguan, too many high-rises are being constructed here and there without much thought to urban planning and historic preservation.

The preservation of Xintiandi sounds similar to the transformation of Old Town Pasadena in LA in the early 1990's. Many of the buildings in Old Town Pasadena were one-story or two-story slum warehouses that were about to be completely torn down. But preservationists fought hard to keep the buildings, arguing for a complete facelift and renovation, instead of having them torn down. This made starting completely over from scratch unnecessary. Within two or three years after the renovation, the whole area was transformed from an empty, desolate area into a bustling nightspot with restaurants, shops, and theaters. It has been this way ever since.