RIBA PARTII Architectural Thesis

贺德 De He Unit 17

Architectural Thesis

ARCT1060

Greenwich University

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中国制造?【 Made in China?】 Modernising Chinese Architectural Style and Form:

Orientalism and Occidentalism In The Garden Of Perfect Brightness And Its 21st Century Architectural And Urban Design Influence and Relevance

Suburbs of Perfect Brightness LEFT: Author’s render (isometric projection) Imaginary Garden-City

ABSTRACT

What constitutes the Chinese Architecture in 21st century? what is Chinese architecture in relation to its style, theory, history and artistic influence? what architectural style should be representing the true Chineseness today? Was it derived from political ideologies? Was it restricted from Republican and Communist eras? Was it influenced by Western architectural styles? Chan (2017) said in her “defence” for Chinese architecture, that “Traditional Chinese architecture became emblematic and pre-modern, the emergent modern Chinese architecture style conceived in late imperial China was a paradox of historicist, eclectic, and colonial styles from Western history.”

Perhaps, a distinctive modern Chinese style in architecture could be achieved only through a contradiction of shifting notions of Chineseness between progress and history as China is modernised. (Chan, 2017) My interpretation from imperial Chinese Garden design as the aesthetic of jing, and through Chinese philosophy as theory to define the ontology of Chinese architecture in Beijing today and in the future. Furthermore I propose that as China is developing rapidly in the digital revolution in 21st century, we don’t have to lose our fundamental philosophical, theoretical or historical roots, nor completely embrace the European ideas, but acknowledge the capacity of digital technology that can manipulate the design process and thinking.

Yuan Ming Yuan is perhaps the most powerful evidence of imperialist aggressions and evaluations on this part of history.

I am not using this part of history to enhance patriotism, but reflect from the imposition of political ideologies on historical values retrieved from the garden. As a Chinese architectural student, my interest is conducting research on studies from Chinese literature and its cultural influence upon modern age in China. I suggest through the outcome from my design project, Suburb of Perfect Brightness as an imaginary Garden-city is proposing a new style in urban planning as an artistic yet technical representation. By employing the vision of jing, I intend to use “garden” as a design tool for mapping and modelling the masterplan; jing as a framing tool for computational perspectival projection in architectural renderings.

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CONTENTS

1

ABSTRACT

4-5

Research Methodology Statement

6-7

INTRODUCTION 0.1

“Chinese” as Architectural Sinology

0.2

“Modernity” in Chinese Style and Form in the 20th Century

0.3

“National form”, “Internationalisation” and “Avant-garde”

16-37 CHAPTER 1 Spatial Design in 圆明园 “Garden of Perfect Brightness” from Qing Dynasty in relations to 景- jing ,Chinese Philosophy and Architectural Design 1.1

A Brief Understanding of the Origins of Gardens

1.2

Architectural History and Paintings of Garden of Perfect Brightness (Yuan Ming Yuan) in Relation to Spatial Design Representation

1.21 圆明园四十景图 (40 Scenes of Yuan Ming Yuan)and Concept of jing as Teory of Paintings in relation to Architectural Representation 1.22 西洋楼 (Western mansions) As Western jing and Linear Perspective 1.30 Architectural Design in Response to Garden Design through Ethics and Ideologies 1.31 Ethics in Chinese Gardens and as a Tool For Spatial Design 1.32 Landscape and Architectural Design in relations to FengShui (Geomancy)

39-45 CHAPTER 2 Chinese Art as Contemporary Art in China; and its impact from cultural, political, economic and architectural contributions to the societies

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 3 47-55 Nationalism, Modernity and Contemporary in Chinese architecture 3.1 3.2

Nationalism and Modernity

Wang Shu-Amateure Architecture Studio 3.3

Ma Yangsong-MAD Architects

CONCLUSION 57-63 4.1 “Art Architecture” In relations to Architectural Design 4.2 “Experimental Architecture” 4.3 “Future” jing

Bibliography 64-66

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The awareness of Chinese architecture in China have become increasingly popular in the last decades. The voices from local Chinese architects emerged internationally as well as the unprecedented infrastructure and building boom taken place in the last decade of 20th century in China in human history. The impressive speed, scale and quantity of such architectural production drew unavoidable attention to the transformation towards modernism in Chinese architectural history. The rapid economy growth and globalisation brought Chinese architecture to the next level, I am interested in the contrast of such hyperactive and constructionally productive period in China’s architectural history from magnificent imperial gardens in Qing dynasty to Chinese contemporary architecture and even parametricism built in China today. This thesis began to rise the question that has been asked many times without singular answer but still pursuing to investigate, research and understand such profound topic in history, theory, style and art references- WHAT IS CHINESE ARCHITECTURE? The purpose of this thesis is not to explore this question but through selective prospects in case studies and discussions to define and speculate Chinese architecture in terms of its modernity taken place from Qing dynasty to 21st century.

The thesis is directly related to my final architectural design project that I am undertaking.

The design concept was initially extracted from Chinese imperial gardens- Yuan mingyuan, which parallels to the studies carried out from Chapter 1 in the thesis. And also as a starting point to articulate the Chinese architecture as a landscape from the paintings and its ideologies behind; the design process used the Imperial garden design and its philosophical approach as a design tool to create forms and spatial framework for the masterplan of design project that I am proposing. Finally the design outcome of this project is aim to achieve a critical understanding in Chinese architecture through a combination of Chinese and European architectural styles in terms of the microcosmic and aesthetic design technology values. The proposed new “vernacular� demonstrated an imaginary city within the city at outskirt of Beijing. it is produced as the result of design project but to the extend that conclude on thesis as a speculative design intend for Chinese architecture from present to future. And it also responses to the theory and future of the Chinese manufactural production in architecture and urban planning.

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中国制造?【 Made in China?】 Modernising Chinese Architectural Style and Form:

Orientalism and Occidentalism In The Garden Of Perfect Brightness And Its 21st Century Architectural And Urban Design Influence and Relevance

INTRODUCTION 0.1-“Chinese” as Architectural Sinology 0.2-“Modernity” in Chinese Style and Form in the 20th Century 0.3-“National form”, “Internationalisation” and “Avant-garde”

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0.1 “Chinese” as Architectural Sinology Chinese as a term will be frequently referred and used in this thesis, the timeline for the term is mainly focused on dates from late 17th century- Qing dynasty to 21st centurycontemporary era in Chinese history.

Classical Chinese architecture has long and complex history, its earliest building can be dated back in 7000 years, structural systems such as use of wrought timber, meticulous spatial and city planning strategies, abundant and rich in use of colours and intricate ornamentation on buildings, the poetic garden designs in fashion of microcosm in natural landscapes, and the arrangement of axial layout of dwellings with courtyards habitation.

(Xinian et al., 2002) it all started to suggest a distinctive architectural style with particular characteristics in Chinese architecture.

Zhu (2003) discussed in relation of Chinese approach in spatial design acquires a new significance, and he suggested that Beijing, a capital of late imperial China which has 500 years of history (1420-1911) that best explores the ways of how Chinese mind design and arrange space as a beginning point. The majority subjects that are selected for the thesis as in discussion and case studies were chosen from Beijing, which provided a more focused yet dynamic study to continue search a possible new Chinese architecture. Chan (2017) said in her “defence” for Chinese architecture, that ‘Traditional Chinese architecture became emblematic and pre-modern, the emergent modern Chinese architecture style conceived in late imperial China was a paradox of historicist, eclectic, and colonial styles from Western history’ (p.5).

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Suburbs of Perfect Brightness Author’s render (isometric projection) Imaginary Garden-City

In Chapter 1, this thesis will begin to examine the development of Chinese architectural styles through garden and spatial design in relation to the ideology, presentation, identity, and later in terms of the modernity that was influenced by western Jesuit missionaries.

The chapter will continue to discuss such unique combination in styles of Orientalism and Occidentalism (Chinese and European) which through a series of case studies which were extracted from Yuan Mingyuan (Garden of Perfect Brightness)- an extravagant 17th century imperial garden was acknowledged as “paradise” on earth by eastern and western scholars. The elements from design project will be illustrated as visualisations and diagrams as response to the research of architectural style that periodically demonstrated the Chinese characteristics through garden design, its inspiration and interpretation that borrowed from imperial landscape art paintings in late Qing dynasty. The chapter introduces a new method which propose to use “Garden” as design tool that is equivalent to drawing and modelling, and conclude with western missionaries’ manifestation of modernity on art and architecture.

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0.2 “Modernity” in Chinese Style and Form in the 20th Century It is perhaps “ambiguous” to use Modernity to address the architectural context in China, as Chinese architecture is modernised throughout the time, but the evidence was “unambiguous” despite its five thousands years of history in civilisation.(Denison and Ren, 2008) In such condition, what kind of criteria should be employed here to define modernity in Chinese Architectural history? Can modernity here be understood as a transformation of architectural style from tradition to modern in the case of China? Wang suggested in his new book A Philosophy of Chinese Architecture: Past, Present, Future (2016) in terms of theorising Chinese ideas in Architecture has to comprehend an architectural situation in China with a foundation of Chinese philosophy: ‘the past is always present in a culture’s ways of being’ and he argued that there was no Chinese architecture before 1840 based on ‘self-contained, philosophically focused object of contemplation’ (p.1). And he questioned what is Chinese Architecture and also attempted to response through the modernity as architectural setting regards to Chinese people and their social behaviours and to reflect on Chinese traditional build forms.

In western theories and terms, the fundamental principles of architecture was first defined

by Vitruvius in his The Ten Books on Architecture referring that “order, arrangement, eurythmy, symmetry, propriety, and economy” as body of literature in architectural theory.

(Pollio et al., 1999) It almost initiated a criteria to review architecture through western perspectives, and it also elaborates the modernity especially in relations to architecture.

On one hand it was judged through people’s understanding in terms of architecture as a symbol of culture and its impact on aspects of “society, aesthetics, religion, institutions and social behaviours” (Xue, 2005). On the other hand, modernity in architecture was associated with tradition and modification through progress of the architectural technology innovations. From certain aspects of the understanding China’s past in chapter 1, it was the beginning stage of China entering the gate of modernity as it progressed, not only through Industrial Revolution and its powers from the western influence on Chinese architecture since Opium War in 1840, but also theorising a new architectural style to serve the new nation in modern China. The point here emphasised by Wang (2005) suggested that China’s early theoretical establishments was enlightened by “European ideals”, therefore the chineseness in Chinese architecture is elusive.

Ma (2003) reused the words from chairman Mao’s movement for artistic and intellectual freedom in 1956, “let a hundred flowers bloom” to describe the pluralist condition in Chinese architecture in 20th century from his article on future of architecture in China. He suggested that the Chinese cities have undergone rapid expansion, and the flowering of the architecture has happened at a time of the globalisation, and not every effort will be productive, but where flowers bloom, there is still hope to see its bearing fruit.

After China’s economic reforms in 1978, Chinese artists and architects were allowed a little more but still not total freedom to experiment on different projects in advantage of merging a socialist political system and a capitalist free market economy to produce impressive architecture and city planning. Perhaps it is a new era for a different generation with a new identity in art and architecture, hence a new contemporary Chinese style.

In chapter 2, the thesis continue to discuss the western influences in China in terms of westernisation, modernisation, and nationalism from a different viewpoint. For instances, the chapter will start with exploring the beginning of the Chinese contemporary art, and by addressing “Chinartscape” as to represent “the country’s artscapes” that reflects the globalisation of Chinese social and economic changes in modern China. And through the retrospective of the artists’ work, the chapter intends to give reader an understanding towards the modernity in the new forms of Chinese styles. In order to describe how western influence was mediated and developed as medium of architectural transitions against the social and urban environment in modern China. This chapter will also further contextualise and criticise on the rapid economic expansion, urbanisation and censorship politics and impact towards visual culture and political perspectives in Chinese contemporary art and architecture.

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0.3 “National form”, “Internationalisation” and “Avant-garde” Chineseness as architectural style had conflicting historical and stylistic transitions, such as the slogan “national form” which was largely employed the first half of the 20th century in China. In chapter 3, a brief introduction will firstly explain how “national form” began its roots in a Chinese architectural context and its impact over modernisation in Chinese architecture. “National form” or Nationalism such as Chinese identity manipulates the innovative architectural creations in China, and it limits the level of “critical selfconsciousness” in critical practice and populism, and it also become the “simple-minded attempts to revive the hypothetical forms of a lost vernacular” distinguished by Frampton (1983) in his essay on Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance.

Perhaps contemporary Chinese architecture in Frampton’s theory doesn’t quite match the expectations of critical regionalism nor replicate the real modern architecture in Europe and North America. Ruan and Bingham-Hall (2006) in their book of New china architecture suggested that the appearance of architecture in China presented as eclectic in style, or “kitsch” instead of modern. However, Vlassenrood (2006) in her essay Making Change Sensible from the book of CHINA contemporary reviews that fascination of China in terms of its impressive scale of developments from the west has increased rapidly.

The “euphoria” regards to Chinese construction avoids a large number of fundamental difficulties and conflicts such as “extreme short-term planning, all-powerful developers with an extremely commercial outlook, a wholehearted acceptance of Western architecture and an absence of design rights” which attracted and convinced western architects to take their part of the scene. Vlassenrood further elaborates that after 1979, a rising wave of internationalisation of architectural information was penetrating through Chinese architectural developments, the exchange of international architecture was immense. Western architects are found working in Chinese architectural firms across mega cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Chinese architects and students like the author went aboard to pursuit further architectural education. Despite the conflicting stylistic debates over Chinese architecture, there are architects like Forster + Partners, Rem Koolhaas, Herzog & de Meuron, MVRDV and Zaha Hadid who has marked their signatures across the capital and other large cities. Whether It was criticised or appraised by critics or users, its style or theory behind those new architectural developments are certainly showing the signs of internationalisation which was inevitable. Dubrau (2008) in his book Sinotecture: New architecture in china commented on this new phenomena from “either modernity or awareness of tradition”, it is the evidence of defining “a differentiated society which has abandoned a closed, collective identity in favour of a plurality of consciousness and identifications”.

Chapter 3 lastly addresses how I have framed these multiple theoretical, critical and historical perspectives on Chinese architecture through a critical design practice in my design studio research. This thesis concludes with designed drawings and CAD and CAM techniques and methods, speculations on a 21st century, Contemporary Chinese critical regionalism specific to the present-day and future.The focus of thesis and design project derives from 3 cases studies based on Chinese contemporary architecture that purposely selected from Avant-garde architects such as Wang Shu and Ma Yansong. The objective is neither to tackle the modernity of all the new construction and architecture in China nor theorise a new style in Chineseness. But to address a set of projects which manifest “a sophisticated combination of aesthetic resistance and social-political engagement, a balance between construction and critique”. (Ding, 2016) Vlassenrood (2006) suggests it was likely to identify three main architectural groupings from large quantity government employed firms to architects that connected from different universities and independent architectural practices such as Avant-garde architects, who are shaping, reinterpreting and defining the future of architecture in China.

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Suburbs of Perfect Brightness RIGHT: Author’s render (isometric projection) Imaginary Garden-City

Avant-garde independent firms are usually formed by the fourth generation of Chinese architects who was born after 1949, the main purpose of those groups aimed to rationalise buildings that were spatially and technically superior and stay away from commercial architecture. They value the method of incorporating modern technicality with the translation of Chinese tradition as the result of modern architecture and with consideration to feng shui, yin yang and to traditional forms. (Brinkman and Vlassenrood, 2006) The chapter continues with case studies to analyse MAD architects through their views on architecture, who associated functionality with urban density that was referencing from Chinese natural landscapes. And 2012 Pritzker winner Wang Shu he stood out as Avant-garde architects. In comparison with MAD who distinguishes Chinese style in architecture from extracting the perspective of traditional Chinese literati, that manifests the tectonic materials in Chinese regional context.

In response to WHAT IS CHINESE ARCHITECTURE, the conclusion consists of critical arguments in chapter one, two and three, which summaries and reviews on synthesis of style in Chinese Architecture. Author proposed in his design project through speculation to operate a new “garden” as design method to generate an urban development based on the theory of “resistance on aesthetics” and establishing a masterplan which aim to articulate chineseness as design approach in constitution of modern modification through translation of Chinese philosophy. Ultimately it has allowed its style to be acknowledged through multiplicity of interpretations, and open to freedom and possibilities where history and modernity can co-exist in order to enrich the process of conflicting expression of Chineseness in Architectural Style.

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中国制造?【 Made in China?】 Modernising Chinese Architectural Style and Form:

Orientalism and Occidentalism In The Garden Of Perfect Brightness And Its 21st Century Architectural And Urban Design Influence and Relevance

CHAPTER 1 Spatial Design in 圆明园 “Garden of Perfect Brightness” from Qing Dynasty in relations to 景- jing ,Chinese Philosophy and Architectural Design 1.1 -

A Brief Understanding of the Origins of Gardens

1.2 - Architectural History and Paintings of Garden of Perfect Brightness (Yuan Ming Yuan) in Relation to Spatial Design Representation 1.21-

圆明园四十景图 (40 Scenes of Yuan Ming Yuan)and Concept of jing as Teory of Paintings in relation to Architectural Representation

1.22-

西洋楼 (Western mansions) As Western jing and Linear Perspective

1.30 - Architectural Design in Response to Garden Design through Ethics and Ideologies 1.31- Ethics in Chinese Gardens and as a Tool For Spatial Design 1.32- Landscape and Architectural Design in relations to FengShui (Geomancy) 15

Location of Yuan Ming Yuan Beijing RIGHT: Author’s diagram

1.1 A Brief Understanding of the Origins of Gardens Keswick and Jencks (2003) in their book The Chinese garden: History, art and architecture described an early image of Chinese civilisation, and how they perceive nature as the beginning of life: “Man was not exalted as essentially different from all other created things, and his prosperity and happiness were seen to depend, like all forms of life, on his successful adjustment to natural forces. Such a view is common to many agrarian peoples, but in China it grew into an ideal of harmonious co-operation which becomes central to philosophy for more than two thousand years ” (p.39).

The most precedented Chinese Gardens were the “royal hunting enclosures”, pleasure gardens and animal preserves. The earliest can be dated from the Xia, Shang (c.1600-1050 BC) and Zhou (c. 1050-256 BC) empires, where “mythical dynasties” had gated properties including canals, pools, animals and pavilions for court ceremonies. Shanglin, as “Supreme Forest” was the first great park created by the ruler of the state of Qin, who had unified the country and later declared himself as the “first emperor”, Shihuangdi (reigned 221-206 BC). He established the capitol Xiangyang which is called Xi’an, now a modern city situated from northwest of China. Shanglin was more than just a hunting preserve, but a microcosmic collection from empires’ territories with fragments of gardens and palaces.

(Rinaldi, 2011) China’s garden culture has really started to evolve as “the aesthetic of a collection of landscapes”was during the Han Dynasty where Wudi (141-87 BC) continued to bring vegetations and different animals from remote lands, as well as constructing pavilions and small temples. Additionally with a body of manmade water called Kunming Lake, it gradually became a miniature of the empire itself.

Living in retirement beyond the World, Silently enjoying isolation, I pull the rope of my door tighter And bind firmly this cracked jar.

My spirit is tuned to the Spring-season; At the fall of the year there is autumn in my heart.

Thus imitating cosmic changes My cottage becomes a Universe.

Lu Yun, 4th century AD (Waley, 2000) Johnston (1991) described in his book Scholar gardens of china: A study and analysis of the spatial design of the Chinese private garden “Chinese gardens are the very poetry of architecture, making a direct appeal to the emotions and devoted exclusively to serving all the senses: visually unfolding a succession of pleasing surprises; introducing textures which seek to be touched; mingling the perfumes of blossom and bark; capturing whispers of moving leaves and water; exploiting the ever-changing character of the trees whose varying beauties enhance each season” (p.1) .

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The Old Summer Palace or Yuan Ming Yuan

Johnston (1991) described in his book Scholar gardens of china: A study and analysis of the spatial design of the Chinese private garden “Chinese gardens are the very poetry of architecture, making a direct appeal to the emotions and devoted exclusively to serving all the senses: visually unfolding a succession of pleasing surprises; introducing textures which seek to be touched; mingling the perfumes of blossom and bark; capturing whispers of moving leaves and water; exploiting the ever-changing character of the trees whose varying beauties enhance each season� (p.1) .

There are three distinctive types of the gardens developed in China1.

Private Gardens –Belonging to the scholar-officials

2.

Imperial Gardens- Large scale with exotic gardens designed particularly for Chinese emperors 3.

Temple Gardens- Public gardens found in temples, ancestral halls and natural scenic parks 17

Xiyang Lou Western Mansions

西洋楼

This Chapter will mainly concentrate on the late Imperial Garden-Yuan Ming Yuan. My research purpose is directly linked with my architectural design project. For creating an imaginary Garden-City and masterplan integrated with nature, my design proposal and initial concept is influenced by Chinese garden design, that is extracted from the ideology, literati, architectural projection, and the organisation of space from Yuan Ming Yuan as a garden and its historical artefacts. The aim is to examine the elements through a series of historical art works which were produced during the Qing period both by Chinese imperial court artists and Jesuit painters were hired by Qing emperors.

Due to the barbaric destruction by British and French soldiers during the Second Opium War (1856-60), there are very limited historical resources of Yuan Ming Yuan left, apart from its ruins that has become national wound for Chinese people today.

Therefore I have chosen a set of significant art paintings were saved from the destruction of the garden, it illustrated the “40 Scenes of Yuanmingyuan”, and another set of art engravings which demonstrated 20 views of Xi Yang Lou as the initial research case studies In relation to analyse Chinese perspectives in landscape paintings; and how it was employed and demonstrated as response to my design project. In addition to discuss the contrast between Chinese and European expressions through narrative landscape paintings which completed by European Jesuit painters under Chinese influence.

The theoretical and analytical method I use to conduct the studies through Chinese paintings from Yuan Ming Yuan is based on the Chinese term jing, which can be roughly interpreted as “scene” in English. it was reintroduced by Zou (2011) in her book A Jesuit garden in Beijing and early modern Chinese culture. She elaborated that jing is a traditional concept of Chinese garden design. “A jing can integrate a garden scene and the spectator’s mind into one unity, where the diffusion of brightness is the very flow of passion. The etymological and theoretical explanations of jing lead to issue of how the diffusing brightness was bounded in the Yuanming Yuan”. (p.12) In the context of Yuan Ming Yuan, if a jing is understood as a general bird’s view in the Chinese sense, then through a western lens, jing is an intimate perspectival view. It suggests that jing as a whole, has indeed influenced Jesuits and how they perceive Chinese microcosm through a specific time and space. In result, the approach to jing must through spectator’s emotion and intention as a visual projection.

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圆明园 Garden of Perfect Brightness proper 长春园 Garden of Eternal Spring 绮春园 Elegant Spring Garden

Location of Yuan Ming Yuan and Xi Yan lou LEFT: Author’s diagram

1.2c-鏤月開雲 Peony Terrace Louyue kaiyun Engraved Moon and Unfolding Clouds 1.2b-勤政親賢 Hall of Diligent Government Qinzheng qinxian Diligent and Talented Government

1.2a- 九州清宴 Emperor’s Private Residence Jiuzhou qing yan Nine Continents Clear and Calm

1.2 Architectural History and Paintings of Garden of Perfect Brightness (Yuan Ming Yuan) in Relation to Spatial Design Representation “Every Emperor and ruler, when he has retired from the audience, and has finished his public duties, must have a garden in which he may stroll, look around and relax his heart. If he has a suitable place for this it will refresh his mind and regulate his emotions, but if he has not, he will become engrossed in sensual pleasures and lose his will power” (Malone, 1934) 1.2d-洞天深處 The Princes’ School Dongtian shenchu Deep Vault of Heaven

The quote was extracted from the imperial poems of forty scenes of Yuanmingyuan which suggested that a spiritual rejuvenation was essential for Qian Long to rest his heart and stay in peace; not only revealed a great conscientious ruler in China, but also it projected his deep appreciation for beauty of the nature that inspired him to create, shape, construct, and design beautiful places within his power. Qian Long’s Grandfather Kang Xi emperor initiated a retreat starting from the northwest of Beijing with a series of villas and gardens named the Garden of Joyful Spring (Changchunyuan 暢春園). Then followed by an additional estate construction in 1709 for Kang Xi’s the forth son who was the Emperor Yong Zheng. It was called Yuan Ming Yuan; literally meant the round (yuan 園) and bright (ming 明) garden (yuan 園) hence the Garden of Perfect Brightness.

The significant expansion with extensive lavish pavilions, buildings, and vistas was dedicated by Qian Long Emperor throughout his reign. For the purpose of pleasure and retirement, the Garden of Eternal Green (Changchunyuan 長春園) was added to the east in 1749. A garden such as this included all the themes we could possibly have seen to develop: extravagant pavilions (1.2a); magnificent halls for imperial entertainments and visitors (1.2b); small corners for study (1.2c); a vast library (1.2d) to house one set of the great Qing collection of classical arts, reproduction of a southern sceneries with temples and final an immense collection of various vegetations with mysterious beasts were kept. In 1774, a third garden had been added to the entire complex as Xian Long’s last contribution. It is called the Garden of Elegant Spring (Qichunyuan 綺春園), together all three imperial gardens was eventually completed and become known as the Yuan Ming Yuan-The Garden of Perfect Brightness.

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Buddhist and Taoist Temple

Temple: Static Building Landscape: Movement as journey passing by temples

1.21a-鏤月開雲 Peony Terrace Louyue kaiyun Engraved Moon and Unfolding Clouds

1.21b-慈雲普護 Island of Shrines Ci Yunpihu Merciful Clouds Protect All

Suburbs of Perfect Brightness 1.21f: Author’s render (Two-Point Perspective ) Imaginary Garden-City

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1.21d-方壺勝景 Beautiful Scene of the Square Pot Fanghu shengjing Beautiful Scene of the Square Pot

1.21c- 上下天光 Island of Heavenly Light ShangXia Tianguang Heavenly Light Above and Below

1.21 圆明园四十景图 (40 Scenes of Yuan Ming Yuan)and Concept of jing as Theory of Paintings in relation to Architectural Representation A set of forty paintings was created by two imperial court artists Dai Tang and Yuan Shen, while construction of the Yuan Ming Yuan was completed in 1744. It was called the forty scenes because the names of the scenes were already been given by Qianlong emperor.

The original terminology of the those forty “scenes” in Chinese language is called jing.

During the period of Qing dynasty, Zou (2001) suggested that the interaction between the garden jing and painting jing initiated the Western garden scenes to be “depicted as an exotic jing within a Chinese garden”. Moreover, the jing was suggested not only over powering the painter’s inner emotions, but also a strong projection on painter’s own impression over his view of landscapes. One of the forty jing painters, Dai Tang who employed a bird’s eye view in his works, but completely differentiated “the front from the side in order to depict the buildings in great detail” discussed by Zou (2001) who cited the painter Tang (867) to further describes the scale of jing and said : “Landscape painting is different from figure painting, In the latter, only a cliff, crag, or single piece of landscape is painted, This is the so-called spot jing. As for the complete jing of mountains and rivers, it is necessary to go to see real mountains” (p.67) Spot jing can be perceived as it was close to a human scale, with more focused, detailed and immobile relationship with its settings. See figure 1.21a-Engraved Moon and Unfolding Clouds; and 1.21b- Merciful Clouds Protect All. As complete jing is extracted from a larger scale of landscapes, with the appearance of human being dynamically moves within the nature. See figure 1.21c-Heavenly Light Above and Below; and 1.21d-Beautiful Scene of the Square Pot. The difference between spot jing and complete jing will help the following section to understand how was the Western exotic jing firstly introduced as a spot jing in Chinese gardens and what developments it has carried out as traditional jing.

(Zou, 2001) As response to spot jing and complete jing, I have created three drawings representing my interpretation of the jing, particularly jiejing, as “borrowed scenes” where it was inspired by the paintings from forty scenes. Mountains, hills, bridges, buildings were integrated into the whole landscape. The jing theory applied to three drawings can be understood as my intend for generating a panoramic view of the garden city, and meanwhile giving a specific view of a garden scene. It reflects how borrowed jing was “a key pattern of garden design demonstrated” my control over creating a jing, on the other hand, buildings in my rendered drawings play important role “in composing a jing” . (Zou, 2001) See figure 1.21 f-h, where I have applied two-point perspective in three drawings, as I rotated the camera at the same height. My ultimate intend is applying the Western techniques in choosing a designated perspective, like half bird’s view and half human eyes’ level, but based on the jing theory to model the elements for creating a jing as “objective items”, hence a “Western jing”.

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Suburbs of Perfect Brightness 1.21g: Author’s render (Two-Point Perspective ) Imaginary Garden-City

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Suburbs of Perfect Brightness 1.21h: Author’s render (Two-Point Perspective ) Imaginary Garden-City

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Xiyang Lou Western Mansions

西洋楼

1.22 西洋楼 (Western mansions) As Western jing and Linear Perspective Yuan Min Yuan embodies the “virtue of Round Brightness” and representation of a multiple jing. This section discusses how does similar techniques and theories as synthesis to be integrated into the Western portion. It was suggested by Zou (2001), the jing of the Western garden was represented from twenty copperplates that were drawn by the Chinese painter Lantai Yi who clearly has “the Chinese eye”, but who also worked closely with Jesuit Castiglione and embedded the technique of line method (xianfa), “the Chinese translation of Western linear perspective”.

The influence was evident from the traditional oblique projection and its lines in Chinese landscape painting, but the line method was introduced as central perspective by Jesuits was not extensively employed into Qing’s imperial garden representation until the “birth of the twenty copperplates of the Western garden” in Yuan Ming Yuan- or as so-called Xi Yang Lou (Western Mansions).

A classic expression in Chinese landscape painting is depth and distance, it was suggested

by Bing Zong (14) cited by Zou (2001), that “the greater the distance form the object, the smaller the object appeared, and this was true in both reality and painting.” And the theory of the distance can be interpreted as coming from the observation of nature as to atmospheric perspective in modern days. The “fontal view” was applied in the majority of those copperplates, see figure 1.22 a-c, as close to central perspective, “with the horizon at a eye level” it was suggested to appear in Renaissance art, also “frontal view” means zhengshi as in Chinese paintings. (Zou, 2001) In Ming dynasty, the frontal view “emerged as a type of jing, called the head-on jing (duijing)” It can be understood as a pre-arranged journey path to surprise the visitors, or as an appreciation that was in a static composition from interior.

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Location of Xi Yan lou in relation to YMY LEFT: Author’s diagram

1.22a-諧奇趣 Pavilion Harmonizing Surprise and Delight Xieqiqu south façade

1.22b-養雀籠 Aviary Yangquelong west façade

1.22c-海宴堂 Hall of Calm Seas Haiyantang west façade 27

I have created a set of vertical perspectival isometric drawings from figure 1.22 e-g in response to “a parallel projection in bird’s eye view for the depiction of buildings”. It was an experiment to demonstrate the significance of parallel projection, rather than the expression of depth and spatially in a building “painitng” as representational technique. (Zou, 2001)

Suburbs of Perfect Brightness 1.22 e- Author’s render (Frontal & Parallel Projection) Imaginary Garden-City 28

Suburbs of Perfect Brightness 1.22 f- Author’s render (Frontal & Parallel Projection) Imaginary Garden-City

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“正月观灯 此组板画共有十二幅，以珐琅 彩绘画雍正帝在圆明园的日常生活场景， 按春，夏，秋，冬四季12个月的顺序排 列，分别为“正月观灯”，“二月踏青” ，三月赏桃”，”四月流觞”，“五月竞 舟”，“六月纳凉”，七月乞巧”，“八 月赏月”，“九月赏菊”，“十月画像” ，“十一月参禅”，和“腊月赏雪”。这 十二幅行乐图展现了其在圆明园生活的各 个场景，也表现了12个月的不同节令风 俗。”(DouBan, 2012)

1.22i-《雍正十二月令圆明园行乐图》- 十一月参禅 The Wonderful Journey of Twelve Months for Yong Zheng in Yuan Ming Yuan November-The Apparition of Silkworm Giuseppe Castiglione

On one hand, it was explained by Zou (2001) that “In the delineation of buildings in traditional Chinese paintings, there is no fixed focal point. With a single building or several buildings in a closely related group, there is no discrimination in size, and parallel lines remain parallel and equidistant through their length”. On the other hand, I used vertical rendered drawings to express the depth of jing, in terms of the atmospheric perspective empathising on Chinese paintings as vertical compositions. Through reconfiguration and rearranged isometric render drawing figure 1.22h, it demonstrated my approach on how Chinese landscape paintings were often presented on vertical scrolls, with viewing starts from the bottom and gradually moves towards up as it slowly extends into the distance.

In comparison to figure 1.22i, one of a twelve sets painted by Castiglione described a twelve months leisure activities of Yongzheng emperor with his families. In this particular painting, “the concept of the focal point acting as the counter-eye was well maintained by the Jesuit concept of perspective”. as Zou elaborates that “invisible reality is approached by perspective with two visual effects, depth and foreshortening”. My intend was to utilise a multiple of isometric views to achieve a contemporary style in representation that was inspired from synthesis of jing and Jesuit’s linear perspective.

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Suburbs of Perfect Brightness 1.22 g left- Author’s render (Frontal & Parallel Projection) Imaginary Garden-City

Suburbs of Perfect Brightness 1.22 h- Author’s render (Parallel Projection With Depth) Imaginary Garden-City 31

The Italian Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione, “Shining Liang” as his Chinese name, who played a significant role in delivering linear perspective in China. The twenty copperplates were created through line method, which were incomparably influenced by Castiglione.

Figure 1.22j where the left bridge is called the “Bridge of Line method”; figure 1.22k, where the hill is titled “Hill of Line Method”; and from figure 1.22l, where the open-air stage set is named “Walls of Line Method”. It was suggested by Zou that the perspective view of the engravings from all twenty copperplates were illustrated as “face”, and in relation to central perspective with horizon of view near the eye level. it was the result of ever the first time of combination between Chinese imperial face and Jesuit perspective.

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1.22j-海宴堂 Hall of Calm Seas Haiyantang east façade

1.22k-線法山 Perspective Hill Xianfashan front view

1.22l-湖東線法畫 Perspective paintings east of the lake Hudong xianfahua 33

Central Build Axis A central focal point and community centre for artist studio linking with other four main “islands” that also links with landscapes and lands to be developed

1.30 Architectural Design in Response to Garden Design through Ethics and Ideologies From previous section, it was concluded that the jing is an aesthetic concept of Chinese gardens and landscape construction. The depth of jing and jing of line method not only was applied for perspectival representation, but also a durability between the focal point of copperplates and viewpoints within Yuan Ming Yuan. It demonstrated the linear perspective was employed as an imaginative expression where our minds dwell.

Chinese Gardens regards to its natural appearance and irregularity, through forty scenes, it was clear that Yuan Ming Yuan was made of thematic forms and spatial organisations. It was made from references beyond metaphorical interpretations; and through superstition, philosophical and historical context, the design for Chinese garden is not only represented from superior natural order, but also heavily inspired and connects to the vitality through human and their emotions in order to create romantic and dramatic thematic sceneries.

1.31 Ethics in Chinese Gardens and as a Tool For Spatial Design

Floating Bridges, paths, intersections

Central infrastructure rotates around the central axis, serving and relating from one and another

There were a few fundamental systems have influenced the design and formation of Chinese gardens: Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism.

Diagram 1.31a illustrated as an axonometric drawing which explains my intend for incorporating the elements I have briefly discussed in this section as experiment to evaluate the result as an architectural representation.

The origins of Chinese gardens were connected with holy mountains and magical rocks which symbolises religious aspects and ritual representations, additional to attempts at immortality on the parts of Emperors. It was claimed by many writers that love of nature for Chinese was so strong that “as evinced in Chinese landscape painting and gardens, as to constitute a philosophy, or belief, on a par with Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism”.

(Keswick and Jencks, 2003)

Imaginary Garden-City Masterplan Complex Proposal

Confucianism relates to social settings and obligations of one man’s self-fulfilment, and its purpose for individual was considered in function of its role and activities. It is not religious rather proposes as a political ethic. From the diagram 1.31a, where the shape of the whole complex consists of a series of “islands” in a larger circular site, it was referring the roundness and brightness from Garden of Perfect Brightness. The Garden-city was proposed as a multicultural and regional “utopian” for different social class, a circular site enhances the continuity and growth within the Garden-City with no definite hierarchy but equality integrated with man-made landscape, hence jiejing- the borrowed scenes.

Daoism was based on the principle of unity of cosmos. It was taught that a man who belongs to a vaster order of things; its life lies in between the ultimate purpose of seeking harmony with energy of nature and inner cultivation. Another endeavour from my design proposal was using method of jing discussed from previous section, to emphasise and speculate how Chinese microcosmology should integrated into the design projects as jing and embrace Daosim use “Garden” as design tool to shape the future of our cities.

From geometric matrix which based on symmetry and hierarchical relations through Confucianism to Daoism with its focus on social, meditation and contemplation of nature.

It suggests the meaning of Chinese garden is “finding moments of calm and contemplative appreciation of nature without distancing themselves from their duties towards their families and the state”. (Rinaldi, 2011) 34

Green: vegetation development Grey: Urban extension for future implantation

Worker’s Living Studio and Workshop Temples with Garden of Pavilions

Farmer’s Market Palace and People’s Residence with Garden of transportation

Garden of Gardens: Memory History Culture and Diversity

Occidental High Rise and Sky Gardens for freedom

Suburbs of Perfect Brightness 1.31a- Author’s render (Axonometric Projection Diagram) Imaginary Garden-City 35

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Suburbs of Perfect Brightness LEFT: Author’s render ( Isometric Projection ) Imaginary Garden-City

1.32 Landscape and Architectural Design in relations to FengShui (Geomancy) In Chinese garden design, its spatial articulation has played another vital factor for compositional techniques. The strategy usually implies that “the construction of a narrative through episodes, through scenic views juxtaposed so as to draw the visitor into a visual experience”. (Rinaldi, 2011) Gardens from Europe, its spatial organisation is rather firmly initiated from geometrical compositions. The viewer was guided from the central axis of the park, and followed by an orderly hierarchy of perspectives in scenic views.

In contrary, Chinese gardens owns no grand line to dominate the perceptions of the spatial relationship within the garden. It is formed with a sequence of differentiate spaces and scenes. With lack of perspective scenes constructed from particular vanishing points, the result of the visualisation in Chinese garden become an emotional movements influenced by purely aesthetic seduction and sense of a discovery. Elements such as elevations, screens, pavilions and paths is changing in a seemingly free sequence, which bring the complexity and distortion into the perception of the garden space.

Rinaldi suggested that the original method of composition for Chinese gardens was inspired from two basic traditions. The first general principle for Chinese gardens was based on basic rules of position of volumes and voids in relation to the buildings and garden paths like circulations. On the other hand, Chinese gardens are also related, reflected and responded to its aesthetically micro-landscapes which develops through a compositional episodes as scenic views that has choreographed via patterns of landscape paintings.

Throughout many centuries in ancient China even until today, Fengshui (wind and water) as a natural phenomena that was originated through a combination of mystical philosophy, superstition, common sense and aesthetic values, and it is inspired by the principle of an balanced environment not only provide the serene life but a prosperous one- Geomancy.

On one hand, Fengshui was based on the how environment was influenced by this vital energy called qi, which represents a dynamic positive and negative life force that flow through the earth. On the other hand, it is about locating the correct positions of man-made objects to be harmonised with orientation for all other earth’s creatures.

The basic rules for Fengshui are: buildings must be always oriented towards the south, but its location in relation to topography is also essential; sites are considered to be placed in flat areas to bring fortune, and it should be open to south and protected from unfortunate winds from the north via hills and mountains, meanwhile surrounded by the low elevations on the other sides; the terrain must be dry with crossed winding stream penetrating favourably from north west toward southeast.

Fengshui was vital for Garden of Perfect Brightness in relation to its natural water system which underwent the extensive modifications dictated by a geomancer. It was decided that “the springs in the south-western part of the garden were deviated and moved northwest, so that the water flowed into the imperial park from the north and flowed out to the southeast, in conformity with geomantic principles”. (Zhou, 2002) 37

Suburbs of Perfect Brightness ABOVE: Author’s render Imaginary Garden-City

The purpose of this render attempts to illustrate the idea of a microcosm model that is placed in the artist’s studio, to represent the vision of future of Garden-City Masterplan from different designers such as artists and architects 38

中国制造?【 Made in China?】 Modernising Chinese Architectural Style and Form:

Orientalism and Occidentalism In The Garden Of Perfect Brightness And Its 21st Century Architectural And Urban Design Influence and Relevance

CHAPTER 2 Chinese Art as Contemporary Art in China; and its impact from cultural, political, economic and architectural contributions to the societies.

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Idol (1978) Wang Keping

Death of Marat (1987) Wang Guangyi

In 1978, China has declared its Open Door Policy by the president Deng Xiaoping. It has not only opened the new horizon for Chinese economy for supporting foreign trade and investment, but also provided opportunity for Chinese artists of their artistic freedom and democracy. Those young and eager generation of artists have never openly had contact with the western contemporary art.

A excellent example of an experimental art work titled Idol (1978) by Chinese artist Wang Keping was presented by Dr Melissa Chiu in her lecture in 2009 at University of Michigan.

He was one of the first artists in his generation after Cultural Revolution using art form to contribute to the Mao’s Legacy-Post Cultural Revolution. The five pointed star on the figure of statue’s head demonstrated the reference of Mao. The statue has one eye half opened and half closed suggested by the artist’s perspective that he acknowledged the continuation of the Mao’s legacy under Deng Xiaoping the ruling in China.

At the time those artists were not allowed to show their works at states’ museums such as National Art Museum in Beijing because of its radicalism featured in their works. This particular work was staged publicly by the artists at the fence in a park adjacent to the National Art Museum, the exhibition was unsanctioned so it was removed by the authority immediately. Later a group of artists called “stars” (xinxin, 星星) protested for artistic freedom and democracy including Wang Keping, which was the original and early Chinese Contemporary Art Movement. (Chiu, 2009) Chinese artists at the time have had to discreetly study western art via Hong Kong for instance. When Deng Xiaoping announced the Open Door Policy, it enabled some emerging young artists in the end of 70s and having their perspectives to surface Chinese Contemporary Art platform. One of the great pioneer examples of western artistic influence was Wang Guangyi’s Post-Classical series: Death of Marat (1987) referencing the original painting form Jacques-Louis David by emphasizing its composition. Later in the second year, the same artist seemed to have worked through many western ideas into him and applied to another of his symbolic painting: Untitled (1988) Oil on Canvas; the replica of Chairman Mao. Wang Guangyi had travelled back through his memories of Cultural Revolution and demonstrated that at the time the artists were able to re-create the official portrait of Mao and have not been arrested and tortured by the authorities. in order to produce or reproduce the faithful image of portrait of Mao, one of the common conventions of copying was to reduce and divide the image plane to a grid, and then copy the smaller grid within the grid to achieve better scale and definition. In this particular work, the gird seemed to be used as an artistic reason from the artist but the true intention behind was the artist trying to use grid as the device to imprison Mao of what he has done to China and its people.

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Untitled (1988) Wang Guangyi

Safe Sex (1987) Ai WeiWei

Tian Shu 天书 (1987-1991) Xu Bing

One of the greatest national art movement within that decade was Xiamen Dada Event in 1986, led by southern Chinese art group including Huang Yongping, Lin Jiahua, Jia Yaoming, Yu Xiaogang and Xu Chengdou. Leader Huang Yongping was postmodernist and demonstrated such freneticism and socialist realm art in Chinese contemporary art history.

The unsanctioned exhibition was staged at Cultural Palace in Xiamen including paintings and assemblages and later the group had set 60 artworks on fire from the ground. The aim of the performance was to protest against establishments such as Museums. Huang Yongping said: “Art works are for the artist what opium is for men. Until art is destroyed, life is never peaceful.” After the event the artists were banned from exhibiting any forms of the public art works.

Xiamen Dada Event (1986) Huang Yongping, Lin Jiahua, Jia Yaoming, Yu Xiaogang and Xu Chengdou

The beginning of the Chinese Contemporary Art since1980s also included many artists at the time had shown their distinctive styles and social agenda. For instance, Ai WeiWei who was also the member of the group “stars”, with his early art work Safe Sex (1987), illustrated a raincoat attached with a condemn that young artist like Weiwei had already been showing work that was irreverent with humorous attempt and perhaps also a little surrealism. Xu Bing was one of those famous Chinese contemporary artists including Ai Wei Wei, who left China in 1990s due to the Tian’An Men event with tremendous political pressure but later returned to China to continue their profound contribution to Chinese Contemporary Art. Heavenly Book or Book from the sky Tian Shu 天书 (1987-1991) by Xu Bing was one of the most important works in that decade. The exhibition was held in National Gallery in Beijing in 1988 and was one of the “China Avant-Garde Exhibitions”. The work consisted of 4000 unreadable characters and was created and invented by the Artist himself. The work was heavily criticised by the political authorities at the time. However, many curators later stated that the work had challenged the tradition and provoked the power of Chinese language. It symbolised such liberalisation movement during a special period. Jerome Silbergeld said: ‘Xu Bing’s “writing” (or non-writing) might be considered an “abuse of language,” a reminder of how language has already been abused by those in control of it, and as a strike against those who have violated the written word through modern political propaganda. While thoroughly contemporary in its politics and linguistic implications, Book from the Sky also upholds the ancient Daoist belief that the deepest truths can never be captured by words alone.’

(Silbergeld, Tang, and Erickson, 2001)

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Great Criticism: Tang (1990) Wang Gunagyi

To conclude an era from 1980s to 1990s in Chinese Contemporary Art history; It is also a new beginning of the consumerism and forthcoming capitalism entering China; the work from Wang Gunagyi titled: Great Criticism: Tang (1990) was the pioneer Chinese Pop Art treated by the artist through a framework dealing with the entry of starting point from the multi-international cooperation in early 1990s. He brought the communist ideology which symbolises the Cultural Revelation Posters, particularly through the uses of the colours such as red, yellow and white from this poser. Every single Chinese person will recognise the logo Tang 珍果，and the slogan in white (Chinese: 每日所需之维生素C) from the middle which highlighted with circular red shape says: “Vitamin C for your everyday intake” was one of the most popular advertisements on TV in that generation which echoing the beginning of the capitalism insertion into Chinese everyday life. (Chiu, 2009) The rapid economic growth, internationalisation, capitalism and globalisation which are gradually taking place in China, and it became the fundamental recourses and inspirations for contemporary Chinese artists for their voice to communicate to the world inside out from the homeland they are habituating. Since China has opened its door to the western countries, Chinese artists who “are adopting diversified media forms and artistic/ design characteristics as timeless fantasies within the context of crude economic expansionism, urban transformation and censorship politics.” (Cheung, 2014) Furthermore, Media activist Brian Holmes described the transformation of the “aesthetics of Chinese urbanism” like “jumping into the sea” (xiahai, 下海) which was used by locals in China to capture the real essence of inhabitation in Beijing today. He writes: “Already, the hallucinatory congestion of the skyscape makes the prophecy come true. There is only one possible world, only one possible dream: continuous buildings, endless highways, infinite urbanization, a city beyond the limits of the imagination. Huge urban blocks, surging arteries, expanding ring roads, metros, airports, refineries, power plants, bullet trains, a city that devours the countryside, scraping the mountains and the sky. A world city.”

(Holmes, 2008) “Chinartscapes” as a new term introduced by Cheung (2014) who explained that “the country’s artscapes” which “are evolving as a part of the globalisation dream, the internalisation of vigorous social and economic changes and the desire to be part of a new global civilisation.” The term “Chinartscapes” describes “the distribution of opportunities for artists to produce and disseminate their artwork both locally and globally. To what extent, then, are the changes that have arisen from crude economic expansionism, urban transformation and censorship politics affecting the visual culture of and political views expressed in contemporary Chinese art?”

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Rabid Dog (2002) Cao Fei Dialogue and Demolition (1998) Zhang Dali

Xia Hai (下海) literally meant jumping into the sea, as it literally understood as the sensation of throwing yourself into the deep ocean with unknown future outcomes. It acted as great metaphor to represent the rapid transformation as an urban form, and that left people who dwell in the city have lost their individuality because of the globalized cityscape and infrastructure; which made people harder to internalize the changes in the city beyond recognition.

Because of the “economic expansionism” penetrated through Chinese cities like a new and futuristic landscape; to catch up with such speed of change happening in our urban environment, many Chinese artists responded to such phenomena with “a critical, ironic rhetoric, thus creating a rupture in the wave of consumerism sweeping the country.”

(Cheung, 2014) Cao Fei, an artist from Guang Zhou who commented on corporate culture with her work Rabid Dog (2002), as Guang Zhou was one of the first cities in China began to develop into a special economic zone. She saw those young rising and pretentious working professionals in the office who wore fashion iconic brands and re-created the image of those yappy class dressing up as puppies and bowwow makeups, with Burberry bags in their months.

She responded in such way to criticize “brand-oriented cosmopolitanism” as office environment and how people only wanted to spend money on brands rather than true value of the product manufactured by corporations.

The reform of New China has brought urbanisation to its people and the velocity of such transformation have made natural unnatural. When there is new construction taken place in a city, the old perhaps even the history of the city was demolished and taken away at the same time from memory of dwellers. What are the consequences of the urbanisation and economic expansions? Zhang Dali as a local contemporary artist who felt pain as he sees city as a human body that is created out of human mind, and in his art, the way the city was designed, planned and functioned is a language of the human mind.

“These two bodies (a construction of nature and a construction of the human mind) are both part of existence.” (Hernández and Ganito, 2015) “The government has stressed that the basic human right is the right to existence and survival, but the very existence of the individual has not received any protection, on the contrary, it has been damaged. The formal structure of the city has been completely destroyed by a new form of capitalistic spoilage.”

Da Li’s photography series-Dialogue and Demolition (1998) demonstrated such despair and he was communicating to the political authorities or to a wider audience, the purpose was addressing the consequences of rapid urban deconstruction built on urban transformation.

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Waste Not “Wu Jing Qi Yong “物盡其用” (2005) Song Dong

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Chinese Offering (2003-2005) Zhang Dali

Another Da Li’s installation, Chinese Offering (2003-2005) which criticised the Chinese authorities reflecting on how they neglected the human rights and “abused” the uses of Chinese migrant labourers. The result of the fast urban transformations such as new airports, high rise residential blocks, financial office towers and international shopping centres was all built by hundreds of cheap labourers like those migrants who came to the big city from their villages seeking their city dreams; but often got paid with very little money. They are referred by Cheung as “the floating urban population”. They often lived in those temporary “sheds” from the construction site and move to another after the one was completed. They were like sacrificial animals made to the Gods (Chinese Corporates and authorities), with no reward and excluded from society in such “process of urban restructuring”. (Cheung, 2014) To conclude this chapter, I would like to use Song Dong’s Waste Not “Wu Jing Qi Yong物盡 其用” (2005) to summarise and reflect how contemporary Chinese artists utilise diversified media forms and their powerful ethical knowledge to impact and educate the younger generation and perhaps to an extent, its influence to a higher level of social, urban, and political effect on Chinese contemporary art.

Waste Not was firstly exhibited at Beijing Tokyo Art Projects, 798 Factory, Beijing and later in Barbican Centre, London and MoMA, New York. The exhibition consisted of four main categories- (Yi Shi Zhu Yong 衣食住用), Yi-something to wear, Shi-something to eat, Zhusomewhere to live, Yong-something to use. The single installation including more than 10, 000 daily objects collected by the artist’s mother (Zhao Xiangyuan) over the past 50 years of her life. The objects would be often referred by modern generations as “rubbish”. During this installation process, it was performed by the artist who demonstrated the collective memory of his mother through out the whole Mao’s period. Its ultimate purpose was to reflect a traditional and fundamental Chinese way of survival and life in that era-Thrift.

The Installation not only physically documented the memory of Dong’s mother, but also became the mirror of that particular generation.

Previously in this chapter I have addressed the term “Chinartscape” which represented a progressive economic growth and forming a new society that is spreading in China. “a society with greater cultural pluralism and one that is increasingly characterised by its complexity” such as consumerism, capitalism, and globalization which divided into two generations between Song Dong and his mother, perhaps the third generation like myself born from 90s. Such exhibition provided the platform for different generations to reflect their social identity, urban individuality, multiplicity, sustainability in challenging and accepting today’s modernity. (Cheung, 2014) Cheung suggests Waste Not as a contemporary art piece deeply influenced those who had physically experienced the tremendous transformation in China’s reform and opening era.

The objects from the installation symbolising and echoing collective Chinese generation’s childhood. It shows the love between a mother and son, to an extend it can be interpreted that Chinese artists are like the son who is adapting its motherland’s countless changes via economic, urban and political transformation; through art forms to express their devotion and rhetorical patriotism.

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Suburbs of Perfect Brightness ABOVE: Author’s render Plan View Imaginary Garden-City

Suburbs of Perfect Brightness, it was designed as an imaginary city with gardens integrated within, therefore a garden city proposed as a landscape calligraphed with buildings, but dominated by the nature and water. It is located at the outer-skirt of Beijing; providing a communal space as whole for people from different class even cities, blend in with equality and shared space with multi-functioning purposes.

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中国制造?【 Made in China?】 Modernising Chinese Architectural Style and Form:

Orientalism and Occidentalism In The Garden Of Perfect Brightness And Its 21st Century Architectural And Urban Design Influence and Relevance

CHAPTER 3 Nationalism, Modernity and Contemporary in Chinese architecture 3.1- Nationalism and Modernity 3.2- Wang Shu-Amateure Architecture Studio 3.3- Ma Yangsong-MAD Architects 47

3.2a Xiangshan Campus of the China Academy of Art (2009-1012) Wang Shu

3.1a-Above

国民政府署西立面图

Elevation Drawing 3.1b-Left

中央党部回廊图 Perspective Drawing (Zhou, 2002)

3.1 Nationalism and Modernity “National form” is “the presentation of nationalism in build form”, and in a Chinese architectural context, it refers back to traditional Chinese architecture. Xue (2005) in his book Building a revolution: Chinese architecture since 1980 elaborates that China has developed a particular architectural system based on timber construction, acclaimed layout and decorative Chinese motif techniques. Since 1920, Chinese architects had many obstacles in adapting forthcoming international and domestic political waves. It has fragmented an eagerly growing nation with westernisation and weaken its architectural developments in that time. Therefore it resulted a negative social change, fulfilled with a strong political colour, even some of “national style” in Chinese architecture were codified in nation’s humiliation and failure.

When China’s capital moved from Beijing to Nanjing during the Republican era and following the fall of the Qing Dynasty, it was impossible to implement the city planning without national unity right after 1911 . It was suggested by Denison and Ren (2008) in their book Modernism in China that many cities and towns like Nanjing in China were facing a fatal uncertainty. But it was also the time for China to establish a transition of conflicting styles in modernisation. After 10 years, the capital shifted back to Beijing in 1927, and it allowed Nanjing to re-build programmes to upgrade its urban infrastructure, such as architectural competitions for city masterplanning and public buildings. The proposal by french trained Chinese artist and architect Liu Jipiao, was the most compelling design among the others. His proposal for the new government building has not only delivered his research on “Art Architecture” as an theoretic approach, but also demonstrated the possibility of blending western architectural styles into Chinese tradition. In figure 3.1a, The “idiosyncratic” design forms such as Pyramid and Temple of Heaven were integrated as facade innovation, it has had referenced from Egypt and China. Moreover, in figure 3.1b, the impressive interior design was associated with precedented Chinese traditional structure- Dou Gong, where its column design had been geometrically reconfigured through western modification techniques. The proposal was both monumental and prodigious in terms of the scale and building technology. In contrast to Liu’s “utopian” manifestation, a multi-function state project begun in 1931, which consisted of offices and accommodations for Foreign Affair Department. As shown in figure 3c and 3d, the building was constructed purely by reinforced concrete, and it was decorated with granite, tiles from Su Zhou. It was claimed by the local architectural press as the most modern building in the capital. Additionally, evidence has shown from the uniformed openings, controlled use of decorations, flat roof and hollow bricks used for internal walls and floors for sound proofing, suggested by Denison and Ren (2008) that such a modern approach has perfectly expressed the economic material selection and practicality in construction.

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Chinese architects struggled in dealing with integrating modern architectural styles, materials and techniques to accommodate China’s architectural heritage and aesthetic consciousness between 1920s and 30s as it carries on to dominate the third millennium.

Although there are successful attempts achieved by Chinese architects who are from “innovative, culturally considered, and ultimately important interpretations of Modernism” those who studied and trained aboard, they were educated rigorously with Beaux Arts methods as academic institutions that “criticised by Modernists as woefully passé”. (Denison and Ren, 2008) To conclude with Dong Dayou’s comments on question of modernity and national identity, the architectural supervisor of Shanghai’s Civic Centre who stated in 1936: ‘The architect must express himself in the language of his own times.

Only thus will the architect be able to produce buildings that will truly reflect the hopes, the needs, and aspiration of his age and country’ (p.358).

3.2 Wang Shu-Amateure Architecture Studio There are many significant reasons that I have chosen Wang Shu as one of my two main key case studies among the new rising generation of ambitious young architects in 21st Century. Not only through his symbolic approach to Chinese context and its localities, but also the reference of Chinese philosophy he has employed with architecture as house, the uses of nature from Chinese paintings as inspiration and his unique attitude against current mainstream towards architecture in China.

Daoism was based on the principle of unity of cosmos, it was informed that a man who belongs to a vaster order of things, and his life lies between the ultimate purpose of seeking harmony with energy of nature and inner cultivation. (Keswick and Jencks, 2003) Nature in Wang’s architecture becomes more dominate than building itself.

Ningbo Historic Museum (2003-2008)- “Architecture as hills and mountains” described

by Wang in an interview; the museum was composed as mountain as a painting, that was “calligraphed” with three “valleys”, four “caves” and four concave courtyards surrounded by the water like streams. The artificial and “mountainous” topography created nature oriented experience for the public. Wang defines that the building’s critical experience through space and circulation as natural phenomena. It was “a reinstatement of the rural past into what has become a hyper-urbanized context, devoid of history” claimed by Yan (2015). To understand the project, we have to see Ningbo Historic Museum as a landscape rather architecture, not only the movements through the building was paced and purposeful, but also from its “labyrinth of pathways” functioned as internal paths to public spaces, made users’ experience almost pictorial, like “a thoughtful scholar meandering through” a Chinese garden. (Yan, 2015)

As my interest throughout this thesis is more focused on the modern interpretation of Chinese tradition, and forming an architectural language which can communicate to users with the spatial functions in a Chinese setting and their social environment. Wang Shu’s approach to architecture starts with people and it is rooted from house rather than buildings. It was explained by Yan (2015) in her essay The Infinite Spontaneity of Tradition where she describes that Wang cites “architecture as only one small aspect of humanity.

The simplicity and triviality of houses exposes architecture as humble. In houses, everyday living occurs as the direct interaction between people and a built form”. It suggests that Wang doesn’t allow his architecture to control its inhabitants but to “cultivate the human spirit”. Wang’s doctrine behind his buildings are significantly referenced from Chinese philosophy. As respond to Yan’s comment on how Wang values humanity as an embodiment to unscripted aspects in architecture can be understood as Daoism. The same Chinese Philosophy that I have also applied in my design project was Daoism, as I believe in Wang’s project, it was integrated into architectural expression.

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3.2b Xiangshan Campus of the China Academy of Art (2009-1012) Wang Shu Photo by Lv Hengzhong

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On an architectural tectonic point of view, Wang has mastered a special sustainable construction through Chinese vernacular. In contrast with enormous demolitions and reconstructions that taken over China’s urban fabric, Wang used recycled bricks and tiles that were collected from surround demolition sites for facade construction. Unlike other popular architectural firms who often uses algorithms to calculate and design the “randomisation” for a building facade, instead Wang chose to use those local craftsmen (construction workers), and giving them freedom to select and place the bricks randomly.

Moreover, Wang understood the limitation of materials and employed practical design solution with his unique tectonic method, such as using concrete with vertical bamboo battening against horizontal bricks. For economical and easier construction, the facade was constructed with concrete whenever the facade titles out at an angle. It was appraised

by Chakroff (2012) in his essay Amateur Architecture: A New Vernacular? who described Ningbo Historic Museum “As a free-standing icon in a landscape and as an exhibition of a lost pedestrian scale urbanism, the building is at simultaneously a sculptural object and a field-condition: architecture and urbanism, past and present, combined in a fantastic achievement.”

One of the most important aspects of Wang’s architecture, is by far, his works only built in China, which is critical towards China’s rapid modernisation. He ruminates the latest urban developments in China has neglected country’s profound tradition and history. On the contrary, Wang celebrates the “past traditions of China as culture and place”, and his architecture opposes against a “deleterious” attitude towards the modernisation, refers to the past with all respects, but entirely contemporary. (Yan, 2016) Another influential project from Amateur Architecture was Xingshan Campus of the China Academy of Art, it is located in Hang Zhou China, where Republican Era artist and architect Liu Jipiao had his significant contribution of West Lake Expo regards to his theory of “Art Architecture”. Its success in 19th century brought China to an artful era and established the practicing architecture from art theory.

Instead a single squared geometrical mass erected from Ningbo site, Xingshan Campus was composed with “an accumulation of more than twenty discreet buildings” that formed a whole campus complex that functioning studying, living and working. Wang’s idea was to create a provincial site that co-exist with nature like hills, river and trees. Again he recycled the bricks and tiles from Zhejiang province and reused them into construction to maintain the consistency of the design, where enhanced his “Chinese vernacular sustainable construction”. The layout of the Campus was not grid-based but inspired from a greek tradition which “gives experiential views of buildings as three-dimensional rather than as frontal. As well, picturesque views are offered through idiosyncratically shaped openings.”

(Yan, 2016) 52

3.2c-d Ningbo Historic Museum (2003-2008) Wang Shu Photo by Lv Hengzhong

The whole complex was built through two phases, it was described by Chakroff (2012), that project is “an interpretation of Chinese calligraphy, with Phase One representing the geometric, standard form of the characters, and the more expressive Phase Two representing a freehand, cursive script.” By referencing Chinese traditional courtyard dwelling configuration, Wang incorporated the building design technology with contemporary aesthetics and tectonics. Such “archaic typology” provided the low plan depth in order to maximise the daylight penetration as well as cross ventilation. Each individual building is surrounded by a central courtyard to reduce travel distance as well as the overall footprint in between opposing wings. The limited material palette and construction details uniformed the architecture visually, with multiple levels of circulation and pedestrian connections which integrated via elevated walkways and ground level pathways, finally gave easy access through entire campus in any weather conditions.

In phase two, the walkways are expanded with program and volume, from scattered courtyards to a linear configuration. Exterior walkways attached from the facade are like flying bridges eventually merged into the interior ramps that were protected by thick screen walls. The complicated interrelation between circulation and functional spatial framework revealed formalism referencing from Ming dynasty garden configuration. Wang Shu recreated the traditional experience by borrowing Chinese temple architecture to form its rooflines, yet utterly contemporary, finally using “walkways that lead visitors along the face of the building, denying an axial approach.” (Chakroff, 2012) Through Wang’s architecture and his unique approach in Chinese methodology, he has justified his position as pioneer of China’s future practicing architecture- “handicraft than technology, nature rather than the man-made, vernacular rather than monumental, and surprisingly, humanity rather than architecture. Wang thoughtfully redefines the practice of architecture instead of having the architectural profession define him.” (Yan, 2015) 53

3.3 Ma Yangsong-MAD Architects Following a previous essay last year, I have studied Zaha Hadid as an architect and critically reviewed her parametric architectural projects in Beijing as future of architecture in China. Ma Yansong, a former project designer from Zaha’s London office, who graduated from Yale and worked for Eisenman Architects in New York. His “Shan Shui” theory in Chinese architectural setting became an extended further case study regarding to my thesis topic. Ma founded his own practice since 2004, and his projects in China has reshaped the urban landscape in China. It was reviewed by Jun (2009) in his critique MAD on Architectural Design magazine who predicted that Ma Yangsong and his firm has “a crucial and harmonious integration of the avant-garde concept and personal ambition alongside an understanding of professional rationality and responsibility that are essential for the future development of Chinese architecture.”

Unlike Wang Shu, Ma’s approach to architecture was creating “an imaginary future” with forces and forms extracted from nature. He uses radical experimentation to combine the most advanced architectural technology at the time with Chinese philosophy “forging a balance between the cosmos, humanity and nature”. (Holden Platt, 2014) Ma (2014) in his own essay Build for People Not Prowess has emphasised the significance of nature as a priority over urban density and traffic in modern cities. He further elaborates through his architecture theory- Shan Shui concept as “mountains and water”, where two natural phenomena had evidently informed in traditional Chinese paintings, poetry, music and literature. Hence to integrate natural elements such as “mountains, waterfalls and green spaces” into the design in shaping the future of urban fabrics and cities.

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Ma described Beijing as a city as a larger version of traditional Chinese garden in an Interview with Hochberg (2014) from Archinect, where He sees his building projects as sculptures and rocks that were placed in a garden to form a micro-scale, which is like reading a Chinese painting. The scale of the mountain, river and trees in a painting are very small comparing to the actual nature, as we are perceiving the painting, we then place ourselves into imagination with something bigger and grander. MAD’s Chaoyang Park Plaza emerged into the middle of Central Business District (CBD) on the third ring road, where it was located at the southern edge of Chaoyang Park- one of the largest park in Beijing. Responding to Ma’s shanshui theory, he initiated the Shanshui City Project which attempts to “create a new city within Beijing that bridges the gap between industrialization and the conservation of nature.” (Mutuli, 2015)

3.3 a-c Chaoyang Park Plaza MAD Photos by MAD Architects

Chaoyang Park Plaza reintroduced the “nature” into the urban life as it was reviewed by Rosenfield (2015) in her report MAD Tops Out on Beijing’s Chaoyang Park Plaza on ArchDaily, who cited from MAD that the project was called a contemporary “city landscape” and it was further explained by MAD through “exploring the symbiotic relationship between modern urban architecture and natural environment, it revives the harmonious coexistence between urban life and nature. It creates a Shanshui city where people can share their individual emotions and a sense of belonging.” The project predominately featured two 120 metres tall towers, and it was defined by ridges and valleys from shaping its external glass facade; natural breeze was created via vertical ventilation and infiltration system, additionally incorporated with internal planting to bring the real essence of nature inside of a urban environment. The multileveled offices and residential blocks were designed as river stone shapes which looked like erosion had soften its forms over a long period of time. Another inspiring aspect was to create an almost real experience wondering inside a mountain valley, which was through “mid-air courtyard” concept by connecting two towers or residential blocks together, with flowing water surround the buildings in order to provide a sensation of natural scenery. The result was “to bridge the relationship between the two and emphasize relationship in terms of nature and modernism.” (Mutuli, 2015) In response to my design project- Suburbs of Perfect Brightness, it was designed as an imaginary city with gardens integrated within, therefore a garden city proposed as a landscape calligraphed with buildings, but dominated by the nature and water. It is located at the outer-skirt of Beijing; providing a communal space as whole for people from different class even cities, blend in with equality and shared space with multi-functioning purposes. As Ma explained in his essay: “Architecture in China today reflects our societal values. some buildings appear more powerful than others – they stand out because they’re tall or are built with expensive materials. It reflects a society obsessed with power. But nature has the ability to make everyone equal. When you’re in nature you’re nobody, you don’t have a label. There is no social class.”

(Bergman, 2014) 55

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中国制造?【 Made in China?】 Modernising Chinese Architectural Style and Form:

Orientalism and Occidentalism In The Garden Of Perfect Brightness And Its 21st Century Architectural And Urban Design Influence and Relevance

CONCLUSION 4.1- “Art Architecture” In relations to Architectural Design 4.2- “Experimental Architecture” 4.3- “Future” jing 57

In diagram 4.1

1.

An isometric parallel projection is illustrated via render 4.1a.

2.

A combination of isometric parallel projections which merged into one image as a comparable design outcome is illustrated via render 4.1b. It is also the result of the multiple jing as integration between traditional jing and vision of jing.

3.

The depth of jing was applied through multiple viewpoints in render 4.1b, by first selecting a one-directional viewpoint where the yellow line indicates.

4.

Scene 1 to 4, showing each individual image was rendered separately from large to small in order to create the atmospheric perspective, hence one line method distorted via the computational techniques in architectural representation.

5.

Scene 1-the gate as you are entering the “city”.

6.

Scene 2-the second “gate” as semi-public domain before entering the central building complex.

7.

Scene 3-the focal point of the “city”, also as the central transition of one-directional perspective method, indicating the depth from second half of vertical “painting” as rendering. The distance of jing is framed and demonstrated vertically, which suggests the reading point from the bottom to top, as large to small.

8.

Scene 4- the final narrative as eye-finishing point from reading the image. It illustrated the attempts of creating “buildings of line method” - Xianfa lou. It is also finished with mountain-like buildings to create the allusive of jing.

4.1 “Art Architecture” In relations to Architectural Design Zhang (2013) in his article Blending China and West to Create Chinese New Architecture:Liou KiPaul’s “Art Architecture” and its Interpretation who reviewed that in 1923 there was a Chinese Republican Era artist and architect Liu Jipiao had already commented on the requisite of the “new style” in Chinese architecture. Liu introduced the significance in principles of “art architecture” which constitutes functionality, harmony, and style before he addressed the “new Chinese architectural style”; that firstly we ought to understand the difference between “Art Architecture” and Building Engineering. Liu further explained that “Building Engineering” in China should completely follow the steps of the Western methods as we don’t have the equipped building science technology in 1920s. Therefore in Architectural design:

1.

Prescriptive: Chinese Architecture should employ art as the fundamental approach, alongside let science technology to accommodate its function.

2.

Prospective: Chinese Architecture will need a new architectural style, which created by us, as architects from the presents, we are allowed to adapt and practice in western architectural design methods, but certainly not to replicate its style.

3.

Descriptive: Chinese Architecture is a representation of art, the art of gardens, ideologies and Chinese philosophies; and this art will distinguish and integrate the synthesis between the history of Chinese traditional architectural styles and western cultural influence in Chinese architecture, through representation, materials and innovation.

In order to define the Chinese identity and its cultural heritage, ways of using artistic values can be interpreted as the first step to read and study western methods as well as integrate Chinese influence within the design process, in result we could integrate the advanced architectural representation, materials and constructional quality from western building precedents, as conclusion from Liu who commented on the difference between building engineering and art architecture.

Liu applied his theory as Art Architecture as Art Deco experiments in Chinese architecture embraced the research of cultural exchange after his studies in France. It is in relation to how linear perspective was presented to the Chinese court by Jesuits, and how linear perspective was translated into a Chinese approach of representation and its critical influence to my design project as well as the future of Chinese Architecture. However, the artistic values can be understood as representational techniques as jing from this thesis, which was extracted from case studies in forty scenes and twenty copperplates form Yuan Ming Yuan.

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As response to “art architecture”, I have developed a series of design drawings as diagrams and architectural renderings to experiment on representational techniques inspired by the concept of jing which extracted from Qing dynasty imperial Chinese landscape paintings and copperplates in Garden of Perfect Brightness. The art works I have conducted in Chapter 1 were both illustrating classical Chinese and Jesuit painters’ integrated styles under the Chinese rules by Castiglione and the studio of fulfilling Wishes and Imperial painting academy. My task is to examine such peculiar and multiple vanishing points that was often expressed through “Chinese perspective” in art forms, which in comparison to Western geometrical principles such as linear perspectival projections.

The question I propose is that how does those representational techniques to influence my design outcome as architectural renderings and design tool for 3D computational modelling? Throughout the thesis I have discussed Chinese architecture in terms of styles, westernisation and modernisation. As result I intend to reflect those factors through drawings that I have experimented purely by using advanced 3D computational software such as Rhino for 3D digital modelling tool and V-Ray for 3D rendering as post-production in terms of material and lighting rendering. By generating such critical experiments in relation to the eclectic synthesis of style in Chinese Architecture, the design drawings conclude and to demonstrate a scenario to describe my interpretation from imperial Chinese Garden design as the aesthetic of jing, and through Chinese philosophy as theory to define the ontology of Chinese architecture in Beijing today and in the future.

4.0 a-Projection and its analogues: The Arrested Image(1995) Robin Evans

Furthermore I propose that as China is entering developing rapidly in the digital revolution in 21st century, we don’t have to lose our fundamental philosophical, theoretical or historical roots, nor completely embrace the European ideas, but acknowledge the capacity of digital technology that can manipulate the design process and thinking.

The design drawings are also referenced from principles in “projective cast”, where Evans (1995) in his book The projective cast: Architecture and its three geometries suggests that architecture has always had a projective cast in terms of the geometries. In his diagram Projection and its analogues: The Arrested Image, Evans defined a set of different fields of projective transmissions that affects architecture. To be able to achieve an illusion of multiple vanishing points in my drawings that referred to Chinese perspectives, I treated the “new garden” in my design as the “designed object” where Evans explains that we as observer and by looking at the designed object through an “imaginary” projection in consequence of no necessary starting point nor sequence, and eventually an orthographic projection. It is also in response to the intend for the composition of the jing of line method from twenty copperplates from Yuan Ming Yuan. As it was suggested by Zou (2001)that there were two roles of jing of line method played in those engravings, one composed as backdrop for the water play in the garden, another one was provided in a “high place” for “peering” into the distance. Therefore the buildings appeared in copperplates has a focal point, but in the garden, the same building becomes an observational point for viewing.

Quite the contrary to Evan’s projection as three-dimensional perspectival space. For achieving one-directional projection, I have employed the isometric projection by simply placing the camera at the exact point and increase the height from 3D modelling plane field; starting from where the yellow line indicates one-directional view point to capture the different projective depths only by adjusting the camera lens and viewpoint to zoom in and out from selection of the designed objects. The outcome of the final renderings established the technical attempt in representational method as a new style in “Chinese” architectural projection , which in regards to imagination through a three-dimensional perspectival space. (Evans, 1995) 59

Sub

Pers

burbs of Perfect Brightness Diagram 4.1

spectival Projection Experiment In Rendering and Modelling

Imaginary Garden-City

Suburbs of Perfect Brightness MIDDLE: Author’s render Multipel Views Imaginary Garden-City

4.2 “Experimental Architecture” In Chapter 3, I have discussed how Avant-garde Chinese architects from 20th century upon until now, who are using every opportunity to design and build their ideal buildings to distance themselves with historic burdens as historical and ideological aesthetics nor postmodernism and deconstruction from the West. They “invented” these experimental architectures with expectations to maintain their self-consciousness and creative originality; they abstain to be replicas of the West but associate with basic principles from modern architecture, such as minimalism, rationalism, functionalism and the “ordered logic of architectural syntax” explained by Vlassenrood (2006). Perhaps this new culture and architectural phenomena initiates the future of Chinese architecture from China’s new generation of architects. In contrary, they don’t feel the need to associate or declare Chinese identity in their designs, instead they reinterpret the tradition like feng shui, Daoism and traditional forms into modern architecture, incorporate with a critical regionalism that particularly elaborates on local vernaculars, contexturalisms, settings and styles. In result of experimental pragmatism, despite the dedication from avant-garde architects in detailing, and due to the thousands of low-paid builders and inexperienced construction companies who accustomed building in concrete which consequently delivered the low quality of execution in Chinese construction, hence the roughness was revealed in certain current building practices. (Vlassenrood, 2006) On one hand, the avantgarde’s design propositions in China for development of architectural practice still remain uncertain, it is understood as anti-formalist, but it hasn’t provided a critical discourse to the unprecedentedly transforming cities and social diversity. On the other hand, although the self-consciousness is growing among avant-garde, it should reflect on how real Chinese identity is determined by the speed, confusion and uncertainty in current globalised economic market. (Dubrau, 2008) An essential challenge for avant-garde architects is to interpret to what extend those aforementioned issues should influence the design process? Obstacles like social and urban planning conflicts against the contribution to architectural interventions? How will they tackle the gigantic fragmentation in public space? What is the strategy for the poorest population regards to living environment in opposition to rapid deterioration of some urban fabrics. The issues that constitute Chinese architecture should be addressed, I think particularly by non-Chinese architects operating in China and a more critical design approach as well as a more clearer social agenda.

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4.3 “Future” jing In 2014, China’s president Xi Jingping called to an end towards “wired” architecture boom in China who particularly commented on Rem Koolhaas’s CCTV headquarter as an example which should be no longer constructed in China, especially in Beijing. Xi explained in his own statement that art as architecture should “inspire minds, warm hearts, cultivate taste and clean up undesirable work styles” which highly emphasised on people, social agenda and Chinese philosophy, to celebrate art with “moral purity”. (Stott, 2014) It was also claimed by Bosker (2016) in her essay China’s Ban on “Weird” Architecture Is a Global Power Play that the nation’s intention towards the future of Chinese architecture will have less Western input, China will lead but not to follow. It doesn’t suggest that China will go back to “national forms” nor suppress the western influence. Evidently it appeared from the recent success of China’s new pioneering generation like Wang Shu who employed such “a calligraphic handling designing buildings and environments that is in grain with a historic Chinese sense of being” as a Critical Regionalist method.

(Wang, 2016) Or “Chinese Parametricism” that Ma Yansong-the leader of MAD architects who integrated Chinese landscape paintings’ literati with contemporary avant-garde architecture that was coined by Patrik Schumacher as parametric design. It seems that the future of Chinese architecture in third millennium will depend on Chinese architects and developers who are able to address this new balance and position in the framework of contemporary China, embracing with digital revolution and to innovate the unknown.

Although, the fundamental ideology in China still attempts to identify the”visibility of Western buildings as the desired image of Chinese modernization, the critical voice has been heard that the regional cultural tradition is being eradicated by vulgar architectural cultural internationalism. The loss of jing in Chinese contemporary urbanism indicates the withdrawal of public passion from the unethical built environment. Instead. a great number of people who live in an urban environment are shifting their intention to natural landscapes, as their ancestors did, to retrieve the ‘view’ of poetical jing”. (Zou, 2001) Yuan Ming Yuan is perhaps the most powerful evidence of imperialist aggressions and evaluations on this part of history. I am not using this part of history to enhance patriotism, but reflect from the imposition of political ideologies on historical values retrieved from the garden. As a Chinese architectural student, my interest is conducting research on studies from Chinese literature and its cultural influence upon modern age in China.

I suggest through the outcome from my design project, Suburb of Perfect Brightness as an imaginary Garden-city is proposing a new style in urban planning as an artistic yet technical representation. By employing the vision of jing, I intend to use “garden” as a design tool for mapping and modelling the masterplan; jing as a framing tool for computational perspectival projection in architectural renderings.

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