Title & Author:

How modern : biographies of architecture in China 1949-1979 / edited by Shirley Surya and Li Hua.

Publication:

Montréal, Québec : Canadian Centre for Architecture ; Weimar : M BOOKS, [2025]

Description:

336 pages, 96 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), plans (some color) ; 24 cm

Notes:
"Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Canadian Centre for Architecture from 20 November 2025 to 12 April 2026"--Page 336.
"A project organized by the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, in collaboration with M+, Hong Kong"--Title page.
"Featuring stills from Wang Tuo, 'Intensity in Ten Cities', 2025"--Title page.
"Co-published by M BOOKS"--Page 336.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 332-334).
Nationalizing design -- Yung Ho Chang interviewed about Zhang Kaiji -- Remaking Beijing -- Ma Guoxin interviewed about state-run architecture institutes -- Developing the countryside -- Zhao Jijun on 'The new Dazhai agricultural commune,' Jianzhu Xuebao 6 (1974) -- Diversifying building types -- Xu Wenlu on workers' sanatoriums in Jianzhu Xuebao 7 (1958) -- Collectivizing design -- Lu Andong on Nanjing Institute of Technology School of Architecture, 'Arhcitectural design of Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge Tower,' Jianzhu Xuebao 1 (1973) -- Productive economy -- Doreen Heng Liu on Ding Zukan and Zhou Lida, 'The typical design of a steel plant with an annual output of 50,000 tons,' Jianzhu Xuebao 5 (1958) -- Mobilizing resources -- Zhu Guangya interviewed about the Third Front construction -- Material -structural inventiveness -- Xia Heng on Dong Jingxing, 'Stormproof hall with large-span bamboo arches,' Jianzhu Xuebao 7 (1956) -- Scientific rationalization -- Feng Jiang on Xia Changshi, 'The cooling issues of subtropical buildings: Shading, heat, insulation, and ventilation,' Jianzhu Xuebao 10 (1958) -- Residential building -- Zhang Wei interviewed about living in the Fusuijing Building -- Compact living -- Jennifer Altehenger on Zeng Jian, 'Multipurpose furniture design,' Jianzhu Xuebao 6 (1959) -- A need for models and references -- Cheng Lizhen on Zhang Kaiji, 'Introduction to the Sanlihe government office,' Jianzhu Xuebao 2 (1954) -- Modern ornament as mass culture -- Christine I. Ho on 'The plaster ornament of Beijing's new architecture,' Zhuangshi 7 (1959) -- Heterogeneity of styles -- Liu Diyu on Xia Changshi and Mo Bozhi, 'Musings on Lingnan Courtyard Gardens,' Jianzhu Xuebao 3 (1963) -- Shifts and commingling -- Cole Roskam on foreign aid project manuals.

Summary:

"Between the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and the implementation of Reform and Opening Up policies in 1979, architecture played a key role in shaping China's vision for socialist modernity. However, driven by shifting policies throughout these three decades, modern Chinese architecture has largely been perceived as stunted. Many misconceptions of this history persist: that nationalization and collectivism denied architects creative independence, that projects focused on industrial productivity over design quality, and that the promotion of a "national style" limited more modern formal choices. At once a question and a proposition, How Modern: Biographies of Architecture in China 1949-1979 reassesses New China's architectural production. Reproducing primary sources alongside short essays and interviews with architects, archivists, historians, and residents, the book reflects on issues such as agency, innovation, collaboration, expertise, standardization, craft, and local and international impact. It challenges a monolithic history of socialist modernity by foregrounding the varied conditions under which modernism was conceived, realized, and experienced." -- Publisher's website.

ISBN:

9783944425535 (M BOOKS)
9781927071991 (softcover ; Canadian Centre for Architecture)
3944425537 (M BOOKS)
1927071992 (softcover ; Canadian Centre for Architecture)

Subject:

Modern movement (Architecture) China Exhibitions.
Modern movement (Architecture) China Case studies.
Modern movement (Architecture) China Sources.
Architecture China History 20th century.
Mouvement moderne (Architecture) Chine Expositions.
Mouvement moderne (Architecture) Chine Études de cas.
Mouvement moderne (Architecture) Chine Sources.
Architecture Chine Histoire 20e siècle.
Architecture
Modern movement (Architecture)
China

Form/genre:

exhibition catalogs.
Case studies
Exhibition catalogs
History
Sources
Catalogues d'exposition.

Added entries:

Surya, Shirley, editor
Hua, Li (Architect), 1972- editor
Centre canadien d'architecture, issuing body, organizer, host institution.
M+ (Museum : Hong Kong, China), organizer.

Biographies of architecture in China 1949-1979

Holdings:

Location: Library cage cca productions 322547
Call No.: 2025-5
Copy: 1
Status: Available

Location: Library cage cca productions 322548
Call No.: 2025-5
Copy: 2
Status: Available

Location: Library study room cca productions 322549
Call No.: NA1545.5 .M63 H69 2025
Copy: 3
Status: Available

Location: Library main 322550
Call No.: 322550
Copy: 4
Status: Available