SPACE May 2025 (No. 690)
Now that a second Chinese architect has been awarded the prestigious Pritzker Prize, SPACE turns its attentions in this issue to Chinese architecture. It has not been addressed with the same critical depth as the well-documented architecture of Japan. Since the implementation of its Open Door Policy in 1978, China has experienced a dramatically transformed design environment, and the new generation of architects that emerged in this period led the new direction in architectural discourse from 1990 onwards. The focus of this FEATURE, Chang Yung Ho, is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures at the centre of this movement, shaping the trajectory of contemporary Chinese architecture.
Inha Jung (professor, Hanyang University), the interviewer of this FEATURE, is a scholar who interprets the history of modern architecture in East Asia as the convergence of an imported Western modernity and a regionally specific, indigenous modernity, suggesting that both forms have long coexisted. He views Chang Yung Ho’s work within the broader framework of modern architecture in East Asia. Throughout this interview, Jung examines Chang’s architecture both diachronically and thematically, revealing how modern Chinese architecture often reaches beyond its domestic scope to follow a bold new trajectory.
Jiading Mini Block (2020). At a satellite town of Shanghai, Jiading, the Industry 4.0 Demonstration Base, Atelier FCJZ designed 22 block buildings with a 41.2 × 41.2m module at the office park. This scale stands in stark contrast to the typical urban blocks in China, which often exceed 500m and can reach up to 800m in superblocks, compromising walkability and connectivity. Unlike conventional Chinese urban plans that often fail to control the urban environment quality due to vague zoning, this project provides specific design guidelines to ensure that future developments by other architects will follow the same principles.
Return to China
Inha Jung: You returned China in 1996. Was there any particular reason for that decision? I imagine that you could have had a relatively stable status in your career as a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an architect in ...
