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.
Wenzhou Medical University International Exchange Center (2023). Characterised by extremely deep eaves, the units are separated only by narrow gaps of 50cm. As a result, the Wenzhou Medical University International Exchange Center’s campus is composed of four-layered spatial arrangement from the center to the periphery: the central courtyard (outdoor), the indoor, the veranda (semi-indoor), and the area under the overhang (semi-outdoor). This emphasis on creating outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces is intended to encourage people to spend more time outside – shielded from sun and rain – taking advantage of Wenzhou’s mild climate, as implied by the city’s name, which means ‘warm prefecture’.
The Concept of Vision in the Chinese Garden
Inha Jung: In several books and articles that deal with your work and ideas, I discovered that you place strong emphas...
