Shanghai reflections : architecture, urbanism and the search for an alternative modernity : Princeton University, Hong Kong University, and Tongji University : essays

Shanghai-China's largest industrial city and the fifth largest port in the world-is in the midst of a rapid revitalization. Shanghai Reflections examines the transformation of the old city into a modern metropolis from a broad cultural and architectural perspective. Architect Mario Gandelsonas charts the city's physical mutation over time; essays by Akbar Abbas and M. Christine Boyer blend architectural and urbanistic concerns with insights gleaned from Shanghai's rich literary and cinematic traditions. Student projects, created in a joint studio sponsored by Princeton, Hong Kong, and Tongji universities and reviewed by critics such as G.C. Spivak, Diana Argest, and Jennifer Bloomer, envision the renaissance of the city in concrete terms. Designed by Michael Rock of 2x4. Contents......Page 16 PREFACE......Page 19 I. ESSAYS......Page 21 SHANGHAI REFLECTIONS......Page 24 PLAY IT AGAIN SHANGHAI: URBAN PRESERVATION IN THE GLOBAL ERA......Page 40 APPROACHING THE MEMORY OF SHANGHAI: THE CASE OF ZHANG YIMOU AND SHANGHAI TRIAD (1995)......Page 60 II. PROJECTS......Page 91 PRINCETON UNIVERSITY......Page 93 HONG KONG UNIVERSITY......Page 145 TONGJI UNIVERSITY......Page 171 III. CONCLUSION......Page 213 EXCHANGE/TRANSLATION/IDENTITY......Page 215 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 218 List of Contributors......Page 219 An architectural and cultural examination of the transformation of the old city of Shanghai into a modern metropolis. Architect Mario Gandelsonas charts the city's physical mutation over time, and student projects envision the renaissance of the city in concrete terms. Ruled by an emperor-the mediator between heaven and earth-and organized according to Confucian precepts, China isolated itself from the rest of the world for much of its history.