Building Shanghai

Shanghai's illustrious history and phenomenal future is celebrated in this book, which examines the evolution of the city's architecture and urban form in order to contextualise the challenges facing the city today. The physical legacies that reflect Shanghai's uniqueness historically and contemporarily are examined chronologically using specific case studies of exemplary architecture interwoven in a compelling narrative that unlocks the many mysteries surrounding this amazing metropolis. Some of the most influential colonial architecture in the world, outstanding examples of Modernism and Art Deco, and an exceptional selection of eclectic and vernacular architecture reflecting Shanghai's many adopted cultures are revealed. This is the first book ever to examine this remarkable subject in a manner that is both comprehensive and captivating in its written content and stunningly illustrated with over 300 archive and contemporary photographs and maps.

Auteur

Edward Denison is a design consultant, writer and
photographer, whose work focuses on preservation and regeneration
in the built environment. Bridging academic and practical
disciplines, his work in Africa, Asia and Europe includes
consulting for international agencies in heritage conservation,
authoritative books on design and architecture, and internationally
published architectural photography and writing.

Guang Yu Ren is an architect and independent consultant.
Having practised in China for several years, she moved to Australia
to augment her design education. Since then, she has worked with
international agencies in Africa and the UK to conserve and promote
architectural heritage. Her latest project has brought her back to
Shanghai, where she was born and raised, and where she now works to
encourage heritage conservation in education and practice, and to
build links between China with the rest of the world in this
field.

Texte du rabat
As we embark on the 21st century, Shanghai, the economic engine of China, is posed to challenge the established global economic order with its newfound supremacy. Despite the city's recent ascendancy, scant recognition has been paid to the causes of its giddy rise history is not so much in the making, as being repeated. In Building Shanghai, the remarkably turbulent and compelling story of this illustrious trading city is revealed for the first time through its architecture, character, form and urban development. Extensively researched and illustrated, with both previously unseen archive material and new photography, the book draws together a comprehensive narrative of Shanghai's history. Stretching back to its ancient origins, it charts the impact of foreign occupation in the 19th and early 20th centuries and then the subsequent decades of virtual isolation under communism, as well as the background to the present burgeoning economy. The central character in this story is not Shanghai's bewildered present or it fantastical future. It is the city's incomparable and extraordinary past: the Opium Wars that led to Shanghai's occupation by foreigners; China's bitter civil wars and the founding of the Republic; the insularity and greed of foreign settlers; its decadent heyday of the 1920s and 30s when sex, drugs and alcohol underpinned the city's social life; the rise of Communism in China; the Cultural Revolution; and the awakening of potentially the world's largest economy. All of these events, and many more, are etched into the urban landscape and manifested through a fascinating architectural ensemble. This has until now received no systematic scrutiny from abroad. What is, however, demonstrated here is just how extraordinary Shanghai's architecture is in terms of its variety and the interweaving of international styles and design movements.

Contenu

Introduction.

Chapter One: The Origins of Shaghai.

Chapter Two: Establishing and Legalishg the Foreign
Setttlements.

Chapter Three: Constructing Shanghai, 1843-1899.

Chapter Four: Becoming a City, 1900-1920.

Chapter Five: Rise and Fall, 1921-1941.

Chapter Six: Anti-Design.

Chapter Seven: The Giant Awakes.

Chapter Eight: Shanghai's Future.

Notes and References.

Bibliography.

Photo Credits.

Statistics.

Index.