A hypothesis of ‘being’ and of
‘mind’ that may emerge in a relational world, a space-time of montage, an interstitial
realm of dependent origination
ajaykumar
Goldsmiths, University
of London
Abstract
This paper written in relation to the digital art
work, pages of madness, which is to
be presented at GA04. It considers a
notion of ‘being’ and of ‘mind’ that
may emerge in a relational world, a space-time of montage, an interstitial
realm of dependent origination, between so called body and so called external
space. It is a notion that characterised intellectual aspirations of South
Asian civilisation, over fifteen hundred years ago. My concern is to investigate its contemporary pertinence in an
age of cyberspace, in the context of net art.
Article
The manifestation of pages of madness, is the
culmination of a practical research that I was undertaking in 2003-4 at
Goldsmiths, University of London, and the Royal College of Art. I wish to thank Dr. John Phelps from
Goldsmiths for his technical input; and
I am grateful to Shahid Sardar from Diverse Minds, and Dr. Richard
Parkin of Barnet Psychiatric Unit in London for agreeing to be consultants on
this project.
My
‘meta’ research investigation concerns contemporary pertinence and evolution of
a hypothesis of ‘being’ and of ‘mind’ that may emerge in a relational world, a
space-time of montage, in an interstitial realm of dependent origination,
between so called body and so called external space. In this realm a narrative may be elicited. By narrative I do not mean ‘story’ or
‘story’ with ‘plot’, but a totality of a spectatorial experiencing in a
particular space-time. It is a concept
that arguably tangibly manifested in art, architecture, and science, in South
Asia, at least two thousand years ago.
The heritage of this practice, this thinking, can be found in what is
left of rock cut edifices at locations such as Ellora and Ajanta, first begun
around the third century BCE. Around
fifteen hundred years ago tantric art reached maturation epitomised by certain
Ellora rock cut edifices. The
architecture, painting, and sculpture at Ellora could be considered to embody
the philosophic outlook of a civilisation that aspired to a synthesis of
architecture-art-body-health-nature-ontology-science-space-time-technology
The legacy is also found in the texts of one of the
earliest historic treatise on art and aesthetics, the Natya Shastra [[i]]
- written possibly around the second century BCE and thought to be derived from
a much older work of which there is no copy, the Natya Sutra – as well as commentaries on it, such as that of
Abhinavagupta.[[ii]] The Natya
Shastra, envisaged an integrated art form, a gesamtkunstwerk, of light,
colour, scenography, costume, make-up, gesturing body, sound and music. Were it to be written today one could no
doubt also mention the digital image, and other electronic and multi-sensory
possibilities.
Historically speaking, one could envisage this South
Asian technology ‘at the cutting edge’.
My concern is to interrogate the possibilities of such ideas’
contemporary relevance, and possibilities of re-conception in contemporary, and
post-human space-time. This
investigation associates certain notions of metaphysical space in Asia with
contemporary notions of virtual space that have been expounded by Michael
Heim,[[iii]] Kevin Nute,[[iv]] and Chris Abel.[[v]]. Chris Abel
writes that ‘Japanese movement space and cyberspace are topologically
identical.’[[vi]] The veracity of such notions may be said to be
further refined through the intervention of Lovelock’ Gaia theory;[[vii]]
Margulis’ evolution of the notion of symbiogenesis;[[viii]] Pert’s research
in neuropeptides and embodied intelligence;[[ix]]
and Maturana and Varela’ auto-poeisis;[[x]] re-position the
human, the sense of being, and the sense of mind.
My overarching aim through, before and beyond the
pages of madness research project – is, to find a visual manifestation and
investigation of themes and issues germane to the project that interrogates: -
how is the body;
where
the body begins and ends;
how is nature;
the
dynamic inter-action of physical and ontological space;
a non-anthropocentric dynamic
between human being, technology, art, science and consciousness;
how is the inter-action with
spectators.
a notion of a work ‘being’ only
in a spectatorial experiencing in a specific
space-time.
A hypothesis here is a conception of narrative
construction that is space-time centred rather than anthropocentric. By narrative I mean the totality of a work
at the specific space-time of its spectatorial experiencing. This space-time incorporates the body that
may instigate the work and the body that experiences it, in a dynamic in either
case of, as Buddhism delineates, of ‘two but not two’.
Ma Yuan and Hsia Kuei were thirteenth century Chinese
court painters. The royal responses in poetry to their paintings, inscribed on
the silk itself became part of the works. This illustrates Chinese cultural
practice in the Sung and Yuan periods.
In Japan, Five Mountain Zen, which particularly emphasised the
involvement of acolytes in worldly affairs, was deeply influenced by this
practice. Consequently the shigajiku form emerged during the Early Muromachi
period (1336-1573). As Joseph Parker has delineated, in 1410: -
A Zen Buddhist monk from Nanzen-ji...wrote out a
landscape poem and had a painting done of the scene described by the poem. Then
following the prevailing custom of his day, he gathered responses to the images
by asking prominent fellow monks and government officials to inscribe it.[[xi]]
Fifteen
individuals responded, writing on the painting to become a part of the
painting. One witnesses here a notion
of an 'art of a spectator' - paralleling ideas in the Natya Sastra - and an
'art of dialogue'. This also manifested in other forms and contexts. Some of
the haiku attributed to Basho are
begun by him and then, at his invitation, completed by others. The collective
poem of the renga, created in social situations is also pertinent. New media poets such as Miekal And and Maria
Damon continue this practice today in works such as pleasureTEXTpossession.[[xii]] Waka were created at poetry
parties. Cha-no-yu (the tea ceremony)
is an art form that stems from social function. I would be happy to receive any
responses to my practice and writing. These responses may find themselves
incorporated into a further practice.
pages of
madness considers architecture of
text-image-sound, where text is sometimes image, or image is sometimes text.
Mary Ellen Solt, in her study of concrete poetry, acknowledges that the form
evades easy definition. However she
confirms that the concrete poet is concerned with establishing a new
relationship to space (the page or its equivalent) and/or to time (abandoning
the old linear measure).[[xiii]] Michael Heim believes the technology and
technological practice of cyberspace may also be a modus operandus to engender such spiritual centres or, borrowing
from Zen teacher Daisetz Suzuki, ‘psychospheres’.[[xiv]] He correlates four principle qualities of
the tea ceremony with features of cyberspace, suggesting that the dynamics of
the ceremony may be a guide for developing a sense of place. Given the omnipresent and almost all
pervasiveness of information technology, of the internet and the realm of
cyberspace, and given the tantric, animist and buddhist notions of all
phenomena being sacred, the practical investigation of cyberspace designers
such as Heim will be of ever-increasing importance in generating virtual,
spiritual centres or psychospheres.
Kunio Komparu - discussing both the tea ceremony and the noh theatre, as
well as intimating life in general - believes that 'elegance is born when the
ordinary is abbreviated, concentrated, and reduced to essentials…eventually
leading to ma'.[[xv]] Ma
connotes space-time, an emptiness that is full of presence, an interval, a
break, a rest. While Heim discusses
this in terms of the practice of cyberspace designers, it seems plausible that
net artists - without commercial constraint - may initially be the most
proliferous in developing such tectonics of cyberspace; creating, virtual rest
spots, intervals, breaks amongst the morass that increasingly suffuses
cyberspace.
The virtual body in pages of
madness may be perceived as mine, albeit mythologized and mediated – like a
Roland Barthes autobiography - by digital technology. The physical body may be perceived in pages of madness as a
spectator. She can participate in the
work through deciding at what speed s/he reads the work. I know that some
people contemplated a single text-image for long periods like in a physical
gallery, while others clicked through quite quickly, with the short attention
spans that are characteristic of conventional web site/page inter-actions. However the random aspect of the images
means there are several viewings possible.
In fact the permutation of text and image would take over one hundred
million spectator lives to view: ‘There
is no absolute time, only the ever-changing now’.[[xvi]] She can also participate in the work through
email me back responses, to the work.
These responses are highly significant for me and I use them to feed
into the next work I am doing on the theme, asylum. In a sense this is a work in continuum. However more important than interaction by the pushing of buttons
on a keyboard, is the sense of relationality: of a work that exists in a
space-time of dependent origination. In
other practices, involving tangible physical embodiment, such as furniture, or
garden installations, the furniture that my collaborators and I have begun
designing and creating comes into being through its manipulation and shaping by
those who buy it.[[xvii]]
pages of
madness is formal experimentation in
response to medical studies which conclude that because of racism black people
in the United Kingdom are many times more likely than white to experience
mental illness. With regard to the impact of racism in British society,
Professor Robin Murray, from the (British) Institute of Psychiatry, believes
that the experience of black people in the U.K. almost drives them mad. I can only speculate as to what the
experience of black people migrating to other parts of Europe, (including
Italy) may have on their mental health.
pages of madness as mentioned, is the first in a series on the theme,
for gallery and web. The particular theme of the second, entitled asylum, relates to lives of those who
live on margins of the particular societies they inhabit, such as those who
seek asylum.
About the Author:
ajaykumar is a
‘poly-tekhne-kian’ and academic at Goldsmiths, University of London. He began
in the sphere of performance research, which organically evolved into concerns
with composition of photographic, cinematic, and eventually digital image, in
relation to ontology. More about his
practice can be found at www.ajaykumar.com
References
1 Bharata: The Nātyaśastra, translated by Rangacharya, Adya, New
Delhi, Munshiram, 1996
2 Raniero, Gnoli. The Aesthetic Experience
according to Abhinavagupta, Rome, Is.N.M.E.O. 1956; and second edition: Varanasi,
Chowkhamba, 1968
And
Ingalls, Daniel, Masson J, and Patwardhan,
M (trans): The Dhvanyaloka of
Anandavardhana with the Locana of Abhinavagupta, Cambridge, Mass, Harvard,
1990
[1] Heim, Michael. ‘The Virtual reality of
the Tea Ceremony’ in Spiller, Neil (ed). Cyber_Reader,
London, Phaidon, 2002, pp286-291
[1] Nute, Kevin. ‘Ma’ and the Japanese Sense of place revisited: by way of Cyberspace.,
published on the world-wide web:
http://web1.arch.hawaii.edu/events/EW99/pdfs/nute.pdf
[1] Abel, Chris. Architecture and Identity: towards a global eco-culture, London,
Architectural Press, 1997
[1] Ibid,
p.67
[1] Lovelock, James. Gaia,
Oxford, OUP, 2000
4 Margulis,
Lynne. Symbiosis in cell evolution,
2nd Ed. San Francisco, Freeman, 1993
[1] Pert, Candace. Molecules of Emotion, London,
Pocket, 1999
[1] Maturana,
Humberto and Varela, Francisco. Autopoiesis, and Cognition: The Realization of the
Living, Boston, Reidel, 1980
[1] Parker, Joseph. Zen Buddhist Landscape
Arts of Early Muromachi Japan, New York, SUNY,
1999
[1] see
http://www.cla.umn.edu/joglars/pleasuretext/pleasuretext.html
[1] Solt, Mary Ellen (ed). Concrete
Poetry: a world view, (Bloomington, Indiana University Press,
1971
[1] Heim, Michael. op cit. p288
and Suzuki, Daisetz. Zen and Japanese Culture, New York, Princeton UP, 1959
[1] Komparu, Kunio. The Noh Theatre, New York/Tokyo, Weatherhill/Tankosha, p74
[1] Nute. op
cit
[1] See www.shapes-design.com
A City in Harmony with Nature!
Sahba La’al, Architect
Steffen Heise, Modeling
University of Michigan, 3D Laboratory, Virtual
Reality
The air
space above the city has been ignored as habitable space. The city shall transcend
the earth and make obsolete current shallow two-dimensional urban design
methods and idioms, and adopt a three-dimensional, flexible and regenerative
approach to city planning and urbanism.
The beauty and functional aesthetics of the Aerial City will be the
regenerative integration of the city and nature, a place where architecture and nature are equally emphasized in a visually
symbiotic relationship.
The physical and intellectual evolution of humans and indeed architecture seems to point from
a simple, static, unresponsive phenomenon to a complex, flexible and
regenerative organism which may behave like nature. How can this be possible?
Is it at all conceivable that human-made environments can evolve to
regenerative integrated with nature? Is there a form of city that reflects such ideas? This friendly band of atmosphere (1,000 to
5,000 feet ), rather than “outer space” is the core of this proposal for a suspended
city called “Aerial City”.
Parks, recreational areas
and farms will be integrated inside and outside the boundaries of three main structures; residential, cultural and administrative, to suspend the
city.
New methods of seeing horizons shall open to Aerial Urbanism.
The panoramic view from such
heights will signal the beginning of an era in which the true image of our
planet is visually imprinted into our consciousness. Views from the Aerial City will be similar to those from an
airplane, yet, available every day to everyone.
We could live in space without leaving the earth! The Aerial City could be the next evolutionary step we humans
take in order to create a living urban space truly in harmony with nature.
In an Aerial City this fantastic sense of harmony can be recreated in a display of
colors in everyday urban spaces. Large areas
of orange, red, yellow, and blue could be displayed during winter months or as
complementary colors to that of green for spring, orange for summer and purple
for fall as a type of color dialogue between city and nature.
Within an Aerial city, it is possible
to experiment with color and form with the participation of the inhabitants to
create large-scale paintings and sculptures.
These collective works of art could be hundreds of feet in height and
width which can be relocated and replaced by the will of the people. This could be called “a living art” whereby
inhabitants inspired by nature, celebrate life by using the city as a means and
place to create art. Aesthetics and
search for beauty must be a part our technological efforts to integrate human
life into the life of the planet. City
Planning must be integrated with architecture, painting, sculpture and other
arts. Any environmental movement must encourage an urban life that integrates
itself into the environment and preserves our planet and its plant and animal
habitat. I propose that this effort
will evolve into a way of seeing both the planet and ourselves, and will create
a way of life that translates itself into a regenerative and living art through
creation of the city. The Aerial city
will become a vehicle by which such advances can be possible and where large
scale environmental / aesthetic decisions can be collectively made.
The Aerial City is a
technical tool which will position us where we can have a symbiotic
relationship with our environment. Visual possibilities of an Aerial City are
as exciting and interesting as living in a space orbital station.
The customary worm’s eye
view which is common in our conventional city will be replaced with a bird’s
eye view. It may
well be that
this panoramic view, in time, will paint a holistic picture of our natural
environment in our consciousness
Spatial Forms Generated From Shao Xing Culture
Zhang Kun, Wang Bowei
College of
Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092
doctorkun@hotmail.com
Abstract:
Shao Xing City has a long history of 2500
years. Shao Xing is famous for its densely covered canals, Wu Peng boat and
stone bridges. By using GIS(Geographic Information System) and 3D modeling
techniques, this paper transformed Shao Xing identities into a unique spatial
forms.
Keywords:
Shao Xing, GIS, Generate
1. Shao Xing City
Shao
Xing City is located to the south of Hang Zhou Bay, to the north of Huiji
Mountain, to the east of Hang Zhou City and to the west of Ning Bo City.
Shao Xing was founded in 490 B.C, it has 2500 years
old. This city was famous for its numerous canals and bridges. The statistic in
1911 showed that, within the city area of 8.3 km2, there are 33
canals, 229 bridges. If plus the moat, the total length of canals is 60
kilometer, the density is 7.3 kilometer/km2; And the density of
bridges is 21/km2.
figure 1. Wu Peng boat
It is not true yet that Shao Xing city has broke the link with its
culture background. In the centre square of Shao Xing, I have seen two types of
culture inheritance. One type is modern and tradition live side-by-side, as
shown in figure 2. The modern mansion seems to suggest the advancement of Shao
Xing city, while the old tower shows the history and memory of this city.
figure 2. mansion and tower
figure 3. theater
Then, there emerges a question: how do we keep a city’s
identities in the process of urbanization and modernization?
2.Generative Art
As a new developed method, Generative Art brings us a
new creative thinking. From 1998, the Generative Art International Conference
was held in Italy every year. As the Chairman of each conference, Professor
Celestino Soddu gives high praise to Generative Art: “Generative Art has opened
a new era for designing and industry manufacturing……by the aid of the computer,
mankind explored their creativity greatly……people create harmony code and use these
code to break a new space between science and art.”
It is difficult to give a definition to Generative
art, for it involves a large domain (architecture, industry design, computer
graphics, music etc.), abundant ideas (analogy, complex system, identity,
random, infinite etc.), and numerous techniques (L-system, cellular automata,
artificial intelligence, evolve algorithm etc.).
The study of Generative Art in Architecture include
such a task, that is “ how to keep the identity of a city? ”. Celestino Soddu
has done much research in this area, he has try to extract the identities of
Hong Kong, Washington city, then translate these identities into codes and at
last use these codes to generate new buildings.
The aim of this paper is also to extract identities
of Shao Xing City, and use the identities to construct new spatial forms, but
the method is unique.
3.Shao
Xing Identities
Canals, bridges and Wu Peng boat is a tightly-linked
triunity. Canal is the most importance element, without canals there are no
bridges and boats.
3.1Bridges
I
visited the famous Bazi Bridge in Shao Xing city, Bazi Bridge was built in
1256, it is the oldest bridge in Shao Xing. Figure 4 shows the model of Bazi
bridge, which is shown in Shao Xing museum.
figure 4. Bazi Bridge model
There are many other style bridges in Shao Xing, but what I
am most interested is the arch shape of bridges, as shown in figure 5, there
are many styles like circular arc, ellipse arc, rectangular shape, long span,
short span and so on. I think it is an interesting experience sitting on Wu
Peng boat crossing different arches and hearing the talks of the people on the
bridge.
figure 5 arch styles of bridges
3.2 Canals
figure 6. old map of canals
It can be seen from the map that the canals spread out like
cobweb. In ancient time, canals belong
to the city’s traffic system, people use the canals to travel and transport
goods. Let us imagine a boatman steering a Wu Peng boat along the canals many
years ago, what he thinks? Subconsciously, he may wondering which route is the
shortest one to the destination? His question can be answered now using GIS
techniques.
In order to use the GIS analysis function, I
digitized above map in computer. Canals and bridges are recorded as vector
data, vector data use coordinates to represent object’s shape and location.
Canals is represented as line symbol and bridges as point symbol. Figure 7
shows the digital map.
In GIS, attribute information are stored in the
table, information like age, material, arch shapes can be saved in table. The
arch shape is my favorite attribute, I stored the information in table using
index, that means the geometry shape of the arch is stored in outside file, and
the table just stores a index to the file.
figure 7. digital map
5.1
Random Points and Shortest Path
In
order to simulate the boatman steering in the canals, I randomly choose two
points in the canals, one point serves as start point, another serves as target
point. Suppose a Wu Peng boat starts off from the start point to the target point,
the route should be the shortest one.
I write a programme to fulfill above task, below is
the steps:
(1) randomly select 2 points in the maps extent, find
out the nearest canals to the given points, set edgeflags on each canal.
(2) execute find path task to search the shortest
path between two edgeflags.
(3) select the result path and loop through each
bridges to find out bridges which locates on result path.
(4) if no bridges or just one bridge was found, goto
step (1), else read arch shape attribute in the table and write to a file.
figure 8. path find
The shortest path is not the aim of this programme, but the
bridge’s arch shape! Every time the programme will export a randomly queued
array of arch shapes.
5.2 Lofting
This paper uses lofting to produce the spatial forms. Loft
object is two dimensional shapes (cross-sections) extruded along a path. Here
the arch shapes serves as the cross-sections, and a straight line serves as the
lofting path.
Lofting
is implemented in 3DS MAX software, I write a script programme which reads the
arch shapes into the 3D scene and arrange them along a straight line. As shown
in figure 9. But it is a pity that 3DS MAX did not support lofting using
script, so I have to loft and set the parameters by hand. Figure 10-11 shows
the loft result and some deformations added to the loft object.
figure 9. cross-sections
figure 10. loft
figure 11. deformations
6.Conclusion
This paper extracts the bridge arch shapes as the identity
of Shao Xing culture, by the aid of GIS and 3D modeling techniques, this paper
creates a unique spatial forms which is trying to express the happy feeling of
crossing bridges on the netted canals.
Reference
[1]Bogdan Soban,”Games Coincidence as
the Base of Casino Atmosphere Design Using Generative Approach”,proceedings of
GA2003,Milan,2003
[2]C.M.Herr,”Using Cellular Automata to
Challenge Cookie-Cutter Architecture”, proceedings of GA2003,Milan,2003
[3]Hong-Sheng Chen,”Generation of
Three-dimensional Cellular Automata”, proceedings of GA2003,Milan,2003
[4]Jeffrey Krause,” Reflections:The
Creative Process of Generative Design in Architecture”, proceedings of
GA2003,Milan,2003
[5]Juan Romero,”Artificial Music Critics”,
proceedings of GA2003,Milan,2003
[6]Maria Goga,”Aesthetic Analyze of
Computer Music”, proceedings of GA2003,Milan,2003
[7]Guenther Doerner,”A Step towards a
General Tool for Generative Design”, proceedings of GA2003,Milan,2003
[8]Daniel Bisig,”BioSonic-Interactive
Growth System”,
proceedings of GA2003,Milan,2003
[9]Philip Galanter,”What is Generative
Art?Complexity Theory as a Context for Art Theory”, proceedings of
GA2003,Milan,2003
[10]Robert J.Krawczyk,”Exploring the
Massing of Growth in Cellular Automata”, proceedings of GA2003,Milan,2003
[11]Enrica Colabella,”Code,a password
to infinite”,proceedings of GA2003,Milan,2003
[12]Andrea j.stein,”MusicL”,proceedings of
GA2003,Milan,2003
[13]Mauro Annunziato,”Sensitive Painting”,
proceedings of GA2003,Milan,2003
[14]Ole Werner,”Breeding new designs
The use of morphing algoruthms in design computation”, proceedings of
GA2003,Milan,2003
[15]Sun Chengyu,”Higher or Denser?”,proceedings of
GA2003,Milan,2003
[16]Tang Zhong,”Generative Design of
Chinese Pagodas”,proceedings of GA2003,Milan,2003
[17]Zhang Kun,”Computer Aided Design of
Ming Chair”,proceedings of GA2003,Milan,2003
[18]Anna Chupa,”Generative Texture for
Animation”,proceedings of GA1999,Milan,1999
[19]Celestino
Soddu,”Recognizability of designer imprinting in Generative
artwork”,proceedings of GA2003,Milan,2003
[20]Celestino Soddu,””La
Citta’Ideale”Generative Codes Design Identity”,proceedings of GA2002,Milan,2002
Shanghai Keeps its Identity in the City Renewal
e-mail: tianyq@vnet.citiz.net
Abstract
Shanghai is the biggest city of China and is being
transformed from one of the biggest industrial centers into an open,
multi-functional economic center. Under the slogan " a new look for the
city in one year, the astonishing changes in three years ", the great
change has taken place in the urban reconstruction and redevelopment.
Architects and urban planner have to put more attention to create an identity
of Shanghai in the city renewal.
Shanghai is the biggest metropolis of China. In 2000, its population amounts to 14.7
million, with a territory of 6340.5 sq. km.
Since last ten years, the industrial structure of Shanghai is undergoing
a great change. The tertiary industry,
finance, commerce, trade, communication, real estate and other service sectors
are playing a more and more important role in the city's economy. Shanghai is being transformed from one of
the biggest industrial centers into an open, multi-functional economic
center. The opening policy and reform
in the 1980s and further in 1990s brought Shanghai a brand-new start and
provided much opportunity for the urban construction.
F1 F2
In the history, the city and architecture of Shanghai
are deeply influenced by intercultural context, and today are undergoing a
significant and rapid transformation.
The forming of Shanghai city depends on four
resources: the geo-graphical condition; the geo-political factor; the
geo-economical factor, the living style and quality.
In China, the most Chinese cities have a very long
history but were not changed greatly during the developing course until the
recent economical impact. Today, the
physical structure of the Chinese society is undergoing an unprecedented rapid,
extensive and profound transformation.
In this course, the philosophy, the sense of value, religion, geography
and others have played a very important role, which forms or loses the identity
of Chinese cities.
In Shanghai, many radical changes happened for last 50
years. The city is gradually
transformed from a self-sufficient economy to an open economy, from an
industrial city to a post-industrial city, from low-rise with medium density to
a high density and crowded city. For
last 50 years, because of the rapid transformation from a semi-feudal and
semi-colonized society to a modern one, the city is suffering some serious
problems. In one hand, a strong
government control for the economical development is revealed. In other hand, market oriented economy is
playing a more and more important role in daily life. The living style is undergoing a radical change. It has brought a conflict between planned
and random development, and this situation will generate confusion in urban
planning and construction.
F3 F4
The identity of Shanghai contains two aspects; one is the
form, material part, that we can see it, includes architectural forms, space
shape, style and features of region; the other one is, that we cann’t see it,
mode of the association of the inhabitants, the urban fabric and
characteristics of the community structure.
The city of Shanghai developed very rapidly. In
1950s, the urban area of Shanghai was 82.4 square kilometers, by the end of
1980s, it was 748.71 square kilometers and in 2000 it is 3924.24 square
kilometers. Since early 1990s, Shanghai has already set up a strategy for urban
development. One program of all is planned by the Urban Planning Bureau to
preserve the whole central city as a historical center, at the same time, 398
buildings are included in a list for historical preservation, 11 historical
areas are listed for the preservation of its fabric and urban features. There are altogether 234 complete historical
neighborhoods, of which 22 historical blocks are formed, and 440 historical
architectural groups, covering an area of 10 million sq.m. According to the program, 4 historical and
cultural towns, 3 scenic and tourist zones, and 2 natural reserves are classified
in the suburbs. A multi-level
protective and development mechanism is thus established. In the course of large-scale construction
and development under the circumstance of rapid renewal and regeneration of the
old city, efforts have to be made for the preservation of the housing and
residences with historical and cultural significance, and the preservation of
the features of the historical area.
Because of the profit driven system of the urban administration, the
urban renewal has destroyed a lot of old housing. The traditional urban fabric is undergoing a rapid
transformation, which has made Shanghai a city similar with other cities
elsewhere in the world. The identity of
the city is gradually losing. Since
last 20 years, with the market economy and the commercialization of the
professional architect, a lot of old buildings with qualified craftsmanship are
being replaced by crudely constructed masses.
Since middle of 1980s, a so-called pseudo-neo-classicism is popularly
defused in the city. Contemporary Shanghai architecture is threatened by the
copy of superficial Disneyland and cartoon style.
How to keep the identity of the city in the city
renewal?
The Xin Tian Di plan offers a new approach for the urban
renewal, to create a compact and workable district center, which is located
between Shanghai's ancient walled city and its dynamic downtown. The idea of the project is intended to
bridge the old and the new. It is a
development that will ultimately accommodate 1.6 million square meters of
retail, housing, office, and hotels.
The main goals were to create a sense of place and to sensitively
integrate the new development into the city's existing fabric. The district's various uses are brought
together around a central open space that features a 3.7-hectare manmade
lake. As one of the approaches for the
renewal of the old Lilong housing, it has the methodological value, but it can
not be the ideal model for the renewal of historical residential areas in
Shanghai.
F5
F6 The layout has arbitrarily changed the urban fabric
and cut down the context. The
artificial lake was dug up from a land of an old residential district. Just a very small part of the housing is
preserved and the original function has been transformed to a commercial
area. The surrounding old housings will
be soon replaced by high-rise and luxury buildings. The Xin Tian Di Project has generated a discussion on the general
worry about the rapid destroy of the old urban fabric in Shanghai.
Jin Mao
tower
Jin Mao tower is placed in Pudong, Lujiazui CBD,and together
with The Oriental Pearl Tower it creates the main part of Shanghai's skyline,
it is the tallest building in China, the third tallest one in the world. The
420.5-meter Jin Mao Tower, covering a site area of 24,000 m˛ , includes an
88-floor tower, a 6-floor podium and a 3-floor underground with a combined
floor space of 290,000 m˛. It provides such functions as office, hotel,
catering, sightseeing, convention and exhibition, entertainment and shopping.
The Skywalk on the 88th floor is the largest and highest
observation deck in China. It is 340.1m above the ground and has a floor space
of 1,520m˛. Travelling at a speed of 9.1m/s, two express lifts take visitors to
the Skywalk within 45 seconds. Here you will never fail to marvel at the charm
and magnificance of rosy dawn and sunset, the blue sky and myriad of clouds.
You are also inspired with the overwhelming Shanghai skyline. Looking down
inside the building, you can see the hotel atrium of Grand Hyatt Shanghai. The
152-meter atrium, arising from the 56th floor, is surrounded by 28 annular
corridors to create a 'Time and Space Tunnel'.
F7 F8
The Form of the tower follows pagoda, a
traditional Chinese architecture, and the building combined modern science and
technology with ancient Chinese architectural style, created a new “Hai Pai”
(Shanghai Style) skyscraper, now it becomes a representative works to the new
classic architecture, and set an example to create an identity of Shanghai.
A
transformation work for the waterfront of Suzhou Creek is now put into
operation within 17 kilometers long water channel. Suzhou Creek once was a
river for transportation use. Along by the creek, there were a lots of
factories, warehouse, wharves and shanty town. The creek was strongly polluted
10 years ago. As the city is transformed from an industrial city to a
post-industrial city, the local government decided to move the factories out of
downtown and to purify the creek. One remarkable way to renew the space is the
artists from all over the country come here, they change the functions of the
buildings to art studios, art gallery, design center, bar, tea house, but
preserve the historical buildings original style, and keep the old urban fabric
in Shanghai. Another design from my students is to creat a new landscape of the
city. The place is former wharf of coal along by the creek and now s discarded.
The idea of the design is put the public space to the underground and plant the
tree, build a falling water in order to creat an ecological urban space. This
is the another way how to keep the identity in the city renewal.
F9 F10
In the world, no one city like Shanghai changed so much in
such a short period. For the future development, Shanghai's architects and
urban planner have already realized the critical situation of urban space, and
put more attention to it. The key point
of the urban space is to create an identity of Shanghai.
F1 map of Shanghai
F2 Highway system of Shanghai
F3 Tea house in Yuyuan Garden
F4 The bund
F5,F6 Xin Tian Di
F7 Jin Mao Tower
F8 Pagoda
F9 Project for Suzhou Creek
F10 warehouse along by the Creek