1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910817203503321

Autore

Ren Xuefei

Titolo

Building globalization : transnational architecture production in urban China / / Xuefei Ren

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Chicago ; ; London, : University of Chicago Press, 2011

ISBN

1-283-09763-X

9786613097637

0-226-70982-5

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (238 p.)

Disciplina

307.1/2160951090511

Soggetti

Architecture and globalization - China

Urban renewal - China

City planning - China

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

ch. 1. Space, capital, and global cities : an introduction -- ch. 2. Transnational architectural production : firms, cities, trends -- ch. 3. Architecture, media, and real estate speculation -- ch. 4. History cosmopolitanism, and preservation -- ch. 5. Olympic spectacles, critical architecture, and new state spaces -- ch. 6. The power of symbol.

Sommario/riassunto

From the years 2004 to 2008, Beijing and Shanghai witnessed the construction of an extraordinary number of new buildings, many of which were designed by architectural firms overseas. Combining ethnographic fieldwork, historical research, and network analysis, Building Globalization closely scrutinizes the growing phenomenon of transnational architecture and its profound effect on the development of urban space. Roaming from construction sites in Shanghai to architects' offices in Paris, Xuefei Ren interviews hundreds of architects, developers, politicians, residents, and activists to explore this issue. She finds that in the rapidly transforming cities of modern China, iconic designs from prestigious international architects help private developers to distinguish their projects, government officials to advance their careers, and the Chinese state to announce the arrival of



modern China on the world stage. China leads the way in the globalization of architecture, a process whose ramifications can be felt from Beijing to Dubai to Basel. Connecting the dots between real estate speculation, megaproject construction, residential displacement, historical preservation, housing rights, and urban activism, Building Globalization reveals the contradictions and consequences of this new, global urban frontier.