Table Of ContentA History of Design Institutes
in China
A History of Design Institutes in China examines the intricate relationship
between design institutes, the state, and, in later periods, the market economy
through a carefully situated discussion of significant theoretical and historical
issues including socialist utopia, collective and individual design, structural
transformation, and architectural exportation, among others. It shows how,
over the past six decades, China’s design institutes have served the state’s
strategy for socialist construction and urbanization to create socio economic
and cultural value. Through first-hand research, authors Xue and Ding
reveal how the tensions between pragmatism, creativity, collaboration, and
resistance have played a crucial role in defining architectural production.
Appealing to academics, researchers, and graduate students, this book pro-
vides a much-needed contribution to the discourse on architectural history,
building practices, and policymaking in contemporary China.
Charlie Q. L. Xuehas held teaching appointments in architecture at Jiaotong
University, Shanghai; the University of Texas, USA; and City University
of Hong Kong. He has published numerous books including Building a
Revolution: Chinese Architecture since 1980, Hong Kong Architecture
1945–2015: from Colonial to Global and research papers in international
refereed journals such as the Journal of Architecture, Urban Design Inter-
national, Habitat International, and Cities. Xue’s research focuses on
architecture in China and design strategies for high-density environments.
Guanghui Dingteaches architecture at Beijing University of Civil Engineering
and Architecture, China. His book Constructing a Place of Critical Archi -
tecture in Chinawas published by Routledge in 2016. His articles have been
published by Architectural Research Quarterly, Habitat International, and
Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. Ding’s research focuses
on the history, theory, and criticism of modern Chinese architecture. Based
in Beijing, he practices architecture both independently and collaboratively.
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A History of Design Institutes
in China
From Mao to Market
Charlie Q. L. Xue
and Guanghui Ding
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,an informa business
© 2018 Charlie Q. L. Xue and Guanghui Ding
The right of Charlie Q. L. Xue and Guanghui Ding to be identified as
authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Xue, Charlie Q. L., author. | Ding, Guanghui, 1985– author.
Title: A history of design institutes in China : from Mao to market /
Charlie Q. L. Xue and Guanghui Ding.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2018. | Series: Routledge research
in architecture | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018005263| ISBN 9781138562332 (hardback) |
ISBN 9780203709917 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Architectural design—Government policy—China. |
Architectural practice—China. | Architecture and state—China.
Classification: LCC NA2750 .X84 2018 | DDC 729—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018005263
ISBN: 978-1-138-56233-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-70991-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
Contents
List of illustrations vii
Preface x
1 Introduction 1
PART I
Engineering the political machine 17
2 The emergence of state-owned design institutes 19
3 Socialist construction during the Cold War:
1950–1965 35
PART II
Surfing the economic wave 57
4 Returning to the normal track: 1972–1995 59
5 Reform and transformation in the twenty-first
century 85
6 State involvement in the urban expansion and green
architecture 113
PART III
Enhancing the cultural power 141
7 Where production, teaching, and research meet:
University-run design institutes 143
8 Architectural export from China’s design institutes 170
vi Contents
9 Conclusion 195
Chronology of design institutes in China 203
Bibliography of design institutes 211
Index 225
Illustrations
3.1 Industrial buildings in the 1950s (a) No. 1 Vehicle Factory
in Changchun, 1953; (b) Lumber factory, Beijing, 1957;
(c) Metal structural factory, Beijing, 1958 38
3.2 Caoyang Xincun provided homes for “model workers”
in Shanghai, 1952 41
3.3 Minhang Street, a satellite town of Shanghai for the
mechanical and electrical industries, 1959 44
3.4 Baiwanzhuang Residential Community, Beijing, designed
by Zhang Kaiji, 1954 45
3.5 The People’s Great Hall, Chongqing, 1954 47
3.6 Sino-Soviet Friendship Building, Beijing, 1955 48
3.7 The Great Hall of the People, Beijing, 1959 (a) Tiananmen
Square; (b) Conference hall holding 10,000 people;
(c) Banquet hall seating 5,000 people; (d) Front view 49
3.8 Xingfu Village Neighborhood, Beijing, 1955 53
4.1 The Guangzhou Design Institute, the Exhibition Center of
the China Exported Commodity Fair, Guangzhou, 1974 62
4.2 Baiyun binguan sheji xiaozu, the Baiyun Hotel, Guangzhou,
1976 65
4.3 HAS works in Shenzhen (a) Nanhai Hotel, Shenzhen, 1986
and (b) Huaxia Art Center, Shenzhen, 1991 71
4.4 Selected Works by Wang Tianxi/ Beijing Architectural
Design Group, 1980s 73
4.5 Qi Kang, Lai Jukui, etc. Wuyi Mountain Hotel, 1983 78
4.6 Peng Yigang, The School of Architecture Building at
Tianjin University, 1990 80
5.1 Xing Tonghe/East China Architectural Design & Research
Institute, Shanghai Museum, 1996 91
5.2 The China United–Cheng Taining Architectural Design
Institute, Zhejiang Art Museum, Hangzhou, 2009 95
5.3 Cui Kai Studio/The China Architecture Design Group,
Kangba Art Center in Yushu, Qinghai Province, 2014 98
viii Illustrations
5.4 Cui Kai Studio/The China Architecture Design Group,
Yinxu Museum in Anyang, Henan Province, 2008 99
5.5 Atelier Li Xinggang/The China Architecture Design Group,
Jixi Museum, Anhui Province, 2013 102
5.6 Two joint design projects in 2008 (a) “Bird Nest”: a national
stadium designed by Herzog & de Meuron, in collaboration
with the China Architecture Design Group; (b) Terminal 3,
Beijing Airport designed by Foster and Partners and Beijing
Institute of Architectural Design 106
5.7 Shao Weiping/Beijing Institute of Architectural Design,
Phoenix Center, Beijing, 2013 107
6.1 Master plan of Futian Central District, Shenzhen, twenty-
first century 115
6.2 Richard Rogers Partnership Plan of Pudong New District,
1992, and Lujiazui, Shanghai, in 2013 117
6.3 Bird’s-eye view of Zhengdong New District, Henan Province 119
6.4 The Central-South China Architectural Design Institute,
Taiyuan South Station, Shanxi Province, 2014 122
6.5 Cai Yongjie/Tongji University Architectural Design Group,
Beichuan Memorial Museum, Sichuan Province, 2011 129
6.6 Shenzhen Institute of Building Research Co. Ltd.
Headquarters Building, Shenzhen, 2008 133
7.1 Tongji University’s design works in the 1950s (a) Wenyuan
Building, by Huang Yulin and Ha Xiongwen, 1954;
(b) Academic building, by Wu Jingxiang, Dai Fudong and
Wu Lusheng, 1955; (c) Student hall, by Huang Yulin,
1954; (d) Mao Zedong’s villa in Wuhan, by Dai Fudong
and Wu Lusheng, 1958 145
7.2 Mo Bozhi and He Jingtang, The Museum of the Nanyue
King’s Mausoleum, Guangzhou, 1993 149
7.3 He Jingtang Studio in the South China University of
Technology 151
7.4 He Jingtang, Ni Yang, Liu Yubo, et al. The Extension of
the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre,
Nanjing, 2008 153
7.5 Guan Zhaoye, Extension of the Tsinghua University Library,
Beijing, 1992 155
7.6 Feng Jizhong’s design of gate and teahouse pavilion in the
Garden of the Square Pagoda, Songjiang, Shanghai, 1986 158
7.7 Zeng Qun, Headquarters of Tongji University Design
Group, renovated from a bus depot, 2012 160
8.1 Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall,
1973 174
8.2 National Theatre of Ghana, Accra, 1991 177
8.3 Conference Hall, Bamako, Mali, 1992 178
Illustrations ix
8.4 Tanzania National Stadium 180
8.5 African Union Headquarters, Addis Ababa, 2010 183
8.6 Angola Social Housing Project, Kilamba Kiaxi 185
8.7 China Cultural Center, Bangkok, 2011 188
