E-book Grand Theater Urbanism: Chinese Cities in the 21st century Grand Theater Urbanism: 9789

     This volume explores the phe*me*n and trend of cultural buildings by investigating 10 typical cities in China from the first second and third tiers and from the Chinese diaspora Each grand theater design was the result of a high profile international competition and created by global architects in collaboration with Chinese design institutes The national and international significance of these iconic projects lies in the fact that they *t only reflect the dynamics of global design ideas but also represent a particular historical moment in China s modernization process The development histories and purposes of constructing cultural buildings are carefully outlined and colorfully presented Given China s tremendous population the development trajectory of its urban construction will provide insights for other regions that hope to embark on the high speed track in the 21st century In Grand Theater Urbanism Professor Charlie Xue and his team document China s current shift towards a culture of consumption and leisure symbolized by the construction of multi use Grand Theaters in major cities Grand Theater Urbanism reveals the unexpected variety and complexity of this contemporary cultural drive in a series of exemplary chapters with highly detailed local case studies Professor David Grahame Shane Columbia University New York Jane Jacobs likened city life to a performance This book goes a stage further and analyses the actual performance spaces within cities in China In doing so it makes a valuable connection between urban design and the cultural life in cities This is an important and often forgotten dimension of urbanism and I heartily commend this book to readers Professor Matthew Carmona The Bartlett University College London