Local architectural identities within modernization context in southern China

Abstract

In the processing of modernization, local architecture identities are diminishing in Kaiping, my home county in Canton Province, China. This thesis is searching for new architectural features that are based on the local climate, social rules, economic strength and modem technologies. New architecture identities should not be the rearrangement of Chinese architectural motifs. In contrast, they are the continuity of the essence of vernacular architecture and new spirits of modernization. Western modernization in Kaiping brings in the so called "international architecture style." It dominates the county's planning and architectural design. It is no doubt that architectural design reflects the changing times, yet different cultures in different regions and environments are at various presents. Therefore, architecture design should not have only one solution. Vernacular architecture in Kaiping County has its own characteristics such as the narrow alleys, small courtyards and watchtowers. They are not the same as the courtyard houses in Beijing, nor other regions in the world. Consequently, many factors that had influenced the local vernacular architecture have diminished or changed while the economic reform brings new perspectives in politics, social lives and family rules. Bridging the gap between the past and present in Kaiping's regional architecture is not as simple as copying other countries' architecture. The project investigates the past, interprets the present and anticipates the near future of Kaiping County architecture. A 200 meter by 250 meter city block next to a vernacular village two miles from the Old County Town is the test site for this approach. It is a housing development project which focuses on the relationships between rural areas and urban, public and private, community and family and environment and inhabitants. Both a master plan and a prototype house will be emphasized in details to examine relevant issues that evoke new local architecture identities.