The Chinese Cosmopolitan City 
UVA Architecture China Program Exhibition
February 10 - March 13
Elmaleh Gallery, Campbell Hall

Gallery Talk and Opening: Friday, February 14, 5pm

After three decades of rapid development, Chinese urbanization seems to have entered into a new phase, which is characterized by cosmopolitanism. While earlier examples of world cities in Asia such as Hong Kong and Singapore are illuminating, Chinese cities offer unique experiences as they engage with this profound transformation from social and cultural conditions not foregrounded in colonialism. The 2019 UVA Architecture China Program investigated this new stage of Chinese urbanization, particularly in the context of increasing infrastructural integration of the world ambitiously planned by China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The program focused on influential factors of urban change: the flows of labor, goods, and innovations which resulted in Chinese cities adapting its spaces to new realities. Faculty and students examined the instruments and institutions of the world system, and studied the spatial modifications in the Chinese city that anticipate a new era of urbanization not marked by quantitative increase but by a cultural change. These are presented as documentations of urban change, analyses of architectural developments, and understandings of cultural encounters in the context of global trade.

For more information see the School of Architecture site.