Building in China Henry K. Murphy's Adaptive Architecture, 1914-1935
- List Price: $50.00
- Binding: Hardcover
- Publisher: Univ of Washington Pr
- Publish date: 12/01/2001
Description:
Building in China is about striking an architectural balance between the pull of monumental tradition and the push of technological novelty. Centering on the dynamic period of post-imperial and pre-Communist China, the book focuses on the building and city planning initiatives of Henry Murphy. A little-known American architect, Murphy ventured to China in 1914 to design a campus for the Yale-in-China program and found himself captivated by the question of how to preserve China's rich architectural traditions while also designing new buildings using up-to-date Western technologies. Murphy's buildings were compromises in a tumultuous society facing an uncertain future. Inadvertently they became political emblems, as Chinese rulers such as Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen's son called on Murphy for city planning advice to realize their hopes for urban reconstruction.
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There are few serious studies of Western architects in the 20th century who practiced in non-Western contexts, and this book makes significant contributions to the fields of both American and Chinese architectural history. Those interested in city planning or urban history, post-colonialist theory, comparative Asian studies, the history of technology, or historic preservation practice will find this book breaking new ground by analyzing fresh evidence.
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