IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ijurrs/v46y2022i5p729-748.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

ARCHITECTURE AS SOCIAL LABORATORY: Modernity, Cultural Revival, and Architectural Experiment in Peri‐urban China

Author

Listed:
  • Junxi Qian
  • Yanheng Lu

Abstract

This article engages with the emerging scholarship on experiments in urban and regional contexts to investigate an architectural experiment overseen by Wang Shu, a renowned Chinese architect, in Wencun Village, a peri‐urban village on the fringe of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. In particular, we examine how architectural projects are mobilized to provide a solution to rural decline amidst deepening urban–rural integration. Architecture is supposed to generate knowledge about the relationships between built forms and positive social and cultural changes, in this case involving the revival of rural cultures and identities. Empirically, this article provides a novel study that investigates culture‐based interventions into the revival of peri‐urban regions in the context of intensifying urban–rural interactions. Theoretically, it contributes to the study of experiments in urban and regional contexts by, on the one hand, correcting the urban bias inherent in this corpus and arguing for the relevance of experiment to peri‐urban and rural contexts. On the other hand, while this study reaffirms the importance of using relatively bounded sites of study and controlled parameters to produce plausible knowledge about regional transformation, it equally calls for attention to the contingencies and surprises that exceed and destabilize preconceived theories, epistemological frameworks and hypotheses.

Suggested Citation

  • Junxi Qian & Yanheng Lu, 2022. "ARCHITECTURE AS SOCIAL LABORATORY: Modernity, Cultural Revival, and Architectural Experiment in Peri‐urban China," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(5), pages 729-748, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ijurrs:v:46:y:2022:i:5:p:729-748
    DOI: 10.1111/1468-2427.13127
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.13127
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/1468-2427.13127?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ignaz Strebel & Jane M. Jacobs, 2014. "Houses of Experiment: Modern Housing and the Will to Laboratorization," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 450-470, March.
    2. James Evans & Andrew Karvonen, 2014. "‘Give Me a Laboratory and I Will Lower Your Carbon Footprint!’ — Urban Laboratories and the Governance of Low-Carbon Futures," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 413-430, March.
    3. Kees Lokman, 2017. "Vacancy as a laboratory: design criteria for reimagining social-ecological systems on vacant urban lands," Landscape Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(7), pages 728-746, October.
    4. Mike Hodson & Simon Marvin, 2007. "Understanding the Role of the National Exemplar in Constructing ‘Strategic Glurbanization’," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 303-325, June.
    5. Jacob C. Miller, 2019. "Embodied Architectural Geographies of Consumption and the Mall Paseo Chiloé Controversy in Southern Chile," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 109(4), pages 1300-1316, July.
    6. Andrew Karvonen & Bas Heur, 2014. "Urban Laboratories: Experiments in Reworking Cities," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 379-392, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shaun S.K. Teo, 2023. "SOCIALLY ENGAGED MUNICIPAL STATECRAFT IN URBAN CHINA? The Shenzhen Biennale as Situated Planning Experiment," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(4), pages 581-600, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nick Taylor Buck & Aidan While, 2017. "Competitive urbanism and the limits to smart city innovation: The UK Future Cities initiative," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(2), pages 501-519, February.
    2. Jonas Torrens & Phillip Johnstone & Johan Schot, 2018. "Unpacking the Formation of Favourable Environments for Urban Experimentation: The Case of the Bristol Energy Scene," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-28, March.
    3. Anthony McLean & Harriet Bulkeley & Mike Crang, 2016. "Negotiating the urban smart grid: Socio-technical experimentation in the city of Austin," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(15), pages 3246-3263, November.
    4. Christopher M. Chini & James F. Canning & Kelsey L. Schreiber & Joshua M. Peschel & Ashlynn S. Stillwell, 2017. "The Green Experiment: Cities, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, January.
    5. Bauknecht, Dierk & Bischoff, Thore & Bizer, Kilian & Heyen, Dirk Arne & Führ, Martin & Gailhofer, Peter & Proeger, Till & von der Leyen, Kaja, 2019. "Exploring the pathways: Regulatory experiments for Sustainable Development - An interdisciplinary approach," ifh Working Papers 22/2019, Volkswirtschaftliches Institut für Mittelstand und Handwerk an der Universität Göttingen (ifh).
    6. Martin Kohler & Anita Engels & Ana Paula Koury & Cathrin Zengerling, 2021. "Thinking Urban Transformation through Elsewhere: A Conversation between Real-World Labs in São Paulo and Hamburg on Governance and Practical Action," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-23, November.
    7. Perng, Sung-Yueh & Kitchin, Rob & Donncha, Darach Mac, 2017. "Hackathons, entrepreneurship and the passionate making of smart cities," OSF Preprints nu3ec, Center for Open Science.
    8. Andrew Karvonen & Bas Heur, 2014. "Urban Laboratories: Experiments in Reworking Cities," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 379-392, March.
    9. Sabrina Rahmawan‐Huizenga & Dara Ivanova, 2022. "THE URBAN LAB: Imaginative Work in the City," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 542-557, July.
    10. Caroline Newton, 2021. "The Role of Government Initiated Urban Planning Experiments in Transition Processes and Their Contribution to Change at the Regime Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-14, February.
    11. Federico Cuomo & Stefania Ravazzi & Federico Savini & Luca Bertolini, 2020. "Transformative Urban Living Labs: Towards a Circular Economy in Amsterdam and Turin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-19, September.
    12. Cecilie Sachs Olsen & Merlijn van Hulst, 2024. "Reimagining Urban Living Labs: Enter the Urban Drama Lab," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(6), pages 991-1012, May.
    13. Leslie Quitzow & Friederike Rohde, 2022. "Imagining the smart city through smart grids? Urban energy futures between technological experimentation and the imagined low-carbon city," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 59(2), pages 341-359, February.
    14. Quitzow, Leslie & Rohde, Friederike, 2022. "Imagining the smart city through smart grids? Urban energy futures between technological experimentation and the imagined low-carbon city," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 341-359.
    15. Pijpers, Kevin, 2024. "Urban Living Labs in times of post-pandemic epistemic injustices: a speculative realist revision," SocArXiv rh6fc, Center for Open Science.
    16. Anniken Førde, 2019. "Enhancing Urban Encounters: The Transformative Powers of Creative Integration Initiatives," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(1), pages 44-52.
    17. Ramon Marrades & Philippa Collin & Michelle Catanzaro & Eveline Mussi, 2021. "Planning from Failure: Transforming a Waterfront through Experimentation in a Placemaking Living Lab," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(1), pages 221-234.
    18. Aksel Ersoy & Ellen van Bueren, 2020. "Challenges of Urban Living Labs towards the Future of Local Innovation," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 89-100.
    19. Evans, Joshua & Collins, Damian & Anderson, Jalene, 2016. "Homelessness, bedspace and the case for Housing First in Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 249-256.
    20. Frans Sengers & Bruno Turnheim & Frans Berkhout, 2021. "Beyond experiments: Embedding outcomes in climate governance," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 39(6), pages 1148-1171, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ijurrs:v:46:y:2022:i:5:p:729-748. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0309-1317 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.