Mediated Architecture in China

Abstract

This article argues that contemporary Chinese architecture is profoundly shaped by a ‘culture of figuration’ that appears to be grounded in the way in which the Chinese square words manipulate images and meanings in relation to reality. This culture of figuration reconstitutes the image culture—as it has been constructed by the consumer society—and allies with the electronic media to produce a mediated architecture in China. As twentieth-century modernity articulated a critique of the image culture through the notion of authenticity, the culture of figuration anticipates a ‘figurative modernity,’ which suggests a possible space for a more reflexive architectural culture in China.