Abstract
Shanghai’s modern architectural heritage in the 19th and early 20th centuries is an essential aspect of modern Chinese architectural history because of its outstanding characteristics and well-preserved conditions. Modern Shanghai architecture was transformed by the importation of Western structural technologies and materials in addition to their forms and institutions. After 100 years of development since 1843, there were over 100 important buildings in the Bund area by 1943. These buildings were built in different periods using the best available structural technologies. This study focuses on the technological dimension of modern Shanghai architecture. Based on an architectural survey and a literature investigation of the Bund buildings, this study explores the evolution of modern structural technologies in Shanghai by analysing the Bund buildings’ key structural factors. The influences of the localisation and implementation of Western architecture’s building technologies in Shanghai were also analysed, including time of importation, characteristics and integration of local craftsmanship and materials. This study focuses on the method and analyses of architectural technology history from not only technological and historical perspectives, but also a social sciences perspective.
Highlights
Since the mid-19th century, the modernisation of Chinese cities and architectural styles has proceeded gradually based on the importation of Western experiences and technologies, such as urban infrastructure, building structures, materials and architectural equipment
Western structural technologies in Shanghai underwent a process of transplantation to adaptative localisation
We can conclude that for a particular type of structure, a state of perfection could not be achieved from the beginning, but the imported technologies became more practical through continuous improvement to accommodate local conditions
Summary
Since the mid-19th century, the modernisation of Chinese cities and architectural styles has proceeded gradually based on the importation of Western experiences and technologies, such as urban infrastructure, building structures, materials and architectural equipment. The localisation of Western building technologies led to a comprehensive modern transformation of the cultural dimensions of Chinese cities, from architectural styles and construction management to social customs. Some scholars have summarised this process as ‘the gradual development and interaction of technologies, institutions and ideas’ (Li 2004, 342) This process of transformation began with the import and spread of new building technologies, which led to new social divisions of labour, related industries and practical mechanisms. The localisation of Western structural technologies in modern Shanghai architecture is one of the most significant aspects in the localisation of Western building technologies To ensure that this structural analysis fully reflects the different periods since Shanghai opened up its port to the world, the earliest British Settlement as set
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