Author(s): Ehsan Sheikholharam
This paper examines the work of the Chinese architecture group ZAO/standardarchitecture on the revitalization of the Micro Yuan鈥檈r Children鈥檚 Library and Art Centre. Since its inception, the project has inspired discussions on themes of historic neighborhood conservation, cultural heritage, and changing conceptions of life in contemporary China. This project is part of a larger body of work conceived by Zhang Ke and his colleagues on the Hutong typology. I will draw on Kenneth Frampton鈥檚 aesthetic and tectonic analysis of Zhang Ke鈥檚 praxis, along with Mohsen Mostafavi鈥檚 socio-political study of the context of such projects, to develop a more expansive conceptualization of 鈥渉eritage.鈥 In addition to the sociocultural legacies of this typology, this analysis includes facets of Hutong life that are not limited to the anthropo- centric modes of thinking and being. Furthermore, this essay highlights how Zhang Ke鈥檚 work challenges the dichotomies of low-tech/high-tech, modern/traditional, and natural/ cultural. My analysis engages philosophical debates on post- anthropocentric visions of culture to explain the curious return of 鈥渟pirituality鈥 in 鈥渟ecular鈥 spaces.
Volume Editors
ISBN
978-1-944214-49-4