Is it a matter of design?
Rural and urban areas in China have traditionally represented contrasting realms, largely due to the country’s dual social structure. However, efforts to reduce inequalities and encourage harmonious planning are reshaping both urban and rural landscapes, leading to new hybridized forms of living. These transformations emphasize the importance of design disciplines in experimenting with innovative settlement models and architectural projects. Recognizing the interconnectedness and mutual dependence of urban and rural areas is a fertile perspective to frame the countryside as a significant frontier in China’s cutting-edge architectural movements. China’s rural revitalization strategy represents the latest initiative aimed at improving conditions in the Chinese countryside and enhancing the well-being of its residents. Aligned with the principles of ecological civilization, this policy calls for the development of new esthetic dimensions that reflect technological advancements, cultural diversity, socioeconomic values, and political narratives, echoing similar sustainable agendas worldwide. The contributions selected for this special issue showcase how various design attitudes have embodied the countryside development mandate in far-sighted proposals of transformation that addresses several crucial challenges of contemporary living, such as wealth distribution, economic stimulation, cultural heritage preservation, and the relationship with nature. These examples suggest that by challenging the ideological commitments supporting their feasibility, design practice, and research can be fundamental tools for reorienting policy formulation beyond solving specific issues through targeted design approaches.
Berta, M., Bruno, E., Ramondetti, L., & Xu, H. (2023). Prosperous Lishui. A Project for Suburban China. Novato, CA: ORO Editions.
Bolchover, J., & Lin, J. (2014). Rural Urban Framework. Transforming the Chinese Countryside. Basel: Birkhäuser.
Chen, X., Wei, H., Song Y., Chen, W., & Liang, Z (eds.). (2023). Rural Revitalization in China. A Socialist Road with Chinese Characteristics. Singapore: Springer.
Dong, N., Fabris, L. M. F., Wang, Y., & Chen, X. (2023). Ecosystem service value evaluation method for local-oriented rural water ecological governance: A case study on Shuiku Village in Shanghai. Journal of Chinese Architecture and Urbanism, 5(3):1055. https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1055
Halskov, M., Li, H., & Svarverud, R. (2018). Ecological civilization: Interpreting the Chinese past, projecting the global future. Global Environmental Change, 53: 195-203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.09.014
He, W. (2021). Thinking and Making Architecture in Rural China. London: Design Media Publishing.
Koolhaas, R. (2020). Ignored realm. In: AMO and R Koolhaas, (eds.). Countryside, A Report. New York: Taschen, p. 2-3.
Lee, C. C. M (ed.). (2015). Taiqian. The Countryside as a City. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Graduate School.
Li, M., Yang, M., Luo, Y., Zheng, D., & Fu, M. (2024). Study on the development path of cultural tourism integration in Yubai Village in the context of rural revitalization. Journal of Chinese Architecture and Urbanism, 6(1):0953. https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.0953
Li, X. (2018). Rural futures: Challenges and opportunities on contemporary China. Architecture China, 1: 4-11.
Li, X. (2019). RE/DEFINE Tradition. Architecture China, 2: 4-7.
Lin, J. (2013). The paradox of architecture. Domus, 970:56-63.
Long, L. (2023). What we are studying when we are studying home: A book review of Home Beyond the House. Journal of Chinese Architecture and Urbanism, 5(4):0925. https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.0925
Meriggi, M., Lin, M., Chu, X., & Chen, K. (2023). Learning from the countryside: Designing in Chinese rural-urban areas. Journal of Chinese Architecture and Urbanism, 5(4):0981. https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.0981
Ramondetti, L. (2022). The Enriched Field: Urbanizing the Central Plains of China. Basel: Birkhäuser.
Ramondetti, L. (2023). Envisioning rural futures: Lishui and the Future Shan-Shui City competition. Journal of Chinese Architecture and Urbanism, 5(3):0957. https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.0957
Semprebon, G. (2022a). Fragilities of historical settlements targeted by heritage tourism: Comparison and ex-post assessment of two water towns in the Qingpu district of Shanghai. Journal of Chinese Architecture and Urbanism, 4(1):163. https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.v4i1.163
Semprebon, G. (2022b). Rural Futures. Toward an Urbanized Peasantry in the Chinese Countryside. Siracusa: LetteraVentidue.
Semprebon, G. (2022c). Design driven research for countryside revitalization of a rural settlement of the Fujian province, China. Architecture, 2:255-276. https://doi.org/10.3390/architecture2020015
Semprebon, G. (2023). The rural as a frontier of expression in contemporary Chinese architecture: Projects and strategies to mitigate the hollowing of countryside settlements. Contesti. Città, Territori, Progetti, 1: 93-116. https://doi.org/10.36253/contest-14587
Semprebon, G. (2024). The aesthetic dimensions of sustainability in design culture. Ardeth, 12:83-99. https://doi.org/10.17454/ARDETH12.06
Smith, N. R. (2021). The End of the Village: Planning the Urbanization of Rural China. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Tiantian, X., Commerell, H., Koegel, E., Sassen, S., & Sietchiping, R. (2020). The Songyang Story: Architectural Acupuncture as Driver for Rural Revitalization in China. Projects by Xu Tiantian, DnA_Beijing. Zurich: Park Books.
Wu, K., Bryant, M., Toland, A., He, Y., & Chen, B. (2024). Regenerating tradition: Empowering rural revitalization through Li culture and green infrastructure in a design case study of Yulong village, Hainan, China. Journal of Chinese Architecture and Urbanism, 6(2):1304. https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1304
Xi, J. (2014). The Governance of China III. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.
Zhang, X. (2018). Beautiful Villages: Rural Construction Practice in Contemporary China. Victoria: Images.
Zhao, W. (2023). Home Beyond the House: Transformation of Life, Place, and Tradition in Rural China. New York: Routledge.