Original copies : architectural mimicry in contemporary China / Bianca Bosker ; with a foreword by Jerome Silbergeld.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bosker, Bianca.

Contributor:

JSTOR (Online Service)

Martin and Margy Meyerson Endowment Fund for the Built Environment.

Series:

Spatial habitus (Series)

Spatial habitus

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Architecture--China--Themes, motives.

Architecture.

Architecture--China--Western influences.

History.

Themes, motives.

China.

Architecture--China--History--20th century.

Architecture--China--History--21st century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 161 pages) : illustrations (some color.

Place of Publication:

Honolulu : University of Hawaiʻi Press, ©2013.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Original Copies presents the first definitive chronicle of this remarkable phenomenon in which entire townships appear to have been airlifted from their historic and geographic foundations in Europe and the Americas, and spot-welded to Chinese cities: These copycat constructions are not theme parks but thriving communities where Chinese families raise children, cook dinners, and simulate the experiences of a pseudo-Orange County or Oxford. In recounting the untold and evolving story of China's predilection for replicating the greatest architectural hits of the West, Bianca Lencek Bosker explores what this unprecedented experiment in "duplitecture" implies for the social, political, architectural, and commercial landscape of contemporary China. With her lively, authoritative narrative, the author shows us how, in subtle but important ways, these homes and public spaces shape the behavior of their residents, as they reflect the achievements, dreams, and anxieties of those who inhabit them, as well as those of their developers and designers. From Chinese philosophical perspectives on copying to twenty-first century market forces, Bosker details the factors giving rise to China's new breed of building. Her analysis draws on insights from the world's leading architects, critics, and city planners, and on interviews with the residents of these developments. Book jacket.

Contents:

Into "the land of courtly enjoyments" : an introduction to China's architectural mimicry

The fascination with faux : philosophical and theoretical drivers of architectural reproduction in China

Manifestations of westernization : the anatomy of China's simulacrascapes

Simulacra and the Sino-psyche : understanding the Chinese motivation for replicating the alien

Residential revolution : inside the twenty-first century Chinese dream

Conclusion : From imitation to innovation?

Notes:

"Published in China by Hong Kong University Press."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 147-153) and index.

Electronic reproduction. New York Available via World Wide Web.

Description based on print version record.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Martin and Margy Meyerson Endowment Fund for the Built Environment.

ISBN:

9780824837839

0824837835

Publisher Number:

99984550756

99953227527

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.