AN EXPERIMENT FOR THE MARKET: THE INTERTWINED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARCHITECTURAL AUTONOMY AND THE MARKET FORCE IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA
AN EXPERIMENT FOR THE MARKET: THE INTERTWINED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARCHITECTURAL AUTONOMY AND THE MARKET FORCE IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA
Author(s): Kunzhe KangSubject(s): Architecture, National Economy, Business Economy / Management, Economic history, Political history, Social history, Political economy, Politics and society, Socio-Economic Research, Sociology of Art
Published by: Teaduste Akadeemia Kirjastus
Keywords: experimental architecture; architectural autonomy; Pierre Bourdieu; the field; consecration; capital exchange; architectural commodification;
Summary/Abstract: In contemporary China, ‘experimental architecture’ depicts the rise of independent architectural explorations offered by a group of young Chinese architects in the mid-1990s. These young Chinese architects claimed to have established an autonomous architecture, distant from commercial interventions. This research examines the credibility of architectural autonomy stated by these architects in light of the field theory put forward by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. Through this interdisciplinary perspective, the paper focuses on the often overlooked interpersonal networks of critics, architects, and publishers. Through analysing their roles in promoting these experimental architects on the basis of professional publications, this research argues that the notion of architectural autonomy is constituted by a symbiotic collaboration among these actors through a discursive approach and architectural autonomy, despite indicating an architectural resistance against commercial forces, serves a commodity sold in the cultural market.
Journal: TRAMES
- Issue Year: XXVII/2023
- Issue No: 2
- Page Range: 127-158
- Page Count: 32
- Language: English