Uncovering The Genius Loci In A Chinese City Asher Durham .
Uncovering the Genius Loci in a Chinese CityAsher DurhamUndergraduate Honors Thesis
China is a country that cannot be understood through just one of its many cities. To fullyexperience China would mean to travel to each one of its twenty-two provinces, fourmunicipalities, and five autonomous regions. It is home to over 1.3 billion people and stretchesnearly four million square miles. Nearly every biome is represented there, along with fifty-fiveminority people groups. It is a country with a deep and widespread history. Therefore, it is hardfor me to speak on all of China, as I have not been through it all, yet still I have developed someunderstanding from the cities I have visited. Some of these cities stood apart from each other,while not becoming foreign to one other. Rather, these cities all held their own individuality.There was a unique and understandable spirit of the place, or genius loci. I will be expanding onthis concept of genius loci, originating from the ancient Roman belief that everything had itsgenius, a protective spirt. Christian Norberg-Schulz develops upon this idea in relation toarchitecture. He states, “To identify with a place primarily means to be open to its character or‘genius loci’ and to have a place in common means to share the experience of the localcharacter. To respect the place, finally, means to adapt new buildings to this character.” 3 It isimportant to understand that I am not saying that these places all simply contained the Chinesegenius loci. My previously stated information on the size and diversity of China was toemphasize caution in trying to overly generalize Chinese culture and identity, and it is not just usforeigners who are at fault for this. Both the government and people of China can be susceptibleto forgetting about local identity. All these cities would naturally have Chinese elements, as theyare still Chinese cities. However, the cities where the genius loci was more prevalent, thepeople would identify with the city first, and the country second. They would be a citizen ofDunhuang, a Chinese City, rather than a citizen of a Chinese city that happened to be calledDunhuang.To elaborate on this, I will discuss the experiences of past trips to Chinese cities, andhow I, as a foreigner, successfully or not, uncovered the genius loci there. I will speak on both
the success and failure of the different cities abilities to foster individuality and a spirit based onplace, especially through architecture. “Architecture means to visualize the ‘genius loci’, and thetask of the architect is to create meaningful places, whereby he helps man to dwell.” 2 I will thenlook at how the “genius loci” was considered with great detail when designing a project in China.Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China. In Hong Kong, there feels ahealthy disconnect from the rest of China. While part of the region is an island, this disconnectcomes more from the region’s identity. Hong Kong was a British colony from 1842 to 1997,when it was returned to the PRC, however, it had been able to remain a Special AdministrativeRegion and privileged certain liberties not given in the rest of China. 4 Additionally, during its timeas British colony, capitalism allowed it to blossom as a wealthy state. While its Chinese rootsare certainly not lost, its western influences has mixed with its eastern ties to create a singularlyunique city.As I was flying into Hong Kong I was taken aback by the lush, tropical mountains thatseemed to have floated there from Brazil. It was not one of the typical Chinese backdrops I wasaccustomed to. After leaving the airport and driving through hills and mountains of Hong Kong,for a moment it did not seem likely that a city would be nearby. However after emerging from atunnel that pierced a mountain it came into view. Across the channel was a forest of buildings. Isaw an array of magnificent skyscrapers. The skyline was admirable due to its variety of designand height, as well as its density. The term urban jungle had never seemed so fitting. My hotelwas right outside the heart of the financial district. As I arrived at the pencil tower I would bestaying in, I felt like I was in a homely area, despite still being surrounded by towers. Currently,less than seventy-five percent of the Land in Hong Kong is developed. However toaccommodate for their some seven million inhabitants, Hong Kong developers have built up intothe sky, resulting in one of the world’s densest cities. Additionally, with how three dimensionalthe topography is, building horizontally would be rather inconvenient.
The city itself responds to the topography in a very interesting way. Rather than cuttinginto the mountains and hills, the city rises and fall with the folds of the landscape. The buildingson the edge of the city are overtaken by bush and vine, and within the city are countless parksand green spaces. A walk through the city can feel like a hike up a mountain. Once arriving tothe base of the hills and mountains, at the heart of the financial district where the grounds startsto level out, the dimensionality continues to thrive. In Hong Kong many of the skyscrapers aredesigned with a podium complex. Before the tower actually begins it seems to rest into anotherstructure, raising it off from the ground. This starts to blur Norberg-Schulz’s idea of the buildingbeing of the earth, and reaching to the sky, 2 rather the podium lifts the building from the earth,and lets it exist in the sky. Additionally the podiums combine together to create a pathway forpedestrians above the ground. The ground level becomes a place for machines, wherepedestrians must be wary, but on the podium level it is all humans walking on roadwaysreserved for feet. This also makes these buildings more accessible and integrated into theurban fabric. The architecture is responding to both the needs of the city as well as thedimensionality of local environment.One interesting building to observe is the HSBC building in the central district. While thisbuilding does not sit on a podium, the base level is largely carved out, lifting it off the groundand into the sky. The resulting space has become useful to the public to pass through or gather,especially for the maids of Hong Kong, as they gather in masses to play card games on theirday off under the protection of the HSBC building. This void has become an integral transitionspace both through and into the building. The glass ceiling in the base level allows for views intothe building itself. The structural expressionism design of the building is certainly notrepresentative of Chinese architecture, but seems more fitting for Hong Kong, a city controlledand ran by industry and commerce. Yet still, in accordance with Feng Shui philosophies, thebuilding faces the water, and no other buildings block its view. While Hong Kong may seem a
special case for China due to its extended period away from PRC sovereignty, it was certainly acity with a healthy spirit. The many iconic towers that stretch toward the heavens are activelyintegrated back into the public. The city responds to its environment and respected it, buildingvertically to preserve and avoid deforestation. The city was not void of Chinese culture, as therewere naturally many temples and smaller traditional style constructs, however the Chineseculture was not forced where it was impractical.From Hong Kong we venture to the capital city of China: Beijing. This city was built nearthe base of a mountain range, and is not nearly as diverse in terms of topology as Hong Kong.The air there is dry and the haze from the smog is more prevalent. Driving through the cityinitially, the feeling was not the same as Hong Kong. I felt lost and unable to orientate myself. Ilook for the mountains which I know are supposed to be to the northwest, but any view of themis blocked by brutalist towers marked by little design effort. The buildings begin to look the sameand repeated. The architecture in Beijing is generally reminiscent of three different styles. Thefirst is the ancient Chinese architecture, whether that be actual historically significant buildingsor recent one that whole heartedly emulate the old ways of construction. The second and mostcommon, as well as disappointing, is the buildings from and inspired by the industrial revolution.A lot of places in China seek to build for buildings sake and nothing else. They do not try andgive man meaning through dwelling. These buildings are easy to spot, as they are bare of anytrue design effort. Looking upon them is disheartening enough, it should seem unfair to dwell inthem. The third style is the most varied, and that is the iconic international designs. From theBird’s nest to the CCTV, Beijing is surprisingly filled with designs from big-name architects.The buildings and urban developments in Beijing were less porous and public than thatof Hong Kong. If Beijing is the capital city of China, a symbol of a vast land uniting as one,shouldn’t the urban spaces follow in form? Steven Holl believed so, and attempted to create aporous urban space, a city within a city, with his Linked Hyrbrid. The towers, while connected
above through enclosed bridges, are sited in a complex that attempted to promote relations andinteractions among commercial, residential, and educational programs. However, due to theneighborhood the project is in, it ultimately had to remain a private urban space, and is for themost part closed off from the public. Additionally, the design of the towers itself seems to ignorethe local architecture of China. Holl himself said "my position as an architect is to work in thespirit of international civilization and cooperation." 5 This in stark contrast with the values thatNorberg-Schulz speaks of. Norberg-Schulz does not say that building need to be the same asthey were hundreds of years ago. “To respect the ‘genius loci’ does not mean to copy oldmodels. It means to determine the identity of the place and to interpret it in ever new ways.” 2However Holl is explicitly stating that he is working with the genius of the world. The resultingdevelopment is a dwelling that isolates oneself completely from the rest of Beijing, and loses itsinitial meaning.Galaxy SOHO, by Zaha Hadid, is a development that more successfully integrates backinto the public. Its five flowing volumes linked by stretched bridges gather together a space forpublic occupation and flow. The project is a multi-use complex, with shops, restaurants,entertainment, and office space. The top levels will be reserved for restaurants, bars, and cafés,which allow for prime views of one of the most spectacular streets of the city. The design isrespectful in height, and is intended to be an iconic landmark in Beijing. Its integration into theurban fabric is very welcoming, and does well to gather people of Beijing. However, the form stillfeels too foreign of its setting. While Norberg-Shulz states that “any place ought to have the‘capacity’ of receiving different ‘contents’, naturally within certain limits” and “a place may be‘interpreted’ in different ways,”2 The form of Galaxy SOHO does not seem to be interpreting thespirit of Beijing. It does nothing to gather the identity of the nearby buildings. “The ‘meaning’ ofany object consists in its relationships to other objects, that is, it consists in what the object‘gathers’. A thing is a thing by virtue of its gathering.” 2
On from here we move away from the great metropolises of China and into a “village”.An oasis “village” of nearly two hundred thousand people. Dunhuang is a city in the Gansuprovince that was once a major stop among the ancient road. It has a rich history and is filledwith historical significance. As for the neighboring dunes, Dunhuang celebrates them from adistance, framing them as Hong Kong would the sea. Being an oasis, the citizens canappreciate the trials of the desert without having to fully endure them. Despite being quite largestill, the city has a quaint feel. The people of Dunhuang identify with the desert, and have astrong sense of pride and belonging to their city and its historical relevance. Whenever our tourguide, Steven, would mention Dunhuang, he would do so by calling it “my beautiful hometown,Dunhuang.” The city’s design follows in the spirit of the dunes, or the cosmic landscape. Thebuildings were modest in height and stretch out horizontally. Our hotel was massing echoing aChinese gate, pierced by small windows, reminiscent of desert houses that were wary of lettingtoo much light in. In the evening, the stretches of buildings walled in a street that turned into anight market. The road became a runway of seats and tables, where adjacent restaurants wouldbring their wares outside and cook fried delicacies. The market felt safe and the cool air waspleasant. The oasis was understood, as the desert was still in view, but there was immenseamount of comfort. I felt that was the beauty of Dunhuang. After journeying into the vast andendless desert, despite its majesty, it was much a relief arriving back in the comfort of this Oasiscity. It takes into its protective arms the humans who found despair traveling through the deserton the silk path, and even more so those who are fully familiar with Dunhuang, and call it home.“We comfort ourselves by reliving memories of protection. Something closed must retain ourmemories, while leaving them their original value as images. Memories of the outside world willnever have the same tonality as those of home and, by recalling these memories, we add to ourstore of dreams.”1
The city thrives off the tourism revolving around the history and local environment, sonaturally the spirit of the place is consequently sought after with great effort by developers,whether or not for noble reasons. Still, Dunhuang in many of its recent constructs has done wellto idolize its location and history. One of the nearby attractions in Dunhuang are the MogaoGrottoes. These caves contain a system of temples carved into the side of a low cliff. Now amuseum, these caves house many forms of art including, murals, textiles, and sculptures.Nearby is the Dunhuang Cave Culture Asset Preservation Research and Exhibition Centerdesigned by the Japanese firm Nikken Sekkei. The building was designed to serve the grottoesin tourism and research. The construction and design of the building is one of the moresuccessful interpretations of the local genius loci into architecture that I’ve seen in China. Thebuilding is a massing that rises out from the earth as if another dune. The materials are a similarshade to the sand, and will age well over time. The interior is simple yet elegant, in order to notovertake the artwork and exhibitions. Ample natural light is permitted into the interior through topof the walls, but only by reflecting off of the convex ceiling, still remaining wary of direct sunlight.Dunhuang wasn’t completely full of fascinating and thoughtful architecture, but itnaturally contained an easily connectable genius loci, which was being respected whenaffordable. A major issue in China is the demand for the cost of construction to be as low aspossible. The result is a plethora of lifeless towers and buildings with no true identity orconnection to its local place. These a-contextual designs do not work to celebrate theirinhabitants’ existence or work to give them meaning. One thing that made Dunhuang sospectacular were the buildings that were a combination of Chinese architecture and desertarchitecture, embodying the genius loci of Dunhuang, a Chinese desert city along the Silk Road.Rather than just mixing in Asian flavor in an attempt to give it culture, it stays true to the spirit ofthe place, and celebrates its history. “To protect and conserve the ‘genius loci’ in fact means toconcretize its essence in ever new historical contexts.”2 It has an identity outside of being just a
Chinese city. In many modern and new Chinese cities the genius loci seems to be hidden, ifthere even is one. To support their massive population, China started pumping out urbancenters at a relatively rapid rate. These once small cities grew too fast to acknowledge therewas something meaningful there before.People often generalize Chinese culture, or even Asian culture for that matter. It bafflesme how different Korea, Japan, and China are from each other, and still within China the northholds such a different way of life from the south. Certain costumes prevail throughout China, butthey still have a lot of disconnect, often more than they realize themselves. What made HongKong so spectacular was its uniqueness from not just China, but the rest of the world. It is a cityof layers and levels. The landscape and climate is not only recognized but celebrated, andrespected. The city itself begins to climb up the mountain. Beijing was harder to understand.The city holds a lot of history, however those sites have become merely relics of the past. Theirrevival in the modern architecture is absent, and their integration into the modern urban contextis minimal. Beijing was still a wonderful city to explore, but I never understood a sense ofbelonging there, compare to Dunhuang or Hong Kong. It’s certainly harder for a city like Beijingconsidering its size, but I fear it is beginning to lose effort in trying to preserve and respect thegenius loci. As more iconic architects come and leave their footprint and Beijing becomes amore international city, it’s curious to see whether or not Beijing will be able to hold on to itspast. I believe it will try at least, as China is a nation that relishes in its culture, history, andcustom, but Beijing will not be able to celebrate its genius loci by applying broad Chineseculture. It will need to look within the city itself for the answer.With all this in mind, the studio project began with a greater understanding of the stepsnecessary to create a successful project in a foreign land. While understanding context andhistory were important, going beyond that and discovering the spirit of the place was equallybeneficial. In the city of Xi’an, in the Shaanxi province lays many historical preservation sites.
Whether it’s the city inter wall to the many temples that seemingly pop up out of now where, thecity has an issue in stitching together these important historical artifacts with the present dayChina that is so eager to be part of the modern world, which is critical for the success of the city.Xi’an, like many Chinese cities, as rich ties to the past. Much of its identity lies with its Tang andMing dynasty relics and how the cities flows around them. The spirit of Xi’an is a ghost of thepast that still haunts its citizens and streets.Fig. 1 – historical zones of Xi’an. The site for the studio project was originally constructed during theTang dynasty, and exists right outside the walls of the Ming dynasty.The city of Xi’an once had a prominent axis that was reinforced by the city’s inner walland its gates. This axis shifted with the city’s expansion and the changing of dynasties. As thecity began to sprawl out, the wall’s identity as a city center, while still present, has begun todissipate, and the axis of the city has faded much from what it once was. The Small Wild GoosePagoda is an important Tang Dynasty temple that sits between two important axes of the city,the Tang and the Ming (current), and was the selected site for the studio project. Built in 652A.D., the Pagoda is one of few remaining historical temples. The site as whole suffers from an
identity crisis. Its modern walls reject the neighborhood, and the modern research facilitiescreate unnecessary eyesores that distract from the beauty and peace the pagoda brings. Thecurrent entrance to the site is ambiguous, which is uncharacteristic of a temple in Tang DynastyChina. The north gate was closed for preservation and the original axis through the
Christian Norberg-Schulz develops upon this idea in relation to architecture. He states, “To identify with a place primarily means to be open to its character or ‘genius loci’ and to have a place in com
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Schulz, in the opening of his book Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture related “place” closely to the term “genius loci”. “Genius loci” is a Roman concept that refers to ‘a guardian spirit who gives lives
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