A Dubious Experiment for Autonomous Architecture ---A Study of Chinese Experimental Architecture Between 1993 and 2010 Through A Bourdieusian Lens

  • Kunzhe Kang

Student thesis: Phd

Abstract

This thesis investigates Chinese Experimental Architecture's (CEA) development from its emergence to its decline. Previous studies have commonly accepted CEA’s resistance to political and commercial interventions in contemporary China. However, these studies often focus on style or individual architects, thereby neglecting the complex dynamics between CEA’s internal and external forces. This study addresses this gap by drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory, which helps illuminate how architectural practice functions as a cultural field comprised of critics, architects, publishers, and, most importantly, clients, who interact through the media to produce architectural creations of symbolic value. Architectural autonomy is discursively forged through this process as a catalyst of capital exchange between stakeholders. As CEA grows and becomes increasingly hierarchical and competitive, tensions emerge between these stakeholders, leading to symbolic/economic exchange breakdown. This study provides insights into the often-invisible capital circulation processes underlying architectural autonomy. It contributes to the ongoing academic discourse on the relationship between architecture and capital. Moreover, it outlines the potential of sociological and non-object-based research approaches in restoring the rationality and criticality of academic studies of architectural history.
Date of Award31 Dec 2023
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • The University of Manchester
SupervisorDeljana Iossifova (Supervisor) & Stephen Walker (Supervisor)

Keywords

  • Jiakun Liu
  • Yung Ho Chang
  • Mingxian Wang
  • Pierre Bourdieu
  • Chinese Experimental Architecture
  • Field Theory

Cite this

'