Shanghai Reflections: Architecture, Urbanism, and the Search for an Alternative Modernity

Shanghai-China's largest industrial city and the fifth largest port in the world-is in the midst of a rapid revitalization. Shanghai Reflections examines the transformation of the old city into a modern metropolis from a broad cultural and architectural perspective. Architect Mario Gandelsonas charts the city's physical mutation over time; essays by Akbar Abbas and M. Christine Boyer blend architectural and urbanistic concerns with insights gleaned from Shanghai's rich literary and cinematic traditions. Student projects, created in a joint studio sponsored by Princeton, Hong Kong, and Tongji universities and reviewed by critics such as G.C. Spivak, Diana Agrest, and Jennifer Bloomer, envision the renaissance of the city in concrete terms. Designed by Michael Rock of 2x4.