後理論時代實用主義的中國當代建築設計

摘要

Either being conscious or unconscious, contemporary Chinese architectural design indeed reflects the current debate on post-criticality and Pragmatism in the design of city and architecture. “Our experiences within cultural institutions, academia and urban regeneration revealed that many people were, unwittingly but in significant ways, legitimizing aspects of the new strains of neo-liberalism across cities and thus themselves ushering into the field of state of de-politicisation or post-criticality” (Deepa Neik & Trenton Oldfield, The Urban Industry and its Post-Critical Condition, Critical Cities, Ideas, Knowledge and Agitation from Emerging Urbanists, p18, Volume 2, 2010) Envisaging uncertainties of the future, most architects can only DO but not think, in China there is simply no time for contemplation. Whichever direction Chinese architects are leaning to, the pragmatism in Chinese contemporary architecture exhibits one common feature, i.e. to result in new knowledge and reliable experiences out of engagement of specific conditions and requirements based upon case by case analysis of specific issues. The theory of pragmatism in contemporary architectural design is therefore, to creatively challenge the architectural autocrat which secures the interests of some seniors with the belief of perpetual norms based on old realities at expense of others, to continue the criticality in the post-critical time, to theorize new practice or constantly rectify old theories with provision of high quality architectural products rather than trying to labeling new practice with old indexes.