December 30, 2008 | Broadcast News

China Express
Despite the downturn, China is still the place to be for Western architects seeking large-scale work and a meaningful role in the global architectural dialogue. Amara Holstein checks in with California firms doing business in this complex, frenetic market, and finds that technology helps them thrive, yet also opens the door to new challenges amid Asia’s fast-forward culture of building.
As people tuned into the Olympics this past August, they saw buildings like the evocatively nicknamed Bird’s Nest and Ice Cube settling into the Beijing landscape. But what wasn’t seen so clearly by Olympic viewers were the challenges of working in this frenetic setting, and the logistics of trading design drawings with clients and colleagues over five thousand miles away. It’s a world where technology plays a central role, increasing in importance and complexity.

Without a doubt, the Chinese economy has been nothing short of miraculous over the last few years, turning a development nobody into one of the hottest markets in the world. Although new signs are ominous—a recent report in The New York Times said that housing sales in big cities this year have dropped by as much as 40 percent, and several firms told AN that commercial construction in the country is way down—China is still the place to be for Western architects, including many of California’s top firms looking for large-scale work.

full text at The Architect’s Newspaper
Image via Morphosis

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