The Southern Square in the Baltic Pearl

Chinese ambition and “European” architecture in St. Petersburg, Russia

Bibliographic Data

ID11045952
AuthorsMegan Dixon (0009-0006-7072-134X, College of Idaho, corresponding author), Megan L Dixon
Year2013
Volume41
Issue4
Pages552-569
Publication date2013-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNationalities Papers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-5992 • E-ISSN: 1465-3923
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1080/00905992.2013.768218
OpenAlexW2015333039
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited20

The Baltic Pearl is a 205-hectare development project underway southwest of St. Petersburg, Russia, originally financed and designed by a consortium of firms from Shanghai, China. This paper analyzes the discourse surrounding the development of one section of the Baltic Pearl, the commercial multiplex Southern Square, particularly the use of the term “European” as used to signal the project's intended cultural orientation and to exert control over the interaction between Russian planners and Chinese developers. In the negotiation over the form of the multiplex, control over architectural style emerges as leverage for preservation of cultural norms and local autonomy. In further analysis, the situation emerges as an example of Sassen's [(2008) Territory, Authority, Rights. From Medieval to Global Assemblages. Princeton: Princeton University Press] shifting assemblages, that is, a reassembling of global influences in a space invoked as national as well as local

Archaeology · Autonomy · China · Economy · Geography · Negotiation · Pearl · Political science · Regional science · St petersburg · Architecture · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Global Urban Networks and Dynamics · Law · Urbanization and City Planning

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