An Experiment for the Market

The Intertwined Relationship Between Architectural Autonomy and the Market Force in Contemporary China

Bibliographic Data

ID20206068
AuthorsKunzhe Kang (0009-0003-2376-7677, University of Manchester, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume27
Issue2
Pages127-158
Publication date2023-05-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTrames Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1406-0922 • E-ISSN: 1736-7514
PublisherEstonian Academy Publishers (PUBLISHER • EE)
DOI10.3176/tr.2023.2.03
OpenAlexW4377085068
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited9

In contemporary China, â experimental architectureâ depicts the rise of independent architectural explorations offered by a group of young Chinese architects in the mid-1990s. These young Chinese architects claimed to have established an autonomous architecture, distant from commercial interventions. This research examines the credibility of architectural autonomy stated by these architects in light of the field theory put forward by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. Through this interdisciplinary perspective, the paper focuses on the often overlooked interpersonal networks of critics, architects, and publishers. Through analysing their roles in promoting these experimental architects on the basis of professional publications, this research argues that the notion of architectural autonomy is constituted by a symbiotic collaboration among these actors through a discursive approach and architectural autonomy, despite indicating an architectural resistance against commercial forces, serves a commodity sold in the cultural market

Autonomy · Business · China · Political science · Architecture, Modernity, and Design · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Law

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