What is it about?
Atelier Deshaus (AD), an acclaimed contemporary architectural design studio, is known for the integration of the Chinese "shiyi" tradition with modern rationality. Shiyi can be roughly translated as "poetic." Yet, AD’s interpretation of shiyi is entangled with Western discussions of ‘the poetic,’ such as Martin Heidegger’s idea that all dwelling is poetic and Kenneth Frampton’s notion of the poetics of construction. This complexity makes it challenging to discern what it is precisely that situates AD’s work in a Chinese cultural shiyi tradition.
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Why is it important?
In this context, this paper aims to explore the distinctive influences of the Chinese shiyi tradition on architectural design, with a particular focus on the case study of AD’s Riverside Passage project, built in 2019 in Shanghai. The research demonstrates that the integration of the shiyi tradition assists AD in countering the increasing homogeneity of urban environments and in reviving a poetic approach to architectural design. This approach can be considered an ecological and systemic approach to architectural design, as shiyi, characterised by openness and suggestiveness, places focus on dynamic relations and the coexistence of architecture, individuals, and their living surroundings.
Perspectives
The Chinese shiyi tradition emphasises a relational poetic and differs from conceptions of the poetic rooted in ancient Greek poiesis.
Dr. Claudia Westermann
Curtin University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Reweaving Shiyi: A Case Study of the Riverside Passage by Atelier Deshaus, January 2025, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/978-981-96-4749-1_37.
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