Chinese Chronicles. It’s time for critical preservation

Maria Paola Repellino

2019

Repellino, Maria Paola. 2019. “Cronache cinesi. È l’ora della conservazione critica” Il Giornale dell’Architettura, February 13, 2019.

ISSN 2284-1369

“The articles collected in this survey on the interventions in the consolidated fabrics of Chinese metropolis look at the forms of critical conservation at a time (still) of strong economic and infrastructural development. What kind of conservation is promoted? What use is made of the things that are conserved and patrimonialized? Through these questions, and in the persistent tension between rampant pragmatism and the values implied by the legacy of the past, the projects presented in the following contributions finally question how some recent design experiences build mechanisms of inclusion of the historical fabric in the growing city, or whether on the contrary they determine traditional phenomena of patrimonialization and gentrification similar to those known in the West.”