By JIALEI TANG, 4/29/2016. What makes a city a home?

As I continue refining my research question, I begin to dig into the heart of the problems I was looking at — the tension of history and progress. And in my lament over the loss of historical markings of a place in its becoming a city, I discover that it is these features that make it a home.

The vernacular architecture of places are the inherited built environments that its people grow up with. These places are occupied, inhabited, lived, breathed, seen, touched, walked, heard, etc. etc. I recall returning home during the summer and winter breaks, and each time something changes. Or many things changes. New buildings constructed, old ones demolished, New roads paved, old streets cleared. The loss of familiarity was unsettling, as if I was losing my home.

Tying my topic of interest with my discipline, I wish to investigate and dissect the vernacular architecture of Chinese cities, and contrast those with the new built environments. Looking to the structure and program adjacency, I hope to understand how architecture creates a social identity.

At this stage of the project, I believe a fruit of this is a collection of analytical drawings and photos of housing in the cities I visit. As well as a contextual consideration of the community, and consider the differences between a city like Suzhou vs. Shenzhen.

In essence, this is a project that seeks to understand the notion of home. Chinese cities, facing urban migration and economic development, may begin to take new forms. Yet, should we let go of the local built heritage in face of this?