A comparative and typo-morphological study on the early mass-housing of colonial cities in China

Abstract

Set against the backdrop of the crisis of cultural expression and global assimilation

existing in many cities in China, modern house forms of limited types are copied and

mass-produced, regardless of local culture, topography and climate.

Typo-morphological study has been identified and developed as a base for theoretical

discussion and empirical case studies, mainly focusing on the relationship between

elements of form. In this study, it is used to systematically investigate diverse early

mass-housing built in China in the period from the beginning of the 20th century to

the onset of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937. The mass-housings in Qingdao, Tianjin,

Shanghai, Wuhan, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, six significant colonial cities in China,

are selected as case studies. The early mass-housing was a new leading building type

of the time, successfully meeting the needs of occupants, and becoming valuable

assets from which people can derive benefits.

However, most scholars have only investigated the early mass-housing from an

isolated perspective, thereby forfeiting the opportunity to identify what is important to

that particular localized building culture, what distinguishes it from other cultures,

and intrinsic characteristics originating from that locale. Therefore, comparative

analysis of the early mass-housing is necessary to identify and explore characteristics

significant in cultural and environmental adaptation. Moreover, such an analysis helps

develop a better understanding of the evolution of the housing in context.

Based on an extensive literature review, this research selects significant and

representative examples from the six cities. Assisted by a systematic

typo-morphological framework formulated by Conzen, Caniggia and Kropf, this study

investigates the morphological characteristics of these examples at fabric and building

levels. A comparative analysis is then undertaken of the components of these housing

estates within a typological process, which is inherent in the sequence of building

types and characterizes an area. Finally, it gets the conclusion that such housing in

these cities share few morphological patterns; meanwhile, diversity and contradictions

also exist for reasons that go beyond varying climates and geographical locations. By

building up the typological process, this study (with certain qualifications), is able to

explore the constituent parts or elements of housing forms and their interaction in the

formation process, which can have implications for the further housing development.