"Shanghai is Not China"

Time and again in my project meetings I've heard that line--"Shanghai is not China." Well, after getting out a little bit to explore some of the surrounding towns I understand why, but at the same time it seems more and more of the cities are aspiring to be Shanghai, so perhaps to say Shanghai is the future of China in some ways is accurate.

My time here has mostly been divided into weekdays which are full of meetings (though not quite as many as I would like on some days) and research and weekends when I get out of Shanghai to explore nearby towns and sights. After Nanjing, my first adventure was to the water town of Tongli. This is a small old town threaded with canals and sporting narrow alleys between small homes, some in need of repair, that has built its economy now on tourists.

It is pleasant to walk through, especially when you find yourself suddenly completely lost because the signs directed you the wrong way or failed to alert you to a necessary turn in the path to a sight. As you walk down the narrow alleys, from time to time a large wooden door will appear which is the only indication you get that this is a large residence with a magnificent garden that you should explore.

This in itself is nice as you feel almost like you're entering a secret garden hidden behind the high white walls that cover much of the city. A couple of these gardens are pictured below.

It is absolutely refreshing to sit in these gardens and relax, enjoy the breeze, and the silence. It is a very different world from the constant bustle and jostling of Shanghai, and at times a welcome respite. That is until the tour groups led by a megaphone-wielding guide swarm into the space with children running wild and yelling. Each garden that was my signal to leave and explore more of the wonders of the ancient buildings with their wood-paneled interiors, exquisite carved and painted furniture, and oddly shaped gateways which feel secret. I really enjoy wandering through these houses and seeing this classical Chinese style. However once you leave, and reenter Tongli, you are back in the narrow alleys. Here, people live in relative poverty. The houses are small and crowded, people wash clothes in the canals down which tourists ride comfortably in boats, and most profit seems to be made from selling food, water, or trinkets to passersby like me. It was similar in some ways to Hongkou, the northern part of Shanghai, but in setting was totally different from the big city.

Now contrast that with Shanghai. Here, as I discussed with Ming Wu, an architect at EE+K, a need-driven market has spurred massive levels of growth over the last few decades. Combined with the abundance of cheap materials and labor, this has manifested itself in two ways. The first is developments like that in which I live. As I described previously, these are massive developments with identical buildings joined by green spaces. The other way is perhaps more interesting and is what Mr. Wu is involved with. Given the abundance of cheap materials, developments have much higher profit margins than those in Europe and the U.S. Therefore, these developments can absorb greater risk in the architectural style and the features implemented in the buildings. For example, one development on the Huangpu River will have two marinas raised above water levels with locks to access the river. Though costly, the development will still turn a nice profit while using the marinas to attract executives and large clients. The market here is such that innovation and experimentation can still be rewarded. It won't be that way forever--costs of construction are rising and after a time will reach a level such that the market is comparable to Europe or the US and developments will be lower risk, but for the time being it is unique. Take a look at the Shanghai skyline below and think about how many of these buildings would be impractical in the West.

Now consider that the next one being built will dwarf all of these as the tallest building in Asia and is the largest double-skin facade building in the world with atria that will span multiple floors. After two years of construction, it still has yet to rise above ground.

So what does this mean for sustainability? It means that markets like Shanghai are poised to innovate green building design faster than any other market. The buffer between income and costs means that experimenting with new methods of building design and construction, new technologies to save energy and water, and novel ideas of building form and function can happen here. Engineers and architects have a chance to try things which in other societies would be considered economically infeasible. All it takes is support from a developer trying to attract international clients with sustainability. To an extent, we're already seeing some buildings like this. The Guangzhou Pearl River Tower is billed as the most sustainable skyscraper in the world, complete with a facade that decreases wind loads by directing wind into two large integrated turbine assemblies within the building. We need more ideas like this to be tried and proven in China both for the sake of this country's energy use and emissions and for the rest of the world. As Mr. Wu and I discussed, many of China's policies describe a need to advance technological knowledge in the country for export to the rest of the world. This is seen as a key way for the country to develop beyond just manufacturing and heavy industry. Given the higher acceptability of risk in construction projects, green building technologies and innovative design could be part of this technological development. If architects, engineers, and developers seize this opportunity to experiment with new techniques in sustainable design, China could eclipse the rest of the world in green building technologies, especially given that China must construct between 4 and 5 million new buildings by 2025. To give an image to this scale, check out the pictures below of a 1/500 scale model of Shanghai that takes up an entire room.

It's an exciting potential mainly for the innovation it could inspire worldwide, but the country will have to overcome challenges to get there. One of the most interesting challenges is the fact that due to government directives on energy efficiency, residential buildings here are required to have a certain number of hours of direct sunlight even on the shortest day of the year. That means every apartment must meet this minimum. This has led to most residential buildings (including the one I live in) facing due south and being spaced apart a certain distance. Since they are also narrow to allow for natural cross-ventilation in the building, as Mr. Wu said, they look like dominoes stacked to fall down. It is hard, he continued, to take advantage of views because it is so ingrained in the minds of buyers and developers that south and separated is best. So buildings facing other directions have to lower rents to attract tenants. I know my building would be a bit nicer if my window actually faced the Suzhou Creek to the west as opposed to me having to stick my head over the balcony to see it. Instead I get a lovely view of the domino in front of mine. So while there is a lot of potential for innovative development here, it seems that education of developers and policymakers is still necessary to prove that while south and narrow are good principles, there are other ways to make a green building that can and should be explored.

Until then, I guess the risks architects take will just continue to make Shanghai look like a bigger version of Disney's Tomorrowland, or something resembling Las Vegas. At least that's my opinion based on the pictures above and the image of the highways below!