# Event Details - **Event Name**: How Modern: Biographies of Architecture in China 1949-1979 - **Event Start and End Date**: Wed, 06 May, 2026 at 02:00 pm – Wed, 06 May, 2026 at 04:00 pm (+01:00) - **Event Description**: Join us for a talk on How Modern, exploring architecture in China (1949–1979) and rethinking socialist modernity through new perspectives onAbout this EventAboutBetween the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and the implementation of Reform and Opening Up policies in 1979, architecture played a key role in shaping China’s vision for socialist modernity. However, driven by shifting policies throughout these three decades, modern Chinese architecture has largely been perceived as stunted. Many misconceptions of this history persist: that nationalisation and collectivism denied architects creative independence, that projects focused on industrial productivity over design quality, and that the promotion of a “national style” limited more modern formal choices.At once a question and a proposition, How Modern: Biographies of Architecture in China 1949–1979 reassesses New China’s architectural production. Reproducing primary sources alongside short essays and interviews with architects, archivists, historians, and residents, the book reflects on issues such as agency, innovation, collaboration, expertise, standardisation, craft, and local and international impact. It challenges a monolithic history of socialist modernity by foregrounding the varied conditions under which modernism was conceived, realised, and experienced.SpeakersShirley Surya is Curator for Design and Architecture at M+ Hong Kong. Since 2012, she has contributed to building the M+ Collections through her research on plural modernities and interdisciplinary knowledge networks across greater China and Southeast Asia. At M+, she co-curated I. M. Pei: Life is Architecture; Hong Kong: Here and Beyond; Things, Spaces, Interactions; and In Search of Southeast Asia through the M+ Collections. She has curated exhibitions in Montreal, Beijing and Singapore and has contributed to publications including ARCH+, e-flux Architecture and Geoffrey Bawa: Drawing from the Archives. She studied media studies at the University of California, Berkeley and history of design at the Royal College of Art, London.Li Hua (PhD of Architectural Association School of Architecture) is Member of Academic Board of Architectural Culture, Member of Media and Communication Committee and Member of Architectural Criticism Committee, Architecture Society of China; Committee Member of Docomomo China; Member of UIA Work Programme on ‘Public Spaces’. She is the Deputy Director of AS Research Centre of Architectural Theory, Deputy-Chief Editor of The Architect (journal) and Board member of New Architecture (journal). Li Hua’ s main research interest is on the relationship between architecture and modernity with particular concerns about formation of architectural knowledge, ‘translation’ and ‘re-interpretation’ of architectural discourse in different culture contexts, and architecture as a modern practice in China since the 1950s. She has published more than 40 essays in Chinese and English; coordinates and co-orgainses the series activities of AS Forum of Contemporary Architectural Theory, including the international symposia, compilation of the book series Architecture Study, and translation and publication of the books from English to Chinese under the umbrella of AS Readings of Contemporary Architectural Theories; co-directs the design research programmes and design studio on city-architecture, whose outcomes gained several awards; and curates and participates several exhibitions at Shanghai, Nanjing, Shenzhen and Venice. She was invited to lecture at academic institutes in China, the UK, Sweden, Japan, Spain etc.Jennifer Altehenger is Associate Professor of Chinese History and Jessica Rawson Fellow in Modern Asian History at the University of Oxford/History Faculty and Merton College. She was educated at Cambridge, Qingdao, and Heidelberg, followed by an An Wang Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Fairbank Centre, Harvard University. After several years as Lecturer and then Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Chinese History at King’s College, she was appointed to her current post at the University of Oxford and Merton College in 2019. Her research focuses on the history of modern China, especially the People’s Republic of China, and her publications have explored the history of law and civic education, design and materiality, and cultural production and information management. She is the author of Legal Lessons: Popularizing Laws in the People’s Republic of China, 1949-1989 (Harvard UP, 2018) and of several edited volumes. In addition, she is series co-editor of the Cambridge Studies in the History of the People’s Republic of China (Cambridge University Press) and Transformations of Modern China (De Gruyter), and Associate Editor of the journal Modern China. Supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Leverhulme Trust, she is currently completing a book entitled Socialism by Design: How Mass-Produced Furniture Modernized China (under contract with Princeton University Press).Image credit: Offered by the publisher, Canadian Centre for Architecture. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/london/how-modern-biographies-of-architecture-in-china-1949-1979/100001987817069365 - **Event Categories**: art, exhibitions, nonprofit, business, fine-arts, literary-art - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: GBP ## Event venue details - **city**: London - **state**: EN - **country**: United Kingdom - **location**: Room G12 - **lat**: 51.5257209 - **long**: -0.1327706 - **full address**: Room G12, 22 Gordon Street, London, United Kingdom ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: How Modern: Biographies of Architecture in China 1949-1979 - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events3/banners/9d30afcef39cb1fc4ba52e82d348102d2d0f5f620c7bed7c3106222917b06dce-rimg-w1171-h897-dcffffff-gmir.jpg?v=1776846639 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is How Modern: Biographies of Architecture in China 1949-1979 being held? - **A:** How Modern: Biographies of Architecture in China 1949-1979 takes place on Wed, 06 May, 2026 at 02:00 pm to Wed, 06 May, 2026 at 04:00 pm at Room G12, 22 Gordon Street, London, United Kingdom. - **Q**: Who is organizing How Modern: Biographies of Architecture in China 1949-1979? - **A:** How Modern: Biographies of Architecture in China 1949-1979 is organized by The Bartlett School of Architecture. - **Q**: What has been the experience of attendees at The Bartlett School of Architecture's events? - **A:** Attendees have given The Bartlett School of Architecture a rating of 5/5 based on reviews from early attendees on AllEvents. The Bartlett School of Architecture has a verified profile on AllEvents where you can read reviews and explore their upcoming events. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** How Modern: Biographies of Architecture in China 1949-1979 is ideal for art lovers, trade professionals, collectors, and exhibition enthusiasts exploring the latest in their field. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in London, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. 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