Polemic Design in East Asia

This subject introduces students to modern and contemporary architecture in East Asia. The course offers a pluralist and multi-polar knowledge of design from a non-western perspective. It examines key spatial theories and practices from regions such as China, Japan and Korea, with a particular focus on ‘polemic’ designs that are moment-defining, or controversial in a formal, urban, cultural, social or political sense. By delving into specific case studies ranging from monumental urban projects to experimental designs, students will gain a critical understanding of East Asia’s spatial trajectory shaped by foreign legacies, diversified knowledge traditions, and internal evolution. The subject seeks to inspire a comprehensive analysis of architecture as a socio-cultural production synthesising power dynamics of industrialisation, urbanisation and globalisation.