Formulating A Critical Regionalism-based Framework For Contemporary Tourism Development In Rural China

Abstract

Rural tourism has emerged as an effective tool for fighting rural poverty and sustaining China’s countryside communities. Critical regionalism, an architectural design theory that embraces technologic and architectonic building advancements while still acknowledging the connection to cultural, political, and geographical contexts is a design approach highly suited to new rural tourism development in China. This research proposes a methodology for establishing a critical regionalism-based design approach by first looking at general principles of critical regionalist theory as outlined by the writing of Kenneth Frampton. Secondly, a China-centric design language is developed through examining Pu Miao’s writing on the experiential characteristics of the traditional Chinese built environment. Finally, climate analysis software is used to determine site-specific sustainable design strategies. Connections between the software findings and the writings of Frampton and Pu Miao are made to determine the most critical design drivers. A sample project is presented to illustrate how this methodology can be implemented in a design to realize a building that is at once contemporary yet rooted in tradition.