Architecture Asia: Renovation and Innovation

Architecture Asia, as the official journal of the Architects Regional Council Asia, aims to provide a forum, not only for presenting Asian phenomena and their characteristics to the world, but also for understanding diversity and multiculturalism within Asia from a global perspective.

This issue reveals how old buildings can be updated to realise innovation through renovation, and features three essays and eleven projects that elaborate this perspective. The three essays discuss regenerative architecture in Pakistan that create contemporary examples of traditional architecture, the revitalisation of old buildings in Hong Kong, China for heritage conservation--along the concept of updating the ＂hardware＂ and ＂software＂ of the building--and the sharing and regeneration of historical heritage spaces in old towns in Xiamen, China. The 11 projects, accompanied with full-colour photos and text descriptions, highlight architectural works that showcase the theme of renovation and innovation across projects that include a house, library, chapel, and clinic, to reveal how these buildings embody sustainability and innovation, and re-energise cities.

Professor Wu Jiang is a full professor at Tongji University’s College of Architecture and Urban Planning. He was the former deputy director of the Shanghai Urban Planning Administration Bureau, and the former executive vice president of Tongji University. He was also elected a member of L’Académie d’Architecture de France in 2015. Since 2019, he has been serving as the vice president of Architects Regional Council (ARCASIA). He is also the board chairman of Global University Partnership on Environment and Sustainability (GUPES), as well as a member of UIA Education Commission (EDUCOM). As a devoted architecture scholar, he has published a dozen of important books on architectural history, urban planning, urban regeneration, and urban governance. Dr. Li Xiangning is deputy dean and full professor in History, Theory and Criticism at Tongji University’ College of Architecture and Urban Planning. He is a member of CICA (Comité International des Critiques d’Architecture) and has worked as a curator for numerous exhibitions, and has published widely on contemporary Chinese architecture and urbanism. He is the chief editor of Architecture China and the president of the Architecture China Foundation. He has been working with international museums and institutes and has been a jury member to many international awards and competitions.