Zhongkai Sheshan Villas « Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects

Zhongkai Sheshan Villas

Project Description

Within each of the different villas there is a consistent attempt to evoke an essential Chinese quality, to evolve or transform some architectural form or some philosophical or spiritual notion. The idea of transformation is critical to the making of a contemporary condition that moves beyond a strictly traditional approach and honors the conditions of life as it is lived in a rapidly advancing and changing world. This is particularly relevant to the Zhongkai Sheshan Villas. As Alan Balfour and Zheng Shiling state in their book World Cities: Shanghai, “The physical and economic transformation of Shanghai in the last decade of the twentieth century is unparalleled in urban history.” A new city with a vital and enterprising population is emerging.

The villa proposals seek to capture both the energy of today’s Shanghai while staying true to a Chinese architectural culture that is deep, rich and ancient.