Shanghai, China

The forces of modernization and techno-industrialization are now more powerful in China than anywhere else in the world. This phenomenon is bringing jobs, education and wealth to a country previously racked by massive poverty. But what is often forsaken in this maelstrom of new development and globalized culture is the concern for a sense of place and history. "Critical Regionalism," as Kenneth Frampton has termed it, offers increasingly relevant counterpoint to local means of spatial production: a hybridized architecture informed both by traditions of place and the benefits of modern technologies. This architecture seeks to reconcile Modernist innovations and production technologies with local needs, climates, and traditions. It is an architecture that considers the past without nostalgia but as a means of inflecting Modernist vocabulary with a confident local idiom.

Of particular interest to Cordogan, Clark and Associates is that Chinese architecture has effectively influenced Chicago architecture through the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie Style. Chinese forms, through their influence on Wright via Japanese architecture and design, have itself inflected the vocabulary of Chicago modernism. Such forms in a greatly pared down aesthetic have found their home in the Midwestern landscape.

This 3,000- unit condominium development overlooking the Pacific incorporates architecture, landscape and water features into a cohesive development. It also respects relevant aspects of feng shui. Units feature generous private balconies, granite accented kitchens and continuous windows. The site is unusually well landscaped and features miniature lakes that interweave with the landscaping. This project demonstrates Cordogan, Clark and Associates efforts to reconcile Modern Architecture, design and technology, innovative construction techniques and a commitment to architectural quality and detail, with new cultural demands.