Architecture Asia: Cultural Identity and Social Responsibility

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 focuses on how cultural identity and social responsibility can be embodied within architecture and space design, and features three essays and eleven projects that elaborate on this topic. Each essay discusses the social situation in Australia, Malaysia, and India, respectively, as the eleven projects, accompanied with full-color photos and text descriptions, highlight architectural works that include a community center, nursery, hostel block, and cultural museum, among others, to reveal how through these buildings cultural identity is strengthened, or social responsibility is extended.

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). He is the vice president of the Urban Planning Society of China (UPSC), and serves as a standing council member of the Architectural Society of China (ASC), as well as the director of Institute of Architectural Education, Architectural Society of China (IAE-ASC), and the chairman of Asian City Forum. He has been invited worldwide to well-known universities and research institutes to deliver keynote speeches, including Harvard, Yale and Princeton. He is also the founder of several joint international design studios with top world institutes such as Princeton, HKU (University of Hong Kong), ETH-Zürich, Yale, UIUC (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), and TU Berlin (Technical University of Berlin). He was the juror of the final review of the Dubai Awards hosted by UN HABITAT. He was the curator of the 2002 Shanghai Biennale Urban Construction, as well as the founder and chief curator of the first Shanghai Urban Space Art Season (SUSAS 2015). 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.

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). He is the vice president of the Urban Planning Society of China (UPSC), and serves as a standing council member of the Architectural Society of China (ASC), as well as the director of Institute of Architectural Education, Architectural Society of China (IAE-ASC), and the chairman of Asian City Forum. He has been invited worldwide to well-known universities and research institutes to deliver keynote speeches, including Harvard, Yale and Princeton. He is also the founder of several joint international design studios with top world institutes such as Princeton, HKU (University of Hong Kong), ETH-Zürich, Yale, UIUC (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), and TU Berlin (Technical University of Berlin). He was the juror of the final review of the Dubai Awards hosted by UN HABITAT. He was the curator of the 2002 Shanghai Biennale Urban Construction, as well as the founder and chief curator of the first Shanghai Urban Space Art Season (SUSAS 2015). 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.