An Analysis of Development of Modernism as a Contra-Flow Illustrated by the Case of T. P. Yang’s Design of Buildings

Abstract

A current trend in architecture is towards an overemphasis on its form but a neglect of building structure, function, surrounding topography and cost-performance ratio. This tendency triggers the current analysis, which, based on both a review of the emersion and development of Chinese Modernism Architecture before the Anti-Japanese War, and that of the city construction in Chongqing as well as the evolution of Modernism during the period of the war, with specifically an analysis of the architecture in Chongqing by T. P. Yang, finds from it the modernism features of a focus on building function as the leading factor, a hankering to be with concise façade, a use of simplistic but reasonable building materials and structures, and a perfect combination of buildings and its adjacent topography. On the basis of this, the current paper summarizes the special impact of these features on various aspects including economy, technology, politics and so on. To be more specific, with a generalization of characteristics of the thoughts behind the building designs of T. P. Yang, and a summary of the Modernism features characterized by the style of Chongqing during the war, this paper makes theoretical contributions to maintenance and development of principles of modernism architecture design, which state that styles of buildings should be compatible with both the style of the times when they are designed and the topography surrounding them. And this further aids in turning the current trend of design into such one that more attention will be attached to the most important matter of these core issues in designing buildings.