Summer Abroad in China, Chengdu

China, Chengdu: Imprint/Palimpsest

June 8–29, 2010

Instructor: Yim Lim

Description

Open to students of all disciplines

This studio, inspired by the Chengdu Diary of Andrea Hsu, engages in the daily rebuilding efforts of a community of people affected by the Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008. Students keep their own diaries and draw their way through the town of Chengdu as they participate in volunteer reconstruction projects with the community.

The studio pedagogy examines what makes a culture of “place” in the temporary and permanent strategies devised as a result of natural disaster. The spirit of a Chinese culture that sustains such disasters reveals opportunities in the strategies of reconstruction, relocation, place making, and the “codification” of cultural identity. Home to five main ethnic minorities, the Chengdu region struggles to preserve its culture while experiencing the pressure to transform, as tourism brings in modern and global influences.

Students explore multiple sites and meet local officials. At the onset, the studio meets in Beijing to visit “Hyper-Link” by Steven Holl. From this urban setting, the class travels to the city of Chengdu, a short flight away. The program includes a visit to West China University in Chengdu, where students engage in a short dialogue with its architecture students.

A triangle path is formed from visits to the earthquake sites of Beichuan, Wenchuan, and the small villages of ethnic minorities. The diversity studies component of the studio concentrates on the everyday rituals of homage to Buddha, the tradition and customs relating to elders and family, ancestor worship, and artisanal crafts.

By observation and analysis, crafts from the traditional towns inspire new ideas. Students focus on proposals for:

• temporary and permanent containment
• protection for the body, protection for the community

The juxtaposition and timing of this studio could not be more fortuitous. The current human condition in Haiti parallels that of Chengdu in 2008. The aftermath over time is now observable; hasty moves toward recovery have left both an imprint of the present and a palimpsest of the past.

Please view the compelling photojournal of the area six months after the Wenchuan earthquake.

A final exhibit in the fall at CCA’s San Francisco campus will document the process.

About the Instructor

Yim Lim is design principal at HDR Architecture and a practicing architect, licensed in Texas. She is a senior adjunct professor of Diversity Studies at CCA. Lim’s family is from Guangzhou, south of Chengdu, and she continues to speak the Mandarin and Cantonese she learned as a child of immigrant parents. She is a graduate of Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Lim's professional papers presented at conferences address cultural influence and design. A recent paper focused on the figure ground of the Mosque in Abu Dhabi and the impact of prayer spaces to health care design.

Prerequisites

Undergraduates: Completion of sophomore level by summer 2010 and instructor approval.
Graduates: instructor approval.

In addition all students must be in good academic, conduct, and financial standing for the 2009/10 academic year.

Course Satisfies

For undergraduates, this course satisfies 3 credits of a studio elective requirement or Diversity Studies studio; or for students who achieve junior or senior standing by the end of spring 2010, this course may be applied toward an upper division Interdisciplinary studio requirement.

For graduates, this course satisfies a graduatewide elective.

Program Fee

$4,350 + $50 summer registration fee
Program fee includes:
3 units, housing, some meals, entry fees, and local transportation

Program fee does not include:
Airfare to and from China, most meals, $130 visa fee, travel insurance, medical or personal insurance (students must provide their own insurance)

Eligibility

This course is designed for current CCA degree students; however, students from other AICAD schools may be able to enroll on a space available basis after March 31. If you are not a CCA degree student and are interested in enrolling, please contact the Office of Special Programs at 510.594.3710.