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Remnants of power behind the Bund: Shanghai's IBC and Robert Dollar Buildings, 1920–22

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 August 2008

Jeffrey W. Cody
Affiliation:
Department of ArchitectureThe Chinese University of Hong KongShatinNew Territories, Hong Kong

Abstract

Two buildings constructed in early twentieth-century Shanghai, one by a U.S. bank, the other by a shipping company, and both designed by a New York architect reveal the complex aesthetic and cultural issues that architecture must address in a global setting. These issues go beyond the buildings' facades to their construction, use, layout, leasing, and imagery. These two examples suggest that more comprehensive analyses of early twentieth-century commercial buildings in many global settings should lead to a clearer understanding of their significance.

Type
History
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999

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