Bestseller How Modern: Biographies of Architecture in China 1949-1979

This richly illustrated publication accompanies the exhibition ‘How Modern’, a collaboration between the Canadian Centre for Architecture and M+ in Hong Kong. It reconsiders the architectural production of socialist China between 1949 and 1979, not as a period of stagnation, but as a site of innovation, negotiation, and creative agency. Through essays, archival materials, and multimedia documentation, the book sheds light on the overlooked microhistories behind design institutes, architects, and everyday users. These “biographies” reveal a complex and diverse architectural landscape shaped by shifting ideologies, technical ingenuity, and transnational influences. Challenging enduring misconceptions about modern Chinese architecture, this publication offers a vital new lens on the built environment of Mao-era China and expands our understanding of global modernism.