Grand theatres in China: a Mosaic analysis of database

Abstract

Following the rapid pace of urbanisation, Chinese cities have launched a new wave of large-scale infrastructure, including cultural building construction. From 1998 to 2015, more than 360 grand theatres were built (or renovated) together with libraries, museums and children’s palaces. The number of newly built theatres may have been more than the total sum built in Europe over the past 70 years. No country in the world has built so many theatres in such a short time. To demystify the phenomenon, the authors have collected materials of all completed grand theatres in China, and compiled a database. Through analyzing the database, one can see the trend and characteristics of grand theatre design in China. The authors find that the rapid growth of cultural facilities epitomises the ambition and strong implementation of Chinese (and Asian) governments in the wave of urbanisation and globalisation. The research reveals the trend of constructing public buildings in Asia in the 21st century.

Keywords

• urbanization
• chinese cities
• grand theatres
• design