Waterfront intervention, as one of the post-industrial reuse paradigms, has flourished around the world and been studied as a global phenomenon. This paper investigates the application of a dual adaptive reuse strategy to industrial heritage waterfront buildings and explores its social significance. The case study is of the West Bund, a waterfront renovation in Shanghai, China. Insights are drawn from the qualitative research approach of triangulation, with evidence derived from document sources, archival records, direct participants and semi-structured interviews. This paper examines a series of galleries and landscapes created from former industrial buildings and facilities along the Huangpu River. It concludes that the West Bund exemplifies a dual strategy of adaptive reuse: art-led and landscape-led building reuse. This dual strategy can be viewed as an endeavour to balance urban gentrification and publicness in the megalopolis. It can also be argued, however, that the dual approach to adaptive reuse is unsustainable within the framework of an entrepreneurial state, and significantly so in the post-epidemic era when economic growth pressure increases. This study contributes to our understanding of the complex nature of industrial heritage in the rapidly shifting landscape of contemporary China.

This article explores how reconstruction design can be used in urban heritage as an adaptive approach to creating a continuous cultural dynamic for urban regeneration. The case that is studied is the rebuilding project of the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, well-known to westerners as a splendour of the East. The research strategy stems from the epistemological paradigm of interpretivism and relies mainly on qualitative research methods. The ethic of refashioning a past legacy is discussed by reviewing the relevant theories and documents. It is argued that the rationale for rebuilding heritage should be judged on a case-by-case basis. From the perspective of urban cultural regeneration, rebuilding can be an appropriate solution to reviving heritage within the bounds of authenticity. Respecting the delicate balance between historical significance and contemporary sustainability, urban heritage can sometimes best be served by modern reconstruction. This paper, therefore, identifies the modern Porcelain Tower as an urban landmark that distinguishes Nanjing among Chinese cities and satisfies the cultural demand for sustainable local urban regeneration. Whilst the modern pagoda is not historically inaccurate, its reconstruction was determined without public engagement in a way that emphasises the government’s view of its history and value.

Ieoh Ming Pei completed his work on the Fragrant Hill Hotel in Beijing in the year of 1983. This has been a piece of significant work in modern Chinese architecture. Corresponding studies and discussions have been mainly attracted to its style and its exploration of modernity, while relatively less concentrated on a close reading of the design. Taking “site reconstruction” as a clue, this paper traces the historic transformations of the site condition of this hotel. Following a chronological review and a formal analysis of different time periods, the paper revisits the discourse of the Fragrant Hill Hotel both in Chinese and American contexts. It examines the gaps between Chinese and American critiques and speculates on the reasons for the discrepancies. By comparing the discursive focus of “hunting park” and “imperial garden,” this paper attempts to uncover the tension between history and identity concealed in I.M. Pei’s address on the site. While the inconsistency is partly due to the time and people’s standpoints originating from the time, it still shows how design functions as a form of power in the history.

As global urbanization intensifies, high-density cities increasingly embrace vertical development to accommodate population growth while limiting urban sprawl. Yet verticalization often comes at the expense of direct access to natural environments, leading to reduced opportunities for human-nature interaction and declining urban biodiversity. Biophilic design frames architecture as an interface for integrating natural elements, processes, and experiences into the built environment, with a primary concern for human health and well-being (Kellert, 2008;Zhong et al., 2022). It differs from green architecture, which is often evaluated through energy, material, and life-cycle environmental performance (Ragheb et al., 2016). Nature-inclusive cities focus more broadly on incorporating biodiversity goals into urban development, district planning, green-blue infrastructure, and real estate projects (Mattijssen et al., 2023;Monti, 2019). Since urban residents spend nearly 90% of their time indoors (Ma et al., 2024), buildings become critical spaces for reconfiguring human-nature relationships. Building-integrated green spaces can also serve as vertically distributed ecological nodes, supplementing limited ground-level greenery and providing habitats for urban flora and fauna. This article therefore explores nature-inclusive architecture, which integrates living organisms, habitat conditions, and ecological processes into buildings to promote human health and urban biodiversity.In dense cities, nature-inclusive architecture is often materialized through three-dimensional green spaces (e.g., sky terraces, green balconies, and vertical gardens), representing a shift from horizontal greening to volumetric and vertically distributed ecological systems (Zhong et al., 2026). However, optimistic narratives of nature-inclusive architecture often mask the uneven performance in practice; despite the potential for mutual benefits between human well-being and non-human habitat needs, this is by no means guaranteed. Integrating nature into architecture necessitates profound trade-offs, such as human demands for comfort, safety, and ease of maintenance, which sometimes clash with the "messy" nature of functional ecosystems. This article critically examines the synergies and trade-offs of nature-inclusive architecture in dense cities, emphasizing the delicate considerations for multi-species symbiosis. It argues that not all types of green spaces yield the same effects. By categorizing three-dimensional green spaces according to the spatial verticality (sky, elevated, and ground) and openness (open, semi-enclosed, and enclosed), the discussion highlights the differentiated strengths and limitations of varied types in supporting human health and urban biodiversity. This typological perspective underscores the need to move beyond generic applications of vertical greening and towards more context-sensitive and performanceoriented design approaches that acknowledge both the potentials and constraints of nature-inclusive architecture.Synergies: co-benefits between health and biodiversityNature-inclusive architecture can create urban microhabitats by providing nesting, feeding, or resting spaces for birds, arthropods, and other organisms (Wooster et al., 2022). A ten-year assessment of an intensive green roof with a bioreceptive façade at a French school recorded 345 species (including 207 plants, 100 invertebrates, 20 birds, and a few reptiles and bats), showcasing biodiversity levels comparable to nearby parks (Lewandowski et al., 2026). Distributed among buildings, various green spaces can form ecological networks for wildlife while bringing urban dwellers into closer contact with other species (Fuller et al., 2007). People who regularly watched and fed garden birds reported feeling more relaxed and connected to nature (Cox & Gaston, 2016). Observing pollinators, seasonal changes of plants or bird activities in rooftop gardens, balconies, or other spaces can strengthen residents' nature connectedness and emotional attachment. A study also found that two weeks of nature intervention during the winter can enhance positive affect, hope, and nature connectedness (Passmore et al., 2022).In this way, ecological habitat provision and human psychological connection to nature can become mutually reinforcing rather than isolated.Nature-inclusive architecture links biodiversity and environmental comfort because plant traits influence habitat provision, shading, evapotranspiration, air filtration, and sound attenuation. A survey of vertical greenery systems in Singapore shows that vegetated walls support greater animal diversity than bare walls, cooling building surfaces during the day and providing insulation at night (Hecht et al., 2025). On an extensive green roof in Rome, native Mediterranean perennials outperformed better than Sedum album in terms of plant health, coverage, and flowering; meanwhile, the temperature in the planted area was 2.9-4.4 °C lower than in the adjacent concrete area (Bellini et al., 2025). A comparative roof study also identified vegetation cover, plant assemblage, season, and urban location as determinants of thermal performance (Robbiati et al., 2024). Vegetation can remove airborne pollutants, although dense planting may restrict airflow in poorly ventilated settings and affect airquality outcomes (Chen et al., 2025). On extensive green roofs, vegetation and substrate together reduced noise by 1-4 dBA, with performance influenced by plant cover, substrate, moisture, and gaps in the planting (Lu et al., 2025). Hence, biodiversity and environmental comfort can be jointly enhanced when plant traits and system configurations are matched to local climate, water availability, substrate conditions, target species, and ecological goals.The synergy arises when nature-inclusive architecture offers not only vegetation covering but also nurtures a richer diversity of species. Research...

The paper examines the introduction and representation of Soviet architecture in Chinese mass media and professional journals during the 1930s and 1940s. It analyzes how Soviet experiences in urban construction and architectural theory were translated, interpreted, and integrated into China’s architectural knowledge system, from a period of relative easing in Sino-Soviet diplomatic relations to the years of the War of Resistance Against Japan. Through a close reading and comparative analysis of texts and images, it traces their translingual pathways of dissemination, revealing that a substantial portion of these materials was not translated directly from Russian sources but mediated through Japanese-language publications. This finding highlights the extent to which Japanese architectural discourse functioned as a key intermediary in the circulation of Soviet architectural knowledge to China. It further reveals differences in the motivations behind their introduction and sheds light on Chinese architects’ selective reception and reinterpretation. The paper shifts the timeline of Sino-Soviet architectural exchange back to the Republican Era prior to 1949 and characterizes these early exchanges as fragmented and internationally mediated, supplementing and revising existing narratives centered on the policy of “Comprehensive Learning from the Soviet Union” after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in the 1950s. It highlights the role of horizontal knowledge circulation between non-Western contexts in the construction of modern architectural history and offers new historical insights into the origins and composition of modern Chinese architectural ideology.