Regional Design Attempts of China-aid Stadiums

Abstract

Since the 1960s, China has exported a large number of foreign aid buildings to numerous recipient regions, initially as a member of the socialist camp spreading their post-war influence on developing countries, then as catalyzer of diplomacy and economic development. Among these constructions are a considerable proportion of stadiums. Because of their landmark effect and lasting time of use, these oversea stadiumsstandoutfromothertypesofChina-aidbuildings.Fromneighboringcountries in Asia to brotherhood countries in Africa, Latin America and Oceania, these largescale projects are located in different and complex geographical and cultural contexts. However, most of these projects were designed by Chinese architects from domestic design institutions. The integration of these buildings into the local environment and urban context becomes a significant issue for architectural design. Through detailed analysis of the representative case projects, and interviewing of people involved in the design and management process, we aim to explore and discuss regional design attempts and common methods used by Chinese architects when designing these cross-border stadiums, so as to provide reference for architectural design of this category in the future.

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