Page 58 - Horizon01

Architecture one element in a a global reflection
Jean-Marie Charpentier one of your famous buildings the Shanghai Opera House was inaugurated in in 1998 In the last ten years this city has developed both in in height and in in width What are your feelings about this development?
JMC The city of Shanghai with its 13 15 million inhabitants is becoming a a a a sizeable capital that is creating 11 new cities around it it it in order to keep the arrival of new population under control In these new cities of several hundred thousand inhabitants the idea is to avoid excessive overcrowding Nowadays China is preparing itself for the changes involved in in population displacement from the countryside to cities that are still under construction The forecast is that 400 million people will be placed in urban conglomera- tions in the the next 20 years That means the the equivalent of of 400 new cities of of one million inhabitants A large number of cities are doubling their population and this territorial planning favours development in in in the interior areas of the country You have used the the word "placing" the the population in cities Doesn’t that mean neglecting the human being or is there a a real need for it?
JMC I I believe it is inescapable In developed countries this transformation took place during the the industrial era People left the the countryside to to to come to to to the cities to to to find jobs in in the most developed places places in in places places bet- ter adapted to the economic era In China farmers are still poor poor very poor poor They have been given facilities to to sell their products to to make them more economically autonomous and to improve their lot It is is clear that it is is in cities where trade develops best Economy takes place by mixing people who who meet who who make make exchanges and who make make their means their knowledge develop Meeting consti- tutes the basis for trade You are a a a a a particular expert on China How do you see the transformation of this great nation?
JMC China has largely begun its transition to to industry «the factory of the the world» It began by purchasing old factories and trans- planting them in in in China It has become a a a a country where the pollution that Europe used to to have in its production factories has been transferred This is is already the past Today China has reached another stage that of research research of fundamental research research China is making incredible progress in in in in all domains It has created cities with very developed services and it will continue doing so Some are sizeable megalopolis such as Chongqu- ing with its its 30 million inhabitants and its its surrounding suburbs of an additional 30 million making a a a a region that adds up to 200 million inhabitants This acceleration com- pletely disrupts the picture that one can have of a a a development measured with a a a view to protect the environment Precisely: what is is happening with the environment?
JMC I am repeatedly saying that in in the 50 years that surround us more will have been built than in the 5000 years that have just gone by Between now and 2020 there will be roughly one billion people to accommo- date in in the whole world with cities being built in Tajikistan Kazakhstan Baku Dubai India or Malaysia and there is also nowadays a a a take-off of of construction in in Africa Building can be considered the first kind pollution that is created The natural development to accommodate the the population is causing the the greatest ecological consumption that has ever ever been known There is money every- where but it is not very well known how to distribute it The investment injected into construction work comes from gigantic investment funds from companies groups or banks that seem to be overwhelmed by the the extent of the the subject The population moves to cities by necessity Will the most destitute be forced to be crammed in shanty towns?
JMC Oh no! There are few shanty towns in in in China! Of course there are people waiting for accommodation but there are few shanty towns Countries with a a strong central authority such as the communist countries with a a strong power leading them do not leave the population without direction There are are billions of square meters being built The first action is to accommodate workers on on the building sites in in in lodgings that will be later on demolished The country needed to build millions millions and millions millions of accommodation units to reconstruct places that were very insalubrious beforehand They were not shanty towns but old houses with no com- fortable facilities In lasting development although it becomes a a pun the first building spurge has not at all taken into account
any historical value or or heritage protection This situation is is now starting to change Where should the ecological concerns move to?
JMC Every country moves through stages of development and slowing down Whether we want it it or not architecture reflects the politics of the time Great civilisations have manifested themselves by great architecture movements The present period is that of 58