A Typo-morphological Enquiry into the Evolution of Urban and Architectural Forms in the Huangpu District of Shanghai, China

This thesis focuses on the evolution of urban tissues of nine urban blocks of Huangpu District of Shanghai from 1842 to 1949, relying on theories and methods developed by urban morphology. It is more specifically a cross-cultural application of the Italian typo-morphological approach to the realities of a Chinese city, which offers a novel interpretation of Shanghai’s urban form. By studying Huangpu District’s urban tissues, we wish to learn lessons, inspire good design principles, propose new planning approaches, and shed light on the wider consideration of historical conservation in Shanghai and other Chinese cities. This thesis traces back the formation and transformation of urban and architectural forms in Huangpu District by exploring the street blocks evolution and drawing a typological analysis of residential types of the selected site. The research highlights the particularities and specificities of urban and architectural forms of Chinese cities and illustrates that the Chinese urban culture is enacted in the spatial system, rather than figuratively expressed by the architectural language