University Form In One Century

By collecting, processing and analyzing documents and other related materials, the dissertation focuses on the one hundred years' historical evolution of the campus planning and architecture of the Tongji University, with the aims to find out the regularities of development of university campus planning and architecture, and to investigate the influences imposed by architectural thoughts and views, and social, economic and political contexts. After one century's migration, settling down and development, the former Tongji German Medical School, founded more than one hundred years ago, has evolved into the present scale and shape of the Tongji University as we know today. The dissertation traces the University's first forty years' evolution and then focuses on the University's main campus at Siping Road for the next sixty years. With clear descriptions of both wider historical background and more concrete planning and architecture, it presents and discusses evolution of campus planning, changes of surface and space logic of architectural structures and also life and environmental visions of architecture.During the first forty years, the University was in the process of searching for a proper place for its survival and development; while the entire history of the next sixty years resembles a complete evolution of a living species, from a single cell to multi-cells forming organs with various functions, spines and bone structure. In the process, the species is more and more expanding, with its structure increasingly complicated, and its functions much improved. Such is exactly the historical evolution of the University's Siping main campus over the last sixty years. Beginning with single isolated buildings designed on surface and static logic, architectural designing has developed to such a way that it pays attention to relations with neighboring buildings and environment, based on a more dynamic logic of open space. In other words, the architectural vision has evolved into an environmental vision, with the attached importance shifted from building itself to the inclusive environment, from simply the building space to living space, and from discussion on function to that on space. Meanwhile, this new vision cherishes history as valuable resources. By means of renovation, it enables buildings to become living organs with strong adaptability.Apart from the inherent regularities of its development, campus planning and architecture is subject to strong influences from historical background, politics and economy. As is what a prestigious architect once remarked that city formations today were not shaped by architects' concrete designs, but the underlying fundamental cause: capital. The emergence of modern western style universities in China result from the clashes between the West and East cultures. The history of the birth and development of Chinese universities is part of the history of intrusion of West culture into the East. This intrusion brings the institution of modern universities and scientific way of thinking, and surely ideas and technology of modern campus planning and architectural design. The national independence in 1949 makes possible for the nation to be actively learning, free from foreign imposition. However, the Cultural Revolution brings to the end the ancient agricultural civilization. Fortunately, though, the last thirty years is a history of learning from the West in an open and deepened manner. Campus planning and architecture of different historical episodes are the snapshots of history, vividly telling us about our past. Equipped with better knowledge of our history, we are more enabled to create our present and future life and are more confident to lead a happy and wise life.