Structure-related issues are fundamental in architecture. It is reflections on the currently distant working relationship between architects and engineers that have recently led the Shanghai practice Atelier Deshaus to revisit the importance of structure. The separation is apparent across the entire building industry in contemporary China. In Chinese architectural education, the subject of structure is independent from the subject of architecture, which aggravates the distance between the two even further in the professional capacity after graduation. At the same time, the dominance of political factors in the decision-making process for the construction of the country's public buildings has had the adverse effect of simplification and symbolisation in design. The more important the building is, the more prominent its symbolic features are. The winning design proposal is often chosen for the superficial reason of having features that are highly recognisable and iconic. The building's structure vanishes behind these features, its function retreating to merely a platform for the symbolism.
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