An Ethical Analysis Of China's Contemporary City Architecture

With China's efforts of urbanization and construction of modern cities, building harmonious and livable cities has become an important issue in social development. The level of urban development is most directly reflected by city buildings. Driven by various forces, novel and bizarre constructions have made their appearance in many places, some of which are incompatible with the popular aesthetic standards and the overall positioning of the cities. This phenomenon has aroused wide concern and requires in-depth academic thinking.Presently there are three most prominent problems with city buildings in China. First, some buildings fail to highlight the features of the city. Instead, there exist blind worship of Western architectural culture and excessive use of traditional architectural elements. Second, certain buildings are lack of humanistic concerns, such as the "shoddy constructions" which show a depraved indifference to human life and the "cold room walls" whose very existence proves a lack of concern for practical human needs. Third, a number of buildings do not fit into the surroundings. The designs of these buildings fail to integrate with the surrounding environment, and some buildings even damage the local ecosystem.Three main reasons account for the problems of city buildings. First, the impacts of globalization of Western culture on local culture lead to the disappearance of local color and the resemblance of cities all over the world. Second, the absence of professional ethics in some architects, caused by blind pursuit of business profits in market economy, poses ethical challenges to the building industry. Third, the lack of ethical concerns in building industry results in negligence of the cultural values of some buildings in exchange for power and profit.Traditional Chinese buildings have rich philosophical and cultural connotations, and unique architectural culture. As an important part of ancient cultures, traditional architectural culture is worth learning and inheriting in a critical way. First, we should carry on the political ethics in architectural hierarchy. Traditional buildings display a hierarchy which reflects the ethics of traditional ritual system. Learning from it contributes to the development of contemporary architecture. It means to find a cultural order suitable for contemporary architecture rather than to promote the patriarchal hierarchy. Second, we should pass on the social ethics in folk customs. In practice, architects need to dig up and display the cultural features of local buildings. Third, we should put into practice the ecological ethic of living in harmony with nature. Contemporary urban architectures should fully embody the idea of harmonious coexistence of man and nature. After all, sustainable and green development of architecture is the future trend of urban construction in China.The construction of modern urban architecture ethics should focus on the following three aspects:first, architecture design must conform to the local features, which is the foundation of its existence; second, architectural design should meet urban needs, and reflects urban values and taste; third, architectures should catch the tempo of the time, and further reflect the spirit of the age, which is the sure path of the development of architecture.