Hope Reidun St. John

In this project, I examine the production of architectural images and urban socio-spatial relations in contemporary China. As such, I explore architecture and architectural imagery as a means of interpreting material conditions in the (re)formulation and (re)development of Chinese cities and the positioning of urban citizen-subjects within them in relation to global understandings of urban development and competitive place-making. I subsequently focus on two primary aspects: architectural photography as an imaginative and speculative representation of urban spaces and architectural photographers as mediators of aspirations of global prominence, power, and achievement through their position within a growing class of creative urban professionals.