‘beautified china’ by kris provoost documents the country’s architectural revolution

as part of a new book titled beautified china – the architectural revolution, hong kong based photographer, kris provoost, has complied a selection of the most exciting and iconic buildings that have been erected in china in recent years. with china offering freer rein over what can and can’t be built, architects from all over the world have flexed their creative muscle to shape a new skyline. from arched skyscrapers, infinity loops, stacked chopsticks to moving tubular curtains, this recently published book showcases a collection of the most adventurous architecture from the country. 

ningbo urban planning exhibition center – playze/ SCHMIDHUBER

all images © kris provoost

since the 2008 beijing olympics, china has witnessed a huge architectural revolution thanks to the number of international events that have been hosted in the country. with the need for new facilities and infrastructure, combined with economical and political support, a vast number of unimaginable shapes and gravity-defying structures have changed the landscape. with the likes of zaha hadid, ole scheeren, and herzog & de meuron, china has shown a new face over the past two decades, which beautified china carefully documents. 

SBF towers – hans hollein & christoph monschein

published by lannoo, the new book takes an in-depth look into china by capturing architecture from 15 different cities, from the well-known metropolises (beijing, shanghai, hong kong), to the lesser known cities deep in the mainland (harbin, changsha, wuhan). the publication also marks a very personal reflection by kris provoost, who first traveled to the country in 2010 to see the shanghai world expo, ‘I decided to go see the architecture with my own eyes. traveling through china for the first time was eye-opening and gives you a good sense of the massive scale in terms of cities, vastness of the country and the large number of citizens. everything is bigger and taller, by a lot.’

chongqing guotai arts center – china architectural design & research group

since moving to china, provoost has made it his mission to explore the changing architecture in greater depth, and to better understand the place and the impact on the rest of the world. one of the main things the photographer observed was the use of icons in both city building and marketing. for example, entire cities have been put on the map since ‘stararchitects’ like zaha hadid and rem koolhaas left their mark. many of these completed projects have gone on to become iconic, drawing people to specific destinations in a new wave of ‘architourism’.

gubei SOHO – KPF

‘as I approach my first decade in china, I can look back at my early days in the country with the same enthusiasm as I do today. as the country keeps developing rapidly, architecture has and will always be at the forefront of it all. there is no place I would rather be than in china as an architectural photographer, says provoost.

shenzhen energy HQ – BIG

beautified china – the architectural revolution is now available in bookstores and online. the hardback covers 192 pages and includes more than 100 beautiful color photos by kris provoost. the book also includes essays by: nikolaus goetze (GMP), chris hardie (perkins+will/schmidt hammer lassen), martijn de geus (tsinghua, maison h), li shiqiao (university of virginia) and peter rowe (harvard university)

tencent seafront towers – NBBJ

fosun foundation – heatherwick studio

nanjing zendai himalayas center – MAD architects

da wang jing – aedas / andrew bromberg

OCT pavilion – studio zhu pei

wanda movie theme park – stufish entertainment architects

shanghai oriental sports center – GMP architekten

book info:

title: beautified china – the architectural revolution

photography: kris provoost

published by: lannoo

book form: hardback

number of pages: 192 pages – 100+ color photos

dimensions: 280 x 230 mm

EAN: 9789401461696

essays by: nikolaus goetze (GMP), chris hardie (perkins+will/schmidt hammer lassen), martijn de geus (tsinghua, maison h), li shiqiao (university of virginia), peter rowe (harvard university)

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.