Page 20 - JCAU-5-1

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Geographical and architectural imaginations

Figure 18. The first plan of the Friendship Hall. Source: Shanghai Institute of Architecture Design and Research.

Figure 19. The interior of the conference hall. Source: Shanghai Institute Figure 20. The main volume of the Friendship Hall. Source: Shanghai
of Architecture Design and Research. Institute of Architecture Design and Research.

Second, the project’s remarkable strength is culture. This stands in contrast to the eclectic expressions
attributable to one simple fact: the building reinterprets found in the China Institute of Islamic Theology built in
Islamic architectural tradition in an abstract way. The 1958 in Beijing (Zhao et al., 1958). The Friendship Hall
architects accomplished this feat by transforming the showcased an alternative, modernist understanding of
predominant pointed arches — characterized by two Islamic architecture that was not a simple appropriation,
curving sides meeting at a relatively sharp angle at the top but an innovative transformation of traditional forms.
of the arch — into triangular forms with pure geometric As such, it offers a benchmark for evaluating subsequent
languages. The canopy comprising continuously folded exported architecture to the Islamic cultural context. For
triangular plates creates a strong sense of rhythm, and instance, the China-aided People’s Palace constructed in
indirectly implies its relation to the façade and local Djibouti City in 1985 utilized similar triangular arches to
culture (Figure 20). What is notable is that the design team express Islamic cultural identity (Zheng, 1983).
deliberately rejected the appropriation of iconic domes Third, the architects’ response to the local hot and dry
that were frequently employed in the context of Islamic climate was manifested in their approach to light control.

Volume 5 Issue 1 (2023) 14 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.200