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Consonance in urban architecture: A case study in cross-cultural architecture through a student design project

Paul Sanders School of Design, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane 4001

E-mail: ps.sanders@qut.edu.au

Yvonne Wang School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shandong Jianzhu University. Fengming Road

Lingang Development Zone, Jinan 250101 E-mail: yvonneddwang@sdjzu.edu.cn

Abstract. The challenge for contemporary architecture in both China and Australia is how to manage the rapid expansion of the urban centres while observing cultural and heritage issues of existing urban environments. Therefore the design of new buildings requires a sophisticated approach to the analysis of the city, including the project site and its surrounding. In this regard traditional approaches to urban morphology research can provide the methods for such analysis. To test this predicament a cross-institutional international design project was arranged in 2015 engaging students of architecture from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, and Shandong Jianzhu University in Jinan, China. The ambition for the project was for students to develop an urban design strategy for the site that considers the urban form of the precinct in relation to its specific context guided by an understanding and interpretation of urban morphology. Students from China, visited and designed an urban renewal project in a historic area in Brisbane; and Australian students did the converse in Jinan. The paper will discuss the background to the sensitive historic precincts in both Jinan and Brisbane, and review the student design projects through analysis of how an urban morphological understanding contributed to the appropriateness of the architectural responses in relation to each contrasting, yet specific context.

Keywords: Urban Morphology, heritage, urban analysis, student design project.

Introduction

The ontological perspective of cities is that from settlement they are the product of incremental growth, with the major variable being the size and speed of development. Historically, cities are characterised as having slow growth that are evidenced by cohesive, mostly organic urban patterns, exhibiting a patina of diverse urban forms reflecting its longevity. The serendipitous quality of incremental small-scaled development has facilitated spatial complexities that enable human transaction and heightened awareness of the fine grain city. However, the rapid changes experienced by post-industrialised societies have exerted severe pressure on its urban form.

By understanding how places have evolved, we are better able to guide development and change in the urban fabric and avoid the incongruity created by so much of the modern environment (MacCormac 1996, p.73).

Architecture and planning have yet to develop a shared knowledge base; these are professions that thrive on action and projecting possible futures, but which leave little room for research and evaluation to inform its practice. They have not followed other professions,

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including the traditions of urban morphology, in developing a systematic, empirical approach to learning and building a knowledge base (Moudon, 1997, p.9). When design guides for individual buildings are published they focus on matters of design detail and material, and are often unaware of the way that the deeper structuring levels, especially street layout or plot configuration, affect settlement form (McGlynn and Samuels, 2000, p.80). Talen and Ellis (2002) have concern that the city will ‘codify and institutionalise a particular regime of “totalising” order’ is one that requires careful resolution, while evidence is being drawn from the research to highlight the problems of incongruent development, a building environment stifled by over prescriptive design controls may also be counter-productive. The challenge of how designers may access and uptake such knowledge is a critical point of this paper, and has been tested through the implementation of a student design project both in China and Australia, to examine the application of the problems in a cross cultural context, and to assess the uptake of the key issues among young designers.

Discussion

Emerging significance of urban morphology in China

China is facing the challenge of a fast growing economy and consequential rapidly changing lifestyle that has brought pressure upon urban system, spaces, and particularly infrastructure. Redevelopments are required to accommodate new urban programs. Historical urban areas therefore are under great threats. In 1982, the passing of the first Chinese Heritage Protection List and Heritage Protection and Conservation Law by the central government marked the beginning of the establishment of modern conservation plans in China (Whitehand and Gu, 2006, 2007a). From this point urban planners and conservation groups started investigating evidence of European precedents in order to inform the urban strategies for future development. However the early approaches to the study of urban form tended to be descriptive, pictorial, and lacking planimetric information (Whitehand and Gu, 2007b). In recent decades there has been an increase of interests in the urban morphology of Chinese cities, both among the international and Chinese scholars. The emergence of urban morphological theories, the Conzenian Anglo-German geographical school of thought, and the Muratori/ Cannigian Italian architectural school of the thought, have provided a theoretical foundation and a range of practical precedents for China. The foundational theoretical work of urban morphology has been built on and contextualised within the Chinese context by several researchers, in particular: Gaubatz (1999a, 1999b, 2012); Whitehand and Gu (2006, 2007a, 2007b); and Ding (2007, 2013). So far in China, research has been mostly orientated towards large ancient cities (Whitehand and Gu, 2006) which either have been noted for their, economic, political or cultural significance, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi’an; or, have been noticed by the west for historical conservation significance, such as the towns of Pingyao and Shanxi. Cities received more attentions from international scholars may have more opportunities to share the established knowledge with the world, therefore, can set examples of the applications of the western urban morphological theories in China for the medium to cities which comprise the overwhelming majority of Chinese urban settlements (Whitehand and Gu, 2006, p.348). Jinan, although being the capital of Shandong Province, has been ranked as a ‘Second-Tier City’ among major Chinese cities. Interest in its urban planning and historical conservation issues has been limited to mainly Chinese scholars, especially those who are from or living in Jinan. So far, there have been original ideas and well-researched criticisms deliberated by Chinese scholars who have devoted their careers to the study of the urban form of Jinan. Most of the available basic data information on the urban form and space planning of Jinan are in the Chinese language, very little has been translated into English. These basic limitations have caused considerable complications for western researchers to direct their attentions to cities like Jinan.

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Colonial influences

The current situation in China of mass urban development has necessitated the government and developers to take on a well-investigated, systematic, responsible and sustainable approach. The urbanisation process in China is complicated. China has a history of nearly a century of multi-colonialism. Since 1843, numerous Chinese cities were under the colonial control of foreign countries by treaties. Therefore, the urban form and architecture of these cities are evidently influenced by the occupancy of these foreign countries (Tian et al. p.129). Western urban planning ideologies and methods did penetrate through into deeper societies; like a patchwork, or insertion, colonial districts were mostly confined within certain a periphery i.e. trading quarters or commercial districts. However, these foreign influences upon the Chinese cities were unsystematic occurrences. After the World War 2 as well as the Chinese Civil War, many Chinese cities were facing large scale reconstruction (Zou, 2003, p.18).

Early socialist China

In Europe, urbanisation began with the industrial revolution rapidly spread across the Western world throughout the course of the 19th century, having impact later in the developing world from the 1950s. After the establishment of the modern Chinese government in 1949, some historical conservation and urban planning notions were raised by scholars such as Sicheng Liang (1901-1972) (Tian et al. 2014, p.132). But urban development decisions during that time were mostly limited by the inadequacy of knowledge and experience (Wang et al. 2013). In addition, due to the uniqueness of an untested socialist system in the newly established environment of China, little reference could be made to Europe. The global political complications during this period also made it difficult for foreign urban planning influence to take effect (Tian et al. p.131).

After the China Economic Reform

The first challenge Chinese cities had to face is to work with the urban ‘scale’. Since 1978, china has been experiencing an unprecedented upsurge of urbanisation. Dating back to the mid-1970s, China was a predominantly rural society and with an urbanisation rate of just below 20% (China National Bureau of Statistics, 2011). Over the next forty years, in absolute numbers, China has become the world’s largest urban nation in human history (Kraas et al. 2014, p.14). Along with their fast growing economy, large population growth and rapidly changing lifestyle, Chinese cities are facing enormous challenges with pressing complications. Since the economic reform, total urban population has increased more than three times (China National Bureau of Statistics, 2015). People continually move from the countryside to cities for work opportunities. These developments demanded that cities change their forms in order to accommodate the changed urban densities and activities. According to China National Bureau of Statistics, urban population has gone up from around 200 million in 1980, to 771 million at the end of 2015 Meanwhile, based on the statistical definition, China’s urbanisation rate has reached 56.10% (China National Bureau of Statistics, 2015), up from around 20% in 1980.

Another challenge for the Chinese urban morphological transformation is that in the beginning of the upsurge of economic development, there was a large percentage of poor building quality (Tian et al. 2014, p.132). The last 2 decades, unprecedented development speed has required the direction of systematic planning, rather than an ‘ad hoc’ transformations that were commonplace before (Wang et al. 2013, p.90). However, the practical and theoretical guidance China needs for its application of urban morphology cannot be ‘copied’ from European experience and ‘pasted’ directly to China, an adaptation is required which needs to be cognisant of the cultural and contextual conditions.

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Urban morphology in Australia Settlement in Australia emerged as a product of a colonialisation process that began in the late eighteenth century with the establishment of a penal colony in Sydney, which was soon followed by Hobart and later Brisbane. The ‘Free’ settlements of Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth were founded in the early-to-mid nineteenth century as the British sought to establish and prosper on the continent as the opportunities for agriculture and trade became apparent. These new centres developed over several decades resulting in thriving cities with a mix of buildings for government administration, commercial trade, retail and residential purposes (Statham, 1989). The urban form that characterized this initial development remained largely intact throughout the first half of the twentieth century due to the economic pressures of the two world wars and the intervening global recession. The modernization of Australian cites occurred in the 1950s onwards, with increasing scale of buildings and civil infrastructure; it is only in recent decades that concern for heritage, good urban design and place-making has become recognized as issues of great importance. While there are fairly extensive publication accounts of Australian planning history, little direct focus on urban form or morphology has occurred, with the exception of Arnis Siksna who undertook comparative analysis of block size of several Australian and American city block formations (Siksna, 1997; 1998). Sikna’s study revealed that the relationship of ‘block size and form have crucial and predictable effects on subsequent evolutionary patterns’ (Siksna, 1997, p.24. Tony Hall, an established UK researcher and author in urban morphology retired to Australia and brought with him considerable experience and knowledge. His interest in the phenomenon of low density sprawl in Australia resulted in the 2010 publication of The Life and Death of the Australian Backyard, focusing on the demise of the open space around new homes that traditionally had supported the unique outdoor lifestyle afforded by the amenable climate (Hall, 2010). In recent times progressively more academics have become interested in the field of urban morphology that culminated in the hosting of the ISUF 2013 Conference in Brisbane. The event enabled a large number of academics and practioners to become familiar with the key foundations of urban morphology as well as the chance to engage with current research and its potential to inform practice.

Case study- joint design studio project for architecture students.

Introduction to the studio and project

The cross-cultural design Studio was a collaboration with between Shandong Jianzhu University in Jinan and Queensland University of technology in Brisbane; with a particular focus on designing for a specific context, and the associated issues of appropriate cultural and urban morphological design responses. The challenge for architecture in China is how to manage the rapid expansion of the urban centres while maintaining quality in the urban environment; for Australia the issues are similar, however less pronounced. In order to achieve this, a sophisticated approach to the analysis of the city is essential in determining how the design of new buildings are accordant within their specific urban settings. Approaches to urban morphological research will provide the methods for such analysis and application. The structure of the design studio project in depicted in the following diagram (Fig. 1).

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Figure 1: Format of the studio. Source: Authors

China Studio in Jinan: Student design project

Historical development of Jinan

Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, is located in the mid-west of Shandong (Fig. 2) and acts as a traffic junction to many worthwhile attractions in the province. It is known as the 'City of Springs'. The earliest urban morphological evidence within the current urban footprint of Jinan city is the ancient city moat, which is believed to have been initially constructed during the Han Dynasty (202BC - 220BC) (Jinan History Compilation Committee, 1999, p.1). Between the years 307AD and 313AD, the city outline of ancient Jinan, named ‘Li Cheng’, was almost extended to the current inner layer of Jinan’s city centre. The next major expansion of Jinan’s urban footprint was in the year of 820, during the Tang Dynasty (Jinan History Compilation Committee, 1999, p.7-15). This expansion pushed the city walls outwards to the west, south and east, but not on the northern side. Moreover, the old city walls were preserved. This urban movement made the expanded city and the old city of ‘Li Cheng’ become two internally tangent circles on the north side of Daming Lake. Since the year 1371 (during the Ming Dynasty), after the reconstruction of the city walls using bricks, the urban form of Jinan city has been almost the same as what is considered the modern Jinan city centre today (Jinan History Compilation Committee, 1999). Under the influence of the unequal treaties signed by the Qing government in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, as well as the opening of the ‘Jiaoji’ railway line between Qingdao and Jinan, built and owned by Germany, Jinan established its own trading quarter west to the city centre, south of the Jinan Railway Station (Li and Wang, 2003, p.50). The trading area was laid down as a grid system, completely disengaging the traditional Chinese city structure, covering an area of 2.67 square kilometres (Li and Wang, 2003, p. 51). Therefore, the trading quarter had become a second ‘centre’ of the city, both morphologically and functionally (Fig. 2). The area of the ‘Trading Quarter’ was expanded to the west, south and east on three occasions, in 1912, 1937 and 1939, after which the ‘Trading Quarter’ occupied an area of 6.09 square kilometres. Its footprint gradually merged towards and eventually connected with the old city centre (Li and Wang, 2003, p. 52). Jinan’s ‘double-centred’ urban structure was a unique product of the economic and social circumstances of early 20th century of China (Wang et al. 2013, p.91) (Li and Wang, 2003, p.

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52). Since the establishment of the socialist government of China in 1949, Jinan’s ‘Trading Quarter’ has needed to accommodate its new urban functions and be made more suitable for its modern status. Since the Economic Reform in 1978, Jinan, like most of the cities in China, has been facing the challenge brought by rapid urbanisation and population growth within a historically rich and valuable urban context (Wang et al. 2013, p.91).

Figure 2� Map of Jinan, 1948. Trading Area project site located in the western area outside the city wall and close to the railway station. Source: Jinan History Compilation Committee (1999)

Current approach to urban planning and architecture in Jinan

Since Jinan was listed in the second National Historical and Cultural Conservation List in November 1986 by the National Council, historical and cultural protection had been on the agenda of the city council. Jinan’s started with a rising awareness yet deficient urban planning and conservation knowledge (Wang et al. 2012, p.84). During the process of rapid urbanisation, some demolition of valuable historical sites, such as the demolition of old Jinan railway station in 1992, caused some permanent damage to the city of Jinan, despite numerous protest were made to the government and city planning bureau (Zhang and Xue, 2002, p. 28). After realising the irreversible regrets which due to the combination of instant financial pursue, decision making by the governors without adequate consultation to the public and lack of expertise, Jinan city planning bureau understood the imperatives of systematic investigation and protection of the city heritage, not only with individual structures, but also the urban morphological health with appreciation of its physical and cultural context. This realisation brought a series of researches and urban conscious planning and conservation decisions. In Chapter 6 – Cultural and Urban Heritage Protection Guidelines of the Jinan City Master Plan Proposal 2006-2020 (Jinan Urban Planning Bureau, 2014), Guidelines 88 specifically discussed on three sections of:

1. The protection of urban morphology and traditional cityscape, 2. The protection of historical town centre, 3. The protection of the ‘Trading Quarter’.

The ‘Trading Quarter’ of Jinan was selected as the urban research site in China for the QUT-SJU Joint Studio. This area has strong characteristics with historical uniqueness and functional complexity. It is currently facing numerous challenges with its future developments. This site presents a compacted condition with programs including residential blocks, two

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primary schools, a secondary school, a major hospital, museums, a church, small retailers, hotels, supporting facilities and infrastructure, as well as commercial high-rises The site investigation was primarily focused within the part of the ‘Trading Quarter’ that was established in the year of 1905. The scope of the site analysis was recommended to include both physical and non-physical attributes with subsections under each category. A series of urban morphological changes were documented for the area against a timeline from 1904 to 2015. The studio project also nominated a 72,000m2 area within the trading quarter as an urban design and architectural design site. This site is consist of three urban blocks. The periphery of the urban design site is encircled by Wei-Er Road (纬二路) to its east,

Wei-Si Road (纬四路) to its west, Jing-San Road (经三路) to its north, and Jing-Si Road (经四

路) to its south. Immediately west to the site is the only public green space within the ‘Trading Quarter’, Zhongshan Park. This park, initially called ‘Trading Quarter Park’, was planned and inserted into the ‘Trading Quarter’ by the Qing government towards the end of its regime (Li and Wang, 2003, p. 51). It was setup within a westernised urban grid, yet, presented Chinese garden characteristics. Within the nominated site, there are several historical conservation areas and four listed buildings with German colonial backgrounds. South to the site sits a prominent commercial site ‘Da Guan Yuan’, which was opened in 1931 under the Bei Yang regime (Li and Wang, 2003, p. 52). Some of the retail and recreational programs have been well acknowledged since then. Although, a divergent morphological presence has been exemplified by high-rise buildings which occupied by commercial banks, developers as well as large National companies such as China Unicom Headquarters. Student design outcomes The brief for the ‘China Studio’ required an urban design strategy for the site that considered the urban form of the precinct in relation to its specific context guided by an understanding and interpretation of urban morphology. Set within the project areas was to be a range of retail, commercial and residential mixes. A special component of the brief was a permanent Australian Cultural Centre that included accommodation for a consular office and residence, seminar and small conference facility, gallery and small performing arts facility, and a language school. The initial research and design stages of the studio were conducted at QUT, and was facilitated by a visit to Brisbane by students of architecture from SJU, who gave information on the urban form of the city. Mid-way through the semester students spent a week in Jinan to develop individual strategies, conduct detailed site observations, and receive feedback from local professors, teachers and students. The final design resolution was completed in Brisbane with the presentations broadcasted to SJU. Through the design studio the QUT students were highly engaged with the process. The initial research phase was focused around interest in the traditional Hutong and courtyard typology of the Chinese architecture. The design challenge to recognize heritage issues of how to achieve a balance between acknowledging traditional space with the demands of modern development was a prime consideration. When visiting Jinan and the project district in particular, there was interest in most recent mixed-use urban development that appeared to address the issue of heritage through the construction of low-rise buildings using traditional materials; in stark contrast to preceding developments that were high-rise generic modernist projects. In Jinan, three urban scales were identified: immediate, local, and city. The student projects reflected these scales either dealing with them separately, or integrating all three together, whereby:

• The immediate scale concerning the low-storey traditional Hutong buildings and trading quarter structures, defined by streets and courtyards (Fig 3 A);

• The local scale of medium height commercial buildings, defined by the trading quarter precinct (Fig 3 B);

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• The city scale, tower structures that reflect the recent urbanization and new technological advances made in China (Fig 3 C).

Therefore the Australian students’ attention to the physical morphology of traditional building structures, augmented by the research of available historical drawings, was a primary influence and catalyst for their design projects.

Figure 3: Three urban scales of student projects: Source: A- Immediate Scale. Philip Wong. B-

Local Scale. Aaron Chen. C- City Scale. Nathan Anderson

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Australia Studio in Brisbane: Student design project

Historic development in Brisbane Brisbane is the capitol city of Queensland in Australia. It is situated on latitude 27° 28’ South, in a sub-tropical climatic region approximately 750 km due north of Sydney. European occupation followed John Oxley’s discovery and survey in 1823 of a large tidal river suitable for settlement (Johnson, 1988, p.12; Johnson and Gregory, 1989b, p.238). A convict colony, initially known as Moreton Bay Settlement (Johnson and Gregory, 1989b, p.242) was soon established on the banks of the river. The settlement was short-lived and was closed in 1839, and the transportation of convicts officially ceased in 1841 (Gough and Ogilvie, 1985, p8; Johnson, 1988). The period of economic development in the new free settlement was initiated in 1841 by free traders and tradesmen who had established shops through leasing space in the former convict premises (Gough and Ogilvie, 1985; Johnson, and Gregory 1989a, p.261; Johnson, 1988).

Figure 4: Part of Wade’s map of Brisbane Town 1844. South Brisbane Kurilpa Point project area (dotted). Source: Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 21977

The new town experienced a steady growth during its formative decades, with commercial and trading businesses emerging concurrently as the migrant population increased. (Gough and Ogilvie, 1985, p.8; Johnson and Gregory, 1989a, p.106). It was not until 1867 that the settlement underwent its first economic boom following the discovery of gold. The huge influx of people that followed triggered an unprecedented growth in primary industries, and a period of prosperity and building activity that would last 15 years, and would not be equalled for a century (Holthouse, 1982, p.41). Brisbane had become a significant shipping port with minerals, rural products and sugar as its primary exports, it was the capitol of the annexed state of Queensland, and was proclaimed a city in 1902. In summary, there have been two significant economic periods in Brisbane’s 170-year-old history that have generated two distinct morphological periods of urban development in shaping the form of the city. These are approximately its initial growth from 1840s to 1914; and then, following fifty years of relative slow activity, a rapid growth from the 1960s to the present day.

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Current approach to urban planning and architecture in Brisbane

Since the turn of the new millennium, urban development in Brisbane has been rapid. There has been major activity in inner city commercial and residential accommodation, civil infrastructure, as well as expansion of major institutions such as universities and hospitals. All development is subject to planning instruments that integrate tiers of government jurisdiction; at State level (SEQ Regional Plan), and various Local Neighbourhood Plans of the Brisbane City Council. Australian architecture is sophisticated and building design is subject to the requirements of strict building codes; furthermore, there are goals for ‘Green star’ rating of buildings that measure sustainability factors and performance.

Student project site

South Brisbane has important morphological origins as one of the main trading areas as the city developed. The long reach of the Brisbane River was as ideal site for the establishment of wharves and related warehouses and commercial buildings. Due to the intensity of mercantile functions, the area was characterized as rough area of dubious activities associated with the transience of merchant sailors. It was not until the 1980s that South Brisbane was transformed as the site for the World Expo of 1988. As the port activity had been relocated several kilometres upstream, the entire area was demolished, accept for a few isolated buildings. The pavilion structures that were constructed to accommodate the Expo were temporary for the purpose of the event, and were subsequently replaced by a major public landscape complex known as South-Bank Parklands. The parklands allows for pedestrian movement, and integrates the Cultural Centre (Performing Arts, Galleries and Library) with the CBD by two new pedestrian bridges across the river. Kurilpa Point, within the project area, is an important place of cultural significance in Brisbane's earliest history as a meeting place for indigenous people (Felton, 2005). Despite undergoing transformation as a result of the 2014 Draft Masterplan, the area still has a few large industrial precincts as a legacy of tits close proximity to the city centre; as well as a small park that is the token remnant of the cultural importance as the place of gathering and meeting.

Student design Outcomes

The Kurilpa Point site challenged the SJU students with a compatible degree of contextual complexity, both morphologically and culturally. The brief also ‘required an urban design strategy for the site that considered the urban form of the precinct in relation to its specific context guided by an understanding and interpretation of urban morphology’, as in the reciprocal brief for the Jinan site. A required ‘Chinese’ component of the design project was a Chinese Consulate and a Language School which were included in the program. An underlying philosophy is that the design will create an urban architecture precinct that is appreciative and responsible to its local heritage, which is exemplified by evidence of partially remaining intruded or fragmented urban fabrics. Students used the Green Space Strategy (Mongard et al. 2015) endorsed by the West End Community Association as a starting point for the design project. The students were also aware of the details in the somewhat controversial Draft Kurilpa Masterplan that had previously been released by the Brisbane City Council (2015).

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Figure 5: Urban design strategies: Source: A- Qi Che, Bangshuo Sun, and Sumin Shi. B- Qian Wang, Zhongliang Zhu, Huiqing Shi, and Enhao Guan. C- Xuanyi Zhu, Hui Jia, and Zijun Yin.

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As only 10 out of 25 students had personally visited the site, some of the sensory understanding may have not been fully conveyed to this group. Nevertheless, necessary data for morphological analysis were made available as the SJU students documented the transformations of the site urban footprint, in comparison along a timeline from 1840 to 2015.

Comparison and conclusion

Conzen et al. (2012) posits three categories of comparative research in urban morphology: urban epistemologies of intellectual histories and methods; analysis of comparable objects; and, illustrative comparisons of morphological concepts and associated urban patterns. This study, is an experiment to test how students can respond to the challenge of designing an urban precinct through the lens of urban morphology, in a context that is foreign and initially unknown to them. It attempts to compare the achievement of both Chinese and Australian students in the cross-cultural project.

Figure 6: Comparison of the project outcomes. Source: Authors

The cross-cultural design studio that was conducted simultaneously with students from China and Australia provided both cohorts with an introduction, understanding and overview of urban morphology through lectures and readings. Practical application of this knowledge invoked attention to various maps documenting the urban change in each location, as well as field observations of the existing context and historic buildings. However, in both cases there was not necessarily a systematic application of the specific details of the urban morphological development in the design projects that were undertaken. Although the design outcomes were strong in the appropriate scale of buildings and an intuitive appreciation of some elements of the architectural vernacular, they possibly lacked a precise urban specificity. This suggests that a

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closer survey of the available archival documents and existing buildings could have generated acute morphological architectural solutions. It was apparent that the exercise was successful in making design students aware of the knowledge base of urban morphology, and the tangible benefits to the design process. We suggest that the structured teaching of urban morphology is developed in architectural curricula in both China and Australia. We further suggest that attempts are made to deploy systematic methods to integrate urban morphology into the design process, a challenge of the research and practice nexus that is currently being given particular attention in academic and professional communities.

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