{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/108913"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/108913","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"A living monument for a rootless city","abstract":"The Chinese city of Shenzhen has transformed from a small village to a megacity in just three decades due to the nation's economic policies. Despite its economic success, the city struggles with a lack of identity. In this thesis, monumentality is used as an analytical and design tool to address the city's rootlessness. Defining Shenzhen as a city of immigrants, this thesis proposes to build an urban monument for the immigrants. In addition to its symbolic meaning, the monument is an excuse for preserving a preeminent Urban Village in the Shenzhen Central Business District. Urban Village is essentially urban slums that accommodate thousands of low-income migrant workers. It carries much of the immigrants' memories about the city and exhibits a strong life vibrancy. By analyzing the prevailing mode of Urban Renewal in Shenzhen, this thesis focuses on how the new building satisfies the different groups of interest. The design contains a strong Janus-faced nature to respond to different parties' requests and the specific site conditions. As a result, a living monument for thousands of migrant workers is made as the city's true memory.","abstract_html":"The Chinese city of Shenzhen has transformed from a small village to a megacity in just three decades due to the nation's economic policies. Despite its economic success, the city struggles with a lack of identity. In this thesis, monumentality is used as an analytical and design tool to address the city's rootlessness. Defining Shenzhen as a city of immigrants, this thesis proposes to build an urban monument for the immigrants. In addition to its symbolic meaning, the monument is an excuse for preserving a preeminent Urban Village in the Shenzhen Central Business District. Urban Village is essentially urban slums that accommodate thousands of low-income migrant workers. It carries much of the immigrants' memories about the city and exhibits a strong life vibrancy. By analyzing the prevailing mode of Urban Renewal in Shenzhen, this thesis focuses on how the new building satisfies the different groups of interest. The design contains a strong Janus-faced nature to respond to different parties' requests and the specific site conditions. As a result, a living monument for thousands of migrant workers is made as the city's true memory.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Liu, Weiqian, M. Arch Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture.","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Mark Jarzombek."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017","date_published":"2017","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:01Z","subjects":["Architecture."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["MIT theses are protected by copyright. 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In this thesis, monumentality is used as an analytical and design tool to address the city's rootlessness. Defining Shenzhen as a city of immigrants, this thesis proposes to build an urban monument for the immigrants. In addition to its symbolic meaning, the monument is an excuse for preserving a preeminent Urban Village in the Shenzhen Central Business District. Urban Village is essentially urban slums that accommodate thousands of low-income migrant workers. It carries much of the immigrants' memories about the city and exhibits a strong life vibrancy. By analyzing the prevailing mode of Urban Renewal in Shenzhen, this thesis focuses on how the new building satisfies the different groups of interest. The design contains a strong Janus-faced nature to respond to different parties' requests and the specific site conditions. As a result, a living monument for thousands of migrant workers is made as the city's true memory."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["M. Arch."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A living monument for a rootless city"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Mark Jarzombek."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture."],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture."],"dc:creator":["Liu, Weiqian, M. Arch Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2017-05-11T19:55:21Z"],"dc:date.available":["2017-05-11T19:55:21Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2017"],"dc:description":["Thesis: M. 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By analyzing the prevailing mode of Urban Renewal in Shenzhen, this thesis focuses on how the new building satisfies the different groups of interest. The design contains a strong Janus-faced nature to respond to different parties' requests and the specific site conditions. As a result, a living monument for thousands of migrant workers is made as the city's true memory."],"dc:description.degree":["M. Arch."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108913"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Architecture."],"dc:title":["A living monument for a rootless city"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:01Z"}