Dr Tian ZHANG is a postdoc researcher at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University. He was a visiting PhD researcher at the College of Architecture, University of Virginia between 2021 and 2023. His research interests include Modern Chinese architecture history, architecture technology history and history of building crafts. He is a member of Construction History Society, Vernacular Architecture Forum, etc. His doctoral dissertation, titled “Craftsmen, Knowledge, and Technology in Construction: Transformation of Building Industry in Modern Shanghai, 1843–1949,” contributes to the understanding of the history of construction crafts, building materials, as well as craftsmen and labors in modern Shanghai. He studies also expend to environmental history and architectural education history. 

This lecture introduces the transformation of building craftsmen in modern Shanghai, as well as the construction companies that developing from craftsmen. Previous research in modern architectural history has mostly focused on architects, resulting in a lack of consideration for the key process of construction in modern architectural history, which cannot fully reflect the formation process of modern architecture. The research on builders, especially the craftsmen and construction companies, will fill the gap between architectural design and construction. This lecture also focuses on the changes in modern construction crafts in Shanghai, especially in bricks and woods. Bricks and woods are both traditional building materials in China, and their transformation in modern Shanghai demonstrated the process of integrating traditional craftsmanship with modern technology.