Accommodating Reform: International Hotels and Architecture in China, 1978-1990 – Beijing till 23/10

While this period is a bit modern for me anyone who spent anytime in China between 1978 and 1990 will know the crucial role hotels played in life – food, bars, temporary homes, a book or magazine once in while, foreign newspapers occasionally, meeting spots. So Accommodating Reform: International Hotels and Architecture in China, 1978-1990 should be interesting. Anyway, more details here of the exhibition at the Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art in Beijing and a slideshow to tempt….

Looking back at China’s early modern hotels also show me two things – a) of course just how much cities like Shanghai and Beijing have developed (below is the Portman shortly after completion in the early 1990s) and b) just how ugly and badly designed they could be (below is the Portman shortly after completion in the early 1990s)…