Jorge Otero-Pailos, director of GSAPP’s Historic Preservation Program, speaks with Andrew Johnston in advance of his Fall 2018 lecture at the school. Andrew Johnston is associate professor and director of the program in Historic Preservation, Architectural History and Architecture at the University of Virginia. Previously, Johnston served as founding director of the Master of Architecture and Urban Design programs at Xi’an-Jiaotong Liverpool University in Suzhou, China.
They discuss Johnston’s work on old industrial sites and emptied historic villages in China, both of which represent an important part of the country’s heritage. Johnston also addresses the ties between economic development of these sites and the preservation agenda in the region.
“These villages are discussed as the next real estate frontier in China. Where is development going to go next if you have to keep feeding this development engine? It’s these villages that have been emptied that everybody is starting to look at now as “what do we do with these?” – Andrew Johnston
