Description
Twenty-five years after the founding of Pujiang New Town, designed by Vitto-rio Gregotti Associati as part of the “One City, Nine Towns” program promoted by the
Shanghai municipality, this contribution offers a typomorphological analysis of its urban
structure, with particular attention to the quadricles (quadricole) and their evolution from
the original design intentions. Conceived as elementary cells of approximately 300×300
meters, the quadricles constitute the morphological translation, in the Chinese con-
text, of Gregotti’s idea of form as an instrument of permanence and territorial measure.
Through a comparison of archival materials, photographic and planimetric surveys,
and multi-level analyses based on Copernicus Sentinel orthophotos and OpenStreet-
Map data, the research assesses the correspondence between the theoretical fra-
mework and the material construction of the urban form. The investigation integrates
figure-ground analyses and typological comparisons, viewing the courtyard house as a rela-
tional device rather than a stylistic reference. The project reinterprets residential archetypes
as systems of thresholds capable of building a civic continuity between cultures.
The results highlight a significant resilience of the infrastructural and territorial layout — the grid,
canals, and green margins — despite typological simplifications in subsequent development
phases. Thus, Pujiang emerges not as a transplanted European fragment, but as a durable urban
structure, capable of absorbing transformations while maintaining morphological coherence.
| Period | 19 Feb 2026 → 21 Feb 2026 |
|---|---|
| Event title | 7th ISUFitaly International Conference. CITY RENEWAL AND URBAN ARCHAEOLOGY, Morphological Value of City’s Traces: 7th ISUFitaly International Conference. ISUF-ITALY International Seminar on Urban Form, Italian Chapter |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Naples, ItalyShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |