Associate Professor in Practice at University of Miami School of Architecture, Jaime Correa was invited to hold the 2018 Guest Scholar Chair in Urban Design at Zhuhai College of Jilin University, in China, during the Fall semester. This seven-week long appointment was initiated by Dean Zhu Yimin with the collaboration of Asst. Dean Tian Shuai, Asst. Prof. Yao Liao, Asst. Prof. Yan Wentao, and Prof. Hong Qin. As part of the international exchange program initiatives, Jilin University’s Guest Scholar Chair has received strong support from Dean Rodolphe el-Khoury at the University of Miami School of Architecture. This faculty exchange program, among the seven most important in China, involves teaching appointments, research activities, public outreach events, and a very rigorous faculty development agenda.
Presentation by Prof. Jaime Correa to Planning Department – Zhuhai, China
Prof. Correa’s teaching appointments included an upper-level studio and an introductory seminar in urban design. The upper-level studio focused on the development of a new town in Zhuhai’s Hongwan Free-Trade District. The proposed site is part of a Chinese government initiative to develop a new port for Zhuhai City and it comprises an area of approximately 106 square kilometers. The site is located on the coast of the South China Sea about 36 kilometers south from Hong Kong and 1 kilometer southwest from the City of Macau. Prof. Correa spearheaded the initial urban design discussions with a group of 7 faculty members and a team of about 75 fourth-year students. A group of 18 exceptional students were given the opportunity to develop one urban design alternative under the direction of Prof. Correa and the supervision of Asst. Prof. Yao Liao and Prof. Hong Qin. The introductory seminar in urban design was opened to a group of about 320 undergraduate and graduate students in the departments of architecture, planning, art, design, fashion, and cultural studies. Fourteen lectures focused on the history and development of western morpho-typological theories and urban design practices.
Research activities were funded by the Department of Architecture and Planning of Zhuhai College of Jilin University. Asst. Dean Tian Shuai and Prof. Yan Wentao, an expert in the history of Chinese architecture, supported Correa’s initiatives for the retrofitting and contemporary re-use of traditional urban and rural villages within the Guangjong Province. As part of this initiative, Correa visited and documented 11 urban/rural villages and 3 South China Sea islands, including: Yu Xiu, Tangjiawan, Jingiangli, Chikan Gu Zhen, Huangyang, Guan-Xu, Xingful, Caotan Shangjiao, Portslade Boulevard, the jewelry district in Guangzhou, Yuyuan Village in Shenzhen, and the small island villages of Gu Sham, Cheung Chau, and Hei Ling Chau. The result of these explorations included a travel documentation report and a project presented by Prof. Correa to faculty and students; this project was developed as his own “paper architecture” proposal for a contemporary Chinese Village.
Facebook photo album.
Jaime Correa’s appointment also included participation in public outreach events within Zhuhai City. On May 11th, Correa was the keynote speaker at the Resilient City Conference, in Zhuhai. He presented an analytical history of the City of Miami to 50 members of the Zhuhai City Planning Institute under the direction of Dr. Li Qi, Chief Planner of Zhuhai Housing, Urban Planning, and Construction Bureau. His two-hour lecture was followed by a three-hour discussion on alternatives for the augmentation of weather preparedness in Chinese coastal areas. As a result of this lecture, the Chief Planner asked Dean Zhu Yimin to produce a collaborative proposal between the School of Architecture of the University of Miami and the Zhuhai College of Jilin University. This collaborative project shall study similarities and differences between the City of Miami and Zhuhai City as it pertains to issues of climate resiliency.
A rigorous faculty development agenda included extra-curricular lectures and faculty advice, information exchange and criticism, faculty work exhibits, field trips to coastal cities along the Guangzhou River Delta, and intellectual discussions regarding the present and future of the Chinese city and its urban/rural cultures.
The highpoint of this agenda was Prof. Correa’s university-wide lecture emphasizing his professional and theoretical work; the event was followed by a faculty conversation with Dean Zhu Yimin regarding the role of Chinese schools of architecture and planning in the production of contemporary cities and architecture; she concluded, “Professor Correa's teaching in our school was widely acclaimed and strongly replied by our students … in addition, Prof. Correa's lecture at the Zhuhai Municipal Government also caused strong repercussions. The construction and development of Resilient Cities has attracted great interests from our government officials. We are actively working to promote the tripartite cooperation between the Zhuhai Municipal Government, University of Miami, and Zhuhai College of Jilin University.”
