Thermal technocracy: climate, subtropical modern architecture, and the Great Leap Forward in Maoist Guangzhou, 1953–62

Based on archival materials from Guangzhou, Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai ranging from technical manuals and architectural drawings to published memoirs, this article contributes to existing literature on China’s subtropical modern architecture by offering a nuanced techno-political narrative. Instead of attributing the development of subtropical architecture merely to the genius of certain individuals, it attends to a broader network of state-run institutions in which not only architects, but also meteorologists, sanitary experts, technocratic Party cadres and Soviet ventilating engineers were all active mediators of transnational flows of resources and expertise in the socialist reconstruction and Cold War. Drawing on theories of techno-politics and critical temperature studies, it develops the notion of ‘thermal regimes’ to capture the interdependence between the use of thermal technologies and the exercise of socio-political power. Through case studies of Guangzhou Ramie Textile Factory (1956–8) and Panyu People’s Commune (1958–60), it argues that despite the Leftist radicalism, China’s subtropical architectural production continued to be informed by ‘thermal technocracy’ in pursuit of rationalization and efficiency. It reveals how the globally circulated climatic knowledge and other expertise transcending Cold-War rivalries were driven by the state’s endless appetite for industrial modernity towards the technocratic control of climatic parameters and human labor.