Autonomous paths for the localisation of foreign public buildings in the modern Jiangnan region, China, based on a mixed method

Between 1840 and 1949, the Jiangnan region, represented by Jiangsu Province and Shanghai, experienced the proliferation of foreign-influenced architecture. The eclectic integration of architectural forms produced a postcolonial paradox, increasingly blurring the distinction between Western colonial influence and indigenous cultural subjectivity. This paper examines modern foreign public buildings in Jiangnan through a mixed method, integrating literature analysis, entropy weight method, and case study analysis to investigate autonomous paths for the localisation of foreign architecture. Firstly, through a literature analysis of 179 representative publications over the past two decades, nine architectural elements that constitute building form were identified. Secondly, using 83 representative foreign public buildings in the Jiangnan region as samples, the entropy weight method was employed to measure weights, thereby revealing three potential autonomous paths in the localisation process of architecture. Thirdly, case study analysis was conducted by selecting typical building samples for interpretative analysis, verifying the three autonomous localisation paths and elucidating their underlying selection logic in foreign public buildings in the modern Jiangnan region. The findings indicate that: (1) a stable localisation characterised by high weight and low entropy is manifested in the design of building’s main material structure, plan shape contour, plan spatial form, and building roof material structure, reflecting an autonomous path of cultural integration; (2) an adaptive localisation characterised by medium weight and medium entropy is manifested in facade shape contour, reflecting an autonomous path of precise adjustment; (3) a differentiated localisation characterised by low weight and high entropy is manifested in plan proportion, facade proportion, building door and window material structure, and facade decorative pattern, reflecting an autonomous path of flexibility and variability. This mixed method is intended to interpret the cultural subjectivity embodied in foreign architecture localisation within a postcolonial context, and to establish a replicable comprehensive analytical framework for other regions seeking to address the cultural dilemmas.