In 2014, Xu Tiantian, founder of Beijing-based studio Design and Architecture (DnA) began to work in Songyang County, in China's Zhejiang Province. Her exemplary holistic planning concept of Architectural Acupuncture, which has gained the support of local administrative and political leadership, aims at revitalising rural areas and comprises the renovation of production plants and of tourist and technical infrastructure as well as the creation of venues for culture and education and of social housing. Each of Xu's small-scale interventions at local level is unique, only the small budget is common to all of them. Moreover, they are all inter-related with each other and in their entirety serve the broader goal of mutual enhancement. This book introduces Xu's concept of Architectural Acupuncture and discusses the influence of architecture on cultural self-understanding and economic renewal in 21st-century rural China. It features some 20 new buildings and conversions of existing structures with diverse functions. Published alongside are essays by international economists, sociologists, and curators as well as by the secretary of the Songyang County Party Committee, examining the social, political, and economic implications of sustainable planning and collective action in the Chinese province.

Berlin's Aedes Architecture Forum is one of the best-known centres for architecture and architectural culture in the world. Founded in 1980 by Kristin Feireiss und Helga Retzer, Aedes has since put on 500 important exhibitions on current themes, featuring many of the world's most eminent architects. After Helga Retzer's unexpected death in 1994, Aedes has been run by Feireiss, together with Hans-Jurgen Commerell and a large, committed team of collaborators. Faces & Spaces: 40 Years Aedes Architecture Forum looks back at four decades of the gallery's lively and multifaceted history. It does so in an engaging and accessible way by showing photos of the 500 protagonists who have spoken at Aedes or put on an exhibition there. Arranged by decade, this results in a captivating and amusing Who's Who of the international architecture scene from the post-modern era until today. Included are also images that document key exhibitions as well as the various spaces in Berlin which Aedes has used as a venue, along with a complete list of all shows staged between 1980 and 2020. Text in English and German.