This issue opens with an interview with the young Chinese architect Ma Yansong, founder of the office MAD, who describes the speed of construction in China today and warns us of the dangers of designing fast. The five articles that follow show us Chinese cities in the small details: the winding side streets, distinctive building typologies, neighborhood morphology, infrastructure, sense of community, and human behavior, all with a "bottom-up" perspective that contrasts with the "top-down" model of central planning. Finally, the Photographic Portfolio features five houses built in Japan that show how architects can communicate with the environment despite small spaces and extreme density.

Guest Editor Cathelijne Nuijsink