The design and construction of commercial and residential buildings in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China

This paper presents a general overview of practices in the design and construction of commercial and residential buildings in Shanghai. The experience of engineers and managers in the construction industry of Shanghai is summarized by providing simple guidelines for both designers and builders. Both past, present and future trends in the Shanghai market economy are discussed. Latest technological developments of the industry are briefly summarized. Local practices used for solving engineering problems are discussed and areas where optimization could potentially occur are highlighted. The impact of government regulations and local administration is discussed. Potential modes of collaboration between foreign companies and local parties are presented together with an analysis of advantages and disadvantages.