Grounding the Belt and Road Initiative

China's Belt and Road Initiative, started in 2013, has transformed many places around the world but also China itself. In some cases, it provided crucial infrastructure, such as the General Hospital of Niger in Niamey or the National Library of El Salvador, while it also generated entire new urban areas, e.g. the Free Zone in Khorghos, Kazakhstan, with sometimes controversial effects to local communities and the environment. Based on research undertaken at the Politecnico di Torino, this publication looks at the Belt and Road Initiative in architectural and spatial terms. Organized in thematic categories, it entails a survey of 21 case studies and investigates the impact of these China-backed projects. All buildings are documented with maps, architectural drawings and photographs specifically created for this book.