Latest redevelopment will turn old architecture into galleries, residential and retail space
Yvonne Liu 11 November 2009
Rampant urban renewal in Shanghai has come at the cost of destroying much of the city’s architectural heritage, but the local government is now trying to preserve the iconic sites and districts that have survived.
“Urban redevelopment meant that Shanghai has been losing its character, as many old buildings were knocked down. But the city is now trying to preserve the remaining old buildings and also its unique cultural heritage,” said architect Paul Clark, the managing director of CJ Partnership Architects.
The British architectural firm has been involved in Shanghai’s latest urban redevelopment scheme - the Media Street project in the former French Concession area in Jing An district.
The district has a history that dates back to the construction in AD 247 of the Jing An Temple, after which it is now named, and is widely acknowledged as one of the most architecturally significant and culturally important areas in the country.
Today, it comprises hundreds of European-style buildings built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Several of these old buildings have already made way for the wave of modernisation and rebuilding that swept the city before the new spirit of preservation took hold.
But to preserve the area’s cultural and architectural past, the Shanghai Urban Planning Administration Bureau declared it a heritage protection area in 2003 and imposed several controls over redevelopment. Under the controls, old buildings in the area cannot be demolished, and streets cannot be widened.
In line with the controls, some of the old buildings on Media Street would be maintained for residential and retail use and others might be renovated for use as art galleries and museums, said Clark.
The firm was engaged as a consultant in November last year by the Shanghai government and Tongji University to provide urban planning and conceptual designs for the redevelopment, which will take place in three phases over the next 10 years.
The first phase is scheduled for completion in 2012, and since the site allocated for the first redevelopment work includes hundreds of old European-style buildings, only one new tall building would be built and all of the historical buildings would be preserved, said Clark.
Most of the ground floors of the old buildings are currently in use as retail outlets, while the upper floors are residential.
The first major heritage preservation project in Shanghai was the Xintiandi development by Hong Kong-listed Shui On Land, which has become a district of clubs, restaurants, residences, boutiques and a hotel in Lu Wan district and was billed as a model for future developments.
But Clark said the Media Street project would be different from Xintiandi.
“It will not be a high-end eating and entertainment place. It’s a place for people to live and work,” he said.
The exception to the rule of maintaining the relatively low-rise architecture in the area will be a new retail and office tower that will be built on the southern boundary of the site.
The 25-storey building will rise about 100 metres into the skyline above the site and will have a total gross floor area of 27,150 square metres.
Since the government aims to develop a green and sustainable neighbourhood in the area, Clark said the developer would try to use recycled or local materials in the construction work.
Metal panels with suitable window areas will be used for the external walls of the building, rather than the standard approach used by other high-rise buildings, which have glass curtain walls.
“The building will be energy-efficient. It won’t have too much glass,” said Clark.
“The metal panels will also have a natural, oxidised finish. The different colours [in the external wall] are fixed at different stages of oxidisation. This will give the building an appearance of being aged.”
The building will also be equipped with energy-saving equipment, heat pumps, solar shading, natural ventilation and waste water management systems.
The government will build two new subway stations on the site, which will encourage people to use public mass transit to travel.
While the Hong Kong government continues to explore new directions for the conservation of the city’s cultural and historical heritage, the Shanghai government is forging ahead with its preservation plans.
It now aims to zone a further four historical districts as heritage protection areas and impose controls over redevelopment in those areas.
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Shanghai project builds on the past
Latest redevelopment will turn old architecture into galleries, residential and retail space
Yvonne Liu
11 November 2009
Rampant urban renewal in Shanghai has come at the cost of destroying much of the city’s architectural heritage, but the local government is now trying to preserve the iconic sites and districts that have survived.
“Urban redevelopment meant that Shanghai has been losing its character, as many old buildings were knocked down. But the city is now trying to preserve the remaining old buildings and also its unique cultural heritage,” said architect Paul Clark, the managing director of CJ Partnership Architects.
The British architectural firm has been involved in Shanghai’s latest urban redevelopment scheme - the Media Street project in the former French Concession area in Jing An district.
The district has a history that dates back to the construction in AD 247 of the Jing An Temple, after which it is now named, and is widely acknowledged as one of the most architecturally significant and culturally important areas in the country.
Today, it comprises hundreds of European-style buildings built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Several of these old buildings have already made way for the wave of modernisation and rebuilding that swept the city before the new spirit of preservation took hold.
But to preserve the area’s cultural and architectural past, the Shanghai Urban Planning Administration Bureau declared it a heritage protection area in 2003 and imposed several controls over redevelopment. Under the controls, old buildings in the area cannot be demolished, and streets cannot be widened.
In line with the controls, some of the old buildings on Media Street would be maintained for residential and retail use and others might be renovated for use as art galleries and museums, said Clark.
The firm was engaged as a consultant in November last year by the Shanghai government and Tongji University to provide urban planning and conceptual designs for the redevelopment, which will take place in three phases over the next 10 years.
The first phase is scheduled for completion in 2012, and since the site allocated for the first redevelopment work includes hundreds of old European-style buildings, only one new tall building would be built and all of the historical buildings would be preserved, said Clark.
Most of the ground floors of the old buildings are currently in use as retail outlets, while the upper floors are residential.
The first major heritage preservation project in Shanghai was the Xintiandi development by Hong Kong-listed Shui On Land, which has become a district of clubs, restaurants, residences, boutiques and a hotel in Lu Wan district and was billed as a model for future developments.
But Clark said the Media Street project would be different from Xintiandi.
“It will not be a high-end eating and entertainment place. It’s a place for people to live and work,” he said.
The exception to the rule of maintaining the relatively low-rise architecture in the area will be a new retail and office tower that will be built on the southern boundary of the site.
The 25-storey building will rise about 100 metres into the skyline above the site and will have a total gross floor area of 27,150 square metres.
Since the government aims to develop a green and sustainable neighbourhood in the area, Clark said the developer would try to use recycled or local materials in the construction work.
Metal panels with suitable window areas will be used for the external walls of the building, rather than the standard approach used by other high-rise buildings, which have glass curtain walls.
“The building will be energy-efficient. It won’t have too much glass,” said Clark.
“The metal panels will also have a natural, oxidised finish. The different colours [in the external wall] are fixed at different stages of oxidisation. This will give the building an appearance of being aged.”
The building will also be equipped with energy-saving equipment, heat pumps, solar shading, natural ventilation and waste water management systems.
The government will build two new subway stations on the site, which will encourage people to use public mass transit to travel.
While the Hong Kong government continues to explore new directions for the conservation of the city’s cultural and historical heritage, the Shanghai government is forging ahead with its preservation plans.
It now aims to zone a further four historical districts as heritage protection areas and impose controls over redevelopment in those areas.
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