◆ The core of the protection of historical buildings lies in how to solve the problem of “people”. The mode of “expropriation without demolition and people leaving the house to stay” adopted by Zhangyuan is more beneficial to the protection of cultural heritage.
◆ Zhangyuan’s whole piece of protective expropriation and transformation model reflects the progress of protection concept. It is not only a respect for history but also a sincerity to contemporary people not to deliberately do the old ways in the repair work.
As a “museum” in Shanghai’s Shikumen Lane, Zhangyuan’s protection work has a special demonstration role. Its innovative protective expropriation and transformation model of “expropriation without demolition, people leaving the house and staying” provides a new path for the protection of historical buildings.
Zhangyuan’s protective expropriation and transformation model embodies the great progress of protection concept and technology. When dealing with existing buildings, we should respect the memory and historical value of the city, and give priority to the preservation of historical blocks and buildings in the city, supplemented by the transformation, followed by the demolition, instead of blindly pursuing new land and new features and rebuilding in situ after demolition.
The core of the protection of historic buildings usually lies in how to solve the problem of “people”. The first thing that Zhangyuan protection faces is how to improve the living conditions of the indigenous residents. The residential density of old buildings is very high, which exceeds the design capacity of original buildings, resulting in the long-term overload of historical buildings and unsatisfactory living conditions of residents. If the original residents continue to stay in Zhangyuan, each family will be transformed into a complete set of housing with independent kitchen and bathroom, and the stock space will not be satisfied at all; If some people are allowed to leave and some people stay, the actual operation is very difficult because of their different interests. Finally, Zhangyuan adopted the method of “expropriation without demolition, people leaving the house to stay”, allowing the indigenous residents to improve their living conditions outside Zhangyuan. Although this model has high cost and great social responsibility, it is beneficial to the protection of cultural heritage.
The most difficult point of protection work is often not the architectural heritage itself, but how to balance the relationship between protection cost and activation and utilization. In 2021, the “Implementation Opinions on Revitalizing Cultural Relics and Expanding the International Influence of Chinese Culture”, which was reviewed and adopted at the 22nd meeting of the Central Committee for Comprehensively Deepening Reform, was a major improvement in the thinking of historical building protection. Activation and utilization is an important starting point for the protection of historical buildings in the future. Therefore, although each city has different ways to protect historical features, it is necessary to calculate the protection cost and the general ledger of activation and utilization realistically. Zhangyuan should not only be regarded as a museum, but should be linked with the development of the whole society. We should consider what role it will play in the whole city in the future, what value it will have in the economic and social operation, and how to see these values for a long time to come.
Zhangyuan in history was originally the center of urban public activities. Today, there are very mature large-scale commercial formats around Zhangyuan. Based on this historical evolution and practical advantages, Zhangyuan has been repositioned as.A public cultural space and commercial block facing the public not only meets the requirements of the authenticity protection of historical buildings, but also can make overall plans for activation and utilization and dilute the protection cost. For example, the translation project of protected buildings in Zhangyuan East District plans to temporarily translate some buildings, expand space underground, and then move historical buildings back to their original positions. One is to make up for the lack of space on the ground while preserving the historical buildings as much as possible; Secondly, Zhangyuan is located in the center of the city and the main road of traffic, which needs to complete the function of urban underground traffic transfer node. Of course, this practice of creating underground space and then moving it back to its original place will undoubtedly increase the difficulty and cost of the project. However, from the perspective of the open Zhangyuan West District, the entry of some well-known brands and the formation of commercial blocks can stabilize the cost of renovation.
The protective expropriation and transformation mode of Zhangyuan as a whole also reflects the progress of protection concept. In the past, many historical buildings only focused on single-family buildings, such as excellent historical buildings, which were labeled, hung with a brand and protected in a circle, but other surrounding buildings may be demolished; Or building an antique replica around it, even confusing the real with the fake, is like putting a pile of high imitation fakes around an antique, which lowers the unique value and artistic taste of the whole cultural block.
Whether it is authenticity protection, reconstruction or new construction, it will involve how to deal with the superposition of historical time and whether to reflect the traces of contemporary people themselves. From the perspective of preserving historical traces, Zhang Yuan did not deliberately make the old ones in the renovation work, but clearly told the world which parts were moved and which were preserved as they were. This is both a respect for history and a sincerity to contemporary people. However, the newly-built buildings are not antique, but have the characteristics of the present era and fully reflect the respect for the historical environment in terms of scale, color and style.
In addition, local policies and regulations have also legally guaranteed the smooth development of Zhangyuan’s protective expropriation and transformation. Shanghai has accumulated a number of beneficial experiences of the distinctive “stay-and-tear-down” project, and gradually rose from a practical case to a local policy and regulation. At the level of the rule of law, the boundaries between protection, reservation and development and utilization are clearly defined, and the boundaries and bottom lines of protection are firmly adhered to. In the end, Shanghai studied the protective expropriation and transformation of Zhangyuan and the implantation and operation of subsequent functions from the aspects of urban operation, preservation of architectural heritage value, protection technology and renewal technology, and the century-old Zhangyuan showed new vitality.
(The author is the deputy dean of the School of Design of Shanghai Jiaotong University, interviewed by our reporter Huang Xiaohui)