Core reading
Ancient towns spread all over the north and south of the motherland preserve historical and traditional features, and contain profound skills and cultural accumulation.
Protecting urban historical and cultural buildings is not only to develop tourism and cultural activities, but also to preserve the historical features and cultural memories of the city.
Those historical and cultural buildings and traditional houses that accompany us across time embody the ancient people’s idea of skillfully borrowing nature and integrating nature with man, and contain ancient architectural wisdom, which needs further excavation and transformation in today’s advocating integrity and innovation.
The protection of ancient towns, cities and folk houses is an important part of cultural inheritance and innovation, and the principles of creative transformation and innovative development should be followed. Protecting and developing the historical and cultural relics in cities and towns is related to our homesickness and the need for us to create a better life. Over the past half century, I have participated in the planning and protection of more than 100 historical cities (including historical blocks) and more than 70 ancient villages and towns, and witnessed and participated in the protection of urban cultural heritage in contemporary China. The accumulated experience during this period may be helpful to the future urban and rural construction and cultural inheritance.
Repair as it is, keep the old as it is, and protect our ancient town.
When it comes to the protection of urban cultural heritage, people often think of ancient towns all over the country. So far, these ancient towns have preserved their historical and traditional features and rich and profound cultural accumulation. They are not only the architectural heritage of China, but also some of them have entered the World Heritage List and become the common cultural wealth of all mankind. For example, the ancient water town in the south of the Yangtze River is good at borrowing from nature, and it is often close to the water to become a street, a road to be built by water, and a house to be built by water. On the whole, the houses in ancient towns in China are mostly two-story hall-style brick and wood structures, which are lined up in rows, or in front of the store and backyard, or in the house and under the store, with arcades and stone fences across the street. Different ancient towns follow their own soil and water, and have different customs and characteristics.
In the protection of ancient towns, I advocate the restoration as it is, the rectification of the old as it is, in order to preserve its authenticity and oppose fake antiques. I have refined it into four properties: authenticity, integrity, readability and sustainability, five properties: raw materials, original technology, original style, original structure and original environment, and four properties: old wood, old brick, old form and old French style. It advocates repairing or restoring old buildings, rather than using fast modern materials and techniques to start a new stove for the purpose of tourism and commerce.
Zhouzhuang, Wuzhen, Tongli, Luzhi, Nanxun, Xitang and Jiangnan all carry out creative protection according to this, and cultivate a group of outstanding craftsmen who inherit traditional construction skills. For example, Zhouzhuang used many old wooden beams, old wooden columns, old doors and windows, old slates, etc. in the renovation, and built an original house. The same is true in Wuzhen, where warehouses are built for all kinds of old materials in different categories and can be used at any time when they are repaired. Dongzha and Xizha in Wuzhen used stone slabs in Ming and Qing Dynasties to pave roads, and buried drainage pipes, power lines and telephone lines underground. Pavement along the street, old house.Old wood is also used, and tung oil is used in the traditional way. After replacing the rotten bricks, the wall should not be painted again, but black ash should be mixed into the white powder to present its original appearance. We also moved an abandoned ancient stone bridge to the center of the town to replace Yingjia Bridge in Qing Dynasty, which was changed into a cement bridge, and enriched the landscape of the ancient town with real antiques.
The ancient city of Pingyao, which is listed in the World Heritage List with the whole ancient city, is also protected according to this principle. Pingyao has a complete ancient city wall and hundreds of well-preserved houses in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In order to protect the whole ancient city as a “great cultural relic” without affecting the needs of local people to improve their lives, we put forward the idea that “the ancient city will not move and develop new areas”. On the premise of not destroying the pattern of the ancient city, a circular one-way lane is planned and designed, and drainage, electric power and communication pipe networks are arranged; Open up new areas in the west and south of the ancient city, and put the new construction and development of the city in the new area.
The historical ancient town that has survived to this day cannot maintain its enduring charm and lasting vitality without our creative protection of its authenticity. At the same time, we should know how to protect at different levels and delimit the protection level and scope one by one, so as not to destroy the authenticity because of blind pursuit of development, nor to hinder the pace of development because of paying attention to protection.
Urban protection conforms to the historical and cultural texture and highlights the cultural characteristics of different cities.
Fuzhou has “three mountains, two towers and one river”, and Changshu has “seven streams and waters all lead to the sea, and ten miles of green hills half enter the city” … In addition to the antique ancient town, the more densely populated cities have their own characteristics because of their different geographical environment and human history. Protecting urban historical and cultural buildings is not only to develop tourism industry and carry out cultural activities, but also to preserve the historical features and cultural memories of the city. Only by protecting the essence of traditional architecture and historical sites, it is possible to breed new buildings and new styles full of local cultural characteristics.
Shanghai North Bund once faced demolition and reconstruction. The North Bund, namely, the Tilanqiao area in Hongkou, is a precious and unique urban heritage of Shanghai, with many historical buildings preserved to this day. We conducted a special investigation in this area, and finally contributed to the inclusion of Tilanqiao in the historical and cultural area of Shanghai. For the downtown area that has been turned into a protected area, meticulous and subtle work is also needed. The overall planning of Suzhou City was designed by Mr. Wu Liangyong: the ancient city is in the middle and protected as it is; The ancient city is surrounded by technical development zones, commercial administrative zones, cultural and educational zones and residential zones. In the process of protecting the ancient city, I found that the ancient neighborhood vein was still preserved in the Pingjiang Road area of the ancient city by comparing with the Pingjiang Map of the Song Dynasty, so I suggested to the relevant departments of Suzhou to keep this area intact. In 15 years, I led the students to make the protection plan of “Pingjiang Road Historical Block” and put it into practice, maintaining the appearance of the style since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, retaining historical and cultural relics, and at the same time,.The internal living facilities are modern.
The proportion and form of traditional architecture have reached a harmonious beauty of a group after thousands of years of tempering. New architecture should learn from it, inherit this beauty and coordinate with it. The ancient city of Suzhou is well protected, and contemporary architects can learn from local materials and learn from the tradition, and then have a creative transformation of traditional towers, pavilions, windows and corridors, and new buildings such as Suzhou Silk Museum and Suzhou Library have emerged, which complement the old buildings and have a harmonious temperament.
At present, many cities have entered the development stage of stock transformation, and the old factories and warehouses in the city can also be created and reused, thus releasing new value. For example, there are many old alley factories in Taikang Road block in Shanghai. Now these factories are closed or moved away, and some factories have been renovated and transformed into artists’ studios, exhibition halls and art galleries. There are many such communities in Beijing, Suzhou and other places, which not only preserve the industrial remains, but also enrich the functions and experiences of the city.
Attach importance to the protection of folk houses and protect the history and culture of towns in daily life.
You stand on the bridge and watch the scenery, and the people watching the scenery are watching you upstairs. Whether it is the protection of ancient towns or the protection of urban historical and cultural relics, it is inseparable from local residents. Only by retaining the original residents and leaving the traditional way of life there can the historical and cultural protection of the town maintain its vitality forever-this is inseparable from the protection of traditional folk houses. Folk houses are an important part of the historical and cultural heritage of cities and towns, which directly reflect the architectural styles and customs of different regions. They are all residential houses, such as Beijing Siheyuan, Anhui Sishui Guitang, Yunnan-Guizhou four-in-one five-patio and three-square one-zhaobi, cave dwellings in Shaanxi, earth buildings in Fujian and so on.
Shikumen is a characteristic residential building in Shanghai, which is divided into two lanes. There are more than a dozen types and styles if subdivided. The National Research Center of Historical and Cultural City of Tongji University conducted a thorough investigation on the houses in Shanghai Lane, and after on-the-spot investigation on more than 400 plots and thousands of lanes, it was suggested to add and expand historical and cultural scenic areas with Lane as the main feature. For Shikumen, it not only protects the architectural features, but also relieves the population and updates the infrastructure, thus effectively improving the lives of residents.
In Suzhou, there are a large number of traditional houses that are not protected. It is very important to deal with these dwellings to maintain the style of the ancient city to the maximum extent and avoid large-scale demolition and construction. We learn from the ancients and divide these houses into neighborhoods: divide the ancient city into 54 neighborhoods and determine the land area, population capacity, building capacity and other indicators of each neighborhood. In this way, the planning and management of every neighborhood has been followed, and every household can clearly understand the situation and prospects of their old houses. Specific planning and architectural design are closely linked with reality, and residents participate in the whole process of renovation. We have also explored a planning and design scheme suitable for the renovation of residential buildings in the ancient city.
Urban renewal and development,.In the final analysis, it is inseparable from the care of residents. Nowadays, in Yangzhou, Suzhou and other places, there is a new trend: in the houses that residents rebuild or build spontaneously, people begin to consciously repair their old houses and restore the beauty of traditional gardens. Some people design half of their own patios as rockeries, some people open ponds to build gardens, and some people set up companies to rebuild for people who like traditional houses. People are using their own actions to find homesickness.
In the vibrant contemporary urban life, the historical and cultural buildings and traditional houses that accompany us across time embody the ancient China people’s idea of skillfully borrowing nature and integrating man with nature, and contain ancient architectural wisdom. Today, when we advocate integrity and innovation, we need to further explore and transform them. At the same time, time will accumulate and precipitate new “historical relics”, which need us to continue to analyze and treat them concretely and constantly apply the tradition to modern life.
It is expected that the corresponding planning and protection measures, personnel training and discipline construction will be continuously strengthened, so that more and more towns will cultivate a unique look and provide people with poetic living life.
(The author is Professor college of architecture and urban planning, compiled by our reporter Xu Xin)