Associate Professors:
Mulan Sun, Michael Buschor

Teaching Collaborator:
Sinan Yuan
Studio Assistant:
Nan Zhang

Students:
Gu Yuxuan, Guo Xueting, Li Chenran, Li Qi, Lin Huiling, Tang Zhichen, Wang Xiaoqiong, Xie Anni, Yang Yihuan

Guests:
Zhou Ying
Assistant Professor of HongKong University
Fang Shujun
Principal of Fang Shujun Studio of Standard Architecture
Bao Li
Professor and Vice-Dean of School of Architecture in Southeast University
Wang Yan
Partner of GOA Architects, Guest Professor of Tongji University
Zhuang Ziyu
Partner and principal of RSAA GmbH

Upcycling the existing Urban Fabric - Introduction

Secular historical buildings become more and more rare to find in China, instead, there are many popular highrises without any “identity ”, which is slightly paradoxical considering the fact that the people’s republic emerged from such an old and very distinct civilization. Therefore choosing upcycling a residential neighborhood as the point of interest and the premise of keeping as much of the existing urban fabric as possible can be understood as a counterpoint against the all too common levelling of entire neighborhoods.

We chose the compound Jun Min Li in Hebei District in Tianjin, not because its architecture is particularly beautiful or its current state is worth to be preserved like a monument. On the contrary: it is a collection of identical copies of some Soviet standard apartment building type and its various formal and informal living features. They were built in large n umbers in desperate need for relocating hundred thousands of Tianjin inhabitants who lost their home in the devastating Tangshan earthquake in 1976. To make it even worse, the apartments and their facilities are tiny and m eager and in desperate need of renovation during more than 40 years while the increasing trend of private transportation is consuming the community’s s pace on the ground floor.

So why “upcycling the existing urban fabric”, not starting with a clean slate as usually practiced with the advantage of doing everything as the market demands, likely with little risk in terms of cost, without having to respect the entire legacy? Because certain aspects in that neighborhood cannot be reproduced by following known paths but only through time. Such as the seemingly intact social live of its inhabitants or the luscious vegetation turning the courtyards into small slow-paced oases in an otherwise bustling and often dusty city, besides the surrounding neighborhoods and roads have undergone tremendous changes. Or the fact that it is not a gated community (yet) but a lively survived sm all patch of the city’s urban fabric with mixed use which contributes to everyday city life on several different levels. The goal for this semester is therefore not a simple one with well known standard practice approaches but rather a delicate surgical intervention on a living body: transforming the existing neighborhood in such a way that it fits the today’s and future needs of its inhabitants without eradicating its existing qualities or driving away all its inhabitants through too coarse interventions.

Architectural design is not an architect’s personal vision. To acquire the toolset necessary for upcycling the neighborhood, the studio st arts with a thorough analysis on different aspects of the city in general and this neighborhood in particular, covering a wide range of scales. The research on site will unveil the local characteristics, or genius loci, and gives the subsequent design process a reality-based foundation.

Student Works:

现存城市肌理的升级再造 课题介绍

            充满市井气息的并保留历史痕迹的居住建筑在中国城市中越来越少见，取而代之的是没有任何“身份特征”的高楼林立。这一点与当代中国是从一个古老而鲜明的文明中发展而来的是自相矛盾的。因此，本学期以住宅改建设计为课题的出发点，尽可能的保留现有城市肌理结构，作为一个对抗彻底拆迁的普遍现象的尝试。

本学期的研究和设计的基地是天津市河北区军民里社区，这个选择不是因为此社区的建筑有何特殊动人之处，也不是因为其现状如同珍贵文物一样需要被保护。相反的，军民里社区仅仅是一个普通的苏联标准住宅建筑类型和其各种正式的非正式的居住特征的集合。为了安置在1976年唐山大地震中无家可归的数十万天津灾民，此类住宅建筑被大量快速建造。四十多年过后的当下，社区住房及其设施狭小而简陋并急需翻修，日益增加的私人交通工具侵占了建筑物之间原本舒适的公共交流空间。

为什么选择“现存城市肌理的升级再造”这个课题，而不像普遍的以满足市场需求为前提的做法，把风险成本降到最低且不用尊重历史遗产，从零开始做设计？因为本学期想把关注点对准寻常百姓和他们的居住方式，这些才是我们社会活着的“肌理”。军民里这个社区的某些生活品质并不能遵循常规路径以推倒重建来实现，而只能通过时间再现。在这个熙熙攘攘的城市中，丰沛鲜活的居民社区生活和枝繁叶茂的景观在这里一起生长了四十多年，形成了一个慢节奏的绿洲，而其周边社区和道路却发生着天翻地覆的变化。然而，这里并不是一个封闭的社区，而是城市肌理中幸存的一个混合着种种日常生活的生动的典型案例。 因此，本学期的目标不是采取众所周知的标准进行的一个简单的设计训练，而更像是在一个鲜活的生命体中进行一场精细的外科手术：对现存社区进行改造，在不降低其现有生活质量和不强硬干预驱赶现有居民的前提下，使其符合当今和未来的居住需求。

建筑设计不是建筑师的个人臆想，在进入建筑设计之前有必要收集一个社区升级再造的工具集，本学期首先从城市的不同角度对军民里社区进行分析研究，例如：交通与流线；绿地与公共空间；基础设施与设置；结构和材料。以研究为基础的设计是从城市尺度逐步深入到场地设计改造策略、建筑设计以及构造设计。以研究为基础的设计更能反应地区特色和场所精神，以及为后续的设计过程提供一个不空想而是基于现实的基础。