Through
four years of study at China Academy of Art, I have learned that interior
design is not simply on deciding how we arrange the furniture and furnishings,
but to learn how to create a different mood with our space, how we can let
users to feel comfort and uniqueness when they are in it.
Therefore
I have been most interested in the idea of reusing and reconstructing of
historical or normal old architecture. I have done several projects which
relate to old buildings during my 4-year-study in China, the one was about
reconstructing abandoned building and the other one was re-planning old block
which was also my graduation project. So I have done some research for this
topic and had my own opinion about it.
With the technology and economy development
of the modern society, building modern buildings constantly is making the land
resource become more and more short. The topic of reusing and reconstructing
old buildings is hot nowadays. Recycling old building is the needs of
environmental protection and sustainable development. The old buildings not only are the
historical protected buildings, but also are the normal, less value and less
protected old buildings. In my opinion, buildings carry the cultural and
historic memory for the city where they are. A city needs cultural memory
itself. The
way of changing the old buildings in old and new can be a large variety. The
purpose of changing is always for performing the cultural memory of the city. Besides some degree
of protection for the old buildings and districts, they also need revising,
updating or modernizing based on keeping their characters and scale. Cities
need old buildings. Compared with pursuing for dramatic changes, designing more
consequent, gradual, complicated and novel changes in buildings is better for
city to show its historical culture.
In China, the problem of dealing
with the abandoned or ole buildings can not get attention from government and
people. Most of them do not understand the importance of old buildings to us. They just believe
that the development equals modern west style. They build modern buildings
which are based on the substances function and remove large area of old
buildings. Many old blocks became out of order even totally abandon because of
less attention and managing from people. But in London, old buildings get much more
attention, most of the old buildings still have different types of function
today. When I am walking in a street in London, the atmosphere of British
architecture cultural is strong. The details of old buildings still being
preserved, I can learn the architecture details in everywhere. London itself
just likes a big library of architecture history.
There are many successful cases for old
buildings reconstruction in Western country. For insurance, the Musée d’Orsay
Museum in Paris used to be a train station, an Italian architect named Gae Aulenti designed it into a museum
which is one of the best art museum in Paris now. She connected the building
with the environment of city and did full use of the original features of the
building, most materials of the building get reserved in this way. The British Museum
also is a classical case. The central courtyard of British Museum became out of
use once upon a time. Norman Foster designed a smooth flowing curved lighting roof which can
contain all possibilities and did nothing to the round reading hall which used
to be the British Library. The central courtyard now is spacious and bright and
a system of evacuating crowd of British Museum. When people walk in these
buildings, they can still feel the original atmosphere of the buildings. In
China, Xintiandi in Shanghai is a good example of reusing the old buildings. It
is a walking street gathering dinning, business, entertainment and culture
based on the old buildings of original Shanghai Shikumen style. The appearance
of buildings has not changed from Shikumen style, but inside of the buildings
became completely modern lifestyle. Reforming the old buildings should respect
the original structure and culture of building and not to destroy them. Actually
there are a lot of examples old buildings reconstruction in London, the ways of
combining old buildings with new function is interesting and deserve to learn.
I will read a lot of books about old and
new architecture to help me to understand better about the meaning of old
buildings reconstruction. Besides, I will collect and analyze famous
architects’ work in the world. I may do research from the material, structure,
cultural style or other respects of the old buildings. I can collect different
details of old architecture in London as much as I can, compare with the
details in China. The architecture is different because of the different
culture, so the ways of old buildings reconstruction do. I am willing to see
and learn different ideas and ways of old buildings reconstruction. The MA
project for me may not be a complete project for buildings. It can be presented
a space made by different old and new materials to show the combination of old
and new, to find the best method of performing the old space in modern ways.
Bibliography:
-
Architecture Reborn: The Conversion and Reconstruction of
Old Buildings
- Re/architecture: old buildings/ new
uses
- Down to Earth: Mud Architecture – An
Old Idea, A New Future
- Metaobolism, The City of Future:
[dreams and visions of reconstruction in post war and present-day, Japan]
- Re-forming British: Narratives of
Modernity Before Reconstruction
- Idea and Style; The Quest for Modern
Architecture
- Space In architecture: The Evolution
of A New Idea In The Theory and History of The Modern Movements
- When Culture Meets Architecture
- Architecture Culture, 1943-1968: A
Documentary Anthology
- Architectural Voices: Listening to Old
Buildings
- Old to New_
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