This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
This Website Uses Cookies
By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
Architectural Record logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Subscribe
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Architectural Record logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest News
    • Interviews
    • Reviews
    • Commentary
    • Editorials
  • PROJECTS
    • Building Types
    • Interior Design
    • Museums & Arts Centers
    • Adaptive Reuse
    • Colleges & Universities
    • Lighting
    • Snapshot
  • HOUSES
    • Record Houses
    • House of the Month
    • Featured Houses
    • Kitchen and Bath
  • PRODUCTS
    • Material World
    • Categories
    • Award Winners
    • Case Studies
    • Partners in Design
    • Trends & Insights
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Best Architecture Schools
    • Top 300 Firms
    • Theme Issues
    • Record Houses
    • Record Products
    • Good Design Is Good Business
    • Design Vanguard
    • Historical Archive
    • Cocktail Napkin Sketch
    • Videos
  • CALL FOR ENTRIES
    • Record Houses
    • Guess the Architect Contest
    • Submit Your Work
  • CONTINUING ED
    • Architectural Technology
    • Architect Continuing Education
    • Continuing Education Center
    • Digital Academies
  • EVENTS
    • Record on the Road
    • Innovation Conference
    • Women In Architecture
    • Webinars
    • Advertising Excellence Awards
  • MORE
    • Subscribe
    • Customer Service
    • Digital Edition
    • eNewsletter
    • Interactive Spotlight
    • Store
    • Custom Content Marketing
    • Research
    • Sponsor Insights
    • eBooks
  • CONTACT
    • Advertise
Home » Crouching Olympics, Hidden Preservation
Architecture News

Crouching Olympics, Hidden Preservation

May 31, 2007
James Murdock
Reprints
No Comments

After building designs were revealed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics a few years ago, reports turned to stories of displaced local residents and the destruction of historic architecture as the city began revamping its infrastructure. A photo that recently made the front page of newspapers worldwide best captured the activity: a lone house standing defiantly amid a giant construction pit. Nicknamed the “Nail House,” the diminutive dwelling finally succumbed to a backhoe on April 3—its owner, Wu Ping, joining the estimated 300,000 people who have been displaced by construction. But behind these dramatic scenes, a preservation ethic is gradually emerging. Some of the highest profile developments currently under way in Beijing preserve and incorporate old buildings.

Photo: © Getty Images

In the Qianmen neighborhood, Beijing Dashalan is converting a series of hutongs—traditional courtyard houses—into a residential and retail corridor. And nearby, Handel Lee, a lawyer who developed two adaptive-reuse projects on the Bund in Shanghai, is transforming the Legation Quarter, a 4-acre estate that once housed foreign diplomats, into an upscale retail and entertainment property. Within five landmarked buildings that display a mix of Chinese and Victorian architecture, Gilles & Boissier is designing a restaurant for chef Daniel Bouloud; and Andy Hall, a British architect based in Shanghai, is working on an outpost of the Bouhjis Club.

Journalist Wang Jun is widely seen as sparking China’s nascent preservation movement. His 2003 book Beijing Record highlighted the forgotten heritage of Liang Sicheng, an urban planner active in the 1950s. Liang, who incidentally happens to be the uncle of architect Maya Lin, devised a plan for Beijing that was a modern way of preserving the past while integrating the new.

“This book about Liang influenced both the government and the common people more than any other book written by urban planners,” observes Jiang Jun, who edits the architecture magazine Urban China. “A thinking arose that architectural preservation is not only a moral-consciousness problem, but a problem linked to rational urban planning.”

Jiang adds that the government is slowly realizing that rather than treating Beijing like a tabula rasa, there is value to saving historic buildings and open space. Also, due to recent efforts to flush out government corruption, it is more cautious about greenlighting every new development. Beijing’s preservation policy is by no means set, Jiang notes, and it remains to be seen what will happen after 2008. “It’s still going to be a turning point of the preservation. It will be much more difficult to make a change to the policy after the Olympic Games, when growth is slowing down.”

AR Subscribe

Recent Articles by James Murdock

Walking Tour of Beacon Hill and Downtown

Shopping

Nightlife

Related Articles

Hidden Tints Apartment by Note Design Studio

Dutch Firms Win Modernism Preservation Prize

Related Products

Maintenance Architecture

Relentless Pursuit of an Architecture

Durability in Construction Tradition and Sustainability in 21st Century Architecture

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

More Videos

AR Huber Webinar 12/10


 


 

Events

December 10, 2019

New Options for Insulating and Venting Wood-Framed Sloped Roofs

Credits: 1 AIA LU/HSW; 1 AIBD P-CE; 0.1 IACET CEU

May qualify for learning hours through most Canadian architectural associations

A comprehensive overview of the control layers of a wood-framed sloped roof assembly. New code provisions will be discussed for high-performance, green and sustainable building practices. The differences between vented and unvented assembly requirements will be defined. In conclusion, a review of the emerging 2018 code provisions will be done as well as a comparison of different methods to providing continuous and integrated air, water, and thermal barrier.

December 12, 2019

Improving Building Delivery with BIM

Credits: 1 AIA LU/Elective; 1 AIBD P-CE; 0.1 IACET CEU
May qualify for learning hours through most Canadian architectural associations

BIM brings countless advantages to the construction team, but the biggest benefit lies with the owner. For architects continuing to develop and enhance delivery methods, BIM is the solution. In this webinar with Rob Glisson, AIA, principal at ROJO Architecture, see how BIM can help you reduce risk, accelerate schedules, establish more accurate budgets, decrease costs, and better serve your clients.

View All Submit An Event

Products

ENR Square Foot Costbook 2020

ENR Square Foot Costbook 2020

See More Products

Tweets by @ArchRecord

Architectural Record

AR December 2019 Cover

2019 December

In the December 2019 issue, Architectural Record reveals the winners of the annual Record Products contest.

View More Subscribe
  • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Survey And Sample
    • Editorial Calendar
  • Call for Entries
  • Subscribe
    • Subscribe
    • Renew
    • Create Account
    • Change Address
    • Pay My Bill
    • Free eNewsletters
    • Customer Care
  • Advertise
    • Architectural Record
    • Advertising Awards
  • Industry Jobs

Copyright ©2019. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing