Zhang Yue of Tsinghua University Let the history of urban and rural areas coexist with modernity

People in this issue: Zhang Yue

Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University

Professor and doctoral supervisor of the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University

Mr. Liang Sicheng once said that Beijing City is "an incomparable masterpiece of urban planning"!

As an ancient city with a history of more than 3,000 years, there are not only Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and other historical sites, but also small alleys, courtyard houses and mottled city walls, which lie across the old city and tell the history of Beijing.

It is said that hutongs are the oldest texture and structure in Beijing's "ancient community", and it carries different functions in different eras. However, with the concept of overall protection and rejuvenation of the old city, how to rejuvenate and revitalize the old hutongs and improve the quality of life of the residents of the hutongs has become the most important issue at present.

Organic Update! Zhang Yue, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University, gave an answer.

Since the 90s of the last century, he has participated in the protection and renewal of the old city of Beijing under the tutelage of Academician Wu Liangyong, and has continued to carry out overall protection and active creation with the concept of "organic renewal". In recent years, he has presided over the completion of the No. 6 and No. 12 Yuer Hutong Renovation Pilot Project in Dongcheng District, Beijing, the No. 50 Courtyard Project of Fusuijing Hutong, the Pilot Project of Baitasi Renovation and Renovation in Xicheng District, Beijing, the New Rural Construction Planning Demonstration Project in Shunyi District, Beijing, and the Rural Community Planning and Construction Project in Xihu Township, Fuliang, Jiangxi Province.

In these engineering practices, he believes that urban and rural communities are organic organisms with their own laws of development, and organic renewal is to comply with this law of development, to protect its memory and imprints, to stimulate its strength and value, and to inherit Chinese history and culture. He has always been committed to this, hoping to create a better living environment in urban and rural areas.

Hutongs are one of the symbols of Beijing's old city and the history of Beijing. The sound of chatting in the hutongs, the babbling erhu, the shouts one after another, and the crisp pigeon whistle echoing over the courtyard ......These moving fireworks years in the old alley have appeared countless times in major film and television works, and they are even more talked-about.

It is said that hutongs are the oldest texture and structure in Beijing's "ancient community", and it carries different functions in different eras. However, with the concept of overall protection and rejuvenation of the old city, how to rejuvenate and revitalize the old hutongs and improve the quality of life of the residents of the hutongs has become the most important issue at present.

Organic Update! Zhang Yue, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University, gave an answer.

Since the 90s of the last century, he has been involved in the protection and renewal of the old city of Beijing under the tutelage of Academician Wu Liangyong, and has gradually explored the companion continuous protection and renewal model of the old city that follows the idea of "organic renewal".

Cities are organic life forms with their own laws of development, and 'organic renewal' is to follow the laws of development to awaken the power of self-healing of cities. Zhang Yue said that not only the old urban areas that are more than 100 years old, but also some new urban areas are slowly aging, so urban renewal will be a continuous process forever.

Over the years, Zhang Yue has carried out a comprehensive indoor and outdoor renovation of the courtyard houses of the old Beijing Hutongs to meet the needs of modern urban life through continuous renewal practices in all aspects of research, taking the smallest building and property rights module "bay" as the object, and through the "embroidery needle" type of protection, repair and remediation, the original dirty and chaotic hutong courtyards have begun to move towards urban rejuvenation.

During this period, he presided over the completion of the pilot project of Nanluoguxiang Renovation and Transformation in Dongcheng District, Beijing - No. 6 and No. 12 Courtyard Project of Yu'er Hutong, the pilot project of Baitasi Renovation and Reconstruction in Xicheng District, Beijing - No. 50 Courtyard Project of Fusuijing Hutong, the New Rural Construction Planning Demonstration Project in Shunyi District, Beijing, and the Rural Community Planning and Construction Project of Xihu Township, Fuliang, Jiangxi Province.

After the updated hutongs, people linger in the gray tiles and green bricks, touching the texture of old Beijing with their own hands. After the update, every detail reveals the traces of time, and people feel the precipitation of the years and the weight of history here. It turns out that the old Beijing Hutong is not only the same hall of the four generations and the old things in the south of the city, nor is it only "the pomegranate tree in the canopy fish tank, the fat dog and the fat girl", it also has a new story.

Urban renewal is the best way to make our lives safer, healthier, poetic, and better. Zhang Yue said that combining these cold reinforced concrete with people's living needs and making these cold reinforced concrete more emotional is the best urban renewal.

A new life in an old alley

The renovated Fusuijing Hutong and Yu'er Hutong residential houses.

Beijing's old hutongs are hidden in the city, but there are no caves.

The name of Yu'er Hutong has been inherited since the Qing Dynasty. This is an east-west "net red alley", from Nanluoguxiang in the east, to the east Buzhuqiao alley in the west, on the north and south sides, parallel to Lingyi Hutong and Mao'er Hutong. It used to be the center of the Yuan capital, and during the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was a place where many officials and nobles gathered.

With the development of the times, the living environment of the people represented by the courtyard house has become more and more complex. 25 years ago, a "Happy Life of Poor Zhang Damin" let the whole country see the unimaginable cramped life of the people in the capital. Twenty-five years later, this kind of life is still the daily life of many people in the old city of Beijing.

Yu'er Hutong, like some old city hutongs, has many bungalow courtyards, weak infrastructure, and the living space of residents is too cramped, so they occupy the courtyard space as much as possible by adding, connecting, expanding, and occupying, which seriously affects the traditional courtyard style.

The old city can no longer be demolished, but life cannot remain the same. Zhang Yue said.

Since 2015, Beijing's Dongcheng District has taken Yu'er Hutong as a pilot to explore new paths for the protection and revival of old cities such as the "Symbiosis Courtyard". When carrying out the renovation and improvement of Yu'er Hutong, Dongcheng District built a design platform for Yu'er Hutong, adhered to the principle of "one courtyard, one policy, one household, one design", and used "embroidery" to weave the "modern life of the old and the new" symbiosis of the old and the new.

Li Fusheng is a resident of No. 6 Yu'er Hutong, and her biggest wish is that the family can sit at a table and eat a meal comfortably. In Zhang Yue's memory, the No. 6 courtyard before the renovation was 40 square meters, with multiple generations living together and lacking separate space, no kitchen or toilet in the interior, and various functions were mixed. ”

What should I do if I am crowded, cramped, unable to raise the height, and unable to change the style?

Old bottles need to be filled with new wine, and every square meter has to be carefully calculated. Zhang Yue told reporters that he led the team to carry out the pilot design and construction of the "open room renewal" model in the No. 6 courtyard of Yuer Hutong.

They renovated the north room of Courtyard 6 into a mezzanine expansion unit with a built-in staircase, and the upper floor was a bedroom, forming an open and transparent layered space on the upper and lower floors, so as to better separate the multi-generational living space. At the same time, the built-in open kitchen module and bathroom module are built to meet the functional needs of residents. Through the designed space composite utilization, the space utilization area is increased by about 10 square meters compared with the original house after the renovation, the use efficiency is increased by 20%, and the use space per capita is increased by 2 square meters.

I didn't expect to live a modern life. Li Fusheng said with a smile that now the family eating hot pot together has become the happiest moment in No. 6 Hospital.

At the end of 2019, the construction of the key courtyard of Yu'er Hutong was basically completed, which not only retained the nostalgia and memory of old Beijing, but also improved the living standard and living environment of residents, and realized the "new life of old Hutong". In this round of renewal, Yu'er Hutong has created a new model of "symbiotic courtyard", where you can feel not only the symbiosis of new and old buildings, the symbiosis of new and old residents, but also the symbiosis of history and modernity.

The renovated courtyard of Fusuijing Hutong dwelling.

This is due to the 'embroidery needle' type of transformation, which is not only the appearance of the building, but also the living conditions in the courtyard of the old hutong. Zhang Yue said that at present, the renewal and protection of the old city of Beijing has entered a new stage, the scale of the work is more subtle, and the disciplines involved are more diverse.

Through the simple and elegant porch, the four rooms of blue bricks and gray tiles embrace a small courtyard, the poplar branches of the courtyard are coiled, the residents are leisurely basking in the sun, talking about homely things, and the style of the courtyard is displayed in front of them.

Beijing is no longer 'writing a circle and demolishing'. Following the concept and trend of organic renewal, Zhang Yue and his team proposed the design model of "studio renewal" and "illegal replacement" of the old city, which is a renewal method aimed at solving the practical problems of users and managers.

On the one hand, the perspective of updating from blocks, courtyards, and houses to the most basic old city building units and property rights units is "bays", so as to respond to the space utilization and living quality improvement of residents under the background of fragmented property rights. On the other hand, through the replacement of the mezzanine in the area of the illegal building in the courtyard and the demolition, the goal of ensuring safety and sorting out property rights is realized.

This is the old city of Beijing from 100 to 01, from 01 to 005's update process. Zhang Yue said that it is also a process for the old city of Beijing to move towards high-quality development.

Keep the roots, keep the people, and rejuvenate them

Jiangxi Fuliang Xihu Township Rural Community Planning and Construction Project.

Mr. Liang Sicheng once said that Beijing City is "an incomparable masterpiece of urban planning"! Mr. Wu Liangyong believes that the old city of Beijing is "the final crystallization of the construction of the ancient capital city of China". With the concept of overall protection and rejuvenation of the old city, the organic renewal of Fangcun not only restores the historical features of the old city hutongs, but also continues to interpret the "Beijing flavor" characteristics of the old Beijingers' lifestyle.

In Hua'an, Fujian Province, which is thousands of miles away from Beijing, an activity is underway to empower the inheritance and development of tulou in the process of protection and revitalization, and to help rural revitalization, and Zhang Yue is also a participant.

Fujian tulou is a building that has passed through the millennium.

Shangping Ming Wanli third floor" is located in Shangping Village, Hua'an County. From a bird's-eye view of the sky, Qiyun Building, Rixin Building, Shengping Building 3 buildings are lined up one after another, the momentum is magnificent, showing a magnificent picture of the ancient buildings in southern Fujian. Hua'an Dadi Tulou Group is an important part of Fujian Tulou and has the reputation of the birthplace of Fujian Tulou. The solemn and simple tulou witnesses the changes of history and also tells the long years of traditional Chinese culture.

In 2023, the 15th anniversary of the successful inscription of Fujian Tulou on the World Heritage List, Huaan will take this opportunity to invite Chinese and foreign experts to jointly explore the protection and revitalization of unique Fujian tulou and promote the development of the cultural tourism economy of Tulou.

Our investigation mainly discussed the direction of the activation and utilization of the third floor project of Huaan Wanli. Zhang Yue said that tulou is a very important historical and cultural heritage, and how to use these treasures to make some inheritance and value use for the residents who still live in the countryside today, and then find the support point of rural revitalization and rural construction is our research direction.

Walking into the Tulou of Southern Fujian, you can feel the regional characteristics and simple customs of the source of the Tulou of Fujian. According to the planning and design, the leisure industry will be introduced in the future to promote the deep integration of tulou culture and leisure tourism, so that the ancient tulou will glow with new vitality and vitality.

In the spring of 2024, the "Wanli 3rd Floor" will be used as a course design base for graduate students of the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University, welcoming a number of Chinese and foreign graduate students to contribute wisdom to the development of the 3rd floor of Wanli.

Jiangxi Fuliang Xihu Township Rural Community Planning and Construction Project.

The new proposition of comprehensively promoting rural revitalization is in front of our generation. Zhang Yue introduced that more than 30 years ago, Chen Zhihua, a professor at the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University, began to think about the countryside and led graduate students to carry out investigation and research.

At present, it is a new era and a new journey, and the efforts of the old gentlemen on the protection of local heritage have come to fruition, and it is time for our generation to pass on the torch and give back to the countryside. He said.

Over the years, from local heritage to rural revitalization to the revival of old cities, Zhang Yue has been thinking about how to seek development in protection and emphasize protection in development. "Keeping the roots, retaining people, and rejuvenating" is the ultimate top-level design.

The original style is its greatest value, and it is also an important carrier of Chinese historical and cultural inheritance, so it is the most important thing to accurately excavate and protect its value. Zhang Yue said that the future of urban and rural renewal must be the work of "embroidery needle", the granularity will be more delicate, the level will be richer, and more and different regional climate, geography, culture, customs and economic and social development levels will fit more different products.

And the principle of old city protection and old city revival is the same reason? A protective update, so to speak.

Right! The renewal of the old city of Beijing has gone through several stages of symbiosis of organic renewal and symbiosis from "development to renovate dilapidated houses" to "overall protection" and "evacuation and retreat", and then to the organic renewal and symbiosis of the old city from the bottom up. "In the past, the large-scale demolition and construction in the context of rapid development must give way to refined and accompanying construction design and organic renewal of development and operation and maintenance. ”

Red door gray wall, shadow wall aisle, floor-to-ceiling blue brick, elegant window lattice, ......Behind the restoration of the landscape is the efforts of a city.

In recent years, the Beijing Urban Master Plan (2016-2035), the Regulations on the Protection of Famous Historical and Cultural Cities in Beijing, and the Regulations on Urban Renewal of Beijing have all respected the historical features of the city, protected the integrity of historical and cultural heritage, and continued the historical context as important contents. Beijing's new urban master plan, issued in 2017, clearly states that the old city will no longer demolish hutongs and courtyard houses, and promote the protection and organic renewal of historical and cultural districts, style coordination areas and other traditional bungalow areas.

In Zhang Yue's view, organic renewal is a slow, gradual renewal process. Over the years, many valuable experiences have been accumulated from the bottom-up exploration of old city renewal, but there are still many challenges, such as the existing practice focuses more on the creation of public space and the cultivation of publicity, while the response to the needs of ordinary residents who are eager to improve the quality of living is still insufficient.

At present, many old city renewal practices mostly stay in the creation of gentrified or public welfare artworks, and it is difficult to form public policy support and promotion and application with social significance. Zhang Yue has always been thinking about how urban renewal can make it easier for the people, how to make up for the shortcomings of people's livelihood, and how to make bottom-up needs and top-down management goals find the optimal solution through technology empowerment and policy innovation.

The transformation from "large-scale demolition and large-scale construction" to "micro-improvement and micro-renewal" is an inevitable choice for urban construction to be refined and quality-oriented. "But there is still a long way to go in the organic renewal of cities. Zhang Yue said.

Dialogue

Zhang Yue: We need to let the city grow slowly like an organic life

Zhang Yue, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University.

China Real Estate News: What have you been busy with lately?

Zhang Yue:Recently, I have been focusing on urban renewal with the teachers and students of the School of Architecture, because the construction of our country has shifted from rapid growth to the connotative development of stock, which has posed challenges to the optimization of urban spatial structure and quality improvement. To this end, we should do some education and research on future urban renewal in terms of livability, wisdom, green, humanity, and humanities.

China Real Estate News: What are your biggest concerns in the organic renewal of the old city?

Zhang Yue:Not only the old towns that are more than 100 years old, but also some contemporary communities are slowly aging, so urban renewal is a continuous and lasting process. Now that the old city of Beijing has begun to gradually replace large-scale demolition and construction with small-scale organic renewal, how to protect the historical and cultural heritage in this process, and improve the living environment, so that the residents of the old hutongs can live a modern life is what we have been concerned about. In the renovation of the two courtyards of Yu'er Hutong, the team improved the living space of the aborigines to the greatest extent through design and technology empowerment, so that the aborigines could realize the "modern life of the old hutong". The protection of historical and cultural heritage and the revival of old cities are aimed at pursuing dynamic balance and sustainable development, and the "organic renewal" we propose is to let the city grow slowly like an organic life, so as to conform to the laws of nature.

China Real Estate News: What do you think of the "craftsman spirit" mentioned in China's construction in recent years?

Zhang Yue:China is a big country in construction, and our engineers and builders in the civil engineering industry have made remarkable achievements in urban and infrastructure construction over the past 30 years, reflecting the spirit of outstanding craftsmen under the rapid growth. Now to mention the spirit of craftsmanship, it is to face the new era and new journey, then I think the pursuit of higher quality and innovation-driven craftsmanship will become more important. How many existing methods and technologies can get out of their original comfort zones and accurately adapt to the renewal of urban stock is a new challenge, and it will also provide another Chinese model and Chinese answer for the majority of developing countries.

China Real Estate News: What is your biggest expectation in the next 5 years?

Zhang Yue:The next five years will be a crucial five years for China's urban transformation and quality improvement, and we look forward to empowering high-quality urban development through the innovative development of big data and artificial intelligence technologies, green and low-carbon technologies, and modern governance systems. At present, there have been very good explorations and attempts emerging, and in the future, relying on everyone's wisdom and the spirit of unity and cooperation, there will be more and better cases emerging, and I myself hope to make valuable contributions in related education, teaching and engineering practice.

China Real Estate News: As a teacher, what characteristics do you most hope to cultivate in students?

Zhang Yue:It is hoped that it can help students to achieve optimization and improvement in knowledge transfer, ability training, and value shaping, so as to adapt to the challenges of the future society.