“A contemporary interpretation of
the spatial and social heritage of
Shanghainese Lilong”
上海里弄建筑文化遗产的当代解读
An adaptive reuse strategy for Pingdeli district
Alice Scolari
AAMSc Interior Design
Double Degree programme
Politecnico di Milano/Tongji University, Shanghai
School of Design/ D&I College
Student
Alice Scolari
Supervisors
Davide Fassi
Wu Duan
25th July 2019
AA 2018/2019
Since its opening to the world in the 90s, Shanghai has been developing at an impressive pace, causing the fast demolition of its traditional urban fabric, mainly composed of the so called “Lilong”. Lilong are districts of low rise units, organised into internal lanes, today considered as the city‟s symbol of both urban heritage and identity. Experts agree that their disappearance could turn Shanghai into a placeless, characterless city and many of them claim that adaptive reuse might be the most valuable solution for their future. Nevertheless, the adaptive reuse projects realised until today proved a lack of inclusion of Lilong‟s social and cultural values in their design development. Therefore, the research aims to investigate how, in the adaptive reuse process, to consider not only the architectural heritage of Lilong but also their culture as spaces of social interaction. In particular, the investigation is focused on how to design a future oriented solution for Pingdeli district, involving the young generation living in Shanghai. The research is firstly supported by a phase of analysis about Lilong‟s rich history and culture, which generated a series of spatial insights. Then, the investigation about adaptive reuse for new users is conducted through different phases: analysis of case studies, interviews with selected experts and a primary user analysis. The emerged data supported the choice for the transformation of the selected site in a hybrid co living space, open to the urban context. After frequent visits on site, a manageable portion of Pingdeli, today a ghost Lilong, is selected for the masterplan development. All the insights collected guided the circulation design, the selection of the new functions and their importance in terms of floor area. Finally, the common space area is selected for the interior design development, considering its relevance for the co living social life. Users of the two Shanghai‟s co living are interviewed in order to understand their actual and wished use of the space and guide the project development.
Keys words: Lilong, urban heritage, adaptive reuse, co living, millennials, interior design
Abstr
自上世纪 90年代开放以来，上海一直在以惊人的速度 在 发展，导致其传统 城 市的 结 构快速 消散 其 主要 组成部分既 所谓的 “里弄 ”。 里弄 是低层单位的 居 住空间 ，内部 由 小巷 连接组成，时至今日， 被 公 认为是城市 的 遗产和身份 的象征。专家们一致认为， 它们 的 消 失 可能会使上海成为一个没有地位 、 无 家可归的城市， 其中一部分人认为，对这些传统建 筑形式 适应性 的 再利用可 能是 其 未来最有价值的解决方案。然而， 目前的 适应性再利用项 目 却使里弄 在其设计开发中缺乏社会和文化价值。因此，在 探讨其如何自适应再利用的过 程中，不仅要考虑里弄的建筑遗产，还要考 虑它们作为社会互动空间的文化依 托 。 尤其关 注于 如何为平 德 里地区设计 一个 面向未来的解决方案， 并吸引 居住在上海的年轻 群体 。该 研究首先 依托于里弄 丰富的历史和文化的分析阶 段， 并 产生了一系列 关于 空间 的 见解。 其 次 ，通过不同阶段对新用户 的自 适应 进行调查 ，如 ：案例研究分析，对所选专家的访谈和 主要用户分析。 其 中所 出现的数据 将支撑 平 德 里 社区 混合共生空间 的 转型， 使其 空间 向 城 市 大环境完全开放 。 经过现场的 多次探访 决定将平徳里辖区内的一处低密度 空间，作 为项目的 总体规划开发 的目标 。 所收集的 意见 都 将指引着设计方 向、 新功能的选择以及 它们 在建筑面积方面的重要性。 最后，考虑到公共空间 区域与共生生活的 连结 选取一 处 公共空间进行室内设计开发。 并通过 对上海 两个 不同的共 生空间的用户 调研 ，以了解 他们对空间 的使用行为并引导 项目 的发展 。 关 键词： 里弄 城市遗产 适应性再利用 , 共同生活 , 千禧 , 室内设计
摘 要
01
02
Research Introduction
1.1/ Problem statement
1.2/Research questions
1.3/Research goals and methods
1.4/ Research gap and significance
14
16
18
21
26
28
35
42
58
66
70
Lilong Analysis
2.1/ Lilong and Shikumen definition
2.2/ Shanghai’s urban development
2.2.1/From the origin to 1978
2.2.2/ 1978 to today: demolition vs preservation
2.3/ Lilong spatial evolution
2.4/ Lilong culture and lifestyle
2.5/ The urban paradox: why preserving Lilong?
2.6/ Conclusion: Lilong analysis insights
05
03
06
07
04
Site analysis: Pingdeli
5.1/ Urban analysis
5.2/ Focus of intervention
Conclusion
China: urban heritage preservation
3.1/ Shanghai
3.1.1/ Renovation case studies
3.1.2/ Adaptive reuse case studies
3.1.3/ Value and challenges of Lilong’s adaptive reuse
3.2/ China: Why a national comparison?
3.2.1/ Before 2010: case studies
3.2.2/ After 2010: a change of perspective
3.2.2.1/ “Across Chinese Cities” exhibition and case studies
3.3/ Case studies comparison
3.4/ Conclusion: a successful historical urban regeneration model
Project
6.1/ Neighbourhood scale: masterplan
6.2/ Unit scale: shared spaces interior design development
6.2.1/ User analysis interviews
6.2.2/ Interior design layout
6.2.3/ Interior design concept and outcomes
Research development& idea generation
4.1/ Interviews with experts
4.2/ User analysis: a first overview
4.2.1/A change of lifestyle: the co-living model
4.3/ Idea generation: Pingdeli as a co-living
4.4/ Shanghai’s co-living case studies
4.5/ Target profile
76
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124
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RESEARCH/INTRODUCTION
1
1/ R ese ar ch intr oduction Pingdeli/ C o-living
1.1
In the last fifty years, Shanghai has witnessed one of the most globally intense urban transformation which, due to its rapidity and its lack of precise regulations, led to a fragmented and controversial metropolitan reality. In particular, the massive demolition of low rise, popular districts in order to build profitable skyscrapers and high rise compounds, have generated a paradoxical urban fabric. The fast pace Western style areas, icons for the place Shanghai yarns to occupy in the global race, are located just next to traditional districts where the slow life of common people take place, cooking and chatting in the streets. These latter neighbourhoods are commonly called Lilong, literally “neighbourhood of lanes”, and today are considered as the physical setting that had shaped Shanghai’s urban identity. From the 1870s until the most recent times, millions of residents have experienced the Lilong lifestyle, creating such vivid and unique communities that the case is still studied
Problem
statement
nowadays as a great example of how the spatial design plays a role in fostering the social interactions. As a result, national and international scholars, historians, urban planners and architects share an unanimous agreement on the importance of preserving the Lilong houses, called Shikumen.
Nevertheless, the preservation attempts realised until today highlight the complexity of the topic: the renovation modalities, the gentrification process or the cultural value of these projects are just some of the problematic issues that for years have been causing a glowing debate.
In most of the cases, a too traditional and nostalgic approach does not guarantee a long term future neither provides an economically feasible solution or meets the future generation’s needs. Case studies prove that, sooner or later, the simple renovation causes a
gentrification process that does not allow the original community to keep its habits anymore.
To avoid treating Lilongs as living fossils, adaptive reuse is today considered as an interesting and future oriented solution. However, the designed adaptive reuse cases realised for Lilong until now did not considered their social and cultural values, aiming for a mere commercial return only. Cases like Xintiandi or Jianyeli’s evaluate Shikumen houses only as an aesthetically pleasant environment for shops, boutiques and exclusive hotels; they are not places where a sense of community and belonging could take place anymore.
In conclusion, Lilong’s current situation prove a lack of research for a different model of adaptive reuse that could save the most relevant sites from demolition and, at the same time, propose a new solution in order to investigate new spatial design concepts to foster the community creation. RESEARCH INTRODUCTION SITE ANAlySIS RESEARCH DEVElOPMENT DESIgN PROJECT 1 3 2 4 1/Problem statement:
Introduction and issues Questions & Goals2/Research Base: 3/Literature Review Research Gap
Case Studies PingdeLi
Lilong First User Analysis InterviewsExperts’
Masterplan
1/ R ese ar ch intr oduction Pingdeli/ C o-living
Talking about relevant Lilong sites, the research is particularly focused on a specific district among the Lilong scattered in the city: Pingdeli. Located in Jing’An district, Pingdeli is an interesting Lilong both for its location, closed to both other Lilong and modern architecture, and its architectural value, with the use of different Shikumen styles and materials.
Today Pingdeli is a ghost Lilong, where no residents live anymore. In spite of, the situation of emptiness exclude any relocation issue and offer the possibility to image a new future for the district, trying to do not forget its past.
Since adaptive reuse will be the studied technique of intervention, the first research question is the follow: In the adaptive reuse process, how to consider not only the architectural heritage of Shikumen but also their culture as spaces of social interaction?
The research aims to focus on future oriented possibilities, coherently with an investigation that has recently been shared by several young Chinese architects and designers. Indeed, in the last decade, an interest for the urban preservation and regeneration has been running parallel with the one about the community creation among young users, with the proposal of hybrid spaces opened to the urban context. The idea is then to contextualise the research in this same setting, not yet applied in the Shanghainese urban fabric. Therefore, the second research question is: How to design a new, future oriented scenario for Pingdeli involving the young generation living in Shanghai?
1.2
“How to design a new, future-oriented scenario
for Pingdeli Lilong site involving the young
generation living in Shanghai?”
“In the adaptive reuse process, how
to consider not only the architectural
heritage of lilong but also their culture as
spaces of social interaction?”
Research
questions
1/ R ese ar ch intr oduction Pingdeli/ C o-living
Generally, the research aims to investigate which could be Pingdeli’s new role in the adaptive reuse process in the creation of a new community for the current young generation of people living in Shanghai. To accomplish this general goal, the research will be divided in two sub goals, with the applications of different methods: 1/ To study of the historical, social, cultural and spatial dynamics that have been leading to the unique social environment of Shikumen.
The background research is fundamental to have a deep and clear understanding of the features and events that led to Lilong culture and lifestyle, in order to understand the elements that could be preserved and re-proposed in the new future interpretation. This first phase is carried on through desk research, starting from the academic extensive material on Shanghai’s contradictory urban development, narrowing down to Lilong’s evolution and the intense debate about their preservation.
All the desk research was also supported by personal observation, conducted in the several months spent in Shanghai, through personal visits to several Lilong sites and their record through pictures, videos and sketches. 2/ To investigate how to design an adaptive reuse strategy for Pingdeli to foster the community creation for the young generation living in Shanghai.
The focus on the different Shanghainese case studies’ challenges and their gap in highlighting any alternative solution though the adaptive reuse process broadened again the desk research on a national level, with the investigation of interesting new trends in cities like Beijing or Shenzhen. Considering the case studies’ variety and complexity, they are then evaluated and compared through radial graphs, in order to understand their relevance in relationship with the Pingdeli.
Secondly, the issues and challenges are analysed through the point of view of five selected experts, in order to get a more rooted knowledge of the Chinese and Shanghainese context, as well as opinions on possible key factors for the users analysis and for the development of the final project. The experts, ranging
1
2
2/
Observation
3/
User Analysis
1/
Desk Research
1/
Desk Research
2/
Experts’Opinion
Photography/Video/Sketches
Desk Research
Qualitative semi-struc. interviews Academic Papers
Books Case studies
Qualitative, semi-struc. interviews To study the historical, social, cultural and
spatial dynamics that have been leading to the unique social environment of Shikumen
To investigate how to design an adaptive reuse strategy for Pingdeli to foster the community
creation for the young generation living in Shanghai
Goals/
Methods
1.3
Research
1/ R ese ar ch intr oduction Pingdeli/ C o-living
As over-mentioned, today in Shanghai there is a lack of research in the adaptive reuse strategies towards urban heritage buildings. As the case studies highlight in the following chapters, most of the realised examples only transform the shell of Shikumen houses in commercial activities thought for expats and tourists. The literature considers all the cases to be somehow failures in giving Lilong a new, meaningful life but, currently, the only other alternative seems to be demolition.
Lilong are an architectural typology unique to Shanghai, differentiating the city from all the others in the world but the debates’ conclusion about their preservation is far to be concluded.
Therefore, the research significance lies in the effort to offer a different solution from a multifaceted point of view, analysing the problem starting from Lilong’s history until the contemporary’s needs of new users. Lilong preservation regards the balance between old and new, local and global, particularly breakable in the Chinese context. The role of Shikumen is deeply linked with the city’s past but, in the same way, also with its future. It proves that Shanghai still has much more offer than a modern skyline and that the spatial design can highly contribute to the creation of a positive urban social environment even in contemporary megacities.
Safeguard of Lilong
is fundamental and
adaptive reuse is a very
valuable strategy
Lilong’s adaptive
reuse is not explored
enough, especially for
their social potential
Lilong demolition
and too fast new
urbanisation:
lack of urban heritage
and local identity
from architects, to urban planners, historians and journalists, provide their answers in qualitative, semi-structured interviews.
Afterwards, a first user analysis is conducted through another phase of desk research in order to get a general overview of Chinese millennials’ features and behaviour, with a special focus on their needs towards Shanghai’s urban context. At this point, several insights generated the idea about what might Pingdeli be transformed into: a co-living space. The analysis of the two co-living spaces in Shanghai was followed by the definition of four personas, to specifically understand the new user profile.
The insights collected were then linked with the site analysis in order to reach a detailed knowledge of the neighbourhood, select a suitable and manageable portion for the project and develop a masterplan of the different function. The resident’s shared facilities space was chosen as the most significant area for the interior design development, hence some of the Shanghai’s co-living users were interviewed to specifically understand their use of this kind of spaces. The answers to their semi-structured interviews were finally the guide for the interior design project development, according to the Author’s design major.
1.4
Research gap
& significance
LILONG/ANAlySIS
2
“If there were no lilong, there
would be neither Shanghai or
Shanghainese”
2/
Lilong Analysis
Pingdeli/ C
o-living
Lilong (里弄), or Longtang (弄堂), are residential districts born in Shanghai at the end of the 19th century as the encounter of the Western and Eastern architectural archetypes. They firstly appeared as kind of temporary dwellings to answer the massive migrants’ arrivals from the surrounding areas and quickly became the most popular and diffuse kind of housing in the whole city.
Lilong houses were densely built from the 1870s to the 1940s in the old foreign concessions, which occupied much of today’s Huangpu, Luwan, Jing’an, and Hongkou districts (Wang, 2010).
Their name, literally “neighbourhood of lanes”, is referred to the overall layout of row houses facing the same group of alleyways. The etymology of the word is as interesting as complex, referring to many different concepts. The word Lilong is composed of two characters: the one li 里, has always been associated to human settlements in different ways: related to a place where people live, from a village to an urban district, or to the basic unit in residential management in ancient China (Zhao, 2004).
Moreover, it is also used as a measuring tool equivalent to around 550 meters and as a spatial classifier
(“where?”: nali 哪里, “here”: 这里zheli etc..). Hence, the whole word Lilong is related to four different notions: the idea of an inhabited urban area, the notion of length, size and finally spatial references. Instead, the character long ‟ (pronounced long in Shanghainese but nong in Mandarin Chinese) means “alleyways”. The character can also be found in other fundamental verbs such as “make”, “manage”, “play with”, “repair”, anyway always associated with the idea of an activity.
In conclusion, a Lilong is an urban place where different families live in houses following a grid of alleyways layout and where different activities take place (Cheval, 2016). Already from the linguistic point of view, Lilong are represented in their duality of physical spaces as well as social, community-sharing, dynamic places. In Shanghainese dialect, people often use the term Lilontang too, which refers to a cluster of houses
2.1
Lilong and
Shikumen
definition
(tang means “sitting room”), while Longtang is the alleyway-house itself, with an overall literal translation of “alleyway-sitting room”, enhancing the role of the outdoor shared areas (Bracken, 2017).
The majority of Lilong are named Li or Fang. Some of them bless peace and fortune, others take their name from the construction company that built them whereas some are composed by the landlord’s name. Lilong names are usually engraved on the Lilong arcade visible from the street (Jiang & Xi, 2012).
Typically, the entrance of each single unit is
characterised by a stone gate enclosing a black wooden doorway. On time, this gate became a sort of icon for these districts and the citizens started referring to the individual house units as Shikumen (石库门). This word is made of three characters: shi 石 means “rock” or “stone”, ku 库 “frame” and men 门 “door”. Hence, the three characters together refer to a kind of house with a main door framed by a stone structure (Cheval, 2010).
2/
Lilong Analysis
Pingdeli/ C
o-living
2.2.1 From the origin to 1978
In the Chinese context, characterised by a culture dated back to 5000 years ago, Shanghai is considered as a young city, even if the oldest traces of civilization in its area go back many centuries.
The city emerged as a trading port during the Song dynasty and it was officially announced as a county town in 1292. Between 1553 and 1618, during the Ming dynasty, the construction of the protective city wall and the surrounding moat designed a more defined urban shape, designing the most significant urban planning intervention until the 19th century, (Zhao, 2004) (Denison & Ren, 2013).
Nevertheless, for all the following centuries, Shanghai’s role was always pretty marginal so the last two centuries can be considered as the most intense and meaningful period to understand its incredible recent development and its current urban condition. Starting from the end of 18th century, the advantages of the natural geography such as the presence of the Huangpu river and fertile lands, made Shanghai a prospering city. Above all, its strategic connection, since its location at the mouth of the Yangtze river and the connection through several water channels to other cities such as Hangzhou or Suzhou, guaranteed an excellent position for trades (Guan, 1996).
Moreover, since the proximity to the Chinese sea that naturally creates the possibility for the establishment of an international port for trades with the whole Asian continent, Shanghai has always be considered as a remarkable city by the European countries, which soon tried to figure out how to settle in. The English strategy laid in the importation of opium, causing the First Opium War from 1839 to 1842 (Kuijpers, 2013). Eventually, after a long plan, the English army attacked Zhapu, in the Zheijiang province, and directly rushed to Shanghai (Anshi, et al., 2011). Just few months after, Nanjing was occupied too and, on the 29th August 1842,
Old foreign Concessions Map.
Source: Pinterest, graphically re-adapted by the Author
2.2
Shanghai’s urban
development
during the Qing dynasty, the famous Sino-British Treaty of Nanjing was signed: Shanghai and other four Chinese cities were recognised as treaty ports officially opened to the foreigners.
This date definitely marked a turning point for the city’s evolution and it rapidly change its condition (Zhao, 2004). Indeed, in the following years, under this semi-colonial status, Shanghai became famous as the “Paris of the East”, a new centre opened to the world for business and pleasure. Major roads were mostly occupied by important foreign or national financial agencies, offices, large shops and restaurants. Entertainment activities swiftly popped up and smaller roads were also abundant of local small businesses too (Tsai, 2008) (Guan, 1996). The unequal conditions of the Treaty allowed the British
to trade freely in their so-called urban concessions, special defined zones where they had the total control. In Shanghai, they decided to settle just North of the Old City, bordering both the Huangpu river and the Suzhou creek in order to gain the control of all the water trades. On time, the size of this concession rapidly growth on the West direction, almost triplicating its size (Denison & Ren, 2013).
hortly, the English achievements was followed by the American and French ones. The American Settlement was founded in 1848, located on the North side of the Suzhou creek, just opposite to the British zone. Less than one year later, also The French concession was established, bordering with the British settlement to the North and the Old Chinese City to the South-East.
2/ Lilong Analysis Pingdeli/ C o-living
1842
1870
1930
1990
Shanghai as Treaty Port: British,American and France trades
Western companies started building Lilong districts
Lilong as most popular dwellings: more than 3 million
people
Shanghai turned in a modern, globalised city, demolition of Lilong
“By 1949, Lilong comprised
around three-fourths of the
housing within the city, in which
approximately 80% of the
citizens, about three million
people, resided”
Initially, all these areas were reserved only for foreigner diplomats, traders or missionaries and Chinese citizens were not welcomed to live in there (Zhao, 2004). So, by the end of 1840s, three major foreign powers officially established their settlements in Shanghai. Differently from the other treaty ports, in here the foreign settlements did not occupied a small portion of the urban central area but they were overwhelming in size and formed the core urban area in the city (Wang, 2010).
Shanghai’s concessions enjoyed complete
administrative-autonomy, creating a kind of separated world within the urban context. More and more in time, the urban architecture had been proving the multicultural contamination, with the construction of Western and Chinese neo-classicisms, neo-Gothic, technologically modern architecture, Orthodox churches and, only from the 1870s, also Lilong districts (Anshi, et al., 2011).
In the following decades, the concessions hugely expanded and in 1899 the British and American ones were joined together to create a unique area, the International Settlement (Morris, 1994). Before World War I, the total area of Shanghai’s foreign settlements reached more than 3,255 hectares, almost fifty eight times larger than the first British Settlement established in 1846, and twelve times larger than the original walled Chinese city (Zhao, 2004).
In September 1853, after the Union of Knives group’s uprising broke, waves of Chinese citizens asked for protection in the concessions. Instead of considering the revolt as a threat, foreigner investors decided to regard it as an opportunity for the real estate market and quickly started building low-cost, high density, wooden houses for the refugees. For the first time, the settlements were opened to host Chinese refugees and the construction was so fast that shortly more than 8700 examples of this kind of buildings could be found in the city. With the awareness of the incredible financial opportunity, in 1854 the segregation policy was officially abandoned
and the mixed residential policy was legalised. The first examples of Lilong, the first commodity housing type in Chinese dwelling history, were born, with a swift evolution over time, especially after the use of wood was forbidden in 1870 to avoid fires (Zhao, 2004) (Guan, 1996) (Denison & Ren, 2013). While in the 1840s, less than 1% of Shanghai’s population could be found outside the old China town, one hundred years later no less than 65% population were residing and employed in the two foreign concessions (Guan, 1996).
In 1860, the Taiping Army shook Shanghai again and waves of migrants looked for shelter in the concessions. After the two uprisings, by the end of 1865, over 110,000 Chinese from several neighbouring provinces and regions had moved into the foreign settlements of Shanghai (Zhao, 2004). In that same year, the population in the foreign settlements reached half million in total, creating a sudden housing emergency. Refugees were ordinary people and business men too, especially from Jiangsu and Zhejiang province, who later began to take after the foreigner in the real investment market. (Anshi, et al., 2011).
At the rebellion time, when the construction materials changed from wood to bricks, stone and concrete, the real estate of Lilong literally boomed, with the construction of Shikumen in the same way as we can partially still observe today. Indeed, Lilong were considered as a safe and reliable investment, providing
any investor with a fast and guaranteed economical profit. The return on the investment in the building alone could be accomplished in only two years, compared to ten years of an apartment building. The density of the Lilong could reach up to 600 people per acre, comparable to the Eleventh Ward of New York City, a skyscrapers neighbourhood in the most densely populated metropolitan area in the world at the time (Denison & Ren, 2013).
Each construction company was operating in a different area: the old Sassoon built in Guangdong Road and Fuzhou Road, the new Sassoon in East Nanjing Road, the Siufung in Xia Kai He Shi Liu Pu, the Lester in Zhejiang Road etc. For almost one century, the influence of foreigner architecture became a central reference for a cultural mixed architecture style, perfectly expressed in the Lilong districts (Anshi, et al., 2011).
Soon, Shikumen houses became the most popular kind of residential typology, accounting the 73% of the total residential units in Shanghai in 1940s. By 1949, Lilong comprised around three-fourths of the housing within the city, in which approximately eighty percent of the citizens, abound three million people, resided (Lu, Away from Nanking Road: Small Stores and Neighborhood Life in Modern Shanghai, 1995).
As a consequence, the former historical walled area, until that moment considered as the urban hub, lost its importance and the foreign settlements turned into the new centres. While Shanghai was developing around different nucleus, Lilong were the only elements creating a clear urban identity in a city that otherwise would have been evolving in completely different ways according to the legislations and cultural influence of the different Concessions (Zhao, 2004).
Already from the 1910s, the house shortage and the increase of the rent price, caused a massive densification of Lilong. Even though each Shikumen was originally designed to accommodate only one family, the majority of them could afford nothing but a room of the whole
2/
Lilong Analysis
Pingdeli/ C
o-living
unit (Morris, 1994). Soon, the single abode became shared by several families, under the secondary rent system. In 1937, more than 86% of families lived in such a co-residing way in one house, with family numbers ranging from two to nine. A concentration of four families, which means around twenty-four people per house, became the norm in these neighbourhoods, with an average of 2.8 square metres per person. (Zhao, 2004).
From 1937, with the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, the Lilong construction almost halted and several areas of the city were damaged by the bombing. Despite that, Shanghai was still considered as a relatively safe place to live, for instance compared to the closed Nanjing, and migrants kept arriving, aggravating the overcrowd urban situation (Tsai, 2008) (Citterio, 2014).
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the Lilong construction started its decline and their conditions changed according with the new politics. The country started its massive urban transformation through a huge industrialisation process and Chinese cities radically changed.
In Shanghai, the majority of Shikumen went through state-private operation in transition to state socialism (Hammond, 2006). With the Socialist system, Shikumen were subdivided into small units that were rented out at very low rates. At that time, the housing construction was not considered as a primary need for the national objectives and the lack of investments caused a shortage of properties together with overcrowding and poor situations in the existing ones (Morris, 1994). High density, overload use, and the lack of maintenance accelerated the aging and deterioration of these houses (Arkaraprasertkul & Williams, 2015).
Therefore, in 1956, the Municipal Construction Bureau of Shanghai decided to renovate vast areas of dilapidated Shikumen houses. The project was carried forward from 1959, but suspended during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and restarted in the mid-70s (Chen & Zhong, 2017).
Overall, during the 1946-1980 period, the construction of Lilong was stalled due to the marginal role reserved to Shanghai at that time, with politics focused on turning the city in an industrial hub with more high-density, modern residential solutions (Guan, 1996).
2/
Lilong Analysis
Pingdeli/ C
o-living
2.2.2. From 1978 to today: demolition
versus preservation
In 1978, the former leader of China, Deng Xiaoping, announced the Chinese economic reform and the aim suddenly became to rise and enrich the country as fastest as possible. After the new policies were definitely approved, Shanghai’s government had only one mission: to transform the city into an advanced metropolis, generating the maximum prosperity in a restricted timeframe. Shanghai role’s was about to radically change in order to show the world the results of a new period of reforms transformation (Kuijpers, 2013).
In such prospect, what about urban preservation and historical heritage? One first sign of interest and awareness towards a respectful urban development slowly started only from the 80s, with the system of “National Famous Historical and Cultural Cities” in 1982. Anyway, for the whole decade and for the following years too, the ambition for a leading role in the global economy always triumphed on the possibilities for a more respectful urban development towards urban heritage (Chen & Zhong, 2017). In 1988, the Government introduced the land leasing, allowing foreign investments in the urban redevelopment sector and starting a period of policies that, only few years later, dramatically shook up Chinese urban development and heavily reshaped Shanghai’s urban landscape. The nationalised housing asset, completely neglected for half a century, had fallen into disastrous conditions and the Government tried to quickly sell most of the properties (Denison & Ren, 2013).
Another decision that contributes to this urban process was the decentralisation of the state power into decentralised district governments (Rutcosky, 2007). The districts actively participate in their area development, cooperating with investors to deal with some issues such as residents’ relocation. The decentralisation of urban governance generated the competition and imitation of projects among the
different neighbourhoods which started to propose similar urban plans that might be popular among investors, without any consideration for the whole urban picture. In this way, the Shanghai Municipal Government lost control over urban development: the gap between municipal and local governments causes inefficient urban governance and discontinuous planning strategy (Tsai, 2008).
By 1989, the demolition process of the poorest and most popular districts, such as Lilong, was already proceeding on an intense pace and 5.13 millions square meters of Shikumen houses were demolished by that time (Chen & Zhong, 2017). But it was from the 90s that the demolition reached massive levels and the globalisation process was so swift and intense that today, urban pattern of cities like Shanghai, perfectly show its consequences.
According to Chen and Zhong (2017) the years of the demolition can generally be divided into three main periods.
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The first stage: demolition and mass-reconstruction (1991–2000)
The open policies caused perhaps one of the heaviest urban demolition and reconstruction on a global level. Intensive redevelopment, uncontrolled layout of high-rise buildings, and disrespect for urban history heavily began to threaten urban heritage (Chen & Zhong, 2017). This era and all its urban consequences are perfectly represented by the city’s new icon: Pudong financial district, designed in 1992. In market-oriented economies, urban space is used as a commodity to attract foreign investments, and the creation of an appropriate city image was urgent for promotional purposes. So in other words, a change in the political scene is often followed by a change in the urban symbolism and this was exactly what happened to Shanghai. (Dietz Pedersen, 2013).
The urban pattern of Lilong, was not suitable to show off modernity and progress and, generally, to prove the incredible Chinese global achievements. It also has to be considered that the conditions of these buildings were really poor: in 1991, a survey by the Municipal Housing
and Land Administration Bureau reported the existence of more than 15 million m² of dilapidated housing and more than 300,000 residents living below 4 m² per person (Xu 2004, Chinese source, in Wang 2010). Moreover, the construction of Pudong was running parallel with the needs of new infrastructures such as public transport facilities or new roads, which partially needed their space in the city centre: between 1992 and 1997, infrastructural investments exploded to seven times more than during the whole of the 1980s (Kong, 2006).
Lilong sites were immediately considered as fruitful lands for higher density constructions and easily became targets for demolition without any legal impediments. Since the investors have the advantage in choosing locations, they aimed to transform the central part of Shanghai in a concentration of luxury housing, overseas companies’ venues and joint ventures (Tsai, 2008). From 1995 to 2012, of roughly 3700 dwellings in varied Lilong, only 1900 were preserved. It is today estimated that from 1991 to 2000, the city demolished old houses covering a total area of 28 million square meters and relocated about 0.64 million households (Chen &
Zhong, 2017). Due to the demolition of their districts, the low and middle income families’ being driven to the peripheral and less-convenient areas was thus inevitable. In this decade, the lack of consideration for the local culture and the extreme hunger to compete globally led to negative results that show how the urban identity cannot be suddenly imposed. One example are the new, cultural iconic buildings such as the Shanghai Museum (1995), the Shanghai Library (1997) and the Shanghai Grand Theatre (1998). As Kong’s (2006) research demonstrated, the cultural life that the city’s authorities seek to offer through these cultural icons is only a distant unreality. The average Shanghainese looks for cultural identification in the daily-life human-scale context, feeling very distant from the imposed model of a globalised city and scared for future urban development that could permanently change his or her life (Kong, 2006). Only at the end of the decade, during the Southeast Asia‟s financial crisis, the demolition slightly slowed down and a general awareness about collective urban heritage, preservation or adaptive reuse started to spread out (Chen & Zhong, 2017).
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The second stage: continued demolition and emerging preservation (2001–2009)
After the wild growth of the first ten years, the
Government realised that it was the moment to regulate the urban fabric transformation. The new interest towards Lilong as sites with a cultural value led to the very first case of Shikumen’s adaptive reuse, with the redevelopment of Xintiandi, completed in 2002. However, the project was deeply contradictory and it is considered as Shanghai’s starting point for debates about urban regeneration principles.
Even so, there were still many Lilong in poor conditions and hence the demolition kept going. By 2005, over 7 million square meters of Shikumen houses were demolished and 0.28 million households were replaced (Chen & Zhong, 2017).
Anyhow, the event that mostly marked the decade was the preparation for the 2010 Word Expo fair in 2010. The Expo site, on the East side of the Huangpu river, witnessed the relocation of 18.000 families and 270 factories but actually, the whole city was affected by the upcoming event, with the construction of six new metro lines as well as several new infrastructure (Kuijpers,
The third stage: strong preservation through urban regeneration (2010–present)
Eventually, in 2010, Expo was considered as a big success, breaking multiple records and definitely putting Shanghai back into the limelight of the world stage. However, it was also a fundamental turning point to realise that the new urban identity was paradoxically evolving, with some difficulties in accepting its identity (Kuijpers, 2013). New cultural spaces were quickly built without matching with the popular culture, just comparing themselves with the global standards and settings without embedded the Chinese and Shanghainese culture (Kong, 2006).
As stated by Shanghai Municipal Housing Bureau in 2015, urban regeneration was to become the main vehicle for spurring more sustainable development (Chen & Zhong, 2017). The city government aims to finish renovating 2.4 million square meters of downtown lane-style residential space by 2020. Some 400,000 square meters of old residential building space will be renovated this year, according to the Shanghai Housing and Urban-Rural Construction and Management Commission. (Jian, 2018).
2013). However, Shanghai Municipality understood that the development should have been run parallel with a cultural evolution and a consideration for the old districts was also taken into account too. Some Lilong neighbourhoods have benefitted from the so-called beautification campaign with exterior refurbishment, new pavements, iron gates, new sunshades for windows and so on. However, the interior conditions were never upgraded and the living conditions of the residents remained the same (Wang, 2010). In conclusion, Shikumen were considered as a possible attractive and unique feature for Shanghai but only from an aesthetical perspective, with no consideration for the actual conditions of the residents and their communities. Nevertheless, this period is generally characterised by a shift towards the urban heritage preservation (Chen & Zhong, 2017).
In conclusion, it seems that a more balanced
relationship between preservation and construction is lately taking place, aspiring to more prosperous and diverse megacity, more culturally and social sustainable (Chen & Zhong, 2017). A final prove of this statement might be the official Masterplan for Shanghai 2035, which target the substantial increase of the budget for the heritage protection as one of the goal, with a main focus on the communities as spatial units of basic urban social life in order to bestow residents with an higher sense of belonging and identity (Shanghai Urban Planning and Land Resource Administ, 2018).
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Shikumen architecture is unique to Shanghai, representing its complex history as the most
heterogeneous hub of cultures in China. It reflects the hybridisation of the Eastern and Western residential archetypes, with the architectural encounter of the English terrace row house and the Chinese courtyard typology. Indeed, in order to maximise the profit with the minimum use of spatial resources, the foreign investors applied the most efficient archetype they knew, the row house, and let the local merchants and artisans adapt this model to the Chinese tradition and lifestyle (Ruan, Zhang , & Zhang, 2011).
The Asian influence can be identified in the traditional dwellings on the Yangtze River, such as houses dating back to the 13th century in the Anhui or Zhejiang provinces. These dwellings, built according to the Fengshui principles such as South orientation or the symmetrical layout, were mainly built by merchants who also wanted to include spaces for possible
commercial activities in the layout (Anshi, et al., 2011). Other rooted architectural Chinese features are the overall dialectical relationship of several sets of opposite concepts: the solid and the void, the front and the back, the major and the subordinate etc. The presence of a hierarchical order is spatially clear with the arrangement of the whole district on a central axis and an internal layout based on front and rear subdivision. Moreover, the interior layout itself is based on a metaphorical meaning more than just on a logical division, according to the cultural perception and use of the spaces more than on their functional organisation. In short, despite the introduction of the external European model, many traditional metaphors and spatial coordinators were used to keep the Chinese inward family-based courtyard-centred dwelling pattern (Zhao, 2004). A glaring example is the front and rear units’ doors relationship: unlike the British or generally European row houses, whose the frontage of the house faces each other to share the access way, the frontage of the Lilong faced only the South. Hence, the frontage of the row had to face the back of the previous row, proving the importance of cultural and social traditions
over rationality in terms of masterplan organisation (Kuijpers, 2013).
According to Anshi et al (2011), the Lilong and Shikumen architecture can be analysed trough different elements (Anshi, et al., 2011). Starting with the masterplan, the most interesting feature is the consequential path from public to private throughout a hierarchical passage of different spaces. Firstly, the whole Lilong’s perimeter, facing the surrounding urban context and typically hosting different commercial activities (Lu, 1995).
Secondly, the main central lane, which is typically five to four meters wide and runs perpendicular to the access street. In most of the cases, the gateway of the main lane was the central architectural element of the district, with the so-called Bridge Gallery, connecting two rows of buildings. It consists in a two, rarely three, storied semi-circular arched shaped structure that allows vehicles and people to pass below while creating living space above. Since it is located in the most notable position, the bridge gallery is the focus of the decoration, with the façade embellished with Western-style patterns (Anshi, et al., 2011). The name of the district is engraved above the arch and the action of passing below it creates a feeling of separation from the urban environment, emphasizing the perception of the entrance in a more protected space (Bracken, 2017).
The semi-public internal sub-lanes of the district defined a more private dimension where the presence of a stranger would immediately be noted by the households. (Anshi, et al., 2011). The alleys are literally and physically an open as collective living rooms where children play games, elderly play chess, pedlars conduct small businesses and women do their laundry (Zhao, 2004).
Regarding the construction of the exterior walls of Shikumen, different techniques had been evolving in time. For districts built with a vertically pasted timber construction, typical of the Early units, the exterior walls only had a fence function, without being
loading-2.3
Lilong spatial
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bearing. For Shikumen of brick and concrete structure, the brick walls were the bear load with some reinforced concrete components (Anshi, et al., 2011).
Not only in the lanes but even in the single unit itself is possible to distinguish different layers of privacy: on the ground floor are located the spaces which use involved some sharing or collective activities. In particular, once crossed the decorated door of a single unit, a visitor was welcomed by an emblematic spatial element: the courtyard. The courtyard is a deeply meaningful space for the Chinese culture thanks to its nature as transitional space suitable both for indoor and outdoor activities and as a sharing space for all the family’s components (Pontiggia, 2014). In the Shikumen case it is functionally designed to provide adequate natural light and ventilation in the ground floor space (Pontiggia, 2014). The typical wooden French windows facing the courtyard, decorated with geometrical motifs, improved the sense of spatial transparency and visual fluidity between the inner and outdoor areas, favoured by the possibility to remove them too (Guan, 1996). Moving to the interior, the room frontally connected with the courtyard, enclosed in three sides, was called Sitting Room or Reception room and was used for the guests’ entertainment. Despite the dimension, it was still considered as the internal hub of the entire house, often used for gathering the whole family. The wing rooms could have different functions, from bedroom to study room, depending on the number of families sharing the same Shikumen. The last room located on the ground floor was the kitchen, a space where many social interactions where taking place. Due to the small surface available for the cooking needs, many amenities such as the tap were installed outside (Anshi, et al., 2011).On the upper floor, above the sitting room, the Front Room hosts the master bedroom facing South.
With the development of Shikumen architecture and the increase of tenants’ number, another room appeared: the garret (tingzijian), a small 9 to 10 sqm space located above the kitchen and below the reinforced cement roof Typical two bays Lilong district, urban organisation
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exposed to the sun,. The garret is facing North and is hence considered as the worst place to live, extremely hot in the summer and cold during winter. Therefore, it was rented for few money and several scholars, writers or low-income citizens lived in the garret in the 20s and 30s, creating the so called “garret literature” (Arkaraprasertkul, 2014) (Denison & Ren, 2013). Over the courtyard, the other semi-public areas of the house was the flat roof, an open air not sheltered space used to dry the clothes facing the other adjacent properties. The dwellers were always hanging their clothes in the roof and sometimes even in the lanes, contributing to reduce the social boundaries with the neighbours (Anshi, et al., 2011).
During the years, the Shikumen architecture had been evolving mirroring different historical moments and the evolution of the dwellers’ needs. For instance, the space arrangement was planned according with the family organisation. Before the end of the Qing dynasty, the Lilong were designed to host three generations and were consequently bigger than the ones built during the Republic of China in 1912, when the family units was reduced to only two generations (Cheval, 2016). Other key factor that had influenced the architectural evolution were the new technologies, with the possibility of using more modern materials, the historical events and political housing reforms.
According to the literature, five main different categories can be identify during the Shikumen’s evolution: Early Shikumen, Late Shikumen, New Style Lilong, Garden Lilong and Apartment Lilong (Zhao, 2004). Even if the change of style led to several architectural changes, what all the categories have in common is the shared neighbourhood organised along the alleys, except for the Garden Lilong. Districts from a different style can anyway be found next to each other because of the extremely rapid transformation of the urban fabric and the chronological overlapping of the different styles development.
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Mostly built in the 19th century, the first Shikumen houses were concentrated within the early British and French settlements. As first target for demolition and because of their minor efficiency compared to the later styles, only few examples of this kind of Lilong are still existing in the central Huangpu district (Ruan, Zhang , & Zhang, 2011).
At the beginning, the Chinese architectural influence was surely much more evident, especially in the layout of the single unit (Pontiggia, 2014). The interior was symmetrically organised along a central axis and the load bearing structure was the same as the traditional Chinese wooden structure, even if using bricks (Guan, 1996).
The size of houses in China is measure by “jian”, the bays, corresponding to the space between two pairs of columns, usually anywhere between 3.6 and 4.2 meters (Kuijpers, 2013). Typically, the units of the early period were characterised by a 3 to 5 bays plot on two floors, covering a surface of about 200 square meters (Zhao, 2004).
Following the traditional influence, the unit was closed to the outdoor space, conceived to receive most of its light from the front and back courtyards. The latter, with a 1,2 to 1,5 meters depth only, was separating the public entrance zone to the rear one, creating a kind of open corridor (Zhao, 2004).
The investors’ primary consideration for the unit’s layout was density, with a consequential lack of attention for factors such as natural light or ventilation. Sanitary facility were not included, constraining the residents’ to use the night pods and heating, gas and electricity were not available (Guan, 1996).
Overall, the masterplan was not yet very organised, without consideration for the minimum dimensions of the lane for transportation or fire-fighting (Anshi, et al., 2011). At this first stage, the average number of units per district was around 30, surely a small amount compared to the future urban evolution. The configuration of the Early Shikumen gradually evolved during the years, with the disappearance of the second courtyard, simply transformed into an indoor corridor, and many other adjustments that increased the general living standard.
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Late Period Shikumen
With the beginning of the new century the dimension of the districts grew exponentially, up to neighbourhoods with around 500 units (Zhao, 2004). By the 1910s, the Late Shikumen, a more compact model of Shikumen, was born to answer the new demographic situation, maximising the use of the space (Denison & Ren, 2013). Generally, the living standard improved, with a better design for the overall organisation of the district. The dimension of the internal lanes was enlarged in order to improve the sanitary conditions and the main lane also increased to a 4 to 5 width (Anshi, et al., 2011). More attention was reserved for ventilation and lighting but the units’ facilities conditions remained the same (Guan, 1996).Structurally, brick walling became the major load bearer together with wooden roof trusses. The decorative details changed, with the use of bricks instead of stone for the front gate, the use of industrial made tiles for the roof and the exterior walls showing only the red or black bricks structure (Zhao, 2004). In this period, the influence of the Western architecture is more evident, with the loss of symmetrical layout and in the use of European style in the decorative motifs of gates, doors and windows (Ruan, Zhang , & Zhang, 2011).
The architectural changes were also based on social and economic changes, such as the land value increase for purchase and rent. For the single units, the 3 to 5 bays plan was replaced by a 1 to 2 bays layout, with the addition of the garret (Zhao, 2004). The reduction of space, almost 20% less than the Early period, and the decrease of the Chinese architectural influence caused the shift of the courtyard to one side, flanked by one wing room only. Nevertheless, the distinction on floors between a more public and a more private area and a general symmetry in the layout was kept. The storey amount often turned into three, with an improvement for the internal heights and toilets were often added (Denison & Ren, 2013). In this period, due to
overcrowding, many houses were roughly redesigned by the residents, creating up to the 50% of additional space wherever possible (Zhao, 2004). Some famous examples of the Late style are Jianyeli, Siwenli, Meilanfang, Zhundeli or Tongfuli.
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New Style Shikumen
During the 1920s, the economic boom generated a new middle class with different needs, including a different type of accommodation, the New Style Lilong. The new typology, intensely built for 20 years, became the most popular one and many of these districts are still in use nowadays as part of the municipal rehabilitation and renovation programme. Some famous examples are Jing’an Villa, Huaihai Village or Changle Village (Pontiggia, 2014).The new features include the use of both brick walls and reinforced concrete structures in the load-bearing system, a three storey height and the use of steel in door frames and railings. The most evident characteristic was the disappearance of the iconic Shikumen’s front gate, replaced with an off-centre gate with iron bars or low concrete walls unsymmetrically located. The Chinese courtyard was also replace by a frontal open or semi-open green space, substituting an historical multifunctional and culturally figurative space with a small, personal garden used for individual gardening activities (Zhao, 2004).
The interior layout usually had three possible variations, covering a total surface between 150 and 300 sqm: the one bay, the one and a half bay and the two bays solution. Overall, the interior organisation was more firmly and functionally divided according to the different activity. Nevertheless, the traditional division between more public and private between the two floors was always kept as well as the South orientation for the most significant spaces. The staircase was located at the centre of the service part in connection with kitchen, storage and bathroom improving the internal circulation. Modern facilities were commonly introduced including gas, electricity, heating, sanitary systems and sometimes even garages (Pontiggia, 2014).
One bay Lilong drawings
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In conclusion, it is clear that in this case, the Lilong districts were greatly improved from a functional point of view, improving the life standards, although causing a loss for the vivid street culture of the first times. Moreover, the house-shops were still present but more often reduced to a minimum number, with more
housing units faced into the public street directly. In estates built in the late 30s and 40s, whenever possible, more alleys were directly connected to the public street so that the previous hierarchy between the main alley and branch alleys became was not that obvious anymore (Zhao, 2004).
3 up/3 down
Early period Shikumen
2 stories
Shikumen styles and evolution. Adapted from “Updating Shanghai: Life from the ground up” by B.Kuijpers, 2013, p. 84.
2 up/2 down
Late Shikumen
2/3 stories
1 up/1 down
New Style Shikumen
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Garden Shikumen
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Apartment Shikumen
With the increasing influence of the Western cultureand the growth of a richer community, a new Lilong typology was developed between the 30s and the 40s (Pontiggia, 2014). Its features were the sophisticated layout, the presence of architectural elements from various international styles and a high quality of finish and furnishings. Typically, this solution was designed with two bays in plan and a three to four stories in height. More space meant an increase of the internal functions and of the layout complexity, with rooms freely oriented. The garden became a very important element but the outdoor space was privately used only by the owners. The roof was not recalling any traditional Chinese reference and became totally flat (Pontiggia, 2014).
Obviously, also the overall neighbourhood organisation changed. The district was composed by detached or semi-detached houses following a Lilong pattern. The space of the private gardens reduced the one for the internal lanes as well as the reason for open-air social interactions (Guan, 1996). Clearly, this category presents features very different from the previously explained typology, built with other goals and for other kind of needs.
Between the 20s and the 40s, another kind of typology was developed to accommodate small middle class families. Due to the continuous increase in price of real-estate properties, insufficient quantity of land and the growing demand for housing, the vertical expansion was unavoidable. Apartment Lilong typically presents a five- to seven-story concrete frame structure, with shared facilities (Guan, 1996).
The layout of the building included common lobbies, staircases, elevators and corridors to distribute the entrances to the single units. Each of them had an area between 40 to 150 square meters and for the first time the single dwelling is organised on one floor only. Anyway, the most significant internal spaces, such as the master bedroom and the living room, were still South-oriented. Some apartment Lilong building stood alone while others were developed together in a compound solution. The outdoor environment was improved trying to substitute the previous social role of community interaction of the branch alley and sometimes the first floors were occupied by some commercial activities. Anyway, even if the density efficiency was maximised, the sense of place and the community creation almost vanished (Pontiggia, 2014).
In conclusion, the Shikumen’s evolution represents the outcome of the social, familiar, economic and historical changes. On time, with the exception of the Garden Lilong typology, the expansion moved towards a vertical dimension, with a gradual reduction of the lot size and the increase of the stories per each unit. Traditional inward-looking character gradually dying out and Western open elements prevailed. The traditional hierarchical principles of the space, such as the relationship with the surrounding urban context or the subdivision of spaces to obtain a graduated privacy, always persisted, deeply rooted in the Chinese dwelling culture. On the contrary, the Western influence gradually affected the individual unit’s design.
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Beyond their interesting architectural expression as a fusion of two different cultures, the most relevant aspect of Lilong, and perhaps the most important reason for their in-depth study, is the social and cultural lifestyle of its lanes.
Lilong term is an abstract concept that not only refers to the materiality of the dwelling form, but also to the vivid social life of the lanes. This dynamic concept addresses the spatial organization, architectural practicality, casual formation of semi-private space, and community lane-life (Arkaraprasertkul, 2009). Properly, Lilong is not a noun, but an adjective, thus Lilong housing is a form of dwelling where neighbourhood means not just an urban area, but also a community where members interact with each other on a regular basis. (Zhao, 2004). Lilong mirror a typical residential type imbedded in many Asian cultures (Citterio, 2014). Hutong in particular are a useful reference to understand the Shikumen culture and, more in general, the Chinese cultural spatial roots. Generally speaking, the hutongs are residential areas mixed with commercial use. The typical Beijing residence is a “siheyuan”, 四合院, which translated means a courtyard enclosed on four sides with buildings constructed around them. According to the fengshui principle, the whole complex follows a north-south axis orientation. The siheyuan is distributed all over the country and, with its history of over two thousand years, ranks first among Chinese vernacular dwellings. It represents not only an architectural archetype but, most relevantly, the religious, moral and social principle at the base of the Chinese society. One of the most interesting aspects of the siheyuan its graduated privacy, according to which if the user moves further in the house the level of privacy increases (Pontiggia, 2014).
The siheyuan is both in its design and use the archetype of the Chinese residential architecture that has been adopted for centuries and it can clearly be seen at the base of the Shikumen evolution in their Eastern aspect.
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Moreover, another term perfectly describes the Shikumen culture: Haipai 海派, literally “Shanghai style”, which refers to the avant-garde and unique “East-meets-West” culture from Shanghai in the 20th and 21st centuries. The term was ironically coined by a group of Beijing writers in 1920s to describe some Shanghainese scholars and their style of embracing Western culture and, on time, it started to be used in its more general meaning of Eastern and Western cultures encounter (Falanitule, 2018). Lilong architecture perfectly represent the union of European and Chinese archetypes and is therefore considered as an emblematic example of Haipai culture unique to Shanghai (Cheval, 2016).
Lilong districts clearly represent output of a social and economic shift in Shanghai between the 19th and the
20th century (Zhao, 2004). The most relevant change for the Chinese society was to pass from a typical communal life, represented in the clustered inward opening style of the traditional Chinese courtyard house, to the individual life of a modern worker. This change was translated in the passage from the family-base courtyard-centred living to a community alley-centred one. The Chinese inhabitants of Lilong managed to respond to this change with the creation of a very vivid neighbourhood community, taking place in the alleys (Arkaraprasertkul, 2009). In addition to the cultural attitude, several spatial factors foster the community creation and represent the reasons why Lilong districts are still carefully analysed today by urban planners and architects.
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Starting from the macro-scale, the first interesting relationship is the connection with its urban context, described by domestic scholars with the two words: waipu (shop houses outside) and neili (community living inside) (Zhao, 2004). Using the ground floors of the houses facing the public street as small shops serves the residents with the everyday necessities in the district itself, from food to shoe-repair stall, from barbershops to local bookstore. A big variety of restaurants, teahouses, small hotels could always be found in the bustling street of every Lilong. Normally, the activities are family-Starting from the macro-scale, the first interesting relationship is the connection with its urban context, described by domestic scholars with the two words: waipu (shop houses outside) and neili (community living inside) (Zhao, 2004).
This district morphology led to a spontaneous, bigger community creation: the presence of shops in the districts’ perimeter creates a local, public space where to meet not only the dwellers of the same Lilong, but also the ones from other blocks. The commercial activities create a kind of fixed market, marking the boundaries behind which the quieter and more private residential life goes on (Zhao, 2004). Therefore, the masterplan was deeply connected to the urban context but, at the same time, was also designed to provide a sense of safeness and intimacy. Once passed through the Lilong’s gates, the space turns into a semi-public one, where the neighbours know each other and are therefore able to recognise the other households from the strangers and, at the same time, the district remains open to the external reality, with people that are free to pass by the lanes. As a result, Lilong never turned into gated community but have always been conserving a kind of spatial porosity to the rest of the city. At the same time, the spatial layout forms a closed environment with a high sense of safety thanks to the very clear and defined physical boundaries (Arkaraprasertkul, 2009).
The graduated privacy scheme was designed not only for the whole district masterplan but also for the internal organisation of the single unit. Indeed, as one follows
the path from the front door to the bedroom, a clear graduation of privacy takes place: from the semi-private areas of the lanes to the slightly more private zone of the courtyard and the ground floor, to the transition of the staircase to finally the the bedrooms, the most private space of the house. As Gregory Bracken (2017) explains: “The chief factor in their flexibility was a hierarchical system of “graduated privacy”. Chinese people do seem to live and do more on their streets than Westerners, and it is the subtle progression from public through semi-public/semi-private to private that the Lilong facilitates that enables them to do so. It is a generator of this lifestyle, because of its built form, but also generated by it, because it reflects a deep-seated Chinese attitude to the use of space. The spaces of the Lilong have, therefore, a perfectly balanced relationship with the life that is lived in them.” (Bracken, 2017).
At the time, the urban densification was new in China, a country famous for the its abundance of land and space, so the outdoor life in the lanes was also a consequence of the tightness and less sanitary conditions of the Shikumen interior space, sometimes perceived like a constrain by the dwellers who were indeed not used to. The lack of proper interior spaces spontaneously led the residents to use the lanes as an extension of their houses. People usually cook their food outside their unit to accommodate the smoke, so the lane at the back of the house naturally becomes an outdoor kitchen and, since cooking is usually a communal activity, it encourages people from houses nearby to come, exchange, and discuss everyday life (Arkaraprasertkul, 2009). In other words, residents freely interiorise the lane and exteriorise the private space, blurring the distinction between public and private, interior and exterior. In this way, the lanes become a “positive void”, where the absence of mass building manage to create a meaningful and enjoyable space (Guan, 1996). All of these Lilong social and cultural features were, of course, not designed or expected at the time the districts were built but they were just the natural result of their use (Arkaraprasertkul, 2009).
