Tianjin municipality is the center of the economic area around Bohai Bay. Not only it is the fourth largest city in terms of the population but the biggest port city in northern China. The Chinese National Government has marked Tianjin a top priority for economic development by setting targets for the establishment of a special development zone in the Tianjin Binhai New Area.
Despite its central location within Tianjin boundaries, half demolished development area with its bad sanitary conditions, lack of connectivity and public spaces is unable to function as a real city center. Hence regeneration strategy proposed in a project “Tianjin revisioned” aims to address this challenge.
Urban principles developed for a sustainable approach towards design are: protecting the cultural legacy, broadening existing communities, introducing new on-site creative economy, installing local transportation system, implementing new public space typology, connecting to surrounding neighborhoods.
Several observations on public space layout in China made during the study trip are applied in the project. First of all, the canal, the core of the public vital life is installed on the site, connecting all the most important nodes: commercial areas, preserved university campus, park and art-district situated on the river bank.
The second layer of “sequence of spaces” — traditional organization of all the parks and historical mansions in China is developed along the canal with special buildings and pocket parks: theater, libraries, cinema, singing pavilions and tea houses.
Preserved hutong parts are getting a different function: converted from residential into commercial and art districts, repaired with the remains of the original bricks that could be found on the site.
Last but not least the historical layer of the hutong along the canal is preserved through the materiality of surfaces — the tool used by Chinese architects for centuries. The footprint of the demolished buildings is highlighted with different types of pavement and vegetation.
Implementation of the denser urban life while translating the historical layer and atmosphere of the Hutong area into contemporary realms will turn Hongqiao into attracting place both for its residents and the general public.
