# SHANGHAI | Shikumen renovations - Various | U/C



## NCT (Aug 14, 2009)

Hope this random thread isn't out of place.

Stumbled across this urban renewal project in Shanghai:

Shikumen is a traditional form of housing in Shanghai from the 1920s era. While each unit (typically a 'town-house' of 2 - 3 storeys with mezzanines) traditionally housed just one family, the cultural revolution saw those town-houses subdivided and extended beyond recognition. A lot of these don't have internal running water or sewerage even to this day.

A lot of Shikumen fell victim to modern high-rise developments. There have been a few renovation projects each with a different ethos - full and semi commercialisation in Xintiandi and Tianzi Fang, turning into a hotel for Jiande Li, and moderate spruce-up for Bugao Li.

Chengxing Li is is yet another method - some families were asked to move out (with above market rate compensation), with remaining residents staying, the idea being each remaining family having a bit more room than before.









Southern facade of refurbished block being revealed









Northern facade









Reconfigured communal area









One of the reburbished homes









Unreburbished block on the left vs refurbished blocks on the right

Images taken from:





一户一方案，黄浦承兴里石库门小区103户居民住上厨卫独用“新房”--上观


上观




www.shobserver.com


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## WesselKornel (Jun 15, 2011)

sorry for bumbing this thread, just want to say I really love the fact that the shikumen in Shanghai are finally being renovated (instead of turned into a fancy backdrop for high end bars or razed) If you have more projects like this, feel free to share them! I need news like this every now and then to stay sane


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## Victhor (Sep 11, 2002)

Agree with WesselKornel, I would also like to know more about this kind of project. And by the way, I was living in the apartment building next to this Shikumen, sometimes they were unloading steel bars at 5:45 in the morning!.
These kind of neighbourhoods are full of life, streets are alive with many traditional chinese businesses, and they add a lot of their personality to the buildings, in contrast to the big office tower developments, which very often have a wider street public space, but more dead, and sometimes full with the typical international franchises that are everywhere, Starbucks, Wagas, Apple, Gucci but almost nobody visiting, and that is also why I think towers should be in high dense areas like Manhattan, that way there is more life in the streets and more unique dense environment.


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## NCT (Aug 14, 2009)

Chunyang Li in Hongkou




























Pictures from






上海风貌保护街坊“春阳里”又有新故事：回搬“新家”，三代人都有了独立卧室--上观


上观




www.shobserver.com





More photos:






老房有喜　风貌保护街坊“春阳里”二期改造完成


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photo.eastday.com


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## NCT (Aug 14, 2009)

This is how these things are rebuilt



















They are completely rebuilt from the ground up with as much original material as possible (bricks and stonework). The original buildings have been falling into an unacceptable state of disrepair with their wooden structures increasingly compromised. Taking sanitation into those homes also requires quite a lot of structural modifications. These slightly 'unfaithful' styles of complete rebuilding are probably inevitable to be honest.

Photos from






春阳里三期改造项目复工，预计今年三季度竣工交房--上观


上观




www.jfdaily.com


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## Atmosphere (Mar 15, 2009)

Indeed very happy to see some of them being preserved like this, and not all just being razed for flats. I guarantee that these homes will be worth a lot in the future when most of them are gone.


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