Urban renewal in China

By Anne-Lise Aakervik
Photos: Harald Høyem

A unique, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary project involving both Norway and China, preserves old Chinese building traditions by constructing new homes that conform to existing designs in neighbourhoods marked for preservation.

The people living here own a small restaurant facing the street (right). To the left is the courtyard where cooking ingredients are being prepared. Food is important - in the "Street of Traditional Food" you can stuff yourself for half a dollar.

The city of Xi'an - the end stop of the Silk Route - was the capital of China through 12 dynasties, including the mighty Tang Dynasty. Today, as the home of nearly two million people, the city is undergoing rapid change. Old, traditional houses with courtyards are being razed to make room for showy modern high-rise buildings in steel and concrete. China has the world's fastest growing economy. This is reflected in the hectic construction activity in large cities where new buildings are encroaching on traditional, small-scale housing which, the members of the project feel, should be preserved as part of China's heritage. Since 1997 the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has been working on an urban-renewal project in the Drum Tower District of Xi'an. The project is financed by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), and carried out in close co-operation with Xi'an municipal authorities. The goal is to contribute to urban renewal by using principles of sustainable development from ecological, cultural and social perspectives.

The buildings used to house a single family. Often the overcrowded courtyard buildings shelter up to five generations with 70 to 80 people living together. As a result, the courtyards were gradually closed in as additional rooms were built to accommodate more families. Extensive data has been compiled from the area. This has been digitized and organized in the GIS format under the instruction of Bo Terje Kalsaas at the Department of Town and Regional Planning at NTNU. People are living in humble conditions. Brown coal is burned in open fireplaces for heating and cooking. Laundry is often washed at public water taps. The buildings used to house a single family. Often the overcrowded courtyard buildings shelter up to five generations with 70 to 80 people living together. As a result, the courtyards were gradually closed in as additional rooms were built to accommodate more families. Extensive data has been compiled from the area. This has been digitized and organized in the GIS format under the instruction of Bo Terje Kalsaas at the Department of Town and Regional Planning at NTNU.

On the Norwegian side of this project, the driving force over many years has been Professor Harald Høyem at the Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Fine Art at NTNU. Architecture students at NTNU have been working on projects related to urban renewal in the historical centre of Xi'an since 1990.

- The urban renewal project has given staff and students at NTNU and SINTEF a unique opportunity to work together, says Høyem. Archaeologists, social anthropologists and experts on water and drainage are working in close cooperation with the architects, all continually learning from one another.

Preservation and renewal
The Drum Tower District in Xi'an's historical centre is home to Chinese Muslims or Hui-people. For centuries they have lived in traditional homes with courtyards. The lots are up to 80 metres long but narrow, often only 10 metres wide. Walls along the entire perimeter enclose each lot. Inside, rooms are built against these walls to create several courtyards. Although today most houses have access to a shared water tap, many of the residents would like piped water and a sewage system. Some, particularly among the young, would consider moving into a modern apartment block. However, most of the residents want to continue to live in their home district.

The urban renewal project consists of several sub-projects. One is aimed at improving living standards by building new, experimental housing. Another is aimed at preserving historical heritage by restoring four typical courtyard buildings. A third is committed to work with street plans and solutions for water and sewage. An important contributor to the project is Eir Grytli, architect and researcher at SINTEF.

People are living in humble conditions. Brown coal is burned in open fireplaces for heating and cooking. Laundry is often washed at public water taps.

- There are a number of considerations that must be taken into account. We must preserve housing traditions while improving living standards, says Grytli, giving residents the option of staying on. - A typical response to cramped quarters has been to build new types of housing instead of preserving what is there. This is a situation we recognize from many places in Norway. The aim of the project is to promote continuity in building practices rather than rejection of traditional styles. The challenge is to do this while using environmentally-friendly building materials and an ecological approach to design.

To meet this challenge SINTEF is starting a new project to examine ways to best preserve the residential and cultural environment in Xi'an and simultaneously create a sustainable urban development. Among other things, a model will be developed to monitor consumption and waste disposal needs with the aim of predicting the environmental loads resulting from different approaches to urban renewal. The three-year project is supported by the Research Council of Norway.

* Contact at NTNU: Harald Høyem
Tel: + 47 73 59 50 59
E-mail: Harald.Hoyem@ark.ntnu.no

*Contact at SINTEF: Eir Grytli
Tel: + 47 73 59 26 19 E-mail:
Eir.R.Grytli@civil.sintef.no