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After a successful start at transforming the Dashilar hutong area, Beijing Design Week has focused on another old courtyard area, Baitasi.
The design-week committee announced on Sept 24 that it will embark on Baitasi Remade, a collaboration between the government, enterprises, designers and local residents eager to regenerate the area.
Located near the West Second Ring Road, one of Beijing's busiest thoroughfares, the Baitasi settlement dates back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). It remains of the last few low-rise residential areas in Beijing today, highlighted by the White Pagoda Temple and the Beijing Lu Xun Museum.
Like most of the old hutong communities, old residents have moved out, while immigrants have occupied the segmented spaces. Both the social and cultural textures of the area are withering.
Rather than massive destruction and reconstruction, the area will see an organic way to revitalize through design innovation, the committee says.
The project will be directed by Xicheng district government with support from Beijing Huarong Jinying Investment & Development. Locals are encouraged to participate.
More than 40 exhibitions and forums will take place through Oct 7, all centered around the theme of Baitasi Remade. They are scattered across four venues, namely the Info Hub, Making Hub, Reading Hub and Sales Hub, allowing visitors to explore the area in different ways.
Among them, the Architectural Association School of Architecture, or AA school, an independent school of architecture in the UK, will host a nine-day workshop in Info Hub at Baitasi.
The workshop will be based on the collection and analysis of the big data of the Baitasi settlement, says Gao Yan, director of AA Visiting School Beijing, at the opening salon of the workshop on Sept 24. He is also an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong and principal architect at dotA Architects.
"By analyzing and visualizing the statistics collecting from Baitasi, we will have a better understanding of the area in terms of economy, culture and social activity. So it would be easier to discover good projects to invest in," Gao says.
The workshop involves architects, students and people who are interested in the subject. It will last from Oct 1 to 9. The result will be delivered at the end of the workshop.
The development solution will respect the rights of the local residents and should connect the area with the modern city, making it a better place to live, says Wang Yuxi, general manager of Beijing Huarong Jinying Investment & Development.
"The transformation will take three to five years. We need more artists and designers to join us to stimulate innovation in the area," says Wang.
