China Landscape Architect

Zhouzhuang (IFLA Congress Tour 2010.05.30)

I just read an article on the Xinhua website that spoke of Professor Ruan Yisan who recently stated that there is a need to preserve the heritage of  cities as they are “sacred and inviolable” and I agree with the statement, however we need to also balance the need for new development and historical preservation.

We need to restore the cities as they age & deteriorate over time so that they can be seen by future generations from around the world. This also leads to the issue of tourism and over crowding which occurs at some sites and  I think that some cities and sites will have to start raising the entry fee and limiting daily numbers to preserve the integrity of the sites.

Over time some historical buildings or areas will need to have new uses (such as offices, retail, entertainment, housing) as buildings and areas change due to a city growing or changing it’s economic focus from agricultural to industrial to service based cities. Such as what occurred along the Bund(Waitan) with buildings changing uses over the last 100 years, although these buildings are young in comparison to many of the historical buildings & cities in Chinese history.

Before and during periods of change, buildings and areas need to be assessed to determine what is can be preserved, why it should be preserved and the future uses that will be allowed in a building or area. This should be a written report with numerous photos and plans and be undertaken with a multi-discipline team.

A balance needs to be made between maintaining the historical integrity of a city  and keeping the city livable. Often cities can go into great disrepair as people try to hold onto the past and never undertake restoration. This is true of some historical cities I have visit around the world where some understand that uneven paths are not good for tourism and restoring them using the same materials can improve the city. We also need to keep in mind that services need to improved and maintained in these areas so they are modern this will cause some disturbance to roads, buildings, etc but we need to keep this to a minimum and co-ordinate all work to minimise the disruptions.

Professor Ruan Yisan also touched on the balance of modern and old citing the I.M. Pei’s Glass Pyramids at the Louvre is a “successful blend of old and new architectural styles.” and I agree that often modern architecture and landscape architecture can reinvigorate a historic site or city but it has to be undertaken with great care and respect for the site.

Cities also need to modernise certain areas to house many of its new residents this usually occurs through tall apartment buildings, however these should be placed in new parts of the city or given a height limit to maintain the visual integrity of the city such as the height limits imposed in Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Living, working and relaxing in historical cities is a very fine balance between many factors that need to be considered in an integrated approach so that the city is preserved in the long term for many generations to come.

To read the Xinhua article go to LINK: Planning expert warns of lack of cultural awareness in China’s cities -Xinhua 2010-06-13