This post is by Alice Fang, Aiwa Musihua, Caroline Nowacki, Qihan (Philip) Luo
To study cultural preservation, our team started by using the mind map method to brainstorm concepts and ideas related to cultural preservation. On this map, we identified six main themes:
- Possible conflict between old and new (visible in the spatial space or not);
- How to identify what to preserve;
- Perception of culture, old and new;
- Multiplicity of stakeholders and their diverse interests;
- Location of culturally rich districts; and
- Cost and benefits of cultural preservation.
From this brainstorming session, we jumped into field study and decided to visit a famous preserved historic district: Dashilar. Dashilar is a traditional neighborhood made of hutongs or narrow alley and located just South of Tian’an Men. The Central Government chose to protect and renovate this area. The facades and shops on the main streets have been rebuilt and repainted and the place is now a vibrant touristic area. Our first fieldwork focused on understanding the nature and number of businesses on the main street, observe who walked in the street and who worked there, and finally interview one person. This person was actually the owner of a courtyard house (Siheyuan) not too far from Dashilar and invited us to visit her courtyard and continue the discussion about the challenges of living there and having to maintain a house that is protected by the Government.
Our research was also well kick-started by a presentation about cultural preservation from a Tsinghua Architecture professor. He explained to us the traditional structure of cities and houses and described the changes that these traditional structures had undergone during the past 60 years. He also underlined the huge increase in skyscrapers in China and the challenge of finding an architecture that expresses Chinese culture instead of copying traditional shapes.
These first two days inspired us to research construction methods in the hutong, notably the need for informal/illegal structures added to the original building and the difficulty and cost to repair old houses. We also thought about the social aspects of cultural preservation and decided to try methods used in the USA to map the relationships between inhabitants of traditional neighborhoods, focusing on their daily trips for various activities and needs and their relationships with their neighbors.
Beijing is an old city with a rich history but also a global metropolis and the center of a Country undergoing unparalleled economic development. In this context, old buildings have often not been preserved and the tendency has been to demolish and build a few high rise on the site of hundreds or thousands of small homes. This was the fastest and cheapest way to provide modern amenities to a high number of people. However, Beijing risks losing a valuable and irreplaceable heritage, composed of traditional architecture, work of arts, but also an interesting layout of streets and mixed-use, and the social interactions of inhabitants of these neighborhoods. The central government is aware of this risk and has started to protect some areas of the city that still have hutongs and old courtyard homes. We started unveiling a few elements of the preservation regarding construction and renovation techniques, change in businesses and people on the main street versus smaller streets, and difficulties encountered by owners who have protected houses.
Next week, we will visit other hutongs areas, notably one neighborhood North of the Lama Temple to compare the restoration methods, types of businesses and experience of inhabitants there. We will also focus on interviewing different types of people, to identify different point of views. Finally, we will try to use cognitive mapping techniques to better understand the life of the inhabitants.
调查案例1 ：琉璃厂四合院
背景介绍：
时女士，今年57岁，在大观楼影城工作。她的爱人徐先生在中央文史馆工作。两人有一个女儿，已经成家住在四惠。现在时女士一家人住在琉璃厂东街的一个四合院中。
1957年时女士公公77岁的徐石雪老先生去世，临终遗愿要把家中收藏的500多件字画捐献给国家，唯独把这处宅子留给六个儿女。宅子建筑面积一共300平米，目前前院住着时女士夫妇和小叔、小姑等四户人家，后院的两处房子分别是大伯和二伯的。大伯由于生病一直住在医院，二伯单位分了房子已经搬走，所以后院的两处房子都空置着。在后院留给大伯的房子是当年徐老先生自己设计并建造的，直到现在已有100多年历史。
宅子在琉璃厂东街的一个小巷中，巷子宽处有两米多，窄的地方仅仅能过一辆人力三轮车。宅子的外墙有两米多高，还保持着100多年前的灰砖结构，拐角处已有一些砖开始变成碎末脱落。门口的枕石被移到了一旁，这是上次修下水管道时挪走的。门口的两个抱鼓石还在，大门早已褪去了颜色，门上的门闩和扣门环依然坚固耐用。一进门右手边就是以前门房，现在已经改成小姑子的洗澡间，不过外面还保留着以前窗格的外观。走进去南屋北屋和西屋已完全被现代的不锈钢门窗所替代，原来围绕整个院子的厅廊早已被改成房子一部分，现在仅能看到的是以前厅廊的房檐。在不断扩建改造后，前院已经仅剩不到20平米。在前院的院子中间有一棵直径30多公分的柿子树，已经窜的好高，大树的枝叶撑起的阴凉基本上已经完全能够覆盖住前院。听时女士说，到了秋天柿子树就变成了一家人的灾难，高处摘不到的成熟的柿子会掉的满院子都是。现在后院的两处房子由于一直没有人住所以基本还保持着原来的面貌。后院北面的房子是以前佣人住的地方。
整个院子目前已经被文物局登记在册，被列为重点保护的名人故居。
整个调研过程，持续了将近两个小时，时女士热情的介绍了很多关于房子的事情，从她的叙述中又把带我们回到100多年前的历史长河中，我们深深惊叹房子如此久远的历史。我们也了解到，这个老房子的修缮和维护问题带给她的困扰和烦恼。
遇到的主要问题：
- 果树无人修剪和打药
- 建筑结构已经濒临危房（外墙拐角砖块脱落）
- 房顶年久失修
- 维修房屋费用较高，无能力承担
- 下水管道不够畅通，经常积水
- 道路维护无人管理
目前最急需解决的问题：
- 下水管道维修
- 房顶年久失修急需解决
- 果树打理
生活圈子以及路线：
- 单位和家，每天两点一线
- 晚饭后去公园遛狗（国家大剧院附近）
- 定期去超市购物，买生活必需品以及蔬菜水果
- 不经常与邻居联络，见面会礼貌问候
留在胡同生活的原因：
- 经济能力不足，条件不允许
- 生活便利，购物方便完全能够满足生活需求
- 交通便利，位于城市中心去单位非常近
我们为什么要关注保护文化建筑？
似乎这些文化建筑的真正价值仅仅在于它们的市场价格和历史研究上的资料价值。我认为文化是一种包括知识、信仰、道德、传统等一切人类赖以生存的工具。它是一种十分脆弱的现象，因为文化时刻在变化，而且容易消失。比如一种语言，属于文化的一部分，很容易在历史的进程中消亡。古建筑也是文化的一种重要载体，它的延续也是我们人类文化的重要依托，所以文化建筑的保护对人类至关重要。
我们为保护文化建筑做了什么
1、调查案例
2、研究分析、找出问题