Xinhua Road is a roadmap for revitalizing old neighborhoods
A lane between two old residential communities near Xinhua Road has been turned into a public space for small concerts, exercise and games.
Rehabilitating rundown housing has to be a group effort, so young architects and residents are working together to renew the old downtown communities on Xinhua Road in Changning District.
Several mini-renovations have already been completed on the road, setting an example for protecting the vestiges of times-gone-by across the city.
The 1.5 kilometers of road between Huaihai and Yan’an roads, built in 1925, features a dozen heritage villas and former homes of dignitaries, such as American missionary Gilbert Reid.
Many old neighborhoods along the road were built by manufacturers half a century ago to house their workers. The factories are long gone, and the often decaying housing is mostly occupied by elderly residents.
A Xinhua Road urban design festival has invited architects and designers from home and abroad to renovate streets, neighborhoods, stairways and garbage stations.
He Jia, a young architect who lives in the Xinfeng Village community at 669 Xinhua Road, converted an obsolete 20-square-meter public telephone room at the entrance of the community into a tiny “sitting room” for residents.
Most of He’s neighbors are retirees from a chemical plant, who like to get together to chat about “the good old days,” he said.
Elderly residents now can be seen sitting on wooden benches at the entrance, while younger residents read books in a reading corner.
Liu Yaxian, 86, and Zhen Renben, 87, worked in the same workshop at the chemical plant. The pair now meet in the sitting room every morning to chat.
“Previously, we had to sit outdoors on rickety chairs,” Liu said. “Thanks to the renovation, our retirement has become much more comfortable.”
An obsolete public telephone room at the entrance of Xinfeng Village community at 669 Xinhua Road has been converted into a tiny “sitting room” for residents.
Younger residents read books in a reading corner and can leave messages on a white board for other readers in the public space.
In the same neighborhood, designer Wang Keming has filled the stairway of a residential building with steel tubes to hide a tangle of electrical wires and created an exhibition space for residents to place photos or paintings.
The stairway and corridor were piled with heaps of junk and the steel tubes have brought some order to the location. Non-slip floor tiles have been installed.
Yang Zhangfeng, 88, lives on the sixth floor. She said she seldom used to go downstairs because of all the mess. Now she feels secure enough in the redecorated stairway to use it every day.
He and Wang asked the locals about designs they liked and tailored the blueprints to their preferences.
Overseas designers also have participated.
Gabriele Tempesta, a graduate of Italy’s largest polytechnic school in Milan, has converted a garbage station in the Xinfeng community into a smart recycling station where residents can more easily sort their garbage.
In another project, a 70-year-old residential building in the Jinglaocun community is being altered to provide more activity space for seniors.
The name of the community literally means “respect the elderly,” and the three-story No. 7 building at 693 Xinhua Road was initially built as dormitories by the city textile bureau.
Some 80 percent of the 18 households there have residents 80 years or older. Some have to go outside to reach bathrooms or kitchens.
“The revamp mainly focused on the demands of senior residents,” said Zhang Hai’ao, the architect in charge of the project.
Zhang lined public corridors with fireproof metal nets, painted in different colors for each floor. Folding seats have been placed along the corridors so people can sit and talk with neighbors more easily. Window boxes have been installed outside each household. On the rooftop, also previously full of junk, residents can now sit and chat, hang laundry, plant flowers or vegetables, and do morning exercises together.
“When I first saw the result of the renovations, I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep for the whole night,” said Guan Jianzheng, a 91-year-old retiree from the textile bureau. “I would never have imagined that the house I have lived in for seven decades could have such a brand-new look.”
The stairway of a residential building on Xinhua Road is lined with steel tubes, festooned with Peppa Pigs, to hide an unsightly tangle of electrical cables.
The public corridors of a 70-year-old residential building on Xinhua Road are l with fireproof metal nets, painted in different colors for each floor.
Another project, called a “walking laboratory,” has transformed a cramped lane between two old residential communities into a public space where residents can hold small concerts, do exercises and play games.
The sidewalks have been paved with pink plastic tracks, and fences in pink and red prevent vehicles or bikes being parked along the pathways.
“The core idea was to return a public space that had morphed into a parking lot back to the children and other residents,” said Wu Xin, another young architect who lives in a nearby community.
Similar renovations are under way all over the area.
Near Fahuazhen and Xianghuaqiao roads, an outdoor stage where Chinese opera can be performed is being built between two old buildings.
Xianghuaqiao, or the Scented Flower Bridge, was built around AD 970 by a famous monk. The stone bridge spanned a creek in front of Fahua Temple for seven centuries. It was once the most popular Buddhist site in the city. The bridge was demolished in 1958 when the creek was filled in to become what is now Fahuazhen Road, and the temple was converted into a toy factory.
Architect Zhang said these mini-renovations show what is possible in the rehabilitation of older neighborhoods.
Zhang leads a research project at Shanghai Jiao Tong University on micro urban renewal. His team is evaluating each project on Xinhua Road to determine the best practices to be expanded citywide.
“There will be many more projects like this because so many old neighborhoods are in dire need,” Zhang said.
Similar innovative revamps are under way on the nearby Yuyuan Road, which dates back to 1911, the final year of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The road runs through the districts of Changning and Jing’an.
Folding seats are placed along the corridors so the seniors can sit and talk with neighbors. Window boxes for flower pots have been built outside each household.
