Timefrastructure and scenographic landscape in demolishing urban terrain : design for demolishing urban villages in Shenzhen

Abstract

Urban village phenomenon only gets its focus in last 20 years but their lives of being “urban village” is only less than 30 years. There is long research history toward the urban village in Shenzhen, about how they were formed and about how they the space evolution and developed before demolition. However, current research and design proposals majorly focusing on the front end – why we should preserve urban village and documenting the formation and status quo of them, and on the later end – how can we better transform and reconstruct the village after demolition process. By comparison, the demolition process rarely got its focus for many reasons like economic revenue and political power. As a landscape architect, I would like to rethink this untouchable execution and ignorance in research and redesign it in a way that is more historically and culturally preferred instead of economically preferred or a “politically correct” answer. Moreover, during which period, we can rethink the border of specific terrain. Houhai Village, where have been listed to start to be demolished in future five years, is selected as design site. The site is facing to pressure from both inside and outside – from outside, the Houhai District and Shenzhen Bay district are the new powerhouses of Shenzhen, several CBD and headquarter bases are set up these years and targeted to be a world-class commercial and business complex, which mean the land that urban village occupying is under severe pressure. Moreover, from inside, the village is too crowded for outsiders to come and know what the real urban village life is. Under this circumstance, the analysis and design are basing on a double-track manner, inside-out and outside-in. From outside perspective, Adjacent newly developed forces and 13th 5 Year Plan of Shenzhen Urban Renewal Units is analyzed. Land reclamation process and corresponding village structure change are also highlighted. From inside perspective, architecture typology and spatial perception typology are examined, and their formation principle is analyzed. In design, the question asked is why don’t we take advantage of imminent demolition to grab and tight the historical trace and valuable spatial organization together and develop something that could reveal and interpret them to outsiders, and remind them to the nearby citizens? What if the demolition could be artistic and transform the urban village to a performance stage of an urban scenographic landscape? The idea is turning the city and urban village to a huge landscape museum. Internally, buildings are demolished or partially demolished for designated external viewpoints to see unique, typical and representative spatial organization form. Externally, carving out spaces and holes for people inside to see the vertically aligned city in layered historical value. Coordinate with redesigned demolition sequence, and a trail is designed to let people have the experience in a great harmony.