Abstract:

The paper presents the experiences made by the students attending the Preservation and Reuse Design courses (continuing education programme “P.R.D.”) - Dept. of Environmental and Civil Engineering (D.I.C.A.) of the Politecnico di Milano, within the didactic module called Chinese Historical Cultural Heritage (C.H.C.H.).

Social and economic transformations in the urban areas in the last century allowed for architectural interventions that strongly changed the structure of the city. Although these works on different districts were not well developed to satisfy living conditions of people in these areas, the necessity of a multi-disciplinary approach of the architects is evident.

The paper is organized into four sections:
- The first section concerns the CHCH planning process: the organization of the educational proposals and the choice of different didactic methods, on the basis of variable factors; particular attention is given to the concepts of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, the relation they have to each other and their impact on the educational process.
- The second one introduces the theme of urban transformations, taking into account two different scenarios such as Beijing and Shenzhen. Starting from the surveys of these two realities, synthetic tools have been created in order to highlight different methodological approaches and concretely applied design solutions. Using the SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) applied on the highlighted contexts, the participants identified a “best practice” for the urban regeneration.
- The third section presents some case-studies including the preservation and the re-use of buildings inside the historical centre of Beijing, read through multidisciplinary approaches. The study of different anthropological and socio-economic factors, compared to the spaces in the architectural analysis, allows the comprehension of possible “ways of the contemporary living”.
- The fourth section highlights the “transverse conceptual topics” of the case-studies (temporary living, materials and experimentations, traditional and new building systems) defining the research fields and cultural in-depth analysis.

For each of the phases, the paper presents a brief elaboration developed by the students, explaining both the theoretical-bibliographic aspect and the experience of “direct knowledge” of the subject as a result of the cultural exchange trips to China. A final consideration dials with the urgent role of the awareness of the local cultural dimension for being effective in managing with the design for historical contexts.

Keywords:

Hutong, Reuse Design, Historical Architecture.