Glocal West Gate

Project Details

Project Description

FROM THE ARCHITECTS:

Competition by invitation was organized by the local Government of Jiading, in which their aim was to renovate the traditional West Gate to downtown Jiading.

Occupied by a local west street market, the West Gate has been loosing its cultural relevance and significance over time. The new proposal was intended not only to bring back the relevance of cultural heritage, but also to reactivate the area by the injection of commercial activities.

The total area of the renovation is 64045.27 square feet, in which we aimed to identify the cultural DNA of the area and to address and highlight them through our design and program, in order to provide a new scenario for its renovation, reflecting on its heritage.

We discovered that the intangible heritage of Jiading consists of craftsmanship, and the teaching tradition, and its tangible heritage are its physical elements. Our aim was then to identify tangible and intangible elements and highlight them in our proposal in order to maintain the identity and essential features of the area while modernizing it.

The proposal can be summarized as a cumulative process of several key points based on the idea of preserving the historic and traditional soul of the neighborhood while embracing new and contemporary solutions.

1. Preserving the significant buildings that are kept in good conditions, in order to preserve the memory of the past settlement.

2. Preserving the old street pathway and materials, as the footprint that carries the soul of the old street.

3. Taking advantage of characteristic elements of the site, such as the waterfront, and the patios, in order to enhance the way visitors experience the public space.

4. Creating an alternative elevated pathway on the 2nd floor, which is the most important innovation in regards to the previous existing situation, increasing the linear meters of retail and cultural spaces while boosting the perception of the surrounding area, visually striking due to its different color and materiality, providing strength and personality to the architectural proposal. It is both, an aesthetic and a commercial strategic improvement.

5. Introducing a platform for an alternative type of cultural retail, workshops, galleries, etc..., which will culturally enrich and complement the regular retail scheme.

6. Inserting a big and striking public space right in the middle of the street, an object for the society designed to encourage social interactions, and relationships among people. A place to sit, talk, share, teach, learn, rest, etc.

This text has been lightly edited for clarity.