2023 Theses Master's

Preservation Design Strategies for Unregulated Urban Heritage: A Comparative Analysis of Adaptive Reuse Alternatives for the Shikumen Lane Houses of Shanghai

Tian, Yinjie Jacky

Shikumen Lane House, a once thriving housing typology in Shanghai, is facing massive demolition. They contribute significantly to Shanghai's urban fabric and cultural heritage, but gentrification, poor maintenance, and urban development have put them in danger. Despite their importance, local preservation protocols were unable to safeguard this style of architecture because of the way the government is currently organized, the absence of public input during the planning process, and social and economic pressure.

The tensions and inconsistencies between the current state of Shikumen Lane Houses and local housing standards are examined in this thesis in terms of practical preservation design solutions. The experiment also sought to investigate how to modernize historic housing using various design strategies to bridge the gap between Old Type Shikumen Lane Houses and the modern built environment, raise people's living standards, and encourage urban residents to embrace modernity without sacrificing heritage value.