Project description by jury

Shajing Ancient Fair is the largest existing historical district in Shenzhen with a particularly rich architectural heritage. With 500,000 residents, the subdistrict is the most densely populated area of the city. Despite the significant sociological and aesthetic values embedded, many historical sites in this district are at risk of being demolished because of their advanced state of decay. The intervention on Shajing’s Longjin River district described by this proposal shows that an alternative to demolition exists – and resides in a careful combination of preservation and rejuvenation actions. 

Architectural, landscape and interior design projects are proposed on six locations along the river. A fire station is transformed into a public stage for Cantonese opera, building ruins into a sky bridge, a small plaza into a Mantis Boxing practice square, and a triangular space into an outdoor market for artifacts. Local people are invited to participate in art creation to reimagine several old houses into exhibition halls. Key to the success of the proposal is the redesign of the polluted river which is now two-tiered – with clean water incorporating attractive pedestrian paths above and a sewer below. Not only do these actions provide villagers with new public cultural and recreational spaces, but they also bring ancient ruins back to life, revitalizing the local cultural heritage and creating employment opportunities for the district. The project privileges the use of waste and low-carbon materials and the adoption of passive cooling systems.

Jury appraisal

The Holcim Awards jury Asia Pacific was fascinated by the bold yet balanced, delicate and non-intrusive spirit of this project that, through simple architectural gestures, turns city density into surprising and joyful spatial and emotional realities for the village dwellers. The effort that the proposal makes in raising collective awareness on the importance of preserving local heritages and attempt to delay, if not avoid, the alarming decay of historic Chinese villages was highly commended. Bringing in a fresh, welcome modern character, the architectural solutions were also found to be particularly contextualized and respectful of the local cultural and social environment.