Beijing Torino Design Studio 2008
Beijing is working for the present but also for the future. Together with the polytechnic of Turin it explores the post-Olympic outlook
Gustavo Ambrosini, Michele Bonino, Pierre-Alain Croset
Wukesong Sport Area, Beijing
Opened by Mao Zedong in 1959, the Workers’ Stadium is a massive reinforced concrete structure surrounded by shops, bars and nightclubs. Close to the nightlife area of Sanlitun and the Central Business District, it is the nearest Olympic venue to the old city of Peking. A setting for political events and concerts, hosting championships of gymnastics, table tennis, marathons and football, once the Olympic football matches are over it is destined to remain an urban giant with no clear identity.
Situated on the main north-south axis of the city of Beijing, the Olympic Park covers an area of around 6 square kilometres, beyond the fourth ring road. It represents a new hub for north Beijing, and hosts sporting and cultural events, housing, services and trade. At the heart of the complex is a four kilometre esplanade, at the southern end of which lie the symbols of the 2008 Olympics: the swimming pool (Water Cube) and the National Stadium (Nest, by Herzog & De Meuron). These landmarks represent a symbolic celebration, ever-present in people’s everyday life settings, but the use and identity of the vast areas that surround them have yet to be defined.
in the highly topical context of exchanges between cultures, the willingness to learn from other cultures gives rise to processes of osmosis between reasoning and approaches, with vast unexplored potential
These are just two of the 2008 Olympic venues that Beijing is still debating the future of, addressing issues such as the use of space, how to limit the consumption of resources they entail, and how to find opportunities to capitalize on the areas in question. It is significant that 12 out of 31 Olympic sites have been built from scratch, using existing sports facilities and creating some temporary structures. And it is also significant that plans include increasing the number of green areas in the city, as if to compensate for the major demolition work going on. But the post-Olympic period still appears uncertain.
This is the context for the Beijing Torino Design Studio 2008: the Beijing Planning Bureau appointed the Faculty of Architecture of Tsinghua University to come up with scenarios to reuse a number of facilities, and this initiative was inserted into an international exchange programme that entails a partnership with the First Faculty of Architecture of Turin Politecnico. This led to the creation of a planning workshop that brings together the skills and research tools of the two universities in the urban planning field. From February to June 2008 students and teachers have been working jointly, together in the first and last weeks, and apart in the interim.
Apart from the importance of the issue addressed, one of the key characteristics of the initiative has been the use of innovative remote working methods: with real time updates (using blogs and videoconferencing) and a potentially continuous cycle of work (almost non-stop thanks to the time difference between Italy and China). Moreover, in the highly topical context of exchanges between cultures, the willingness to learn from other cultures gives rise to processes of osmosis between reasoning and approaches, with vast unexplored potential. These processes include searching for references in the cultural traditions encountered, midway between gaining a real understanding of complex phenomena and highlighting the most evident aspects.
At times it is possible to wonder if we are looking for something in the other culture that already belongs to our own set of references (hutongs, Beijing’s historic neighbourhoods, appear to represent the forms of community life present in the modern Western world, while the classic elements of the Italian palazzo offer a representation of the symbolism of power).
At times it is possible to wonder if we are looking for something in the other culture that already belongs to our own set of references
In this case what really matters is the relevance of planning approaches to some of the key themes which characterize the urban transformation of Beijing’s Olympic sites. To varying extents the four sites examined – as well as the two previously mentioned, the Shunyi rowing park, and the Wukesong basketball stadium – share a number of important questions.
What function can public open space play? What kind of identity can it have? How can it forge positive relations between huge ‘outsize’ structures and everyday life? A vast area like the Olympic Park can feature various strategies of spatial appropriation, both collective and individual, drawing on images which come from both landscape design and public art. Or on a smaller scale, like Wukesong, reusing a vast, undifferentiated area without urban proportions can give rise to various features, sharing a clear hierarchy of public spaces which will revitalize the area and its relations with the outside world.
How can the monumental nature of these enormous Olympic containers feature in a process of urban signification, combining the western idea of permanence with the eastern concept of transience? Can the empty monument that is the Workers’ Stadium be revisited with combinations of functions, with inhabited areas rising out of the structure? Should we highlight the symbolic value of exceptional architecture (the Nest) or focus on its use (the basketball stadium: basketball is extremely popular in China)?
And lastly, how can we introduce environmental sustainability criteria into scenarios of urban reuse? When, for example, the use of water, a traditional feature of Chinese gardens, would risk placing a strain on the city’s fragile resources if put into widespread use.
This means employing techniques to conserve and recycle water, and therefore redesigning the landscape, as in the case of the Shunyi rowing venue and the Olympic Park, lending these areas an almost strategic value.
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Beijing-Torino Design Studio 2008: OLYMPEKed: A Study on Beijing 2008 Olympic Venues Redevelopment. Tsinghua University of Beijing, School of Architecture – Politecnico di Torino, Prima Facoltà di Architettura . Partner: Beijing Planning Bureau. Tutors: Zhu Wenyi, Liu Jian, Zhang Li, Zhu Yufan; Gustavo Ambrosini, Michele Bonino, Pierre-Alain Croset. Studenti: Shang Qian, Yang Yang, Guo Yong, Xie Yingying, Sun Penghui, Chen Xiaoji, Fu Siliang, Li Hongyuan; Francesca Diano, Marta Fantini, Fabrizio Fregoni, Roberto Garcia Leone, Alberto Lessan, Manuele Mandrile, Mariana Michalcikova, Claudio Sframeli.
