Interview with Chief Designer： The administrative office area of the sub-center is a representative government building.

The Beijing News (Reporter Ni Wei) It has been more than a year since the Beijing municipal administrative center moved into the city sub-center. How is this axis-aligned, Chinese-Western integrated building group used? Zhu Xiaodi, chief designer of the first phase of the administrative office area of the sub-center, recently told the Beijing News reporter that the office area is running well and can be regarded as a representative office building of the China government.

　

Zhu Xiaodi is the chief architect of Beijing Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., and also a famous architect in China. He has participated in urban construction for more than 30 years, designed famous buildings such as SOHO Modern City, Shenzhen Cultural Center and "Landscape Tower", and also participated in a series of old city renewal projects such as No.222 West Polishing Factory Street and Beijing Square.

　

In view of the protection and renovation of the old city and the reuse of old factories, Zhu Xiaodi believes that they are actually facing some same issues, such as introducing social resources to balance the contradiction between input and return, and paying attention to functional positioning and industrial planning, so that industries suitable for specific spaces can develop continuously for a long time.

[Profile] Zhu Xiaodi, chief designer of the first phase of the administrative office area of the city sub-center. Zhu Xiaodi is the chief architect of Beijing Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., and also a famous architect in China. He has participated in urban construction for more than 30 years, designed famous buildings such as SOHO Modern City, Shenzhen Cultural Center and "Landscape Tower", and also participated in a series of old city renewal projects such as No.222 West Polishing Factory Street and Beijing Square. Beijing News reporter Hou Shaoqing photo

The first phase of the administrative office area of the city sub-center is running well.

　

Beijing News:The first phase of the administrative office area of the sub-center has been stationed for a whole year. How to evaluate the operation of this year? Has the original design idea been fully realized?

　

Zhu Xiaodi:The administrative office area of the sub-center is not only a modern building complex, but also a cultural image and symbol to face the future. The most fundamental thing is the exchange, collision, communication and integration of eastern and western cultures.

　

The main buildings in the first phase of the administrative office area are arranged in the way of north-south counterpoint and east-west symmetry, which plays the role of "distinguishing the square from the square". Through the layout of axis alignment, the building forms a complete and reasonable community. At the same time, it also integrates the experience and wisdom of all aspects of contemporary urban construction in technology.

　

The first phase of the building is integrated with the surrounding squares, greening, lighting, indicating and guiding systems, etc. Now, it seems that the overall operation is relatively good. The government office building in China is a unique type. In this type, I think the first phase of the administrative office area of the sub-center should be representative.

　

Government office buildings also have their own characteristics, such as the basic use of north-south direction. Then the south direction is different from the north direction, and the low-rise and high-rise offices. For example, the lighting in the north direction is not as good as that in the south direction, but it is impossible to make a single corridor. On the one hand, it is too wasteful, and it will also bring problems of heat insulation and cold protection, and the energy loss is great.

　

The adaptive industrial function is limited, so the protection of the old city should pay attention to the functional orientation.

　

Beijing News:Last year, you participated in the planning of an exhibition "Born in the Old", which showed the achievements of Beijing’s old city renewal in the past ten years, as well as international and domestic urban renewal cases. What was the purpose?

　

Zhu Xiaodi:Last year was the 10th anniversary of beijing design week and the 10th anniversary of Design Week’s participation in Beijing’s urban renewal. Taking this opportunity, the exhibition is not only a professional summary in the industry, but also a demonstration of the old city protection experience including Beijing, with the goal of achieving better results in Beijing’s next urban renewal.

　

In fact, during the renewal of the old city, a number of well-known works designed by architects emerged, which became the focus of social attention, or a "punch card" place, and there were award-winning projects at home and abroad.

　

The renovation of a small courtyard may be only a few hundred square meters, but it has attracted great attention from the society and even the international attention, which shows that the protection of the old city is not only a specific problem of housing renovation and renewal, but also a social problem to be considered and solved. These buildings themselves are also representative attempts, which will play a role in the protection and renewal of the old city.

　

Beijing News:What is the more important work besides these eye-catching designs for the protection and renewal of the old city?

　

Zhu Xiaodi:The old city of Beijing is composed of many traditional quadrangles and residential courtyard units, with a very large area and quantity. It is impossible to form a wide-ranging development trend in a short time simply by the work of architects.

　

To really protect and update the old city and achieve certain results in a short time, I think the most important thing is the pre-work, that is, to do a good job in project planning and functional positioning, and even later operation.

　

When we look ahead, we will find that the industries, functions and resources that can really adapt to the old city space are still very limited. For example, the spatial pattern of the old city is relatively narrow, which is different from the functional needs of modern cities; The lack of adaptability of traditional buildings to cold and hot weather conditions will also affect their use. On the other hand, there are still some problems in the old city, such as transportation, housing rent and so on, and the functions and formats that can remain in such a space for long-term development are very limited.

　

Especially in the East and West Cities, once a large number of courtyard spaces are sorted out, once there is a lack of functional resources, space will form competition, and it is also a waste to handle it badly. Therefore, I think that although the architects’ designs may have their own styles, they will find that the architectural style does not have the uniqueness of rational use of functions, and this is the difficulty, and even they will face secondary transformation. Therefore, in order to effectively protect and update, it is necessary to do a good job in the later operation.

　

The investment in old city renewal is large and the return is slow, so social resources should be encouraged to enter.

　

Beijing News:Will this also involve whether the investment and return of the old city renewal project can form a virtuous circle?

　

Zhu Xiaodi:At present, there are some policy constraints and management system constraints, which are basically supported by the government or state-owned assets. Imagine that if the government has invested heavily, it will be difficult to continue to support it one day, because the cost is very large and it will continue to invest. I think there is still a breakthrough, giving full play to the role of social resources in the protection and renewal of the old city and the role of indigenous people.

　

Beijing News:In recent years, Beijing’s annual key work arrangements will mention the requirements of strengthening the overall protection of the old city, protecting the texture of hutongs and quadrangles. What suggestions do you have?

　

Zhu Xiaodi:Beijing’s new master plan mentions that the old city can no longer be demolished. This sentence extends a little understanding. Is it possible to determine the service life of the old city buildings or the ownership and use rights of houses for a long time?

　

The design service life of newly-built residential buildings and the transfer life of the right to use are stipulated, 70 or 50 years. We propose that the old city can no longer be demolished, so should the service life of the old city buildings and the service life of private owners be more clearly defined? This will give a clear signal to the society that the return generated by the input cost can be shared over a longer period of time, which will help social capital and individuals to invest more actively in the protection and utilization of old buildings.

　

Otherwise, everyone is waiting, and the aborigines may also have such considerations, fearing that they will move one day, thus forming a state of making do and making do. Individual homeowners may give up the renovation plan and let it decline because they don’t know how many years they can live here. I think we should not only play the role of the government or state-owned assets, but also give full play to the enthusiasm of house owners, users and even all aspects of society to participate in the protection of the old city.

　

Old factories need to be filled with suitable formats to form industrial concentration.

　

Beijing News:Beijing is currently promoting the transformation of old factories into cultural parks. As of September last year, the city has sorted out 774 old factories, including 248 in the sixth district of the city. What is the uniqueness of this space resource of old factories?

　

Zhu Xiaodi:Whether it is the old city or the industrial heritage, architecture should play a specific role. Why do we like industrial heritage space? Because the industrial heritage is closer to the life of modern people, working in such a space can make you feel more about the historical development process. In fact, the concepts of the future, fashion and design are discussed above, which are not realistic things, so we need such a space to do it and stimulate imagination.

　

The old factories in Beijing still have the problems mentioned above. I think the difficulty lies here in what kind of format can adapt to and fully fill the constantly developed space. For example, some factories focus on the film industry, while others focus on the design industry. With positioning, industrial concentration can be better formed, thus developing on a large scale. This may be a problem that needs to be solved now, otherwise resources will be wasted.

　

Beijing News:Suzhou, Hangzhou and other cities are now facing the problem of old city protection and renewal. Why do major cities concentrate on this stage?

　

Zhu Xiaodi:Since 2012, China society has entered a new stage of development, from the high-speed development in the past to the medium-high-speed development, and the whole society has to transform from the incremental development stage to the stock development stage.

　

At this stage, the space for the incremental development of urban space has narrowed. For example, some megacities have demarcated the boundaries of urban development, and urban leaders should pay more attention to how the stock resources can fill the shortcomings. In the process of rapid development for decades, some problems and contradictions remain very obvious. If the problems are not solved, the incremental development will be curbed, and the population attraction and urban vitality will be reduced.

　

Then these stocks are reflected in the old city renewal problem, the old community problem, industrial heritage protection and so on. Government departments should realize that in the process of transferring incremental development into stock development, they should make full use of the existing incremental development bonus. Once this bonus disappears, stock development will lose its momentum, because it is impossible to invest without money. Unlike incremental development, stock development is a continuous and overlapping process.

　

The stricter the planning, the more dialogue is needed to supplement it.

　

Beijing News:In the implementation of urban planning, how can all forces participate in urban construction?

　

Zhu Xiaodi:The stricter the planning, the more dialogue mechanisms are needed to supplement it, so as to ensure that the public interests of the city are reflected in the urban public space and the space can get more sustainable development.

　

For example, building the ground floor overhead, adding some arcades along the street, giving space to the city, and making the venues of some projects available for public use can all reflect the friendly and open situation of single building projects to the city, which should be encouraged more in urban planning.

　

How to encourage it specifically? It may be necessary to balance interests. For example, if the ground floor is overhead, is it allowed to be built higher? Green space is open to the public, can you get some fees? Otherwise, every builder will be surrounded by walls, and the city will become more and more blocked and narrower. I think that in the process of planning implementation, more multi-faceted and multi-level dialogues can make the use of urban space more diverse and rich.

　

Beijing News:How do people have a say in the public space around them?

　

Zhu Xiaodi:The urban dialogue platform marks the maturity of urban management and also reflects the relationship between the city and the people. For example, some street parks and pocket parks, which are closely related to people’s lives, should listen to the opinions of the people more. In fact, it can be more targeted for architects to design.

　

For example, some communities are seriously aging, and public spaces need more sunshine, leisure and communication to meet the needs of the elderly. Design should pay more attention to these needs and give some strategies, instead of simply making a concept and a design. The purpose is to attract everyone’s attention or to do more practical work.

　

Beijing News reporter Ni Wei cooperation reporter Hou Shaoqing

Editor Chen Si proofreads Wei Zhuo.