Description
Founded in 1902 as an Italian concession, the Italian Style Area is a key historic district in Tianjin. Despite its prime location, it faces issues such as isolation, idle spaces, building decay, and complex ownership.
In urban planning, we add public facilities for culture, living, and transportation to enhance service functions. In architecture, we repurpose ordinary and lower-level heritage buildings, balancing modern needs with historic style.
Culturally, we reorganize the space into a Central Historical "Cross," preserving courtyards and garden walls, with interventions focused on landscape improvements. We aim to revitalize the area into a living historical museum by connecting key landmarks along cultural axes and adding experience venues.
To maintain vitality, we introduce an 800-meter C-shaped commercial line, carefully routed to avoid major heritage sites and align with pedestrian flows.
The project proceeds in three phases: Phase I improves public spaces and facades; Phase II renovates the Workers' Cultural Palace and builds new commercial spaces; Phase III restores other structures. Phase I began in 2020 and opened to the public in May 2021.