{"id":31,"date":"2020-12-23T10:57:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-23T01:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/workmill.jp\/en\/?post_type=webzine&p=31"},"modified":"2023-08-31T15:41:33","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T06:41:33","slug":"how-old-architecture-is-upcycled-to-create-a-better-society-in-beijing-ee318f68342f","status":"publish","type":"webzine","link":"https:\/\/workmill.jp\/en\/webzine\/how-old-architecture-is-upcycled-to-create-a-better-society-in-beijing-ee318f68342f\/","title":{"rendered":"How Old Architecture is Upcycled to Create a Better Society in Beijing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The original article \u201cmaking a cozy future\u201d is a part of the <\/em>WORK MILL<\/em><\/a> with Forbes JAPAN Issue 3 \u2014 The Age of Post-Innovation \u00a9WORK MILL, published on October 2, 2018<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beijing, the capital of a nation with a history of 3,000 years. Around the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square are narrow alleys called hutong where traditional houses can still be found. The People\u2019s Architecture Of\ufb01ce<\/a> (PAO) takes up residence in the hutong spreading to the south of Tiananmen Square. Take one step inside the inconspicuous fa\u00e7ade and it\u2019s a whole different world where traditional Beijing styles meet modern architecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The building itself is one of PAO\u02bcs symbolic projects called the \u201cPlugin House<\/a>.\u201d Co-founder James Shen gives an astonishing account of its creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt only took about a week to renovate this of\ufb01ce. A smaller property could be done in a few hours.\u201d Beijing\u2019s traditional residences, called siheyuan, are built around square courtyards. Siheyuan used to be grand estates for well-to-do families, but amidst the changes of the times following the fall of the Qing Dynasty, disorderly alterations and extensions were carried out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSiheyuan are cramped and have no sewer pipes nor toilets. They\u2019re impossible to heat, too. But people love them and devise ways to keep living in them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plugin Houses preserve the region\u2019s culture, history, and community while providing livable and affordable housing. Factory-made panels are brought into the sites, so the interiors can be created in just a short time frame. It only costs half of what it would take to repair a siheyuan, and a \ufb01fth of what it would take to build a new one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They took into account the needs of the residents, the country\u2019s regulations, and the need for something feasible and sustainable. The result is the Plugin House. Shen believes this method can be applied anywhere in the world. \u201cIt\u2019s dangerous to continue on with this market-led economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\n\t

\n\t\tRelated Article<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t

How do you View China\u2019s Growth? How Many Hours do you Work Daily?<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t

Dwelling thoughtfully inside the millennial mind of Chinese, while merely asking the entrepreneurs at WeWork in Beijing.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tRead Article\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t