The old carport has been transformed into a community activity room, and the flower beds where mosquitoes and flies are breeding have been demolished to create a fitness trail for residents and a leisure space under the greenery... Recently, in the Courtyard of Factory Dian No. 11, Dashilar Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, a series of micro-spatial transformations are changing the activity space of residents in the community.
In recent years, micro-spatial transformation has become a major focus of urban renewal.
Today (July 18), the project completion summary meeting of "Small Space, Big Life - Micro space Transformation Action Plan Around the People" was held at Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture. The reporter learned at the summary meeting that after nearly a year of design, construction and construction, at present, the first batch of 8 urban small and micro public space transformation projects in Beijing have all been completed and handed over to residents.
Shi Weiliang, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, pointed out that at present, Beijing's urban development has entered a new stage of "reducing quantity and improving quality" and "stock renewal", and the small and micro public spaces with the characteristics of "negative space" such as "corner land, deformed land, and bare abandoned land" in the city are the key contents of urban style and quality improvement.
What are the modifications of these microspaces? What is the status of the renovation? How are urban "negative" spaces revitalized? In this regard, the Beijing News reporter came to the field of 2 small and micro public space transformation projects to "find out".
"The space around the people is more important"
The public space in the courtyard of No. 11 Changdian, Dashilar Street, Xicheng District, is one of the first eight pilot projects in Beijing.
The community was built in 1984 as a dormitory of the Telecommunications Bureau, with a total of 206 residents and a public space site size of 3134 square meters.
"Like many old neighborhoods in the central city, this community has old supporting facilities, minimal public space, and a serious lack of space for the elderly and children to move." Li Geng, secretary of the Party Committee of Da'an Lanying Community in Dashilar Street, Xicheng District, introduced.
As Li Geng said, before the renovation, this community actually had multiple problems: the yard of debris and construction waste piled up at will; overhead cables flying, electric vehicles randomly pulling wires, the safety hazards are huge; the 800㎡ supporting building carport is old, occupied by a variety of unused, dusty bicycles; the elderly have nowhere to rest, can only put tables and chairs in front of the building, and occupy the space of other people...
Zhang Shuying, a 72-year-old resident of the community, told reporters that before the renovation, "there was no public area in front of the building, and the elderly in the community had no place to rest." ”
"Before, there were a lot of 'zombie cars' parked in the carport in the community, and even some people directly piled up garbage in the carport, and there would be a bad smell." There was also a closed flower bed in the middle of the courtyard, originally planted some plants, and later they all withered, and the whole flower bed was abandoned and occupied. Many residents have reported similar problems. Zhang Shuying said.
In the old courtyard of No. 11 Changdian in Dashilar Street, Xicheng District, the enclosed flower beds occupy a large space. Courtesy of Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture
The transformation of public spaces in the community cannot be delayed.
In September 2019, Dashilar Street invited responsible planners to conduct a public opinion survey to clarify the needs of Changdian residents to standardize their properties, renovate canteens, renovate flower beds, increase children and facilities for the elderly, etc. In November of that year, with the support of the Beijing Municipal Planning and Self-Government Commission, the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission and other units, the public space project of Dashilar Street Changdian No. 11 Courtyard was included in one of the "Small Space, Big Life, Micro space transformation action plan around the people" in Beijing.
Subsequently, the work of research, review, and implementation of transformation was gradually carried out and promoted. In June this year, the public space renovation project of Changdian No. 11 Courtyard was completed.
Li Geng introduced that according to the implementation plan of the transformation, a carport in the community was transformed into a community party and group contact activity room to provide public and entertainment space for the elderly, children and ordinary residents in the community; at the same time, the waste was removed, and a certain independent and safe space was freed up to set up a play place for children; the original old flower bed was demolished, transformed into a fitness trail for residents, and an outdoor slow walking system and a leisure sports space were created with plastic trails, and the exposed tree parking spaces were transformed into a leisure space for residents to rest and cool off...
After the renovation of the No. 11 courtyard of Changdian, the flower beds were demolished and transformed into a green space that can be passed through. Beijing News reporter Xu Meihui photographed
It is worth mentioning that the original carport has been transformed into a "restaurant for the elderly" in the community. The Elderly Restaurant provides convenient meal services for community residents during lunch and dinner.
The reporter saw in the restaurant that a love package of "1 meat + 2 vegetarian + 2 staple foods + porridge soup" is priced at 15.8 yuan, and the weekly recipe provided in the restaurant shows that there will be more than 10 dishes every day, and the dishes are diverse.
Li Geng told reporters that before the setting of the elderly restaurant, the setting of the dishes in the restaurant sought the opinions of the community residents, and finally the overall taste was set to the light taste preferred by the elderly. At the same time, the restaurant provides preferential services for the elderly in the community, that is, the elderly over 60 years old enjoy a 5% discount.
In Zhang Shuying's view, the setting of the elderly restaurant for the elderly in the community provides a very large convenience, "The taste of the meals here is relatively light, suitable for our elderly, and the elderly over 60 years old can also have preferential prices, eating a meal is only more than ten yuan, it is really very convenient." ”
The original carport of the No. 11 courtyard of The Factory was transformed into an elderly dining table. Beijing News reporter Xu Meihui photographed
As the responsible planner of the public space renovation project of Changdian No. 11 Courtyard, Xiong Wen, deputy director of the Urban Construction Department of Beijing University of Technology, is also deeply touched by this project.
"The public engagement of the project in this community is doing very well. The community has 206 residents, we have done a total of 7 rounds of household surveys in the early stage, a total of more than 1,200 resident opinions were collected, on average, equivalent to six suggestions per household, this number is very high. Many of the renovation projects we can see now are actually supported by many residents. Xiong Wen said.
It is worth mentioning that the public space renovation project of Changdian No. 11 Courtyard is not an "isolated" transformation. Xiong Wen introduced that the renovation also refers to the needs of residents' rooms, that is, "the combination of indoor and outdoor methods".
For example, he said, because the community is small, students may not have a place to study, and the number of students in the whole community also has a certain scale, so the community has set up a space for children to learn and read in the renovation, "This is a holistic, systematic transformation and design." ”
In Xiong Wen's view, "the space around the people is more important."
He pointed out that compared with large-scale parks and projects, the transformation of microspace has special significance. "The space in front of the residential building is what every resident will touch, and the significance of this space transformation around the people is very different, and this transformation is 'acupuncture- style' to make up for the shortcomings of the space around the residents."
U-shaped "negative" space transforms into "yard of laughter"
The public space transformation project in the Min'an Community of Beixinqiao Street in Dongcheng District is also one of the first eight projects to be piloted this time.
The community building was built in 2003 as a relocation house, with a total of 706 households and a permanent population of 2,063 people. The scale of the public space site is 4113 square meters, and the overall shape is "U".
Before the renovation, the public space of the community was a veritable urban "negative" space.
As the designer of the transformation of the community, Chen Gang, the resident designer of the Shenzhen Planning and Design Institute, told reporters that because the site in the courtyard is affected by the "U" shaped layout of high-rise residences, there is a lack of sunlight throughout the year; the space is small, the site is abandoned, the site is uneven, there are more obstacles, and the garbage and debris in the community are randomly piled here, which is very unsightly. At the same time, the community basically does not have any public space for the elderly and children.
"Before the renovation, the environment here was really dirty and messy." Li Zengqi, a resident of the community who has lived here since 2003, told reporters that before that, the residents of the community had also made suggestions many times, hoping to transform the only public space in the community.
After being included in the Beijing Municipal "Small Space, Big Life, Microspace Transformation Action Plan Around the People", the transformation work of the community has also been carried out successively.
Wang Dinglong, deputy director of the Urban Management Office of the Beixinqiao Street Office, introduced that after many rounds of research and selection, according to the final transformation plan, the transformation of the community combined with the roof of the civil air defense building in space, built a two-story activity platform, which can allow the residents of the community to have a new activity space, and open up a leisure and entertainment space that can have sunshine and be suitable for all ages. In order to meet the entertainment needs of the children in the community, a slide is also set up at the place, which allows children to use the slide directly from the second floor to the first floor.
Wang Dinglong introduced that the setting of the second-floor activity platform retains a part of the ground activity space, and releases most of the first-floor space, effectively solving the problem of random parking of bicycles and centralized charging of electric vehicles. In addition, the space is designed as an accessible ramp using inefficient and useless space.
Aerial view of the public space in the Min'an Community of Beixinqiao Street, Dongcheng District. Courtesy of Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture
"The reason why we named this public space after the renovation 'Courtyard of Laughter' is that we hope that this dirty and messy corner, which was not very popular with the residents of the community, will become a courtyard full of laughter and laughter that everyone loves to come here to rest and entertain." Wang Dinglong said.
"It seems that this is indeed the case, after the renovation of this place, I have seen residents of other communities come here with their children to play, and it feels a lot lively." Li Zengqi said.
The first batch of 8 small and micro public space renovation projects have all been completed and delivered
It is understood that in 2019, after reporting to the municipal government for approval, the Beijing Municipal Planning and Self-Government Commission, together with the Municipal Development and Reform Commission, the Municipal Urban Management Commission, and the Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, and hosted by the Future Urban Design High-tech Innovation Center of Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, launched the "Small Space, Big Life, Microspace Transformation Action Plan Around the People".
Based on the excellent design plan selected, the action plan has been completed and delivered to residents for use through deepening research, comparative discussion, and extensive solicitation of residents' opinions, and the 8 small and micro space pilot projects finally selected have been completed and handed over to residents for use after nearly a year of design, construction and construction.
Zhang Dayu, vice president of Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, introduced that the selection principle of the pilot project is a "passive" space with prominent contradictions with residents' lives, strong willingness to transform residents, clear nature of land use, clear land ownership, and significant demonstration, that is, "triangle land", "corner land", "garbage disposal and dumping place", "bare abandoned land" and other characteristics of small and micro public spaces.
Zhang Dayu introduced that in the early stage of docking and communication, a total of 35 objects to be transformed were selected, and after the investigation and review of relevant experts in the later stage, 8 plots in six districts of Dongcheng District, Haidian District, Xicheng District, Shijingshan District, Chaoyang District and Fengtai District were finally determined as pilot projects.
In the process of promotion, "integrated urban design" is a major highlight.
He said that the renovation project takes the inefficient use of the community, the demolition of illegal construction idle and unused, random parking, garbage dumping and other "passive" public spaces as the transformation goals, treating them as a whole with the community, using urban design methods, functional integration, and intensive and efficient integrated design.
"To a certain extent, this can provide a diversified public space for the standardized parking of residents' motor vehicles and non-motorized vehicles, centralized and safe charging of electric vehicles, the classification of domestic garbage and construction waste, outdoor activities for the elderly and children, and indoor learning, entertainment and exchanges." Zhang Dayu said.
Shi Weiliang introduced that after polishing the design plan over and over again, since the end of last year, 8 pilot projects located in the sixth district of the city have started construction; at present, all 8 pilot projects have been completed and used.
The relevant experience will be promoted and applied in 100 public space projects
Shi Weiliang said that in addition to the specific and visible landing projects, the "small space, big life" action plan has also accumulated a lot of replicable and promotable experience.
During the implementation of the project, led and coordinated by the Beijing Municipal Planning and Self-Government Commission, the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, the Beijing Municipal Urban Management Commission and relevant streets and other government departments, the relevant departments of the Beijing Municipal Planning Commission and the Beijing Future Urban Design High-tech Innovation Center established a joint expert technical team, tracked and participated in the whole process, and gave full play to the technical support role of the high-end think tank of urban design. Under the leadership of the Beijing Municipal Planning and Self-Government Commission, a government-led cross-departmental cooperation platform has been built to create an urban renewal work model of "two levels of government leadership, high-tech think tanks, and public participation".
Jiang Zeting, secretary of the Party Committee of Beijing Jianzhu University, said that in the action plan for the transformation of microspace, the school has organized 51 teachers and more than 150 students to participate in the whole process of the special action.
Jiang Zeting said that as a talent training base and scientific and technological service base for urban planning, construction and management in Beijing, the school takes the action plan of "small space and big life" as the starting point, continuously optimizes the quality of public space in the capital city and promotes the high-quality development ability of the capital, deeply explores the implementation of the overall plan for high-level service Beijing, and integrates government, industry, academia and research to cultivate "future planners, architects, and designers" talents.
It is understood that in the follow-up, "small space big life" will form a "urban design guideline for the integration of urban small and micro public space functions, quality improvement, and vitality reproduction" by combing, summarizing and refining the implementation cases of the action plan, covering the whole process of case analysis, idea guidance, problem summary, construction difficulties and experience summary from the selection of points, program design, public participation, implementation plan, etc., to form a replicable urban renewal and transformation method, experience and technical guidelines.
Shi Weiliang said that in June this year, the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, together with the Municipal Planning and Self-Government Commission and the Municipal Urban Management Commission, launched the collection of small and micro urban public space projects for "a hundred years of party building, serving the people, and creating one hundred public spaces that belong to you".
"The Beijing Municipal Planning and Self-Government Commission and Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture will conscientiously summarize and refine the experience of implementing cases of small spaces and large lives, and promote and apply them in hundreds of public space projects." Shi Weiliang said.
"The pilot project focuses on what residents think, think and expect, really improve and enhance the quality of the people's living environment, solve the problem of the masses' anxieties and anxieties at the doorstep of the masses, and continuously enhance the people's sense of happiness, sense of gain, and security." Shi Weiliang said that in the next step, the Beijing Municipal Planning and Self-Government Commission will continue to refine the experience of functional integration and environmental quality improvement of small and micro public spaces, and further explore the integrated design ideas, technical guidelines and implementation paths of urban public spaces such as urban streets and alleys, large complexes, and transportation hubs in terms of functional integration and business prosperity.
Beijing News reporter Xu Meihui
Edited by Wang Jingxi Proofreader Li Shihui