Urban renewal：Revitalize the Workers' Village of Shenyang

2022-07-28

[video photographed by author on October 31,2021]

Reading guide

The 2021 "Vitality Regeneration and Urban Renewal" Design Competition for master and doctoral Students, organized by the Educational Department of Liaoning Province, the Urban Renewal Committee of Liaoning Urban Planning Association, and the World Association of Chinese Architects (WACA), was launched in September 2021, and the competition results were announced on July 4, 2022. Supported by the Hunan Graduate Scientific Research and Innovation Project (CX20211029), our research group participated in this competition and went to the Workers' Village of Shenyang to conduct field survey on October 31, 2021. We sincerely visited Prof. Zhang Lingling of Shenyang Jianzhu University and got his help academically. We analyzed the existing problems faced by the Workers' Village, and promoted ideas and methods to solve the problems through the renewal design. After the evaluation of expert judges, finally we won the second prize. The team includes two tutors and four master students from the major of architecture, design and art design. This short article will briefly introduce the research process and design idea for the Workers' Village in order to provide ideas and methods for the renewal of industrial heritage of Shenyang.

The research group visited Zhang Lingling, Professor of Shenyang Jianzhu University [Photo by author]

1. Overview of the Workers’ Village and project site

The Workers' Village, located in Tiexi District of Shenyang, was built in 1952. It is the first workers' residential zone built with the rise of the P.R.C. The planning was the first complete urban plan of Shenyang after the liberation of China, and reached a boom period with convenient transportation and living facilities from 1958 to 1982.

The Workers' Village in the early period of the foundation of the P.R.C (provided by the organizing committee

The Workers' Village in the heyday of prosperity (provided by the organizing committee)

After the 1990s, the economical structural reform decreases the benefits of industrial enterprises in Tiexi District of Shenyang, causing workers laid off. Thus, the Workers' Village gradually declined and became the area with a large number of dilapidated houses. The government began to build new Workers' Villages around to improve the living environment. From 2007 to 2018, it launched the Workers' Village Protection Plan, focusing on the protection of spatial pattern and architectural style, such as workers' houses, spatial patterns, relevant historical structures and historical trees, in order for inheriting and carrying forward the workers' living culture represented by the spirit of model workers.

Declined Workers' Village (provided by the organizing committee)

Protection plan of the Workers’ Village (provided by the organizing committee)

The project site is located in the second ring road of Shenyang and the southwest of Tiexi District, covering an area of 136,000 square meters. The west courtyard has been designated as provincial-level cultural relics building, while the east as a municipal one. The land around the project site is used in residential form, with a large population of low income groups.

Location and layout of the Workers’ Village (provided by the organizing committee)

2. Field survey on the Workers’ Village

We conducted a field survey on the project site in the Workers’ Village of Shenyang on October 31, 2021. The following problems were found through investigation:

(1) A large number of residents moved out, which reduced the community identity;

(2) serious aging and low employment rate;

(3) it failed to integrate into Shenyang's industrial heritage tour line and could not give full play to its resource advantages;

(4) the architectural characteristics are not significant;

(5) low utilizing rate of public space, monotonous landscape space;

(6) the "model worker spirit" of the local people has not been awakened.