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From industrial heritage to art parks:The immersive transformation of the Beijing 798 Art District in the context of urban renewal (part 2)

2023-11-24 | CBC Building Center

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 Source: the 798 Art District

2、The renewal strategy of the 798 Art District

(1) Precise positioning and enrichment of business formats.

By improving the preferential tax policies for funds, reducing taxes on cultural and creative design service enterprises, attracting artists and cultural institutions to settle in, and forming a "SOHO-style art settlement" and "LOFT lifestyle" with international colors. Expand the path of industrialization development, introduce exhibitions and art transactions, artistic creation, creative home furnishings, clothing design industries, etc. Develop a series of tourism products for art experience, covering 798 creative stores, creative markets, and 798 art and television galleries, positioning itself as a highly international cultural and artistic characteristic area.


(2) Industrial elements, artistic genes.

The artists reuse and transform old factories, preserving the history and culture of the industrial heritage, while providing a unique spatial environment for artistic creation. The industrial elements of the art district, such as old machines, pipes and steel structures, provide new materials and inspiration for artistic creation, and become a unique landscape in the area. The traces of time have also been preserved, showing the inheritance of industrial history and culture, providing a richer and more authentic background for artistic creation. In terms of the presentation of art, the combination of industry and art makes the presentation of art more diversified and three-dimensional.

On the basis of respecting the original historical and cultural heritage, the original industrial plant will be redefined, designed and renovated. For example, ebeecake, a creative cake brand settled in 2009, with its exquisite shape, integrated into the genes of the art district, it is a good interpretation of the combination of deliciousness, art and culture, and the wall paintings that can be seen everywhere further set off the artistic atmosphere of 798, making art everywhere.


(3) Optimize the experience and serve the people.

The three integration concepts of "horizontal and vertical reflection, green weaving, and outstanding characteristics" are proposed, and the public open space in the park is divided into three categories according to their functions and spatial characteristics: square space, ribbon area and parking space. In view of the relatively scattered distribution of public space, the lack of guidance and integration, the public open space is integrated and strengthened with the traffic and green space of two horizontal and two vertical, and finally the functional space of the park is more unified and coordinated, and the green landscape system is more organically integrated.


(4) Literature and art are the core and organically integrated.

In order to highlight the core value of 798 culture and art, and respond to the practical needs of operation and promotion, the park will divide the construction of sculptures into three types: temporary exhibition, long-term exhibition, and permanent exhibition. For the temporary construction of sculptures, the form of cooperation with cultural and art colleges and other institutions is adopted to build a platform for the promotion of cultural and artistic products in various forms such as "production, education and research" and "production + display"; for long-term and permanent artworks, master works and works with great collection value are integrated and displayed, so as to give full play to the cultural and artistic communication value of the park in the long term, and organically integrate with the city through public transportation and public open space, so as to realize the theme positioning of the park to provide cultural services for the city.


3、Rejuvenation, artistic immersion – the future of the 798 Art District

(1) Inheritance of art, to see the future with technology.

The integration of culture and technology is the general trend of the development of the cultural industry. Recently, the 798 International Art Exchange Center launched the theme exhibition "Inheritance and Future: Let AI Understand China Better", which follows the core of art embracing AI, explores the innovative combination of artistic language and AI technology, and carries out the co-creation and cooperation between artists and AI painting. "This is a meeting between art and AI, seeing and insight, and it is also a dialogue between tradition and modernity, culture and technology. Through a variety of ways, we let Chinese wisdom and artificial intelligence collide and blend, and through the wisdom and emotion of artists and the training and creation of AI, we can make traditional culture bloom with endless charm. The relevant person in charge of the 798 International Art Exchange Center said. In addition, the exhibition also incorporates the concept of "Artist for a Day", where visitors can experience the co-creation of art and technology through on-site interaction, and appreciate the charm of art.


(2) Public activities, various ways of expression.

"In the creation of the art festival, we deeply practice the concept of people's city, grasp the new trends and new characteristics of cultural tourism demand such as quality, diversity and experience, and make 'watching art exhibitions, viewing cultural museums, and visiting activities' become the artistic landscape of the city's golden autumn and the first choice for citizens to check in. The relevant person in charge of the 798 Art District introduced.

In the 2023 Beijing 798 Art Festival, which officially opened on September 26, the "Art Life Experience Plaza" brings together various activities such as art interaction, trendy classics, and coffee brands, allowing the public to experience and feel different artistic life scenes, the "Intellectual Property Protection Public Welfare Publicity" focuses on the needs of the industry and escorts original content, and the "3,000 Years Ago Amusement Park" Cultural Market activates the night economy of the art district and enriches the festival atmosphere through multiple elements such as art interactive installations, cultural and creative gifts, and catering. During this period, the park will also launch an online guide system for a variety of public cultural activities and art festival activities, such as video screenings, art lectures, workshops, and public welfare tours, to continuously enrich the public's art experience. The organizers will also carry out night tour activities such as "High Passenger Day and International Exchange Day" to better meet the people's high-quality and multi-level night consumption needs.

At the historical starting point of "the cradle of the electronics industry of New China", 798 Art District continues to promote cultural prosperity, strengthen cultural self-confidence, uphold openness and inclusiveness, and adhere to integrity and innovation. Efforts are made to promote the prosperity and development of cultural undertakings and cultural industries, and adhere to the development idea of "art + technology" and "brand + industry". Efforts should be made to continue the Chinese cultural context and promote the creative transformation and innovative development of China's excellent traditional culture. Strengthen international communication capacity-building, build a platform for cultural dialogue, exchange and mutual learning between China and foreign countries, and let the world listen to China's voice under the language of art.

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The master plan  Source: the 798 Art District

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798 cultural and creative products Source: the 798 Art District



Source: <https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/w_MVZi5a6jDVwvVVivDFig>

Edited and Translated by Guan Tao