Qixia Street is located in the heart of the old city of Weihai. It was a business and entertainment hub during the British occupation a century ago. Unlike those listed as “historic and cultural areas”, an “ordinary” street like Qixia Street requires a different preservation and renewal strategy. The key lies in recognizing and integrating into the design two crucial attributes of its value as a heritage: the “material” forms of the street and the “life” that this street fostered. In terms of spatial forms, the overall design incorporates elements from different historical periods, highlighting the spatial diversity on Qixia Street shaped by a century of development.
On the cultural level, different spatial forms lay out the framework for various daily activities to unfold amongst the streets. By retaining original residents and reintroducing traditional trades, we try to bring back the cultural and commercial vibrancy of the past. These efforts help strengthen the cultural ties between the Street and the city, turning the whole area into an organic living heritage. In terms of appearance, the project incorporates the contrasting scales and architectural details of buildings from the modern era and Jiaodong vernacular architecture, creating two distinct façade system for the exterior and the interior respectively to render the splendor of the past.
In order to revive traditional architectural craftsmanship, we went on field trips to suburban old towns and villages to look into traditional local building techniques for reference. During construction, discarded grey bricks and stones from local villages were reclaimed and recycled to recreated the old street’s rustic charm and refined detail. The preservation and revitalization of Qixia Street have reawakened the collective memory of the city, established a foundation for ongoing renewal, and inspired the iterative process of orderly transformation in surrounding neighborhoods.