Final thesis

MEMORY REGENERATION DISUSED AREAS AND URBAN RIQUALIFICATION IN CHINA

GROUP A PROJECTS FOR THE RENOVATION AND REUSE OF PANJIAYUAN MARKET BEIJING 北京潘家园城区旧货市场的设计

GROUP A 2

antonella SENOR

francesca SORLI

giulio VIANELLO 3

A collaboration between: Tsinghua University - School of Architecture Politecnico di Torino

POLITECNICO DI TORINO - Dipartimento di Architettura e Design DAD

Corsi di Laurea Magistrale in: Anchitettura (Costruzione e Città), Architettura (Sostenibilità).

RELATORI 4

gustavo AMBROSINI mauro BERTA michele BONINO pierre-alain CROSET anna BARBARA jian LIU li ZHANG 5

8

introduction

14 story board of the project 22 panjiayuan market: project analysis

_transformation reasons _market program requirements _our new panjiayuan market

28 CIRCULATION

_access

_storage and goods flows

_customers Flows _parking

38 DENSITY

_functions _surfaces

46 TYPOLOGY

the market:

_high level shops _mid-level shops

_FOCUS mid level modules

_Ffea market and canopy

the public space: _exhibition Building _auction Building

_museum and Library

_public square, restaurants and conference hall the private space:

_office building

106 CULTURE

_interaction between customers and sellers

_spaces of interaction _atmosphere

_FOCUS mid level squares _FOCUS canopy

140 conclusion 142 bibliography

CONTENTS 6

7

The project presented in the following pages starts in February 2014, when we left from Turin for our trip in China to take part to the Joint Studio Experience in Beijing from 4th to 14th of March 2014.

For all of us it was the first time in China. From the beginning we knew that we would have to face with a country and a nation very different from ours, with ancient traditions and intricate history.

We visited modern metropolis like Shanghai and Xi’an, countryside like Yangshuo and the rice fields outside Guilin, archeological site like the Hanging Temple in Datong and a city like Beijing always hanging in between the past and the future, between his hutongs, imperial palaces and brand new skyscrapers.

This long trip has been for us very important because it was our first contact with China and it contributed to the creation of our Chinese architectural background.

The theme of the fourth edition of the Joint Studio Experience was the transformation of the Panjiayuan Ancient Market in Beijing, one of the largest and most famous antique and handicraft market in China.

Because of the actual urban changes1 it requires nowadays a big transformation.

INTRODUCTION 8

1 - Claudio Greco, Pechino: la cittĂ nuova, Skira, Milano 2008.

2 - About the history and analysis of Panjiayuan Antique Market, see the common volume of Joint Studio 2014.

Our challenge has been to draw up a project for the New Panjiayuan Antique Market, ensuring functionality and architectural image and preserving the atmosphere that characterizes the site2.

All the design process has been possible thanks to the collaboration between us and a Tsinghua University student, Wang Muge that we met in Beijing and who has been our partner for the Joint Studio.

In order to have a better understanding of China and his architectural traditions and language her contribution has been very important and this cooperation has been one of the most exciting points of the Joint Studio.

This collaboration has been so important because we had the chance to work side by side with a student who came from a different cultural background and who could explain us all China culture aspects.

The project started with the first two week workshop at Tsinghua University, when the main project concept has been decided and carried on during next months with a continuous contact with the Chinese student and the professors.

Step by step we tried to solve all the design problems and to realize our idea of the New Panjiayuan Antique Market.

In the following pages we would report our experience from Beijing to Turin and our design for the New Panjiayuan, analyzing how to design a trading space that aims to become an active and living part of the city.

9

The Panjiayuan Antique Market is located in the south-eastern part of Beijing, close to one of the most important city expressways, the East third ring Road.

During years the Market reached a certain prosperity that improved the development of the surrounding areas.

The market is classified as cultural and creative industry by the government and it absorbs goods and merchants from all across the country.

In order to manage the expansion of the ghost market, the proper Panjiayuan Market was confined by walls and closed during the night.

Actually the Panjiayuan Market is open from Monday to Friday 8:30 18:30, Saturday and Sunday from 4:30 to 18:30; however only on Saturdays and Sundays it is possible to see the most typical ghost market in Beijing which attracts a lot of foreign and domestic tourists.

Nowadays there are different ways to access to Panjiayuan Market: through the public transportation (subways and city bus), several pedestrian entrances and two vehicular entrances (reserved for traders).

Panjiayuan Market collocation 10

11

View of the Panjiayuan Market nowadays - March 2014 12

13

The project started in Beijing in the beginning of March 2014.

First of all we visited the Panjiayuan Antique Market and we met our colleagues of Tsinghua University who in a collective meeting illustrated us the surrounding area and the market.

After that we started to work in mixed groups with Chinese students elaborating our projects.

The first step corresponds to the final review occurred in Beijing, when after a direct confront between the professors from both Politecnico di Torino and Tsinghua University we defined the main points and cornerstone of our project.

Then we continued our work in Turin with a daily contact with our colleague Wang Muge analyzing our first idea and reshaping all the area.

Through several mid-term meeting with all Joint Studio participants and professors and after six months of work we created our final project that we strongly believe that could satisfy Panjiayuan stakeholders, redesigning this part of the city and creating a new social and interactive space.

STORY BOARD OF THE PROJECT 14

15

STEP 1.

Plan and section of the project 16

The first step has been elaborated during the workshop in Beijing and presented to both Italian and Chinese professors.

This first general idea has been well received by the professors because of the study we made on the actual Panjiayuan Market and on Chinese architecture.

This project was strongly influenced in term of the research of an organic shape and the use of traditional materials by the Ai Weiwei art district in Beijing3.

As the concept scheme shows the first operation has been the drawing of a wall which delimitates the interior from the exterior: this is a typical Chinese issue in traditional architecture and gardens.

Then some optical cones have been created to permeate the wall.

Along these new views we aimed to distribute the mid level market, whereas the high level market would be hosted along the wall.

The section shows that along boundaries the market has a higher density and that a spread market is settled in the center of the area.

Since this first step we introduced a canopy to cover the flea market and that element will be an icon for the entire new Panjiayuan Market.

Concept scheme

3 - About our visit to the 211 Art District in Beijing, see the common volume of Joint Studio 2014.

17

STEP 2.

This second project has been for us a middle step to better understand and analyze some of the critical points of our first idea in order to reach the final design.

One of the issues4 on which Professor Li Zhang5 insisted has been to leave a free circulation in order to promote a better flow system between people and goods: so that we decided, always keeping in touch with our Chinese mate, Muge Wang, to change our visual cones in order to regularize the circulation.

Therefore we created a central east-western axis that will be used for the flea market and some cross circulations.

This central street cross some squares delimitated by mid level shops.

In this project the huge building on the eastern side, which represents an attractive point from the Ring road, has been split in two volumes: the exhibition building and the offices building.

Three elements still remain from the first phase to the last one: the canopy, as an icon and a particular element of the flea market, the wall that divides exterior from interior, and a big square on the eastern side where new public functions will be concentrated.

Plan and section of the project 18

Concept scheme

4- About specific requirements for the new market, see the common volume of Joint Studio 2014.

5- Li Zhang: full professor at the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing.

19

STEP 3.

This is the concept of our current project.

From the previous steps the wall kept its importance preserving the atmosphere of the Market at its interior. It is important to notice that we have split the eastern side of the wall in order to create different spaces.

The two-thirds of the area host the market function and the western side of the market is closed by the big office building.

The other third is separated from the market by two building hosting the library and the museum.

This operation creates a new public space delimitated by buildings with public functions: on the southern side there is the auction building while on the eastern side the exhibition building which eastern façade assumes a promotional function along the Ring Road. The section points out one of the main outcome of our project: the spread and organic flea market is encased by high buildings and that fact creates the Panjiayuan Market atmosphere we would preserve.

Plan and section of the project 20

Concept scheme

Another element that contributes to raise market’s appeal is the big canopy that comes out from the boundaries of the market and covers the stands of the flea market. It is possible to see in the conceptual scheme how the circulation has been simplified, ensuring fluid and free people flows always separated from the good flows.

21

1. TRANSFORMATION REASONS

1. TRANSFORMATION REASONS

2. MARKET PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

3. OUR NEW PANJIAYUAN MARKET

The Panjiayuan market, established in 1992 and transformed in following years, nowadays appears not adequate to the market needs. In fact for what concerns its annual revenue and number of visitors it registers a continuous growth6.

Therefore the recent increases of the market business are requiring a deep transformation of this site.

Transformations are required also due to the strong influences that the market has on the urban area outside its boundaries.

For example, about the circulation issues, during opening and closing hours the traffic jam became a relevant problem in the streets surrounding the market7.

The causes of the congestion are several: firstly, the distribution inside the market is not enough organized to contain the huge quantity of vehicles that circulate here; secondly, there are few vehicular gates and thirdly it exists a deficit of parking lots for customers and traders.

Furthermore, it is important to take into account that it does not exist a distinct circulation between customers and traders.

Nowadays in the area there are several issues related to its density:

PANJIAYUAN MARKET: PROJECT ANALYSIS 22

6- Cui Xin Wei, Panjiayuan photographic album, Beijing, Beijing chu ban she, 2008.

7- “Beijing drivers brace for most congested month” : www.chinadaily.com.cn/beijing/2014-09/01/ content_18521307.htm

on one side the zone is not dense at all from the architectonical point of view, but on the other side the great flows of people and goods make the area overcrowded during the market opening times.

The introduction of a new space layout would give the possibility to invert this situation, creating a new logic in a block that has been urbanized in a spontaneous way.

Considering the inner layout of the market, Panjiayuan shows today an incoherent situation, because all the different selling areas do not share a global vision. In fact for the project of the new Panjiayuan market it would be necessary a better organization for the market, with a functions’ separation and consequently a separation of flows and people.

At the same time it becomes necessary to keep the market partially open by night.

Furthermore the majority of inner paths are open air, which means visitors and goods are unprotected, exposed to weather adversity.

This situation becomes even more relevant in the case of the flea market, since this thrilling space is completely open and uncovered.

Moreover the architectural image of the market is not adequate for such a distinctive place.

Finally in the new Panjiayuan market the distinctive multicultural factor has to be maintained and at the same time controlled. A fundamental point is that most of traders consider themselves not just as sellers, but also, and above all, as guardians of the authentic Chinese culture.

2. MARKET PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS CONSTRUCTION SCALE Land size: planning area of about 49200 sqm Roads and green land: 8200 sqm Building size: gross floor area of about 96830 sqm Building height: about 18 m LOGISTICAL ASPECTS The project should manage: Shopping hours Monday to Friday weekends 4:30-18:00

8:30-18:00,

People flow: Monday to Friday - 15000/day Saturday and Sunday - 35000/day Traffic: Monday to Friday - vehicles 420/day, tricycle 410/day, bicycle 500/day Saturday and Sunday - vehicle 1300/ day, tricycle 740/day, bicycle 850/ day.

Car park: 492 spaces at least, 30 on ground level.

Non-motor vehicle parking space for 800 tricycle and 800 bicycles.

The parking wil be available 24 hours by day.

A convenient vehicle access settings and the installation of automatic billing system must be provided.

23

3. OUR NEW PANJIAYUAN MARKET

Left top: view from the

Panjiayuan Road Left bottom: view of the

public square

24

8- “China landprice growth slows for first time in nearly two years” - http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/15/ us-china-property-land-idUSBREA3E09020140415 “Chinese land price growth slows: report” - http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/854672.shtml

Designing such a big area is a difficult and exciting challenge. The Panjiayuan Antique Market has an area of about 50.000 square meters and the client requires that the new project includes both public and private spaces involving several functions.

Different typologies of market, openair public spaces, offices, exhibition halls and auction spaces will have to coexist in this area and all the spaces will have to ensure to visitors comfort and safety.

During the design process we understood that it was very important to control and define all the flows (customers, traders, pedestrians, vehicles, goods and supply) in order to guarantee to users the maximum comfort and accessibility on the entire area.

The raising land cost in Chinese cities brought8 the client to ask for a growth of urban density in the new project in order to better exploit this area and to maximize the profit.

Moreover the new functions that the Panjiayuan Market will host will require new building typologies and a particular attention to each space.

Since our first visit at Panjiayuan Antique Market we perceived the unique atmosphere of this space where Chinese tradition and culture are preserved.

Taking into account these considerations we divided all the design process and results in four themes (circulation, density, typology and culture) in order to give the best explanation to our work.

The project for the new Panjiayuan Antique Market is settled in a complex urban context, delimitated on one side by the 3rd Ring Road of Beijing. For us the previous phase of inspection and knowledge of the theme has been fundamental, due to the difficulties of designing in a totally unknown background. We learned to know better Chinese culture and the way Chinese people use to sell and buy in a market of this type.

The awareness acquired allowed us to design a new antique market in harmony with the context and that can answer to requirements.

First of all we created an external wall, to separate the interior from the outside city: this is one of the issues we found important in Chinese traditional architecture. Then, in the interior we planned the market as a set of spread modules and linear elements to include and protect them. After that we split the east side of the market to create a public square opened to the city, bounded by functions addressed both to market customers and to citizens: an exhibition space, a library, a gallery and the auction building. The square, 5 meters below ground level, favors the entrance to the market from the metro station, creating a space for leisure, surrounded by restaurants, bar and a conference hall.

The project is inspired by the knowledge accumulated during our visit of the actual Panjiayuan Market and its need to grow up in harmony with modern China.

25

Our project aims to subdivide both functions and circulations, to promote a sort of mix between different kinds of markets but at the same time to make a differentiation in customers’ circulation. On the ground floor the middle level market is distributed in air-conditioned spaces, while the flea market is settled under the canopy.

The second floor is exclusively dedicated to the high-level market, while at the first floor we have a mix between the two types of market. It is important to notice that the high-level market is distributed in the perimeter building whereas the middle level is spread in the interior.

Both plan and section show the concept behind the project of this antique market: we thought it as a series of spread spontaneous elements (middle level market) protected by an external wall (high level market), which can include new functions, becoming a point of attraction for all citizens.

Ground floor Plan scale 1:1000 Section A scale 1:1000

26

27

1. ACCESS 2. Storage and goods flows

3. PARKING 4. CUSTOMERS FLOWS

The circulation is one of the main themes of the project and we gave to it a strong relevance from the very beginning.

In such big dimension area, access and internal flows play a very important role. To maximize the number of visitors we should give to costumers the possibility to get easily into the market. At the same time to maximize the trade volume we should allow customers to visit the market freely.

Customers could reach the market by using their own vehicles, public transportation system or by walking.

As we exposed in the analysis of the Panjiayuan Antique Market two urban bus lines and the metro line 10 serve the area; furthermore the Panjiayuan is easily reachable by car by using the East Third Ring Road, Huawei Road and Panjiayuan Road.

CIRCULATION 28

29

1. ACCESS

30

In our idea most of the pedestrian access to the area will be ensured through the new metro access on the east side of the market.

Nowadays the metro station already exists and we want to create a way that leads directly to our exhibition building and to the new public square. Customers and visitors in this way will find an easy path to reach the market and the new public spaces we created and to discover the New Panjiayuan Market.

The entire northern bound represents another direct pedestrian access and customers could easily arrive here by using the two line of urban bus that serve the area.

In the north-eastern part the access above the footbridge that links the exhibition building to the museum will be 24/7 open and it will create a direct way to enter into the square and into the market.

Furthermore several controlled entrances in the wall will be created and they will lead to the market during its opening hours. In this way it will be possible also to separate the flows between market customers and public spaces’ users.

Schemes of levels and accesses

Anyway that would not be a strong and fix separation, because from the square it will be possible to reach the market by using a big gate between the library and the museum: from this gap, in order to maximize flows inside the market area, it will be possible to see the canopy that is a strong attractive element.

As the southern bound is closed due to the presence of private residential building and spaces we would not create any pedestrian access from this part of the area.

By car the access to the Panjiayuan will be allowed from the Huawei Road, where a slope will lead to level -2: there a public parking lot will receive those customers and users that will use their own car.

On the other hand for those who will reach the market by bike, at the northern bound, aside Panjiayuan Road, it will be created a cycle path with a cycle parking space.

As the Panjiayuan is a market, a selling space, one of the most important issue is how to bring goods to the market and how to store them in the most efficient and safe way.

After an analysis of how the actual Panjiayuan Market works, according to the typology and size of goods, we can divide the market in two different types.

Currently in high level market that sells higher price goods, such as painting and statues, the supply is made occasionally by using private vehicles according to the need they have, and all the goods are stored inside the shops.

In lower level market, as we saw in Panjiayuan and as traders told us during the interviews, we observed that this type of sellers store their goods outside the market and the supply is made daily early in the morning by using tricycles.

Therefore one of the principal points of our program has been to think about the most efficient way to access the area for traders and how to storage their goods.

On the other hand it has been also important to separate the flows between customers and goods providing safety for traders and comfort for customers.

So we set all the storage above the market area, at level -1, giving a private and separate access through a slope from Huawei Road. All the shops are provided with a private storage room and a parking lot in front of it useful also to load and dump.

Storages for the high level shops are allocated all around the edge of the floor -1, and those for middle level shops in the center, distributed in lines coupled by a pedestrian corridor in the middle.

All shop owners could reach their private storage rooms with their own tricycles and dump their goods without any sort of interference.

The Exhibition Building has a separate storage area at level -2 reachable with a slope from the storage area at level -1, and the Auction Building has a private and closed storage above the building at level -1 with a controlled access.

31

2. STORAGE AND GOODS FLOWS

As we said before, in order to improve the efficiency of the entire project, storage and supply are very important themes in such kind of project due to the importance that goods rationalization and people flows could have.

One of our purposes has been to separate the flows in order to avoid any contact between goods and customers during storage and supply phases.

As we said, the storage rooms are entirely at level -1, with one storage room for each shop, high level part separated from middle level one.

About mid level shops, all the goods can be stocked in the storage rooms and if required, traders can move easily with hand truck through the corridors between the storage rooms, avoiding any type of interference with vehicles.

From corridors it is possible to reach elevators settled under high level shops.

Level -1: Storage scale 1:1000 32

33

3. PARKING

In the market area all vertical circulation is absorbed by eleven staircases below the high level market and two below the Office Building (those two will be used by office building users).

All staircases are composed by a public elevator for people, a service elevator for traders and emergency stairs. Public elevators reach level -2, whereas service elevators level -1. By using those elevators customers could reach level 0, 1, and 2: in that way they can have access from the parking floor to the market and traders can reach their shops carrying their goods with hand trucks.

In this way all the flows are separated and any type of interference or discomfort for customers and traders is avoided.

From parking level it is also possible to reach directly the museum and the library.

As we said, the Auction Building has a private storage space above it and all the goods could be moved from level -1 to the auction rooms with two elevators inside the building.

Level -2: Parking scale 1:1000 34

35

4. CUSTOMERS FLOWS

By the stairway visitors could arrive at level 0 where there will be accesses for the museum, the library and the auction building, or they can continue and, attracted by the view of the canopy, pass through the void between the museum and the library and enter into the market.

Here the circulation will be completely free.

Above the canopy they would find and explore flea market stalls or they can go ahead crossing the entire market and reaching the Office Building.

Walking under the canopy customers could be attracted by the middle level market modules and discover showcases in the covered path between shops or explore the little squares.

From these spaces, by using the staircase, or the elevator, it is also possible to reach high-level shops.

Since the beginning such kind of freedom about customers’ flows and about how they could experience the market has been very important for us and all the design work has been strongly directed to achieve an organic form in order to obtain this type of visitors’ independence.

From high-level shops it could be also possible to reach level +1 of mid-level shops: here footbridges cross all the market north to south providing access to shops and little restaurants and cafeterias.

Inside the entire Panjiayuan Market, at ground floor and upper levels, the circulation is reserved to pedestrians and any type of car, truck or bike is not allowed to enter.

The main idea is to have a totally free pedestrian circulation, which allows the customers to discover the market little by little.

The main pedestrian flow would start from the edges and enter inside the market.

The main axis will be the eastwestern one: customers, arriving from the metro at level -1, could reach the upper levels of Exhibition Building by slopes or they could pass through it and enter into the public square. Here they will find the most important public space, the conference halls and the restaurants’ area.

36

Level 0: Circulation scheme

37

1. FUNCTIONS 2. SURFACES

DENSITY 38

9 - About further information on clients’ requirements, see the common volume of Joint Studio 2014.

10 -“China landprice growth slow for first time in nearly two years” - http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/15/ us-china-property-land-idUSBREA3E09020140415 “Chinese land price growth slows: report” - http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/854672.shtml 11 - Claudio Greco, Pechino: la città nuova, Skira, Milano 2008.

12 - About the storyboard of our project, see pag.

14

Currently in the Panjiayuan Market area it is possible to find only market’s function (divided between flea market, temporary market and permanent shops), some little cafeterias and restaurants and some parking and storage spaces.

The transformation required by the client will deeply change this area9 both typologically and functionally.

New functions will be added in order to increase visitors’ flows and trading volumes and the area will host a mix of public, private and commerce spaces.

The project we made will deeply change Panjiayuan Market shape increasing the urban density on the area in order to enlarge land exploitation. Especially because of the increasing land costs in Beijing10 the need for a better and higher use of the area was for the client one of the most significant issue.

Nowadays the Panjiayuan Market presents a very low density. This area is settled in a very central position in Beijing and around it the skyline is going higher and urban density is rising up year by year11. Nowadays the Panjiayuan Market area is a void within the city.

Our project aims to fill this void and to get closer to city skyline, formally reconnecting this area to his surroundings.

Moreover an operation of densification is required by the client to enlarge profits.

As we explained in the storyboard chapter12, our purpose was to create an enclosure, separating the market from outside. The edification will be concentrated on eastern and western extremities and along the boundaries: the exhibition building and the office building will be the highest buildings, whereas the high level market will enclose all the market area.

It is important to notice that since the first meeting the need for a safer space open only during certain hours and period has been a precise client’s request and we tried to reply to this need by dividing the area by functions.

As explained before the market will be hosted in the western part and the public functions in the eastern part.

To separate them we repeated the action we made with the exhibition and office buildings and we create the museum and the library buildings in order to separate public function and market one. Those two elements will enclose the market on one side and the public space on the other and they will dialogue with the other two heads, the exhibition building and the office building.

This strong action to localize the higher and bigger buildings on the heads and along the boundaries will be very important in order to obtain what we were looking for since the beginning: to preserve Panjiayuan atmosphere and to create new kind of market spaces, where a direct and personal interaction between customers and traders will be possible.

39

Panjiayuan Market nowadays

Key plan:

Panjiayuan Market nowadays The new Panjiayuan Market

The new Panjiayuan Market

Panjiayuan Market nowadays

Longitudinal Sections:

Panjiayuan Market nowadays The new Panjiayuan Market scale 1:2000

Cross Sections:

The new Panjiayuan Market 40

Panjiayuan Market nowadays The new Panjiayuan Market scale 1:2000

41

Currently in the Panjiayuan Market area it is possible to find only market’s function (divided between flea market, temporary market and permanent shops), some little cafeterias and restaurants and some parking and storage spaces.

The transformation required by the client will deeply change this area13 both typologically and functionally.

New functions will be added in order to increase visitors’ flows and trading volumes and the area will host a mix of public, private and commerce spaces.

The project we made will deeply change Panjiayuan Market shape increasing the urban density on the area in order to enlarge land exploitation.

Especially because of the increasing

Scheme: comparison between Pajiayuan antique market nowadays and the new Panjiayuan Market The scheme shows that in the new project , even if the density changes, the fragmentation is manteined. That is the element that characteize the most the market and it is important, in our new project, to maintain it in order to preserve the atmoshore.

42

13- About further information on clients’ requirements, see page 23 and the common volume of Joint Studio 2014

land costs in Beijing the need for a better and higher use of the area was for the client one of the most significant issue.

Nowadays the Panjiayuan Market presents a very low density. This area is settled in a very central position in Beijing and around it the skyline is going higher and urban density is rising up year by year.

Currently the Panjiayuan area is a void within the city.

Our project aims to fill this void and to get closer to city skyline, formally reconnecting this area to his surroundings.

Moreover an operation of densification is required by the client to enlarge profits. Beside clients’ requirements our main goal has been to recreate and preserve in the new project the atmosphere of the Panjiayuan.

To reach this outcome we densified the boundaries of the market by creating building such as the Exhibition and Office Building whereas the high level market will enclose all the market area.

It is important to notice that since the first meeting the need for a safer space open only during certain hours and period has been a precise client’s request and we tried to reply to this need by dividing the area by functions.

Inside the market area the prefabricated modules of the middle level market will be set.

Those modules will be combined on two levels in order to obtain an organic ambient where customers would be able to walk freely and to

discover all the spaces little by little.

This strong action to localize the higher and bigger buildings on the heads and along the boundaries will be very important in order to obtain what we were looking for since the beginning: to preserve Panjiayuan atmosphere and to create new kind of market spaces, where a direct and personal interaction between customers and traders will be possible.

During our visits at Panjiayuan Market we noticed that nowadays the space is strongly fragmented into several parts. Different spaces and different buildings correspond to different functions.

This fragmentation contributes to create the unique Panjiayuan ambiance.

Since the beginning of our project we had the precise intention not to create only one big building following the shopping mall model, but to maintain the fragmentation and to recreate the actual mood.

In our opinion this kind of space organization could better respond to the need of having a social and interactive environment creating a more interesting space.

Our project tries to reply to client’s requests of safety, profit maximization and density increasing by giving an upstream idea. By entering inside our new Panjiayuan Market visitors will not come into a big container but they will go through a little city where the interaction between different people would represent the main issue.

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1. FUNCTIONS

2. SURFACES

state of the art

project

Mid level Market

8 990 sqm

11 910 sqm

High level Market

10 010 sqm

12 530 sqm

Exhibition building

2 950 sqm

14 260 sqm

(inside the exhibition bld)

4 830 sqm

Library

_

4 000 sqm

Didactic space

_

4 000 sqm

Offices building

1 200 sqm

13 630 sqm

(inside the shop or outside the market)

10 360 sqm

2 320 sqm

18 470 sqm (1 477 places)

Auction building

Storages Parking

Schemes of levels and functions 44

45

1. THE MARKET

high-level shops

mid-level shops FOCUS

mid level modules

flea market and canopy

2. THE PUBLIC SPACE

exhibition building

auction building

museum and library

public square, restaurants

and conference hall 3. THE PRIVATE SPACE

office building

TYPOLOGY 46

The client wants in the New Panjiayuan Antique Market area some new functions that require new public spaces.

In order to satisfy these requirements we thought to divide the area in two parts.

In the eastern part all public functions are concentrated (exhibition building, auction building, library, museum, public square, conference halls, restaurants) whereas in the western part (two-thirds of the total area) is settled the market.

This kind of separation is also characterized by a different opening time: indeed the market area will have a normal workday opening time but all the other spaces will stay open later during the evening or 24/7 (the public square).

47

Level 0: Ground Floor scale 1:1000

48

49

Level +1: First Floor scale 1:1000

50

51

1. THE MARKET

high level shops

Elevation: Market side scale 1: 200

Elevation: Panjiayuan street side scale 1: 200

52

The high level shops will be situated on northern and southern boundaries in two extended wings. These wings will be raised 5 meters from the ground and they will be accessible through the staircases that will start from level -2 (parking) and reach level +2 of high level shops. There will be one staircase each 50 meters.

Inside the wings two floors of shops will be hosted.

Shops will have different dimension, from 55 to 70 square meters, and they will be separated from circulation spaces by glass partitions.

All shops will have a private storage room at level -1 and goods will be transported with hand trucks from level -2 to the upper levels through service elevators in the staircases.

The second level of the high level shops will be shifted creating a loggia with a double height space all along the wing. This space will take advantage from the view on the market and the inner faรงades of the wings will be covered by glass and with sparse stretched metallic panels, in order to let customers to see market vitality and to have a brighter space inside. External faรงades on Panjiayuan Road and on southern boundary are intended as a negative of the inner faรงades: they will be covered by metallic panels with very sparse tiny cut, where through windows will be possible to have little views of the road. In front of the staircases some footbridges will start linking the second level of the middle level shops, passing under the canopy and linking the southern high level wing to the northern one.

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1. THE MARKET

mid level shops

sunny / summer weather

Level 0: Ground Floor scale 1: 400

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rainy / winter weather

Level +1: First Floor scale 1: 400

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The middle level shops take up the whole rectangle between the high level market wings, the office building, the library and the museum and they represent the most characteristic and lively space of our New Panjiayuan Market.

Since the beginning we wanted to create a sort of urban organic space where people could walk and explore freely, with no predestined paths, having the chance to discover little by little all shops and outdoor spaces.

This idea derives from the traditional Chinese garden, where the visitor could always choose which path to follow and he could never see the entire space because a wall, a little building or a temple, a tree or a little hill, would block his view.

Module scheme 56

On the left: Close module Open module

maquette

14- Binderholz: http://binderholz.com/it/prodotti/ pannelli-bbs-x-lam

We tried to recreate this kind of space according to market space needs and rules; since the beginning we worked with little modules that could be combined forming streets and squares between them maintaining always a variety of spaces.

We designed three kind of module, one of 5 by 5 meters, one of 5 by 7 meters and one of 5 by 10 meters, in order to have different typologies of shops, increasing the bid both for customers and sellers.

The modules have an XLAM Technology structure14, with two sides of the shop completely opaque covered by metallic panels. On the other sides, the shorter ones, there are the entrances to shops.

During our visit at Panjiayuan Antique Market we saw that it is a common practice for current Panjiayuan sellers to use the exterior space of their shops and stalls to show their goods in order to attract customers.

With the purpose to preserve this practice we designed modules with such kind of exposition space in front of the main façade just outside the shop: when the shop is closed the front is equipped with a big backward window while when the shop is open the façade is composed by revolving panels with shelves for goods’ exposition.

The modules are combined in six agglomerates creating six squares in order to promote a comfortable and lively market space; two streets run between them crossing the main axis in the center of the market.

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These agglomerates assume a C shape with three of them having the void side facing to the southern high level market wing and three to the northern high level market wing.

Modules have a wood and glass covered passage between them and shops have one entry faรงade open on this passage and one faรงade facing the square or the street.

Covered passages are linked by footbridges connecting the southern part of the high level to the northern part and that provides access to the second level of mid level shops.

This second level has a lower density of shops and some of the first level roofs become open-air terraces.

Furthermore some of second level modules host little restaurants and cafeterias and some of them have direct access from the module below becoming ateliers or little offices.

These passages become open-air promenades where customers could pass through a variety of activity (shops like ground floor ones, cafeterias, lounge terraces, ateliers) creating another level of the organic and vital space we were looking for.

Section_View from the Panjiayuan Road maquette

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Mid level scheme maquette

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FOCUS

mid level modules

Interior facade

Plan closed shop Plan open shop

Closed facade

Open facade

Plan closed shop Plan open shop

Closed facade

Open facade

Plan closed shop Plan open shop

Closed facade

Ground floor plan

First floor plan

Open facade

Plan Bar

Plan Street food

Open facade

Open facade

Facade (2 floors)

Module 5 x 7 m scale 1: 200

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Module 5 x 5 m scale 1: 200

Module 5 x 10 m scale 1: 200

Module 5 x 10 m (2 floors) scale 1: 200

First floor plan (module Bar + module street food)

Facade (module Bar + module street food)

Modules Bar and Street food

scale 1: 200

Module Restaurant scale 1: 200

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Module 5 x 7 m: Top view of the interior maquette

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XLAM construction system

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Water harvesting scheme

Module 5 x 7 m: Front view of the interior maquette

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a. Metallic external wall cladding b. Wood batten c. Wood fible insulation board d. Wood fibre insulation board e. Cross laminated timber BBS

(5 layers) f. Gypsum fibre board rigidur Gypsum fire protection board g. Mineral wool h. Gypsum direct hanger i. Cross laminated timber BBS

(5 layers) l. Trickle protection m. Gypsum leveling fill n. Impact sound insulation o. Screed element p. Flooring

Section

scale 1: 20

On the left: Elevation - Exterior facade scale 1: 20

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Section

scale 1: 20

On the right: Closed module maquette

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1. THE MARKET

flea market and canopy

The Canopy maquette

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When we visited the Panjiayuan Antique Market we have been especially impressed by the sparkling vitality of the flea market, which allowed the visitors to move freely through its narrow paths, being captured by one stall or another.

We decided to make the flea market one of the main elements of our project. It runs along the main eastwestern axis, which links the public square to the office building and divides the middle level market into two parts.

Instead of creating single stalls, we designed several stands with a length of 10 meters each, closed on the three sides and with slidingdoors lockers on the forth one.

Each one of them is paired to another one, with the locker side looking toward the inside.

The sellers will stand between a paired couple, they will store their goods inside the lockers and show what they intend to sell on the top of the stand, allowing the customer to have a stroll among the entire market.

During the meeting with the client the need to have a covered area was arisen in order to make the market more comfortable to visitors.

The flea market is completely covered by a canopy, which has been thought to be the icon of the new market.

The canopy is composed by nine independent structures each of 1215 meters height and with a spiral shaped steel skeleton covered by an external waterproof canvas.

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Each structure is linked to the next one through an additional waterproof canvas creating a covered promenade for the flea market.

The canopy is meant to be the most iconic element, representing our New Panjiayaun Antique Market proposal.

The canopy will start from the gap between the museum and the library, making the entrance to the market very visible from the square. That element will astonish customers catching their attention and bringing them inside the Panjiayuan Market.

At same time the last part of the structure will be close to the northwestern corner, visible from the street; for its all length the canopy will run along with the visitors while they will walk through the flea market and it will be always visible from the market space.

Being the main element of the zone, the canopy will link all the inner parts of the market and at the same time it will strike visitors’ mind.

Plan: The Canopy 72

scale 1:400

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View of the Flea Market 74

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Perspective view of the Market 76

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2. THE PUBLIC SPACE

exhibition building

Since the beginning our project has settled in western and eastern fronts, one of its most important and strongest elements.

One is the new Exhibition Building, situated at the eastern edge and faced to the Third Ring Road of Beijing.

It will be visible from the expressway Third Ring Road and it will be the main façade of the market.

With its position, dimension and shape the Exhibition Building will be the main advertisement for the market, in order to attract customers and increase its visibility.

exhibition building

Furthermore the Exhibition Building will be one of the main accesses because it will be linked directly to the metro station allowing a huge flow of customers to pass through it.

Below it at level -2 a storage space will be also created, reachable by a slope from level -1 (where all the other market storage rooms are situated).

Inside the building will be hosted a permanent exposition of big dimension and high value statues and objects; interested people could buy directly at offices present inside the Exhibition Building.

Longitudinal section AA’ scale 1:400

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As told before, the faรงade on the third Ring Road will be the main market faรงade and it will present big openings with statues inside.

These openings have to be easily visible also from the expressway to signalize the presence of the Panjiayuan Antique Market.

The rest of the faรงade will be covered with metallic panels.

The building will have five floors: level -1, where there will be the metro entrance and the reception, and level 0,1,2,3 where the exhibition and the offices will be hosted.

All floors will be provided with restrooms and connected by two staircases with elevators.

Level +1: First Floor 80

scale 1:400

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Section BB’ scale 1:400

View of the Exhibition Building maquette

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Circulation scheme - Slopes

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All the floors will be also connected by long slopes that will occupy all the western part of the plan and where some statues will be hosted.

In this way we want to create a continuous space both horizontally, with the chance to walk freely toward the exposition, and vertically, with a full height space.

The western faรงade of the building will be completely different from the eastern one, and it will be a glass faรงade. In this way the space inside the building will be brighter and from the square visitors will be attracted to enter inside the exhibition building.

North and south faรงades will be blind covered with metallic panels.

Slopes - Statues exhibition

On the left: View of the Exhibition Building 84

sketch

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2. THE PUBLIC SPACE

auction building

reception

Ground floor

1 st floor

The Auction Building has a very defined and particular function.

Inside it will be hosted two auction halls where valuable and ancient goods will be sold.

This kind of commerce demands higher privacy, although the building will be public, and most of the items sold here will have a remarkable value asking for higher safety.

Considering that, at level -1 the Auction Building has a private storage area and from there items could reach the auction halls directly by using private elevators.

The need of privacy influences also the design of the main faรงade of the building.

preview hall

The north faรงade will be covered by metallic panels with tiny vertical cuts giving to the building this idea of a close and private space.

2 nd floor

auction hall

auction hall

Ground Floor

scale 1:400

Level +1: First Floor

3 floor rd

View of the Auction Building maquette

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scale 1:400

Level +2: Second Floor conference hall

private rooms

scale 1:400

Level +3: Third Floor scale 1:400

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Customers could enter into the Auction Building from public square ground level passing through a double height inside garden; the rest of level 0 will be totally occupied by the reception, the info desk, a cloakroom and some service spaces.

Level 2 and 3 will be partially backward from the main faรงade and above the little garden the rooftop will be covered by glass.

From outside the building will be perceived as a big close monolith even though the space inside will be bright and fluid.

At level 1 it will be created an exposition hall, where interested buyers could see the items during weeks before the auction. At level 2 and 3 there will be two auction halls with separated storage room (level 2) and some private and reserved little conference rooms.

Section Scheme On the left: Level +1: First Floor scale 1:400

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auction building

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2. THE PUBLIC SPACE

museum and library

The space of the public square created in the eastern part of the area is enclosed by the museum building and the library building.

Those spaces are created in order to complete the proposal of activity in the New Panjiayuan Market.

The library building will be qualified to host a library about ancient Chinese art, jade jewelry production and calligraphy and the museum will host temporary exposition and didactic spaces, in order to give to visitors a deepen knowledge about Panjiayuan Antique Market, his history and his work and to better understand Chinese art.

Those two buildings divide the market space from the public space.

They have a north-south orientation, parallel to the exhibition building, creating between them a “big gate” from which it will be possible to see the canopy and to access to the market.

The buildings are very similar: two parallelepipeds of four floors each where the western façade is covered by glass and the eastern one covered by glass with external arcs that create a filter space between the square and the building where a little green space will be hosted.

At level 0 they both have the reception and a little lounge space.

View of the library and the museum from the square

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sketch

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Section

scale 1:400

On the left: Level +1: First Floor 92

museum and library

scale 1:400

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The upper floors plans have smaller dimension creating a whole height space with three loggias.

Each building has a staircase with elevator, emergency stairs and service elevator that reach level -1 (storage floor) and level -2 (customers’ parking) so visitors can enter the building from the level 0 or directly by the parking if they arrive by car.

Museum building is also linked to the exhibition building at level 1 and 2 with a double height footbridge that indicates also the entrance from the Panjiayuan Road to the square: below it and between the columns that bear it, it will pass the main pedestrian flow that enters into the square and the Panjiayuan area.

In the southern part of the footbridge the façade will be made by glass and the upper floor will be rearward from the façade.

In this way another double height will be created with a view on the square and other buildings.

View of the library and the museum 94

maquette

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2. THE PUBLIC SPACE

public square, restaurants

and conference hall

View of the square maquette

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The chance to design a big dimension area in such a dense and complex city brings the need to think about how to make this area part of Beijing, and not just a part of it.

During our visit at Panjiayuan Antique Market we saw that the market is nowadays completely separated from the surroundings.

So, since the beginning of the project our intent has been to create a 24/7 open big public space and to give to the neighborhood and to the entire city a new social, free and interactive environment.

We traduced our intent in the new public square set between the Exhibition Building, the Auction Building, the Library and the Museum; in our idea it will be a space of sociality, interaction between visitors and citizens and where free expression and re-dwelling proximity could be possible again.

The square will be 5 meters lower than ground level (level 0) and it will be accessible from the metro station by passing through the Exhibition Building and from the market by using the stairs in front of the gap between the library and the museum.

Arriving from the market there will be a monumental sequence of 4 big steps, each 0.5 meters high, and that will become a rest space and a terrace on square vitality. Below these steps will be created a big void separated in two parts by the stairs.

In these spaces there will be two conference halls of 200 hundred and 160 places in the northern part and several restaurants and cafeterias in the southern part.

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Section

scale 1:400

On the left: Level -1: Underground Floor 98

scale 1:400

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3. THE PRIVATE SPACE

office building

Level +1: First Floor scale 1:400

On the right: Level 0: Ground Floor scale 1:400

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office building

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The office building has been a precise request of the client.

We set it at the western boundary, in opposition with the exhibition building from which it recoups the dimension.

It represents one of the two heads that since the beginning we have imagined for the market.

It has four floors, plus the storage floor at level -1 and a reserved parking at level -2.

The entrances of the building are at level 0, one from Huawei Road and one from the market.

Level 0 hosts the reception and two cafeterias for employees whereas the other levels host all the offices and some conferences rooms of different dimension at far ends.

Level 1, 2 and 3 have a central court with a corridor around that serves as the distribution area for offices creating a total height space.

The vertical circulation is provided by two staircases with elevator, service elevator and emergency stairs that reach level -2; from level 0 to 4 there are also two additional stairs at court far ends.

View of the office building maquette

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Section

scale 1:400

The eastern faรงade looks on the market area, it will be totally covered by glass and it opens itself symbolically to the New Panjiayuan Antique Market, whereas the western faรงade references to exhibition building external faรงade and it will be covered by metallic panels.

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The new Panjiayuan project collocated in its context

maquette

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The model shows that all the elements just descibed ( the public and the private spaces of the new market) work together to create a city within the city.

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1. Interaction between customers and sellers 2. SPACES OF INTERACTION 3. atmosphere 4. FOCUS

mid level squares 5. FOCUS canopy

Panjiayuan sellers consider themselves not just as traders but more like Chinese heritage bearers.

A large variety of goods is sold here: stones, pots, calligraphy goods, wood objects, old pictures, books, jade objects and much more. Most of these goods have in the Chinese culture an important meaning and frequently they assume also a mystique connotation.

When customers enter into the Panjiayuan Antique Market they jump into Chinese past and tradition and they could explore Chinese culture and interact with sellers in order to enlarge their knowledge of this ancient and complex country.

With our project for the New Panjiayuan Antique Market we aim to create a space where the interaction between sellers and customers could be intensified and where sellers could still be heritage bearers promoting Chinese culture.

CULTURE 106

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1. INTERACTION BETWEEN CUSTOMERS AND SELLERS

As we already explained in the previous parts we will separate supply flows and customer flows.

In this way sellers are safer and more protected against theft and the biggest internal discomfort source is eliminated.

The interaction between customers and sellers is just limited to trading operations that in this kind of project play the most important role. As we already said one of our purposes is to maximize trade volume and we tried to obtain it by giving to all shops the best possible visibility and by creating the most comfortable space.

We tried to give to customers and sellers the most lively trading space, where traders could expose in the best possible way their goods and buyers could visit freely all the spaces.

This interaction will not be limited just to shops. Middle level shops will present spaces where interaction between customers and traders will be constant, such as the squares and the corridors through the shops; in these spaces sellers would not play just a businessmen role but would be also keepers and bearers of such an ancient culture.

Explaining and showing to customers their goods and their knowledge sellers will make the New Panjiayuan Market not just a trading space, but also a culture place, where tradition and habits will be preserved and spread.

An important role will be played also by the Museum and the Library that will be new elements of the area where it will be possible to have the first contact with the market, to study or to make some researches about Chinese traditional art.

In this way Chinese art will not be lost and it will not be seen just as trading object but it will remain through time as a Chinese culture statement.

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View of mid level market square

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2. SPACES OF INTERACTION

By the way, as we saw during our trip, Chinese people still try to dwell public spaces and use them for common activities or as interaction spaces and for that reason we want to give to this neighborhood a big new “empty� outdoor space where all people, citizens or visitors, could meet each other, expressing themselves and recreating that community sense.

By surrounding the square with other indoor public spaces (library, museum, exhibition building) and with its proximity to the market we try to increase the volume of people that will pass through this area.

As we told before, our New Panjiayuan Antique Market project presents several new public spaces, like the new underground square, the Library, the Museum and the Exhibition Building. With these spaces the Panjiayuan aims to become an active part in Beijing life and not just a simple portion of its land. This operation will represent a really important change especially for Chinese background.

In Chinese culture, dwelling the proximity represents a common practice and it helps to create a cohesive society. During the last decades this practice has became more difficult because of the incredible urban transformations and the development of Chinese contemporary cities that led to a lack of public interaction spaces.

Other important open spaces are the squares inside the middle level market where, just few steps away from the noise of the middle level shops and the flea market, and in front of the high level shops, customers could rest, have a break, meet traders and interact with them, whom on the other side could expose or realize their works.

Scheme of spaces of interaction. strong-weak interaction

MID LEVEL SQUARES 110

FLEA MARKET

PUBLIC SQUARE

In this scheme the different spaces of interaction, the public square, the flea market and the mid livel squares, are classified according to the significance of the interaction.

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3. ATMOSPHERE

When we entered into the Panjiayuan Market for the first time we saw that what makes it so special is the atmosphere that you perceive once you cross the gate.

The market is separated from the city by a big wall and the space inside represents an oasis inside the chaotic Beijing metropolis.

In our new project we aim to conserve this kind of atmosphere and make the New Panjiayuan Market a space totally different from the rest of the city.

First of all we designed the high level market as a separation element and the middle level market as an organic element in order to obtain a strong detachment from the city pattern. What we are looking for is a fluid space where people could find a warm, safe and friendly atmosphere, and a place where it will be possible to walk freely and discover little by little all the corners and all the shops of the New Panjiayuan Antique Market.

The high level shops will be higher from the ground level and separated from other parts of the market and it will represent a quiet space where it will be possible to operate trading without any type of interference.

On the contrary inside the middle level market and the flea market energy and vitality will reign and it will be possible to see all market strength and vigor.

Below the canopy and inside the covered corridors customers and sellers will meet each other, talk, lead trading operation, learn from each other and in this way they will generate this vitality typical of a market.

OUTSIDE THE MARKET

No predetermined flows will be present and customers could walk freely inside the market searching for the best shop, the best atelier or the most interesting person to talk with. The new big public spaces will also attract people, increasing the interactions and the social power of this area that will become not just a trading space, not just a mall, but a new pulsating and living part of the city.

FLEA MARKET AND PUBLIC SPACES

MID LEVEL MARKET

HIGH LEVEL MARKET

Scheme of market’s noise.

AUCTION BUILDING noise

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cross sections

That scheme shows a comparison between the noise caused by different factors like traffic, people, flows, in the different areas of the market. The result is a classification of the spaces in order to leave more privacy and quiet to high level and business areas.

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View of mid level market.

Old/new Panjiayuan Market.

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4. FOCUS

mid level squares

MOUNTAINS connection between heaven and earth VIEWS through holes and windows new landascapes are discovered VEGETATION cultural importance

THE CHINESE GARDEN

WATER essential element

HIDDEN PATHS mazy paths guide visitors through the garden

ARCHITECTURE harmonizes the landscape and conveys safety and continuity

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The Chinese garden has been one of the most influent reference for our project, primarily for its importance in the Chinese culture and in the Chinese everyday life. Since the beginning of our trip in China we notice that the traditional gardens are considered as spaces for sociability and relax.

We wanted to reproduce that atmosphere in our project and to combine, where we have the chance, the serenity of the gardens with the confusion and the dynamism of a market.

Certainly, we weren’t able to reproduce a typical Chinese garden in the market context and we adapted its main elements to our project. Those elements are: the mountains, that represent the monumentality, the vegetation, that is linked to temporal, spatial and cultural factors, the water, that represents the equilibrium between dispersion and concentration, the architecture, that creates covered passages and represents the key points of observation of the garden.

Furthermore, unexpected views and mazy paths are fundamental.

We combined modern architecture with ancient foundations and we created a sort of “sanctuary” in the middle of the mid-level market squares.

Those places are not just spaces for sociability, but they also become an attraction for people walking on the sidewalk along Panjiayuan Road, thanks to the holes in the perimeter wall that permit to have views of the interior of the market.

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New Panjiayuan Market mid-level squares.

View of the Yu Chinese Garden in Shanghai Sketch

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This view is put in relation with some of the main elements of the Chinese traditional garden: the vegetation, the architecture, the mazy paths, the views through the wall and the mountains, symbolized by the higher levels of the squares

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The squares inside the middle level market represent such important open spaces.

Here it will be possible to find a quiet space just few steps away from the noise of the middle level shops and the flea market. Here customers could rest, have a break, meet traders and interact with them, who on the other side could expose and realize their works.

References for this project are the traditional Chinese garden and the 211 Art District in Beijing.

We visited the 211 Art District designed by Ai Weiwei during the Joint Studio workshop in March 2014 and we were very impressed by the typology of outdoor spaces we found there, where step by step it is possible to discover quiet little outdoor spaces behind any building.

Inside the middle level market we created six squares, three faced to the southern boundary and to the book shops and three faced to the northern boundary and to the wall.

Inside the three northern squares will be created a little garden, to provide the market with an outdoor rest space.

The garden will be created with the combination of several platforms placed at different heights (15-30-45 cm from the ground) creating little stairs that cross the square.

Level 0: Ground Floor 120

scale 1:1000

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Scheme of mid level squares On the right: Level 0: Ground Floor scale 1:400

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Some of the platforms will be upholster with stone and some will be created with a concrete tank covered by grass.

Inside the square transverse paths at level 0 will divide the gardens and will allow people with disabilities to move freely as well.

An important element that will have a strong relation with these squares will be the wall that will separate the market from Panjiayuan Road and its sidewalk.

From the roadway, the sidewalk on Panjiayuan Road will host a two-way cycling lane, a bicycle parking and a pedestrian pavement.

Most of the pedestrian part will be covered by the high level market building and it will be separated from the market by the wall.

On the left Facade: view from Panjiayuan Road scale 1:200

Section AA’: mid level square

scale 1:200

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The wall on Panjiayuan Road will be cut by several entrances to the market (controlled gates closed by night) and it will be typified with patterns inspirited by the Chinese traditional architecture. From outside the market it will be possible to see inside and customers would be attracted by its sparkling vitality entering into it.

This kind of see-through pattern will be very important because it will create a relation within the market and the street and it will show to people outside the market what they could find just across the gates.

The space below the high level market will not be just a covered transit space, but it will become a big market window.

The wall will also receive in both fronts some urban equipment (bench, drinking fountain, etc.) and it will represent not only a separation element between the market and the road but it will play an active role inside the project.

The three southern squares, also due to a worse sun exposition, will not host any gardens but they will be upholstered like all the other outdoor spaces.

Anyway southern open squares will maintain the same atmosphere of the northern one: little rest spaces where a closer and calmer human interaction could be possible.

The proximity with the book street makes these squares good places for exhibitions, meetings, lectures.

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View of the mid level square 126

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View of the mid level square from Panjiayuan Road 128

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5. FOCUS canopy METROPOL, sevilla ELS ENCANTS, barcelona

Rho Fiera, milano

Section of the market scale 1:500

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Rho Fiera, milan

Els Encants, barcelona

Metropol, sevilla

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The idea of an iconic element of the market has emerged since the workshop in Beijing, especially in order to satisfy client’s request of having “something high, big and above”.

In our opinion this element was fundamental because it would create a strong identification image in customers’ memories and it would help to increase market identity.

This intent has been formally traduced in the canopy that crosses the whole area and covers the flea market.

It is possible to find many examples of canopies in contemporary architecture that, beyond their proper covering function, are especially icons of the project.

During the canopy design process we have analyzed different references in order to have specific background knowledge regarding this topic.

Our course leads us to analyze and outline particularly projects that we have closely known and of which we had a direct contact because of their geographic positions.

After this analysis work, the projects that have influenced us more were the J. Mayer’s Metropol Parasol of Sevilla (2005, Sevilla - Spain), the Massimilano Fuksas’s Fieramilano Rho Pavillion (2005, Milano - Italy) and the b720 Fermin Vazquez Architecture Els Encants Market (2013, Barcelona – Spain).

Each of these projects influenced a different aspect of our project and contributed to design our canopy which would be the iconic image of our project.

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METROPOL CANOPY sevilla

Architect J. Mayer H. BerlĂ­n Engineers Ove Arup & Partners Wood structure Finnforest Merk, Aichach Client City of Sevilla, Office of Urban planning Construction started 2005 Completed 2011 Constructed area 1.000.000 sqm

General plan 134

View

Detail

Scheme of the structure.

The Metropol Parasol has been designed in order to retrain the Plaza de la Encarnacion in Sevilla.

The distinctive element of this multifunctional complex is the big wooden structure that covers a market space hosting a restaurant and a panoramic terrace. Due to its huge dimension and its organic shape Metropol Parasol has become one of Sevilla’s icons, deeply changing its skyline. Furthermore its organic shape represents a strong breaking point within the regularity of the urban fabric. For these reasons the Metropol Parasol has been for us an inspiration and to design our canopy we referred to this project for his shape in contrast with the urban fabric, and for its iconic character.

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RHO TRADE FAIR milan

Architect Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas Client Fiera Milano Foundation Construction started 2002 Completed 2005 Constructed area 12.670 sqm

General plan 136

View

Detail

Scheme of the structure.

Fiermilano Rho is the new exhibition complex of Milan. It presents eight huge pavilions organized along a central axis covered by a canopy.

The canopy is the iconic element of this plan and its structure has deeply influenced our project. It is composed by a 1500 meters long glass and steel structure, supported by 183 tree columns.

This structure presents several big twisting elements that from the rooftop reach the ground. We have been deeply impressed by those organic elements and their structure that is composed by interlaced steel rods.

This kind of light structure permits to have a free-form design that since the beginning we have looked for.

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ELS ENCANTS MARKET barcelona

Architect b720 FermĂ­n VĂĄzquez Arquitectos Engineers BOMA Client BIMSA - Mercats de Barcelona Construction started 2012 Completed 2013 Constructed area 35.440 sqm

Section 138

View

Detail

Scheme of the structure.

The Els Encants market presents a multilevel open-air flea market area covered by a huge canopy. Our project deeply refers to this one, both functionally, as an open-air flea market space, and formally, as a big covering element that becomes the icon of the project.

This kind of space permits to promote free flows and to obtain the typical noisy, sparkling and vital market atmosphere. Indeed the Els Encants market is identified and recognized by its canopy that with its huge dimension and its shape uses to strongly impress visitors. In the same way we designed our canopy to become an iconic element for the area.

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SPACES OF INTERACTION AND ATMOSPHERE In our project we gave lot of importance to preserve and recreate the atmosphere of the Panjiayuan Antique Market. To reach this outcome we created some spaces where the interaction between people is favored and promoted.

Spaces such as the public square in the eastern part of the project, and the little squares of mid-level shops have been conceived as places where people can interact and flows can intersect. We thought these spaces as a flexible and editable system that can be modified in the future keeping the original ambience of Panjiayuan.

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15- For further informations, see the chapiter “Social Life” in the common volume of Joint Studio 2014.

SHOPPING MALL OR SPREAD MARKET? Clients of the new project for Panjiayuan fixed some strict requirements to increase the commercial area, raising the density of the site. In our project we have tried to contrast this inclination to a shopping mall, by proposing a spread market protected by higher boundaries. So that the new Pajiayuan will not dialogue with the high buildings nearby, but with the flows of people that experience the city at the ground level.

NEW COMMERCIAL MODULE FOR THE MARKET To preserve and promote the commercial habits of the Panjiayuan Market we designed a new module for the mid-level shops. This module answers to sellers’ requirements by giving them a filter space between the public space and the retail space, where goods can be exposed daily.

This is a new flexible system that can be applied in other similar situations.

THE WALL AS A FILTER AND PROTECTION One of the main points of the traditional Chinese architecture is the fact that the interior of a garden or a house should be strongly separated from the exterior. We applied this issue to the market creating a wall on the boundaries to protect the market and to divide it from the outside.

Even if the wall is an enclosure element we conceived that also as a

filter: the wall in some parts presents a grating that allows people walking on pavement to have a view on the market.

THE CANOPY AS AN ICONIC ELEMENT An important project such as the Panjiayuan Market needs an iconic element to be recognized. Both clients and Chinese professors pointed out this issue during meetings. We designed a huge structure that has the function to cover the flea market and at the same time to signal the market from outside. The canopy is for us a landmark that can become the symbol of the new Panjiayuan Antique Market, making it visible in the intricate skyline of Beijing.

NEW PUBLIC SPACE FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD Visiting the Panjiayuan area and the city of Beijing we noticed that there is a lack of public spaces whereas Chinese people use to meet in squares and open spaces to do social activities15. In our project for the new Panjiayuan Market we would give to the area a public space that can be used by people to this type of activities. So that we created the public square in the eastern part of the project open 24/7, as a void in the city promoting a free use of it.

The new market has been conceived as a closed and protected space, while this public space, surrounded by public functions, has been thought as open and available to the entire city.

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