Master thesis in Architecture by Fabrizia Parlani

POLITECNICO DI TORINO

DIPARTIMENTO DI ARCHITETTURA E DESIGN

TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

ZHANGJIAKOU SUSTAINABLE PROJECTS FOR 2022 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES

JOINT STUDIO 2015

POLITECNICO DI TORINO

DIPARTIMENTO DI ARCHITETTURA E DESIGN

TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

ZHANGJIAKOU SUSTAINABLE PROJECTS FOR 2022 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES

JOINT STUDIO 2015

MASTER DEGREE THESIS

ACADEMIC YEAR 2014/2015 AUTUMN SESSION

“Per questi porti non saprei tracciare la rotta sulla carta né fissare la data dell’approdo. Alle volte mi basta uno scorcio che s’apre nel bel mezzo d’un paesaggio incongruo un affiorare di luci nella nebbia, il dialogo di due passanti che s’incontrano nel viavai, per pensare che da lì metterò assieme pezzo a pezzo la città perfetta, fatta di frammenti mescolati col resto, d’istanti separati da intervalli, di segnali che uno manda e non sa chi li raccoglie. Se ti dico che la città cui tende il mio viaggio è discontinua nello spazio e nel tempo, ora più rada ora più densa, tu non devi credere che si possa smettere di cercarla. Forse mentre noi parliamo sta affiorando sparsa entro i confini del tuo impero; puoi rintracciarla, ma a quel modo che t’ho detto”. Italo Calvino, Le città invisibili

MEET THE MENTORS

Professor

Gustavo Ambrosini

Mauro Berta

Michele Bonino

Davide Vero

Zhang Li

Liu Jian

Xia Mingming

Professor

Tutor

Professor

Tutor

Architecture City Construction

Fabrizia Parlani

MEET THE TEAM

Sara Ressia Architecture City Construction

FOREWORD

BIBLIOGRAPHY

WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES

BEIJING JOINT STUDIO WORKSHOP

SPIRIT OF THE PLACE

URBAN DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

SPACE, PLACE, USE

SPACE FOR ACTION

ZOOM

EPILOGUE

1.1 Turin 2006 1.2 Vancouver 2010 1.3 Our proposal for Beijing 2022 1.4 Epilogue

2.1 Beijing experience 2.2 Macro area analysis 2.3 Micro area analysis

3.1 Masterplan A

4.1 Integration into the landscape 4.2 Street hierarchy

5.1 Olympic temporary use and posivite legacy

6.1 Spaces for community 6.2 Residential courts

7.1 Residential buildings

TIMEline JOINT STUDIO 2015 THE END

JOINT STUDIO 2015 THE BEGINNING 8 selected students, 1 project

WELCOME TO TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY Turin experience: an overview about 2006 Olympic Games

MIDDLE TERM PRESENTATION Video conference with Chinese colleagues

MASTERPLAN EXHIBITION Workshop in collaboration with Chinese students site inspection, Beijing days

FINAL EXHIBITION

February 2015

March

Beijing

April

Zhangjiakou Chongli Taizicheng

Badaling

Suzhou Shanghai

May

Turin

June

Road to graduation...

Welcome to Politecnico: Chinese team in Turin

FOREWORD

前言

Fig.1 Banner for Beijing candidate city for Winter Olympic Games 2022, Taizicheng village, Hebei province.

The Tsinghua-Polito Joint Studio is a collaboration programme with the goal to develop common activities in the area of higher education and research between the Department of Architecture and Design of Politecnico di Torino and the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University in Beijing. After the experience of Joint Studio 2008, based on the reuse of some sport venues of 2008 Olympic Games, the new edition comes back to the Olympic topic. Beijing 2022 was a successful bid by Beijing, China and the Chinese Olympic Committee for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The IOC selected the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics on July 31, 2015, which Beijing won. This makes Beijing the first city to host both Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The venues have been planned in Zhangjiakou, a popular skiing site located at 170 km far from Beijing, in Yanqing and in the capital city as well. The purpose of the studio is to develop a design research on Olympics facilities as a long-term sustainability item, paying attention to the environment, economics and social impact. Eighteen students, between Chinese and Italians, have been worked together to design some alternative masterplans for Taizicheng Olympic Village, within Zhangjiakou venue. Some key items were: relationship among smart infrastructure systems and the new settlement; urban fabric concepts based on articulated street-houses sequence pattern; traditional courtyard dwellings re-invented; integration between the village and the surrounding landscape; reuse of housing and infrastructure for post-event period.

1. WINTER OLYMPICS: EXPERIENCE AND LEARNING

第一章

Over the last 20 years, sustainability has become an increasingly important consideration when staging the Olympic Games. In 1994, the IOC adopted the environment as the third pillar of the Olympic Movement and created a Sport and Environment Commission to advise the IOC Executive Board on policy positions regarding environmental protection and sustainable development. The IOC and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) hosted the first biennial World Conference on Sport and the Environment in 1995 in Lausanne, and in 1999 the IOC developed Agenda 21 for Sport and the Environment in collaboration with UNEP. The Olympic Movementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Agenda 21 aims AT encouraging members of the Olympic Family to play an active part in the sustainable development of the planet. It sets out the basic concepts and general actions needed to ensure that this objective is met. As the Olympic Movement is the most significant event, it is important that the Olympic Games follow these principles. Through proper planning and management, the environmental impacts of the Games can be minimized and organisers can work closely with public authorities to use the Games as an opportunity to enhance areas of the host city and introduce new sustainability programmes, which can create a lasting environmental legacy once the Games have finished. In the short term, these initiatives help providing the best possible environment for the athletes to compete in, while the long-term benefits will be felt by the inhabitants of the host city and region.

1. Values, Partnership and Legacy: Cornerstones of the Olympic Movement, Dr. Jacques Rogge, 2007

Staging an event as complex as the Olympic Games has a significant impact on the host city. However, as IOC President Jacques Rogge explains: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every city that hosts the Olympic Games becomes temporary steward of the Olympic Movement. This is a great responsibility and also a great opportunity, each creating a unique set of environmental, social and economic legacies that can change a community, a region, and a nation for everâ&#x20AC;?.1

1.1 Turin 2006

Fig. Fabrizia Parlani, Sara Ressia. Axonometric drawing of the area of the Olympic Stadium. World Architecture, Sept 2015

Bardonecchia

The territory of the Province of Turin, covering 6,830 km2 and including 315 Municipalities and 13 Mountain Communities, extends from the Cozie Alps down to the plains in a series of valleys: the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pineroleseâ&#x20AC;? Valleys, the Susa Valley, Lanzo Valleys and Canavese Valleys that preserve their strong historical and cultural traditions. Among the nature, art and culture emerge traces of a fascinating past that are relived in the historical recollections of many localities. The Province of Turin is a territory to be protected and enhanced, rich in little known agricultural, food and gastronomical traditions.

Fig. Network of Turin Olympic Venues

Pragelato

Sansicario

TURIN 2006

Sestriere Cesana

Pinerolo

Identity Turin is located in the Piedmont Region in the North, Western part of Italy. It was the first capital of Italy and is known worldwide as Italy’s car manufacturing capital, indissolubly connected with FIAT, which has given Turin its well known image of a “one company town”. Recently, as in its past, Turin has faced a period of intense change of identity due to a process of de-industrialization. This is well reflected in its urban transformation, formalized in the 1995 Urban Planning Scheme which has gradually been implemented, and in the adoption of the Strategic Plan in 2000. Many images have been explored in the attempt to propose something other than FIAT. The 2006 Winter Olympics were a catalyst for development and international promotion, thus offering an opportunity for promoting sports by building new sports facilities and improving the existing ones for the Winter Olympics, encouraging the internationalization of sports in Turin and fostering sports-related tourism. “Piedmont wishes to devote the coming years to re-launching its tourism sector, paying special attention to the Alpine areas and to its rich historical heritage”. The large territory occupied by the Olympics at Turin 2006 and the fact that the venues were scattered not only throughout Turin itself, but also in the town of Pinerolo and, for the snow competitions, in six districts of the Upper Chisone Valley and Upper Susa Valley (Pragelato, Claviere, Sestriere, Cesana - Sansicario, Sauze d’Oulx, Bardonecchia) sets Turin 2006 apart from previous editions of the Winter Oly.

2. Turin Organising Committee 3. The IOC’s Olympic Games Knowledge Management 4. The EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a management instrument developed by the European Commission for companies and other organizations to evaluate, report, and improve their environmental performance. EMAS is open to every type of organization eager to improve its environmental performance. It spans all economic and service sectors and is applicable worldwide

Environmental sustainability The Turin Winter Olympic Games included the environment in both the lead-up to the event and its legacy. Building on the steps taken by their predecessors, TOROC2 made maximum use of OGKM3 and the lessons of the IOC Guide on Sport, Environment and Sustainable Development to deliver a Winter Games that in many areas respected the principles of sustainable development. TOROC developed an environmental management system that for the first time in Olympic development gained ISO 14001 environmental management certification and EMAS4 registration. TOROC also created the HECTOR (Heritage Climate Turin) project to increase understanding of climate change issues and enable the offsetting of greenhousegas emissions during the Games by investing in reforestation, energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. HECTOR allowed TOROC to analyze every aspect of the Games including transport infrastructure, hospitality facilities, waste and sustainable event management. It estimated the volume of direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, then partnered with Italian and international compensation projects to offset these emissions. TOROC also developed environmental criteria for all the key categories of the supply chain. TOROC optimized the use of water, storage facilities required for making snow. Initial estimates suggested that 20 reservoirs would be required for snow

manufacturing with a combined capacity of 350,000 m3. Careful planning helped identify optimum catchment points and ways of managing the times of extraction that minimized the impact of taking water from the supply system as a whole and reduced interference with civil, agricultural, and industrial uses reducing estimates of need by more than a third and the number of storage facilities to just nine. This planning, thanks to a better understanding of the water-cycle valleys brought about by the construction of the Olympic facilities, also allowed for improvements in the local water system after the Games were over. The above reflected TOROCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concern to deliver a net improvement to the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s environment as part of its legacy. Compensation work to ensure environmental integrity involved river bank protection, reforestation, and the application of nature-friendly engineering techniques to combat hydro geological instability drainage and support piling to prevent.

5. Introduced with Directive 2001/42/ EC, which develops into a systematic process of evaluation of the environmental consequences of area planning proposals designed to ensure that are considered appropriate from the first stage of the program, at the same level of economic and social consideration.The SEA applies to plans and programs of regional or wide area and focuses on the strategic impacts: long-term and regional scale

The Environment function used many of the latest planning and environmental management tools, in particular a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)5. This was first assessment of its kind performed in Italy and one of the first in Europe. As part of the SEA, Strategic Plans were formulated and an Environmental Monitoring Plan was implemented for the Olympic district using special computer applications. As a result of these tools being applied from the planning phase, the Turin 2006 Olympic Games received national and international recognition from major institutions, including the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the European Union and the Italian Ministry of the Environment. Where the SEA was concerned, working with the local authorities involved, the Environment function drew up a number of Strategic Plans (Plan to prevent natural disasters, Plan for construction site safety Water Plan, inert Substances Plan, Plan for Sustainable Mobility, LandscapeEnvironment Area Plans), with the intention of managing environmental factors from the very start of the Committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work.

A territory on the move The Turin 2006 Olympic Games was part of a broad strategy of urban and mountain development. Piedmont has heavily suffered for the industrial decline and since the early nineties local authorities, urban planners and citizens associations have developed a strategic plan for Turin and its area: â&#x20AC;&#x153;a project to build a bridge to the future for cities and regionâ&#x20AC;?. This vision was strategically connected with the Games. In planning scheme, the Olympic Games should facilitate the development of a coherent and realistic perspective. It has been fundamental to leave infrastructures and facilities that will enrich the territory, by projecting immediately their post Olympic use and destination. Past experiences have taught that sportive venues should be imagined in a strategic manner, to be manageable and useful in the future for the community. The strategy was centred on a clear challenge: the city and its mountains should join their forces to build their Olympic future based on: 1) urban transformation: similar to the Barcelona case, new identity and positioning as an international city; 2) alpine transformation: similar to the Savoy case of Albertville, development of infrastructure, services and tourist identity. The urban transformation involves infrastructure projects that will improve the

urban and regional transportation system with realistic goals based on: 1) long period strategy: Olympic venues and sites planned in coherence with the strategic urban plan of Turin (started in 1993 and leading to 2011); 2) urban restoration: from a city divided by its industrial history (historical and industrial area) to a coherent sustainable urban centre. The Games left a coherent network of sports event, the first line of the Metro in Turin was ready for the Olympic Games in 2006. The fair and exhibition vocation of Turin was also enhanced by adding new spaces potentially offered by the Oval. The Regarding the alpine transformation the goal was to develop a close and networked mountain with: 1) Infrastructure: roads, railway link, airport connection, integrated water cycle. 2) Sport facilities: slopes, lifts and cableways, artificial snow systems, ski jumping, bobsleigh. 3) A network of sport venues with the city. 4) Cable networks in the Olympic valleys. Turin is aiming at positioning itself as a centre of excellence for education and training. In the years to come the University system is completing a process of enhancement and diversification. The Olympic Games strengthened this process by providing a relevant number of new halls of residence for students with the post-game destination of the Olympic media village. Another of the

strong legacies was the development of a cable system, which will link Turin with the mountains. This system created a leverage effect that enhanced labour skills and helped create new jobs, developing competencies and tele-working possibilities within the alpine territory. It was expected new venues and some existing was reclaimed. Furthermore develop a network system of sport venues, a system that link not only venues in Turin but also of the overall Olympic system of cities involved in the mountains.

Olympic Villages There were three Olympic Villages: Turin, Bardonecchia and Sestriere. This was a new development in Olympic history resolving some of the transportation and altitude-adjustment needs of the athletes, who, in the mountain villages, lived in the same climatic conditions as their competition venues. In terms of operational management, however, the needs were multiplied. MOI The interested area attached to the Lingotto and connected to the Turin 2006 headquarters by a foot bridge, was over 100,000 square metres. The historic and renovated facility of the general markets dating back to 1934 was located in the centre. The logistic and commercial centres, a relax area reserved to athletes and staff as well as a wide parking area were located here during the Games. It hosted 2,500 people. The facilityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design was signed by a team coordinated by architects Benedetto Camerana and Giorgio Rosenthal. The project interprets the Village as a solid enclosure, closed towards the city to the west and overlooking the railway line over which it enthusiastically casts a walkway resting on an arch. The industrial aesthetics of Umberto Cuzziâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s old market were safeguarded by careful regeneration work by Costantin, Camerana and Rosental. The residential zone was built to a housing principle governed by few choices: a chequerboard plan overlooking the hill. A surface design entirely given over to

Fig. Fabrizia Parlani, Sara Ressia. Axonometric drawing of the Olympic Village in Turin. World Architecture, Sept 2015

pedestrians, the varied repetition of the same building type, a 6-7 storey block proposed approximately 40 times in a unifying and orderly style that intensifies to the west and thins out to the south. In the Olympic Village housing changed its nature to become apartments shared by athletes. They had a permanent casing (with district heating, solar panels and applied conservatories) but were completely temporary on the inside: the apartments had no kitchen and the walls were often made of plasterboard. An uncertain future The idea of campus, or fitness center, or home ice for winter sports have been deleted. “They forgot this place” - complain some residents and merchants of the neighborhood - “It was really a bad blow for us. We woke up from a dream that we fear will never return”. Buildings are occupied by various parties. Some have been put up for sale by the Pirelli Re Franchising and others are public housing managed by ATC. The City of Turin has also located a youth hostel. Next to university residences there is Coni office. Three buildings remain unsold after the 2006 Games, two of these were occupied by refugees and migrants. “The Olympic village is a postcard of our city almost faded”.

SESTRIERE The Sestriere Olympic Village is located at 2,035 metres above sea level and about 120 km away from Turin. Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games took place in Sestriere. The Village accommodated all the athletes and the staff. The Sestriere Olympic Village included three structures: the white towers (Club Med and Valtur), the town symbols, and a new residential complex named Mariani, built especially for the Olympic Winter Games. About 2,000 people among athletes, Olympic delegations, staff and volunteers live in the Village. The structure is totally autonomous and offered all necessary service 24 hours a day. Three competition courses were created, with two different operational areas ten minutes distant by car and five on skis.

Fig. Fabrizia Parlani, Sara Ressia. Axonometric drawing of the Olympic Ski Jumping in Pragelato. World Architecture, Sept 2015

BARDONECCHIA This small town in the upper Susa Valley, located approximately 90 km from Turin at 1,312 m above sea level, showed great enthusiasm in hosting this most “youthful” of disciplines. It was here that the men’s and women’s parallel giant slalom, half pipe and, for the first time in Olympic history, snowboard-cross events were held. The Venue was situated in the most densely populated of all the mountain Olympic sites (Bardonecchia has around 3,000 residents), and covered an area of approximately 20,000 sqm, not including the runs themselves. The Games could be the right moment for the complex work of designing and distributing a place’s image at an international level.

Fig. Fabrizia Parlani, Sara Ressia. Axonometric drawing of the Olympic Village in Bardonecchia. World Architecture, Sept 2015

1.2 Vancouver 2010

Whistler

The venues for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games stretched over a 120-kilometre zone from Richmond, through downtown Vancouver and North to the mountain resort of Whistler. Olympic games included curling, figure skating, ice Hockey, sledge hockey, short-track speed skating and wheelchair curling. Speed skating took place in Richmond, while the snowboard and freestyle skiing events were hosted at Cypress Mountain in the District of West Vancouver. The Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony, were staged indoors at BC Place in Vancouver city centre. Olympic and Paralympic Villages and media facilities were located in Vancouver and Whistler.

Fig. Network of Vanvouver Olympic Venues

VANCOUVER 2010

Richmond

Identity The location of Vancouver’s Olympic Village is on the southeast bank of the city’s former industrial waterway inlet, known as False Creek. For more than 100 years, this location housed numerous industrial enterprises. In 1998, Vancouver formed a Bid Committee to pursue the 2010 Winter Olympics. British Columbia and the city’s bid for the Games were incorporated into their submission plans to house Olympic athletes and officials in what are generically known as “Olympic Villages.” The SEFC1 lands consist of approximately 80 acres (32 hectares) of which 50 acres (20 hectares) were owned by the city. The Olympic Village and the development of the surrounding SEFC lands were to set the bar higher for progressive green urbanism with a Vancouver touch. Directly across the “False Creek” or inlet from where British Columbia’s highly successful Expo ’86 World’s Fair had been held almost 25 years before, the Olympic Village and the publicity that the city and Province would receive from the 2010 Olympic Games would be used to market the Province, the city, and their lifestyle.

1. SEFC means that area of land in Southeast False Creek

Environmental sustainability SEFC is to demonstrate a comprehensive approach to sustainability reflected in both open space and building design. Every venue was built according to Canada’s green-building standards. Venues used innovative sustainability methods such as capturing rain to irrigate landscaping and capturing the heat from used bath water. Nearly 70% of the heating for the Olympic Village came from waste heat recovery systems, including heat from sewage. The Olympic Village will anchor a sustainable urban neighbourhood that will serve as a model development for other cities. So environmental criteria, are to contribute to the creation of a sustainable neighbourhood. The Olympic Village development, intended as a green demonstration project, “has transformed city building in every aspect”. The Olympic Village site, a rare case in which the entire neighbourhood has a LEED Platinum rating, features a net zero building that produces as much energy as it uses, sites for urban agriculture and a neighbourhood energy utility that uses heat recovered from raw sewage to heat all the buildings in the development. Energy efficiency is to be a key design consideration for all buildings. Energy requirements are to meet the minimum standards necessary to satisfy the recommendations identified in the green building strategy. The goal is to establish an energy efficient green house gas neutral neighborhood

based on renewable resources: 1) conservation strategies such as efficient building envelope, green roofs, building orientation and configuration, unit energy metering, user controls, manual ventilation, and day-lighting; 2) core system strategies such as heat pumps, green hydro-electric, hydronic slab heating systems, thermal storage, and building mass; 3. heat source and system strategies such as horizontal ground-source loop, district heating, sanitary sewer heat recovery, waste hot water heat recovery, solar hot water, and passive solar gain. 46

All water systems, in compliance with the green building strategy, are to minimize the use of potable water from the municipal water system. Rainwater is collected in cisterns to provide irrigation and feed a greywater system for toilet flushing .The design of each individual site is to make irrigation from potable water sources unnecessary. Where practical, water features are to use storm water or other non-potable alternatives. SEFC is to include a community demonstration garden in the park near the community centre and elementary school, and a site for a farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market. A goal with respect to urban agriculture is to encourage podiums and low and midrise concrete developments to accommodate green roofs for urban agriculture.

Development is to encourage a complete community where residents may purchase items needed for daily life without use of an automobile; local products, including local produce from a farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market, are available. The planning process is to support bio-diversity and habitat corridors in parks, and to pay particular attention to integrating ecological needs into areas planned for recreation and amenity. Another objective is to promote, in parks, private open spaces, and other landscaped areas, and on green roofs, the use of native plantings and landscaping materials that have high habitat benefits. The north/south residential streets are extensions of the existing city grid, and, where possible, are to provide the primary access to underground parking to minimize vehicular circulation and usage. There is to be support for measures to encourage better use of the movement system including more use of the pedestrian, cycling, and transit facilities to decrease automobile dependency, minimize parking demand, and reduce greenhouse gas transportation emissions.

Project encourages a balanced community with a broad social mix and access to housing by all income distribution groups. There are no specific goals for other households including seniors and disabled persons, the general aim is to achieve a balanced household mix by accommodating a full range of age and social groups, and household types and needs. Although primarily a residential community, the intent is that operation of the community centre, school and child care centres will create jobs in SEFC. Commercial space is to provide opportunities to develop a grocery store, retail shops, offices, restaurants, and a host of other businesses to create jobs for local residents and persons living outside SEFC.

A territory on the move The major land use objective of this ODP2 is to effect a change from the “brownfield” of previously developed and occupied industrial land into a highly liveable, sustainable, mixed use environment. Emphasis is to be on family residential use with supporting services for a complete community including major waterfront parks. A ¾ acre community garden established in the heart of the Downtown Eastside, based on universal design, so that seniors and people with disabilities could participate in community gardening. Development is generally to maintain the existing shoreline configuration, except for the inlet area, the reconfiguration of which is to provide fish habitat, public access to the water, views, ferry docking, and recreational amenities. Rezonings may also provide for other shoreline improvements that respond to the needs of public access, natural character of the park, views of the water, fish habitat requirements, and safety and health objectives. Development is to include a legible, overall building form that reinforces the idea of the False Creek “basin” with building heights from 2nd Avenue and Main Street generally stepping down to the water’s edge. However, prescription of the “basin” form is not rigid. The purpose of these variations is to contribute to a wide range of unit types including row houses, stacked townhouses, back-to-back townhouses, and low-rise, dual orientation, mid rise, and terraced apartments.

Re-zonings are to impose building heights for specific locations having regard to public and private views including views created by development, shadowing of public and private open spaces and streets, privacy effects on the scale and character of open space. The Olympic Village, will eventually be home to 16,000 people, with 252 affordable housing units, a community centre, childcare centers, an elementary school, and a community garden. As per the Multi-Party agreement, VANOC received $580 million from the provincial and federal governments to help fund the renovation and development of Games-related infrastructure3. $30 million of this was granted to the City of Vancouver to help fund the Olympic Village4. The City was responsible for finding a third-party developer to fund and build the project, and entered into a public-private partnership agreement with small local developers Millennium Developments Inc.

Vancouver 2010 confirms that the Games are much more than a 16-day sporting event. Beyond the pinnacle of sporting achievement, the Games are the most visible and universal celebration of Olympism, a philosophy of life that contributes to building a better world through sport by uniting people and inspiring the best in each and every one of us.

Olympic villages The Whistler Olympic Village included 250 new housing units, with space for as many 2,400 athletes and coaches. The Athletes Village was located a few miles south of Whistler, in the Cheakamus Valley, about 20 minutes away from the main competition sites. Nightly medal ceremonies occurred in the centre of Whistler Village. In Whistler, each housing development was integrated through a series of greenways, parks and trail systems that connected the entire site. Approximately 90% of the energy needed for heating and domestic hot water in the Village complex came from waste heat recovered from the nearby municipal waste water treatment facility. To protect nearby wetlands, a complex has been created on-site for storm water retention, treatment and habitat enhancement. Modular construction processes for the Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lodge and townhouses

generated less construction waste, and a non-toxic white glue was used for all structural applications. Finally, the High Performance Centre facility was constructed with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified wood. The temporary accommodation from Whistler has been sent to eight communities in British Columbia to provide 156 permanent, affordable homes for elderly, homeless and low-income residents. The extra housing created by the Games has left an enduring legacy that will benefit all income levels. The temporary accommodation from the Whistler Olympic Village has been sent to eight communities in British Columbia to provide social housing.

1.3 Our proposal for Beijing 2022

Zhangjiakou

The range of urban transformations experienced by cities in the developed world throughout the 20th century has largely revolved around the celebration of urban mega-events. Universal Expositions and the Olympic Games are two obvious examples of these processes. With regard to Olympic urbanism in particular, the construction and subsequent re-use of the welcome and accommodation Villages represents a specific case of urban transformation with two options: the renovation of space already occupied and the creation of new urban territory. Using the example of the Vancouver and Turin, this analysis will explore some of the facets urban entrepreneurial mega-event-led development strategy. The analysis of the different levels of urbanistic dimension of Villages, paying special attention to three thematic areas: a) the aspects connected with the evolution of architectural ideas, from the different types of housing used to the various formal languages employed; b) the aspects referring to the evolution of town planning ideas, from the choice of city models to the conceptions of urban growth behind the operations executed; c) those aspects connected with the conception of the Villages as “urban items”, from the city production processes which are part of their insertion in the post-Olympic urban context. “A miniature city, replete with modern conveniences and facilities, had arisen magically atop the hills,[…] A miniature world was here set up by itself, rigidly protected from the world outside.”

Yanqing

Fig. Network of Beijing Olympic Venues

BEIJING 2022

Development is predominantly residential with a diverse housing mix and a focus on common space. The goal is to establish an energy efficiencies based on renewable resources. Building orientation and configuration, unit energy metering, user controls, manual ventilation, and day-lighting. Core system strategies such as heat pumps, green hydro-electric, heating systems, thermal storage, and building mass. Sanitary sewer heat recovery, waste hot water heat recovery, solar hot water, and passive solar gain. Project includes a lot of green parts, to meet the needs of residents and workers. The designing and programming of parks is to meet a number of objectives including active and passive recreation, environmental sustainability, and environmental learning. With respect to environmental sustainability and learning, green parts are part of the working infrastructure that is to deal with storm water, food production, and potential alternative energy applications. Development encourages a complete community where residents may purchase items needed for daily life without use of a car. Local products are available thanks to courts with a community demonstration garden and open space for a farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market. Water is a central element of the work. It performs more functions: recreational, aesthetic and cutural, but also irrigation and fire fighting reserves. Water efficiency is to be a key design consideration. All water systems are also to

minimize irrigation, and, where necessary, provide irrigation through rainwater collection or high-efficiency drip systems. The design of each individual site is to make irrigation from potable water sources unnecessary. Where practical, water features are to use storm water or other non-potable alternatives. Service use enhances the prosperity, liveability, attractiveness of the area and be part of a mixed use development. Area includes two different town square linked by a main street with retail and service uses along its edges. The intent is to require a more detailed concept plan, including programming, for this open space. A vibrant riverfront defines the central neighborhood precinct with commercial, residential and institutional uses. The Main Street is pedestrian-oriented with local ground level commercial shops along both sides. The riverfront commercial area includes restaurants, pubs, cafes, and space for a night market so as to pursue an active waterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edge as a lively destination. Development includes the following facilities: one school, one community centre in the riverfront, vicinity of main plaza, hotel and thermal baths. A variety of building types are to be situate in the area including some modestheight towers in selected locations, with predominately low and mid-rise and terraced apartment buildings. The apartments have a balcony or private garden , and have a variety of dimension, with one or two levels: two, three and four rooms from 60 sqm to

120 sqm. Architecture do not exceed five floors (16 m), reducing visual impact of buildings. The street is transformed into a space primarily for pedestrians, with bikes as guests and cars to the boundary of the village. Amenity rooms, common roof decks, play areas, and other activity spaces in buildings, as well as semi-private spaces, are also to facilitate casual interaction. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Satisfying the needs of the present generation without compromising the chance for future generations to satisfy theirs.â&#x20AC;?

1.4 Epilogue

This paper has shown through various examples and through a series of recommendations that hosting an Olympic Games can be conceived as an opportunity for a sustainable form of development for a city or a region. However, lots of efforts remain necessary in order to fully understand how the Games format and requirements can fit into strategies of sustainable urban and regional development. Some of the most tangible legacies of this nature are the regenerated and enhanced sites within the host city. In a number of cases, abandoned or derelict urban areas are reclaimed and rehabilitated to provide land for the development of Olympic venues. Often these sites are revitalized with the creation of public parks and green spaces around the venues for community enjoyment.

New energy sources Hosting the Games can also lead public authorities to introduce more environmentally friendly public transport systems and increase the use of renewable energy sources. Sustainability is also a key consideration during the design and construction of new venues for the Games. Renewable energy sources and recycled or reclaimed materials can be used to help make facilities as energy-efficient as possible. The Olympic Games is the biggest event that a city is ever likely to stage and host cities therefore require significant infrastructure in order to successfully manage the large influx of visitors that the Games attract, with transport, accommodation and the overall look of the city among the priorities for organizers and public authorities. As a result, host cities often decide to invest in infrastructure prior to staging the Games, sometimes by fast-tracking pre-existing development plans. By making the host city a more attractive place to live in and to visit, the Games can help cities achieve longterm goals to create a higher quality of life for residents and increase the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appeal.

A new look One example of this is the renewal and beautification of urban areas that often results from a city staging the Games. As well as regenerating existing urban areas, the Games can provide the catalyst for the construction of new urban areas. The Olympic Games can be a defining moment in a cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history, providing a unique opportunity to initiate long-lasting, positive changes. Bid cities are placing increasing emphasis on the legacies that hosting the Games can leave for their cities and the IOC is committed to supporting these efforts and promoting the positive legacies that the Games can provide. However positive legacy does not simply happen by itself. It needs to be carefully planned and embedded in the host cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision from the earliest possible stage and integrated within the project at every step. Delivering legacy also requires strong partnerships between city leaders, the Games organizers, regional and national authorities, local communities, commercial partners and, of course, all members of the Olympic Family: the IOC, National Olympic Committees and International Sports Federations. The IOC works hard to help Games organizers, as well as applicant and bid cities, identify what the Games can bring to their communities. As every city is different, the IOC encourages each one to reflect on its own goals from the beginning of the bid process and to look at how the Games can be a catalyst for development. The IOC also aids host cities by providing access to the vast amounts of information and expertise that is

Turin 2006 100.000 m2

available from previous editions of the Games, ensuring that cities can draw on the lessons learned and adapt them to their own specific needs. The numerous examples of positive legacies that host cities have been able to gain by staging the Olympic Games is testament to the power of the Games: “both as a sporting event and as a catalyst for development”, and demonstrates what is possible when the right plans are put in place. Utopian as this may seem to some critics, the hosting of the Olympic Games can be conceived as an opportunity for positive changes and for a better quality of life in urban milieus. As the IOC President Jacques Rogge wrote, “The Olympic Games may not make the world a better place all the time, but the IOC will continue to strive to make the Olympic values grow stronger between Games, and thereby play its part in making the world a better place”. Finally, we should like to leave you with a final thought on the Olympic Village model. In any case the model worked very well during the events, while it had some problems in the link with the city. This will not be a problem in Beijing. On the contrary it could have the opposite obstacle: integrate the new project into the nature due to the urban habits of visitors.

Vancouver 2010 94.000 m2

CAPACITY

Beijing 2022 120.000 m2

Fig. 1 Size of the Olympic areas

FIg. 2 Capacity of the Olympic Villages

Turin 2006 5.078 Vancouver 2010 2.800 Beijing 2022 10.000

TURIN 2006

VANCOUVER 2010

OUR PROPOSAL FOR BEIJING 2022

Satellite towns

Positive legacy

Urban re-development

Diﬀerent projects based on a common lines

Post-industrial reuse

Enviormental sustainability

Rain water management

Mix use

Attractive public spaces

Adaptability of apartments

Good connection with the city

Promotion of pedestrian ways

Self-suﬃcient community

Urban agricolture

Waterfront

2. BEIJING JOINT STUDIO WORKSHOP

第二章

2.1 Beijing Experience From the site analysis to the final presentation

1. didascalia immagine o testo o elaborato 2. didascalia immagine o testo o elaborato

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo. Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer tincidunt. Cras dapibus. Vivamus elementum semper nisi. Aenean vulputate eleifend tellus. Aenean leo ligula, porttitor eu, consequat vitae, eleifend ac, enim. Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus. Phasellus viverra nulla ut metus varius laoreet. Quisque rutrum. Aenean imperdiet. Etiam ultricies nisi vel augue. Curabitur ullamccidunt libero. Phasellus dolor. Maecenas vestibulum mollis diam. Pellentesque ut neque. Pellentesque habbulum et, tempor auctor, justo. In ac felis quis tortor malesuada pretium. Pellentesque auctor neque nec urna. Proin sapien ipsum, porta a, auctor quis, euismod ut, mi. Aenean viverra rhoncus pede. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Ut non enim eleifend felis pretium feugiat. Vivamus quis mi. Phasellus a est. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel,

Reached Beijing after few days for settle down, the first appointment of the Joint studio 2015 was arranged on Monday the 9th of March, thereby, the beginning of the two weeks long workshop took part. In the few previous days, the Italian teachers, assisted by the Chinese students, had provided, for the Italian students the opportunity to get use with the huge Tsinghua University Campus, and show them around the peculiar architectures. The schedule, of the first day includes the project site visit, usefull to understand the features of the future olympic mountains. Meeting point Tsinghua University, direction project site. Eighteen students, ten Chinese and eight Italians, two Italians professors and on e Chinese assistant, jointly in the university bus. Passing by Zhangjiakou, the group reached finally Chongli, exactly the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Genting Ski Resortâ&#x20AC;?, potential location for the Winter Olympic Games in 2022. There, received by a traditional lunch, the group had the possibility to recover from the long journey and finally know each other. That was the first moment of socializing: common language was English, of course, which allowed the students to break up into four different sub-groups, mixed but very tight-knit, ready for working. Further, was the moment to reach the highest point of the mountain, taking the new cable railway, from the resort. It was impossible to deal with the temperature; consequently, it was a quick phase and everybody wanted to reach again the

Fig.1 (Pag.5) Tsinghua University Bus Fig.2 Didactic moment, in Tsinghua Campus Fig.3 Exploration time in a Beijing District

Fig.4 Visit of the Olympic game site, Chongli, Zhangjiakou

resort to warming up. In there, a guide showed several models, projects and planning about the new outlook of the valley, the venues places, new roads and villages. It has been provided an overview of how China is preparing for the Games. Even if the temperature was still fluctuating between -7 C째 and -15 C째, was time to move along, visiting the future areas for the Olympic Winter Game. Once in Taizicheng, the project site, was not possible enter in to the village for different reasons, however was effortless to understand the shape of the place, the vernacular architecture and habits of the local people, passing its borderlines and reaching the top of a hill nearby. Then, has been indicated other places for the future venues, useful for the future masterplan. The end of the day was characterized by a summit, in which the Olympic committee has given to the attendance an exhausting explanation about the development interventions on the valley: venues and residences. Really, kind was the Chinese cordiality, after the working day, they grateful the group with a pleasant dinner in a fine place in Chongli. Tuesday, the 10th, began with the first presentation, in which all the students have explained an idea related the concept of mountain, local settlements and Olympic Game events. Interesting notice two different approach to this presentation, Italian one: more focused on tradition and natural preservation, and Chinese one: open-minded for new infrastructure and opportunities that

the games might provide. That presentation was the first moment of debate and conversation between students and teachers. Since that moment, the design phase has begun. Subsequently in the afternoon of the same day, the different four groups have started to work to reach the final goal: four masterplans and as deadline Friday the 20th. Initially, the information needed to prepare a suitable project have been collected, then after few days the first project concepts have been developed. The working place was a private room in Tsinghua University, the students spent mostly of their time there aided by teachers and assistants. Chinese people integrated the Italians in the campus life, showing around the place, facilities and without forgetting each day a better place in which spend lunch or dinner together. Thus, the groups especially the Italians had the possibility to work and live deeply the Beijing traditions and people. The projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s review was on Sunday the 15th, in Zhang Li department: project professor in Tsinghua University and member of the Chinese Olympic committee. In this instance, the teacher become involved for steering the groups: pointing out some problematics relative to the Olympic Game, to avoid them in the final projects. He suggested preparing territorial model, to understand the slope and the topography of the site, and caring prevalently on the future reuse of the village: the main problem related to the Olympic game and the massive events in general.

Fig.5 Conception and development activity in professorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s studio, Beijing

The following days were characterized by an intensive work. The deadline was immediate after the last review, and each one rushed to arrive with the better result as possible. The last day before the presentation, all the groups met together for finalize the models, using the models laboratory and its equipment. In conclusion, the last presentation arrived. Established the connection via VoIP with the Italians teachers, each group began to exposited its masterplan, followed as well by the Chinese teacher and assistants. The four final proposals for the masterplan were truly different one to each other and they brought relentlessly an idea of what should be a sustainable Chinese Olympic village. The workshop was intensive and grateful experience in inspiration, in architecture, achievement and, for the future effort that will bring the group for the final exposition in Turin.

Fig.6/7 On the work, modeling phase, Tsinghua University, Beijing

The analysis has been conducted starting from the onsite survey, than using some data and maps provided by the Tsinghua Univerity professors and Chinese group mates, together with articles and books found successively in Turin.

2.2 Macro area analysis Chongli County

1. Zhangjiakou climatic analysis, Weather China, accessed 08 Aug 2015 http://www.weather.com.cn

Contextualization. The area affected by our work is the rural village of Taizicheng, located in the Chongli County under the Zhangjiakou Prefecture in the northwestern Hebei Province in Northern China. It lies in the Yanshan Mountain range only 140km in a straight line north of Beijing, but more than 200km and about 3-hour travelling by car. The city of Zhangjiakou, which has the nearest train station, is 70 km away. Even if it is not very easy to reach at the moment, the planned high-speed railway will drastically increase the connection of the village with Beijing and the rest of the country. The climate in Northern China area is characterized by a temperate, semi-arid monsoon climate, with long, cold, dry, and windy winters due to the Siberian anticyclone, and hot, humid summers driven by the East Asian monsoon; in between spring and autumn are dry and brief. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −8.3 °C in January to 23.7 °C in July. The annual precipitation is between 530-570mm, with the most precipitations occurs during June to August. It will occasionally have weather disaster such as hails, frosts or rainstorms1.

Regard the air quality problem, in Chongli is far less grim than in Beijing but still present. Official data show that Zhangjiakou was the city with the best air quality in Hebei province last year, with 315 non polluted days and only four days of heavy pollution2. Nevertheless the International Olympic Committee seems to be still concerned about the problem in the report of the 1st of June 20153, but positive about the action promised by the Chinese Government for the future. There is also a severe water stress problem and the Beijing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Zhangjiakou area is becoming increasingly arid. In fact China is one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thirstiest countries with a per capita freshwater availability about one fourth the global average. The principal causes of the regional water stress is the low rate of rainfall together with intensive industrial and agricultural use. These land uses draw mainly from ground water reserves. For these reasons water prices rising by half last year. A ton of drinking water now costs about 6 Yuan (1 euro) while recycled industrial water costs 1.6 Yuan per ton4. Even the skiing industry with the many resorts that are forced to use snow-making machines to provide snow-covered slopes for their venues are contributing to worsen the problem. In a 2011 report hydrologist Hu Kanping5 denouncing the large amount of water used every year for this resorts saying that they should not just exist in these areas because are unsustainable, and the water could be used to increase crop yields for local farmers.

2. WU N. Beijing keeps Winter Games champagne on ice, South China Morning Post, 23 Feb 2015. Accessed 22 aug 2015 3.IOC, Report of the 2022 commission, IOC, 1 June 2015.

evaluation

4. WU N. Beijing keeps Winter Games champagne on ice. 5. KANPING H. Where is the capitalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skiing industry going? in Probe International, 2011. Fig.9 Graphic with the location of the village of Taizicheng at national, provincial, prefectural and county level (Source: image elaborated by the author)

To overcome the problem resorts are trying to use recycled industrial water as well, but risking this way to cause severe environmental damage. This type of climate is great for summer tourism in order to avoid the extreme heat of the big cities, like Beijing, but it is very harsh in winter and not optimal for skiing tourism because the very low snow precipitations and the water problem together with the severe cold wind. On the other hand a large amount of sunny days and strong wind could become a great source of green energy. In fact there are many wind turbines on the tops of the mountains in Zhangjiakou area and several houses in the area including Taizicheng village are equipped with thermal solar panels to provide free hot water made of vacuum tubes excellent for this climate conditions. The Zhangjiakou region is exposed to the solar radiation for about 2800-3000 hours in a year with a power that reaches 15001700 kwh/mq in the sunniest areas. The actual wind hours per year is in average 5000, with an accumulation of wind energy in a year of about 1000 kWh/mq6. The Hebei area is crossed by the Great Wall of China of Ming dynasty constructed between 1368 and 1644. The state of preservation is generally very poor in this sector, so that the section which passes near the planned Cross Country venue, about 4km away Taizicheng village, is now totally destroyed, with only a long pile of stone that marks the ancient path.

6. Zhangjiakou climatic analysis, Weather China, accessed 08 Aug 2015 http://www.weather.com.cn

The Hebei County is mostly a rural and poor area, with some important economy poles and great plans for the future. The economy is mostly based on agriculture, even if the city of Zhangjiakou have several other sectors well developed. Due to his strategic position northwest of Beijing the city has been nicknamed “Beijing’s Northern Door” and was historically the chief northern gate in the Great Wall to China for Europeans travelling along the Tea Road; It is a critical transport node towards the northern regions, with airport and train station; it is home of Hebei North University with many foreign students; it has a strong iron and steel industry thanks to the abundance of iron and coal in the territory and it is even the home to one of China’s most important grape wine industries, the Great Wall Wine Company. The plan for the future in the area is strongly directed towards the tourism sector. In fact the local government is heavily investing on infrastructure and is encouraging new investment in the area. In fact the real estate industry is exploding even if it isn’t still followed by strong sales activity and the government is not offering assistance or protection to the present investors. Chongli has already become the main ski destination in China thanks to the presence of 4 major destination resorts (Wanlong, Duolemeidi, Great Wall and Genting Secret Garden), even if the ski sector is still naive and problematic.

Fig.10 The Genting Ski resort slopes that will that will host several competitions of the Winter Olympics in 2022. (Author: Serra F.)

7. RIES F. The future of Chinese ski tourism, 1st Euro-Asian ski resorts conference Almaty, October 8th, 2013

Skiing tourism development in China. The challenge in developing the skiing tourism in China have to face many obstacles, and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games have as one of his goal to overcomes some of these7: - Social challenges: Skiing is not part of the Chinese culture. In fact skiing is now seen as an elite activity, expensive, highly dangerous, physically challenging , to only experience once-in-a-lifetime. - Geography location challenges: One of the greatest obstacle is the context where locate the ski venues. In fact the mountain range in the north-northeast of the country have limited snowfall and vertical drop, extremely harsh weather conditions and distance from the main customer base. The West mountains have excellent relatively abundant snowfall, excellent vertical drop, beautiful landscape and cold but comfortable temperatures due to the absence of persistent winds in winter, but in the other hand the west locations have a dangerous political instability and are really far away from the rich and high density cities of the East Coast. Those areas has already developed several skiing resorts but the Chongli County seems to be the area with the most potential thanks to his good position.

8. WU N. Beijing keeps Winter Games champagne on ice. Fig. 3 Genting Ski Resorts snow trails map. (Source: http://bbs.lvye.cn) Fig.11/12 (next pages) View of the mountains near Taizicheng Village from the top of the Genting Ski Resorts Trails. (Author: Ponsetti M.)

- Government challenges: The political situation can be both an opportunity and a disadvantage, due to the strong decision-making power of the government. It can accelerate and facilitate some operations, but also interfere with the normal private business. - Operative challenges: There are different operative problems that can be easily solved in a sufficient amount of time, but can be problematic for the fast grow dreamed by the local government. Among others: there is a serious lack of competence in the ski industry at a local level; little cooperation between the resorts and too much competition; limited vision of the resorts that offer only skiing services without improve and experience many other four seasons recreational activity; the artificial snow contrasts with the usually snowless grey surroundings; resort facilities tend to be very low standard; the activity is still too expensive and the price is going up, for example according to an interview published on the South China Morning Post this year (2015) a season pass in Genting Resorts (Chongli) was now about 3,900 yuan (568 euro), over ,1000 yuan (145 euro) more than last year8.

2.3 Micro area analysis Taizicheng Village

9. IOC, Report of the 2022 evaluation commission, IOC, 1 June 2015.

Taizicheng (太子城) which literally means “prince victory” is a rural mountain village of about 1,064 inhabitants planned to be entirely demolished in order to become the location for one of the two Olympic Villages for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games. The village lies on a valley between four mountains, placed in a central position between the future venues locations. 4km north there is one of the most important Ski Resort in Hebei, the Secret Garden Genting Ski Resort, with its ski courses that during the Olympic Games will host the freestyle and snowboard competitions. 3km south is situated the Kuyangshu village, a rural village of farmers with almost 400 inhabitants that is planned to be removed to make way for the Nordic Centre9. West of Taizicheng lies other small villages along Dongma road that connect Taizicheng and the city of Chongli, 20km away, which concentrates all the major services of the area (hospital, primary school, market, administration offices, etc.).

Fig.13 (left) A drawing on a territorial scale of the Taizicheng area. (Source: Cortesy of Zhang Li) Fig.14 (right) A view of the village from the north side (Author: Serra F.)

Economy and society. The villagers are a compact community of farmers. The dominant majority ethnic group is Han with a minority of Hui and Manchu. It is common the phenomenon of blood relationship between families and the staying-at-home during the spare time. The main activity of the inhabitants is cultivation and animal farming. Agriculture is decentralized and with limited mechanization. The main crops are potatoes, broad beans, flaxes and purple cabbages, while the main farmed animals are cows and horses. Horse farm is a traditional activity in the area, in fact the horses of these lands where used for military purposes for centuries. Together with farming activity seems like the growing tourism sector is providing local people with more career options and allows to greatly increase their salaries. Many young people from local villages learned skiing and gained coach certificate, trying to have a slice of the skiing market. This way the villagers are able to coaching in winter and work in the fields in the other seasons with significant impacts on the economy.

Fig.15 A community moment in a courtyard. (Source: Joint Studio 2015 â&#x20AC;&#x153;A briefing of Taizicheng Village and rural areas in North Chinaâ&#x20AC;?)

Fig.16 A graphic showing the Taizicheng River and its tributaries and the texture of the agricultural fields (Source: image elaborated by the author)

Natural environment Taizicheng village lies in the north side of a valley between 4 mountains with summits that goes from 1800 to 2000 meters a.s.l. The area occupied by the urban settlement is not completely flat, in fact the altitude decrease in southwest direction toward the steam from at maximum of 1582 meters a.s.l. in the northeast side to a minimum of 1568 meters a.s.l. in the southwest, with slope that do not exceed 10%. The hydrography of the area consists in several small creek, of which the main that cross the village are one that goes from north to south and another one that goes from east to west meeting each other between the two parts of the village. The low level of precipitations cause that they are dry for most of the year, for example the Taizicheng River have an average depth of 0.19 meters and less than 1 meter width when not dry.

101

102

Taizicheng has about 3,000 hectares of arable land10 composed of narrow and long fields with different orientation depending on the topography. Even the sloping ground at the base of the mountains are cultivated thanks to a series of terraces modifying the natural landscape of the valley. The natural environment in the area has been heavily exploited through deforestation, mining and agriculture. To contrast this situation in view of the Olympic Games there were planted millions of pines trees on the slopes of the mountains concerning the events, in order to establish an environment able to come closer to the collective imagination of alpine skiing and of Winter Olympics Games, but that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t match the Chinese environment. In fact the natural vegetation of the area is composed of aspens trees with no trace of pines tress.

10. TAN L.Y. Visita alla prefettura di Zhangjiakou, paese al centro delle Olimpiadi invernali, China news, 2015.

Fig.17 The contrast between the planted pine trees and the current natural landscape (Author: Manfredini A.)

103

Fig.18 A graphic showing the circulation in the area. RED LINES represent the primary roads. ORANGE LINES rap represent the secondary roads BLACK LINES represent the local roads. (Image elaborated by the author) Fig.19 A famer walking on the road in Kuyangshu Village, the future cross-country venue (Author: Serra F.)

Circulation Taizicheng is a quiet and small village where the inner circulation is mostly pedestrian, while outward circulation is done by private cars or equipment for farm work. On the West outside the village there is an important intersection where Dongma Road, the main route of the area, split in three different part with different directions. One road goes in north direction towards Genting Ski Resort and a second one goes south of the valley toward Kuyangshu village. The first road have been recently renewed, while the second is entirely new and allows to reach the south without passing through Taizicheng village like before. The third part of Dongma Road cross in the West-East direction Taizicheng village and acts both as the main distributor of the village, both as the only way to pass through and reach the follow-up village, Quipanliang. Due to the fact that in east direction the road loses relevance meeting a few small villages before climbing in the mountains, it is quiet with very little traffic. There is also a road of secondary importance going in south direction connect the middle of the village with the new route that goes south. The street network is completed with several local roads frequently unpaved that allows to reach individual properties and accessing the fields.

105

107

Fig.20 A graphic showing the urban fabric. You can see the buildings in black and their orientation and the courtyard in gray. (Image elaborated by the author)

Urban fabric Taizicheng is composed of a hundred houses placed following the ancient rules for an ideal town and building position based on Feng Shui and on the locals experience in dealing with natural environment. In fact the village lies on a south-sloping site, exposed to the sun and drained to a protective small river at its base, with a protective arch of mountains to the north. The town unfolds along Dongma Road from east to west with an elongated shape. A small river dividing the village in two parts, a smaller east part and a bigger west part. The boundaries of the town are marked to the south, southeast by a stream and to the north by the slope of the mountains. The urban fabric is composed by single story farm dwellings (pingfang) with walled courtyard used as working and storage areas. Dwellings placed around a courtyard is the traditional housing type in China with a long rage of possible solutions depending on the status and financial ability of the families, the number of families and the geographic location.

109

110

In Taizicheng there is a very simple rural courtyard dwelling, composed by a main building placed on the north side of the courtyard, and most of the time a secondary building placed in the south. The main building usually is wider, can have more than one floor and house the family apartments. The south building, if present, could be used as work spaces or warehouse or as expansion of the living space due to a growth of the family or many other use. Other small constructions can be built inside the courtyard placed on the east or west side, often self constructed with recycled materials. The courtyard is enclosed by a surrounding wall and the majority of the windows are open towards the interior of the court, making the singled unit a very closed private place. To access to the unit there is always a red massive doorway that from the public roads allow direct access to the courtyard. The single courtyard units joined together form long east-west strips of main buildings and yards separated by thin walls, and a chaotic belt of small secondary constructions.

Fig.21 A satellite image of the village (Source: Google Earth)

Fig.22 A dwelling in red brick and interlocking red roof tiles. (Author Serra F.)

112

Fig.23 A dwelling constructed using a prefabricated system. (Author Vioglio S.) Fig.24 The houge greenhouses that characterizes the countryside of the area. (Author Serra F.)

Architecture The constructions in the village are mostly one-storey houses, with very few buildings of two or three floors. From the point of view of the constructive techniques we can find different types of buildings. A great part is constructed using prefabricated systems with red metal roof and walls of insulated white panels, with poor architecture value and efficiency. Several other buildings are constructed with bearing walls in red bricks or stone, mud and straw, painted in white and gray, interlocking red roof tiles and timber frame for the covering. Even if this type does not have a great architectural value and have little connections with the construction traditions, there are some typical Chinese elements of some interest, like the circular section laths of the roof framework, while other elements are absents.

113

114

There are also a very little amount of buildings with some historical value that uses typical construction materials and techniques like curvy pitched roof, gray roof tiles, basic decorations and complex roof framework. Those buildings are clearly the most ancient and interesting however they are only a handful, stuck in the urban fabric and in very bad preservation conditions, almost completely collapsed. Other types of constructions are seasonal greenhouses and stables. Those functional buildings are an important part in the village, because of their number and huge size, they occupy a large part of the farmland during winter and allows cultivation and farming even with the extreme climate of the area. They are made with plastic materials panels or in prefabricated system and they could have brick walls as a base. Passing through the valley you can see several buildings carved into the mountains. This type of cave-dwelling (yaodong) is typical of northwest China and were made in the past, and sometimes still today, in order to protect from the wind and the climate in a very low-cost way. Those constructions were possible thank to an easy to dig but compact soil and were used both as harvest storage caves both as dwellings.

Fig.25 Circular section laths of a house in Taizicheng (Author Serra F.)

3. SPIRIT OF THE PLACE

第三章

3.1 Masterplan A Fabrizia Parlani, Matteo Ponsetti, Sara Ressia, Simone Vioglio

Fig. Masterplan: step 1

General features In the second part of the workshop we worked to the evolution of the masterplan. Changes concerned the general approach of the urban form and the organization buildings in relation to the Olympics. The rigid urban form of the starting masterplan, changed through some elements suggested by our primary masterplan, based on an organic urban setting. The overall shape follows the river adapting to its shape and takes the river as an element that becomes part of the village. We have enhanced the axis of transport, with new features and a more direct path to the village. The built has been designed and optimized, dividing it into two different parts. The public is banned from entering to the Olympic village. The western part is opened to all people, and it is connected to the main streets. The other areas are serving the olympics life. For insteance creation of temporary parking areas and structures, or future expansion of the village.

121

122

Fig. In yellow the trasportation axis, in orange the public area and the medal plaza, in red the Olympic Village area with its private leisure place, in black dots, the future expansions.

Functions The settlement works through a gradient that is both in length and from the central path to outside. The transportation axis is the main entrance to the city. It reaches the gate where tourism facilities and events take place. The main axis is made up of commercial space, which decreases along the way and becomes the area for public city facilities and housing. The same principle is applied from the center to external part. Furthermore there is the possibility to organize parking lots in the eastern part next to the olympic square.

123

124

Fig. The connections fabric, the main streets are outside the village, the central axis is pedestrian, and the transportation axis that pass through the village.

Connections The village is achieved by an existing road that connects to Ku Shu Chang Cun, another venue of the Olympic events of Congli County. The connection between the train, the bus station and village is created by an articulated path made of functions that intersect it. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;transportation axisâ&#x20AC;? is located in a side of the village and it is the fastest way to reached the village. Secondly, the shape of the public spaces, along the axis are thought to create panoramic views. The mobility into the village is thought to preserve pedestrian and cycling streets. The city blocks can be reached by car, using streets located in the boundary of the village.

125

126

Fig. Celebration Areas

Celebration areas The spaces for celebrations consist of a large initial area and a welcome centre created into two big public buildings. These work as built background behind the stage. The Medal Plaza is the central square and it is designed for awards ceremonies during the Games. The sport plaza is located in the eastern part and it is for different activities during and after the Games.

127

128

Fig. Urban fabric

Urban fabric and Post Olympics reuse The urban fabric is based on the traditional courtyard. This system is modified to fit it to the urban scale. The results are long rows of buildings (as shown by the existing village) that form compact urban fronts to the central street. Buildings of the courts are flexible and adapted to the shape of the terrain, creating courts with different sizes and different possible of uses. After the games, the Village will be partly converted into a residential area, maintaining commercial functions along the main street at the same time. The International and Operational zone will become reception area, with services related to hospitality and trade. The transport axis will retain its starting functions becoming part of the activities of the village.

129

4. URBAN DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

第四章

What is the development model for a better city in China? Olympic Games seem the perfect opportunity to draft new approaches and solutions for the urban transformation. The area where the Village will rise wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be an isolated place in itself, because the present phenomenon of the huge urban growth that characterises Beijing brownfields will lead to its conglomeration. Nowadays the typical transformation of the Chinese environment aims at replacing the old settlements with new urban fabrics that look mostly like European style.

133

4.1 Integration into the landscape

Which is the best way to create quality spaces? We started from thinking on a large scale, for an overall knowledge of the site, in order to analyse all the possible scenarios. The proposal shows an adaptive and flexible activity programme, which can satisfy the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs all year long. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more, looking at the detailed scale, we focused on physical, elements designed in order to provide a safe environment for human interactions. The project aims at creating a dynamic city where, residential, commercial, cultural, educational, sports and leisure activities as well as tourism are integrated.

135

136

Since the beginning, one of the targets of the masterplan has been the maintenance of the natural features of the site, like the presence of the river and the different heights of the soil, together with the preservation of the major lines of the old urban fabric. Buildings and spaces are designed as part of the landscape and every element is thought respecting the orography of the land. In fact, three trays are created in order to overtake the difference in height of the terrain (Fig.1) and, in this way, new panoramic views link the different levels.

137

Fig. 1 The orography: three levels

+ 1578 m

+ 1575 m

+ 1573,5 m

138

The nearby river and the mountains define the main topic of the urban renewal underlining the purpose of reconnecting the city to its natural context. The water of the river is exploited in different ways creating spaces for community: while on the main axis it is canalized and hosts facilities for people, in the other parts nature overruns the riverfront. Taking into account the danger of flooding, a drainage canal is created in the southern part of the village, where it can be also employed by the rural community for irrigation purposes. In this way water, man and soil generate the fundamentals of the projects (Fig. 5). The new riverfront becomes the main axis that crosses the Village from east to west, and allows citizens live in contact with nature. The design exemplifies a blend between city and environment as well as the harmonious relationship between man and nature. The project strives to achieve an efficient use of land, give birth to a compact city and harmonious habitat in the attempt to create a dynamic place featuring ecological canons.

Fig. 2

FIg. 2 (previous page) River as infrastructure Fig. 3 (previous page) River as access to the courtyards Fig. 4 (previous page) River as a community space Fig. 5 Stormwater management

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

139

Entertainment Plaza

140

Public spaces network Each area is linked and overlaps one another, forming different multi-functional and multidimensional spaces. The development aims at promoting vivacity and enhancing the social and natural environment by creating a human scale , safe, and green neighbourhood that contributes to the wellbeing of residents and visitors (Figure 6).

Medal Plaza

Fig. 6 Main axis and connected public spaces

141

142

Green network Nature and buildings are linked by opposite gradients: the urban fabric crumbles going towards the mountains letting nature enter the city (Fig.7). In this way there is a minor impact on the environment. The main artificial axis is linked to different types of green areas, creating a network of micro and macro parks in the city. Besides representing a green oasis where city residents can relax, the parks will regenerate the city itself, providing a variety of benefits to the local ecosystem, including purification of both air and water and reduction of noise levels (Fig.8). The respect of the land orography by adapting the buildings allows avoiding earthworks and, on the other hand, keeping the view over the mountains intact. The beauty of this landscape and the proximity to the capital city is transforming this district in one of the favourite holiday places for the citizens of Beijing.

GREEN STRUCTURE

Fig. 7 Opposite gradient between nature and buildings

Natural Park

Urban gardening

143

Fig. 8 Network of green spaces

Farmland

River Park

4.2 Street hierarchy

Fig. The Great Wall, Badaling

145

146

The road system consists of two main arteries for vehicles on the boundary that well connects the Village with the other sports venues and the surrounding area. A network of pedestrian streets, instead, provides the access to the main commercial axis and to the residential zones. Parks and public open spaces are central topics in the community organization, and are connected one to the other by foot paths and cycle tracks in order to create a pedestrian neighbourhood (Fig.1). The proposal of a human-scale city takes into account the needs of different types of citizens. A large car park is built underground and it is accessible by vehicles from the main arteries and by pedestrians directly from the condominiums and from the courtyards. In this way, cars are not visible within the neighbourhood.

Fig.1 Streets network

147

5. SPACE, PLACE, USE

第五章

The project pays attention to the central axis. It is the main street of the city and it is reserved to pedestrians and cyclists. In order to create lively spaces and consequently to attract people here we have devised different proposals of outdoor facilities which people can enjoy in order to take the most of the place. The historical settlement of the village provides a good starting point for the vision of the future urban fabric. The building type of the court recurs on a large scale but, while in the past tradition it represented a private space, now here it becomes a public or semi-public area to live. The proposal shows a clear hierarchy of public spaces, paths and functions. The main axis connects two large squares: the Medal plaza and the Sport plaza, each one with different features and possible uses. In-between the buildings, instead, we can locate spaces of different nature, some of them totally public (like the visitor centre or the residential courts), some others only private (like the thermal baths) while others can be opened to the public only during the events (for examples the hotel court with its restaurants or the gym plaza). All the seven courtyards are directly connected to the main street and their access is allowed only from the axis.

151

TO NATURE

152

The Medal Plaza, in particular, can be enlarged to the visitor centre, where an family ice rink or an open-air cinema can be set up depending on the season, and to students the restaurant court where restaurants and pubs animate the nightlife. The long central axis is shaped by the existing river andkids it is crossed by three secondary streets that link the pedestrian area with the smaller buildings in the tourists north and south. The sparkling courts are linked to the main road, and allow elderly people to flow so that the effect is that of an active and energetic place (Fig.1).

LIFE

TO NATURE

Fig. 1 Access to the coutyards and secondary streets

153

TO FARMLAND

154

155

5.1 Olympic temporary use and positive legacy

The project suggests a forward-looking and holistic development plan which doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t only represent a new environment for Taizicheng, but becomes a model of a friendly way of living. A unique everyday life during and after the games includes building and urban space design, cheap organic food and unique community. It represents sustainable strategies for landscape, urban spaces, infrastructure, energy and resources, as well as new forms of density which combines the qualities of single housing with the cultural and social diversity of the public life. The Village is designed as a flexible city, so it should be able to host adequately the two Olympics weeks (Fig.1), and after games converts to a new village without important and expensive changes (Fig.2). The main road leaves space to a sequence of public areas. The Medal Plaza is where main events take place and visually links the northern valley to the nature and fields in the south. All structures have been designed bearing in mind their temporary function during the games with the clear objective of both creating an organization able to host all the competition teams and offer a safe and lively environment where individual can meet any necessity and experience moments of community with others athletes and staffs.

157

Fig.1 Olympic temporary use Future development Athletes residence Dining hub Community centre

158

Thermal baths

Wellness centre

School

Fitness/Wellnes centre

Fig.2 After Olympics use

Hotel

Services for the city Hospitality Residential Commercial street

Community Centre

The design mainly focuses on the long-term development of Taizicheng village as a tourist town and also tries to meet the periodical demand as an Olympic village. Considering the skiing resources, climate features and country life of Taizicheng village, the latter is an attractive place for the various seasobale activities and is promising to become a tourist resort in the next few years. In a short time the major industry of this village will be tourism together with all the connected activities. The development is mostly related to residential area with a diverse housing typologies. The variety of dwelling attracts different ranges of ages, lifestyles and income levels.

159

160

Facilities The integration of all areas takes place through the street pattern, ground design, and overall building forms. Functions are strategically organized in order to create synergy effects within the areas where housing meets services (Fig.3). Facilities and commercial activities are present in every part of the area, meaning that the development of non-residential use is to enhance future prosperity and attractiveness of the area; and that is also why restaurants, pubs and shops are largely located in the urban life generator. Along the main road are sports shops, where visitors can buy or hire any equipment they need; in summer, visitors can enjoy a wide variety of trekking paths and if you prefer walking with someone who knows the area well, you can ask for a local guide. Services include a community centre, thermal baths, hotel, gym and a school, which may include child and after-school care, located within easy walking distance from every part of the city. More attractive tourist facilities can be found beside the Medal Plaza, one of the most animated spaces of the city. This mixed commercial and residential precinct marks a transition between the commercial and service uses of the western side and the primarily residential uses of the eastern village.

Tourism facilities Single houses Fig. 3 Village facilities Visitor centre City facilities Shops

161

162

Building type The Olympic Village requires a high living density to accommodate enough athletes and officials, so most of buildings have 4-5 floors. In order to keep the local identity as a village, the courtyard is chosen as a prototype of the buildings. The depth of most buildings are strictly limited between 6-12 metres, in order to control the building volumes and give a strong definition to the open space (Fig.4). While the building frontages on the main road strongly connote their role as the front â&#x20AC;&#x153;faceâ&#x20AC;? building, they become predominately low and mid-rise in the northern and southern part. The form of the prototype has a good response on the local climate. As a matter of fact a microclimate can form inside the courtyard and makes it a suitable place for outdoor activities, residents and tourists. People have the possibility to spend time together and have the chance to move outdoor activities inside. The common purpose is the creation of a family-friendly environment, and this is why all the courts have different functions.

1-2 floors 2-3 floors Fig. 4 Building heights

4 floors 5 floors 1 floor

163

+1578 m

+1575 m Fig. Masterplan A: second step 1:1000

N +1573.5 m

+1573.5 m

6. SPACE FOR ACTION

第六章

168

The project demonstrates a multi-tasking approach to sustainability reflected in both open space and building design. A significant goal is that the need to preserve, restore, and manage the local and regional ecosystems, may help to satisfy the needs of present and future generations. Our proposal shows five new urban spaces: a multipurpose street, a green scenic plaza, two dynamic courts and, finally, a sport square in the eastern part. The spaces will offer individual and collective experiences of the city at different levels. Social spaces are created to foster the concept of community activities adapted to different ages, walks of life, celebrations and concerts.

visitor centre school gym Fig. Relations between users and spaces

hotel spa sport plaza medal plaza

family students kids tourists elderly

169

6.1 Spaces for community

Fig. Women dancing in a public space

171

Farmland

Medal Plaza

Ice rink Rural Community

Community centre

Multipurpose court Greenhouses

Underground private parking area

Food court

Hotel

Wellness court

Drainage canal

Meeting area

Educational court

Playground area

Comprehensive school

Morning exercise zone

River Park

Thermal baths

Sport Plaza Ticket shop Rental shop

Fitness centre

News vendor Flower shop Street market

Underground private parking area Single family houses

Underground private parking area

174

The riverfront The long pedestrian way lays on the track of the old main road, reminding the spirit of the original village, and hosts new functions such as housing, retail and temporary activities. Some urban equipment can be installed on the edge of the canal in order to create an active riverfront where people can sit or lay and relax. This vibrant commercial axis acts like the â&#x20AC;&#x153;heartâ&#x20AC;? of the community and it can be easily set up during temporary festivals with lighting systems In order to make the route recognizable and easy both to find and followed, it is important to have unifying elements along its paths. Paving, lighting and urban furniture, such as benches or signs, help giving the route an identity of its own and make it readable in the cityscape. A good lighting system is important to increase safety and wayfinding at night, but the citizens can also play with the devices changing the beam of light. Furniture also gives continuity to the street, providing places to rest, to meet other people or to play. Lights or other systems can be embedded in the paving in order to create a variety of experience.

Fig. 1 Become a relevant element that characterizes the identity of the village Fig 2 Add flexible use facilities to increase interaction between people and people Fig 3 Provide gates to nature Fig. 4 Provide multi-functional street scape to attract activities happened along the streets

175

Season activities

ski

176

Sport Plaza The second square is located in the eastern part, and adjacent to the gym and the school. We created a quality public space for every generation of urban sportsmen. We are strongly convinced, that the space should serve the citizens for sportsmanship, cultural and integration purposes and be planned within a framework of open discussion and co-operative development process. For this reason, temporary and playful urban furniture encourages friendly dialogue between residents and tourists.

Dec

Jan

Nov

Fig. Seasonality: several activities in different seasons

Feb

Oct

Mar

Sept

Apr

Aug

May July

June

177

178

Medal Plaza The square is defined by four buildings and it is used for award ceremonies and concerts during the Olympic Games. It is a link through various parts of the village and gradient from what is built and nature. As well as providing pleasant spaces for people to meet and rest, the place is an area for sitting among nature next to a river. The large central space can also be used for cultural events such as concerts and festivals. Amenities such as benches, pubs, kiosks and social activities help creating a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere. Furniture and the choice of its material impact on comfort too: people can take advantage of different kind of customizable seats.

Fig. 1 Event spaces: light structures with scaffolding able to welcome federative and fleeting cultural events. They aim to vitalize the district Fig. 2 Fitness trails: sport microstructure set up directly or on long-term. They aim at connecting various social spaces with various urban or natural environments fig. 3 Sports installation: polyvalent sport equipments aim at offering new installation for sports, competitions, concerts

179

Fig. 4 Urban equipments: microstructure of water installations, urban facilities, benches aim at improving the comfort of use, to multiply the situations and to create common spaces

180

Fig. 5 Lighting strategy: urban lighting aim at unifying space, to emphasize centralities and remarkable elements Fig. 6 Wetland: specific vegetation aim at restoring biotope

Fig. 7 Artistic action: works of art and artistic installations aim at providing to the district a specific cultural aspect Fig. 8 Movable service: daily mobile services (library, doctrâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s practice..) aim at ensuring continuity of affabilities between the inhabitants Fig. 9 Temporary activities: light structures able to welcome new professional activities, small shops or local services aim at launching the doing-together

181

182

Community Centre We are proposing a Community Centre that becomes part of the Square during the events attracting public. The building is a spatial frame for an ice rink in winter and an open-air cinema during the hot season. Its structure provides a sculptural scaffolding for public events, large tents, cafe seating, or Sunday markets. The conference rooms can be opened on the occasion of venues, serving as extentions to the central space. For private events, the entire large living room, or small parts such as the canteen and the conference portion can be rented out separately.

Fig. Events and leisure: ice skating in winter and open-air cinema in summer

183

“The courtyard is the duality of interior and exterior; the void and the form; the visible and the invisible, to be and not to be ”.

6.2 Residential courts

Literally, the solid and visible building in Chinese is “yang”, and the void and invisible courtyard is “yin”. In fact, the buildings and the courtyard are the objects belonging to this philosophy. The building forms are drawn upon the historical traces of the village. To be successfull the court needs to be integrated within the entire urban pedestrian network, reinforcing trasversal axes by means of restaurants, pubs and common spaces. This pattern language of different voids creates a colourful living area with vegetable gardens, children’s playgrounds and picnic areas. These types of interventions are useful not only from the social point of view but also from a sustainable one (stormwater infiltration).

185

7. ZOOM

第七章

190

We are promoting the idea of a strong generator principle that could be applied to all buildings. This element defines the â&#x20AC;&#x153;official facadesâ&#x20AC;? on the Main Street. It seems to envelop a new world inside that identifies with buildings and courts. The project research aims at overcoming the problem of the separation of the place and produces the idea of fusion between the building space and the natural green space. The building is made up of residential spaces organized around a core. This is the heart of the system and connection between construction and nature. Thanks to the rainwater system collection water consumption of the district can be reduced.

Fig.1 The two main blocks facing on the river are divided into two parts each Fig.2 A family friendly environment is created inside the court Fig.3 Use of different heights in order to privilege the sight towards the landscape

191

192

According to the previous concept, the cover of each building is defined by a â&#x20AC;&#x153;semi- pitchedâ&#x20AC;? roof (single slope on one side). In this way the inclination avoids snowdrifts in winter and it is the better way to mantain the wood for more time. Furthermore, the roof can be customized depending on the exposure to the sun. Thus, skylights and photovoltaic systems can be placed on the opposite slopes.

Fig. Roof system

193

194

Our basic concept was to leave the original geographical features intact and employ locally produced materials as much as possible. The whole project is designed to save energy and be reasonable and sustainable in terms of maintenance The great gift is to understand the earth fragility in order to safeguard it and try to find the best architectural expression. It manages to express the perfect synthesis between architecture and land, between human intervention and the work of nature. So one possible solution would be the use of wood that is also the main material, popular in the Chinese culture. The walls are made of wood filters. There are several reasons why we have chosen this material. Wood, rice paper, slate and glass are used to link our project with its location. Wood in particular, the traditional local building material, becomes the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skin, covered with a curtain of slats set at variable distances apart.

Fig. Detail of a historical wooden roof

195

196

Fig. Illustrative image of the project: the northern court

Fig. Illustrative image of the project: the building facade system

197

Patio

198

The project emerges through the material arrangement rather than its processing. The main faรงade offers a variety depending on the strips distance. On the exterior wall, the panels are applied with spaces in between, and so the facade expresses a warm and friendly front with different heights, colours and textures. The characterising element of wood also expresses the interest in natural materials, their expressive potential and the possible combinations of organic elements in different ways. This material immediately discloses its nature and its origin through the formal image. Wood is both a symbol and a reality, and this is its greatest originality both in aesthetics and technology. The interior walls are of rice paper, a typical material of the local architecture, and enable the creation of flexible environments. The roof takes the value of side scene- facade becoming at the same time, hedge, wall and terrace (Fig.4).

Skylight

Balcony

199

Fig. 4 Roof system

Collective space

B B

7.1 Residential buildings

B B

Fig. Residential buildings plants 1:500

201 B L

Common space L

L First floor

B B

Common space L

Second floor

apartments apartments

Apartments

202

Apartment flexibility Coherently with the location on the lively central axis of the city, the building consists of two major components: a glazed base, with commercial functions and services for the city, and a â&#x20AC;&#x153;nobleâ&#x20AC;? part represented by the upper floors whose function is residential. It is a five-storey building. The main entrance of the residence is from the court but we have devised a direct access from the Main Road too. The underground street-level houses a car park. A central stairwell is incorporated inside the building and two outside stairs are placed on the sides. The apartments are served by walkway, creating outdoor common spaces for sharing and socializing. All apartments with private balconies, have a variety of lengths with one or two levels: two-room apartment, three-room apartment, starting from 60 sqm. Different typologies are designed according to the Olympic life and post. The 30 square metres required for athletes suggested that we should use this form as a starting point. So, flats with 60, 90 and 120 square metres could be created without any major changes at the end of the games. The variety allows the home purchase by a wide range of interested clients.

apartments apartments duplex

duplex

Duplex

duplex collective spaces collective spaces

Collective spaces

collective spaces

Fig.1 Aparment typologies

203

Fig.2 Apartment flexibility: before and after Olympic Games

60 m2

90 m2

120 m2

60 + 60 m2 120 m2

100

204

Spaces for community Appropriation of the city and social participation have also influenced spaces inside the buildings. Each residential building features common areas available to residents. These areas are identified with three common spaces in the southern building; two are arranged on the top and a third space with double height in the middle of the building. We believe that taking advantage of the sun rays that warm the greenhouses and convey the building recovered heat, is a smart way to save energy and reuse it in these spaces in winter. The northern building is characterized by two corner areas that act as attraction centre for the court and a solar greenhouse on the top floor.

205

Fig. Common spaces

Summer

Winter

206

Fig. View of the main axis

8. EPILOGUE

第八章

210

At the moment, China is not only a country that has been developing with an extraordinary speed but it is also a nation with an ancient civilization that is rich in cultural heritage. We have realized that China represents a very different context in comparison with Europe under the cultural, social and economic growth view points. The growth of China massive population has slowed down in recent years, but migration to urban areas has increased, with almost half of Chinese people living in or near cities. A booming economy, government housing initiatives, infrastructure programs, and private real estate speculation have all driven construction to record levels. New apartment, office, and government buildings regularly rise up over older neighbourhoods, and thousands have relocated to modern housing complexes. The blend of old and new Chinese architecture is ever-present in cities and villages, as older buildings are torn down and newer ones built at ever faster rates. However in last years, China has began to consider it as a cultural and architectural issue and lot of architects have a critic view on that. That is why the present trend is to include the promotion of planning and development guidelines that celebrate the unique natural, social, and historical heritage through the identity of the space. For the first time we have worked on a large scale, starting with a general masterplan that involves the design of an entire village, up to the scale of the

building. It was very helpful to work step by step, imposed by the monthly deadlines. Visiting the city of Beijing and Shanghai we noticed that there is a lack of public spaces whereas Chinese people use to meet in squares and open spaces for social activities. In our project we gave lot of importance to preserve and recreate the atmosphere of the old village. The new Olympic Village is to develop as a complete community that enables its residents to live, work, play, and learn within a convenient walking, cycling, or transit-riding distance. Thanks to the possibility connected to the trip across China, we focused more and more on these topics. The project is our personal answer, even if it is not the only possible solution.

211

BIBLIOGRAPHY

參考書目

214

Vancouver SEFC, Southeast False Creek. Official Development Plan, 2007. VANOC, Vancouver 2010. Bid Report, Vancouver, 2009. http://www.olympic.org/ Documents/Reports/Official%20Past%20Games%20Reports/Winter/2010/ ENG/Bid-Report.pdf. Canadian Architect , New way of life, September 2009, pp. 17-23. Knowledge Report , Vancouver 2010. Staging the Olympic Winter Games, September 2010. City of Vancouver, Greenest City 2020, Vancouver, 2012. Turin Organising Committee for the XX Olympic Winter Games (toroc), Strategic Plan “Environment”, Turin, 2002. Bobbio L. Guala C., Olimpiadi e grandi eventi. Verso Torino 2006, Carocci, Roma, 2002. Segre A. Scamuzzi S. (a cura di), Aspettando le Olimpiadi. Piano strategico e politiche di trasformazione urbana, Carocci, Roma, 2004. AaVv, Torino Olimpica, inserto de Il Sole 24 ore, n. 52, 22 febbraio 2004, pp. 3538. Bianchetti C. (a cura di), Torino Il Villaggio Olimpico, Officina, Roma, 2005. Final Report, XX Olympic Winter Games, Turin, 2006.

Olympic Games Philippe Furrer, Sustainable Olympic Games: A dream or a reality?, Bollettino della Società Geografica Italiana, Volume VII, 2002. Adrian Pitts and Hanwen Liao, Sustainable Olympic design and urban development, Routledge, 2009. Alberto Pratelli, Massimo Bortolotti, Abitare Olimpia : l’architettura dei villaggi per le Olimpiadi, Bononia University Press, Bologna, 2011 International Olympic Committe, Sustainability through sport. Implementing the Olympic Movement’s Agenda 21, Lausanne, 2012. http://www.olympic. org/documents/commissions_pdffiles/sportandenvironment/sustainability_ through_sport.pdf. International Olympic Committe, Olympic Legacy, Lausanne, 2013. http://www. olympic.org/documents/olympism_in_action/legacy/2013_booklet_legacy.pdf. International Olympic Committee, Report of the 22 Evaluation Commission. www. olympic.org

215

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First of all we want to express our thanks to our tutors Proff. Gustavo Ambrosini, Mauro Berta, Michele Bonino for the kindness shown in these long months and for the precious help offered during our experience. Many thanks for the trust demonstrated to us by publishing some drawings of ours on the international magazine World Architecture; reading our names at the end of the article aroused great emotions. We are very grateful to our parents that in these five years tolerated our moans and groans when we were overcome by despair and tiredness, urging us not to give in and sensing that we could be successful. We owe a special thank-you to our grannies and granpas. When we proudly showed our panels they always said that the project was the best they had ever seen, but we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if they really understood what we meant. More thanks to martyrs Marco and Andrea, for having nonstop ecouraged us and shared this hard period of work without complaining when we were too tired, under pressure and didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel like hanging out with them. Thanks to our friends, the ones present today, the ones we used to have lunch breaks with and the ones who a short time ago were unaware of what a review

219

was (maybe a car overhaul?), a plate was (maybe something where you eat?) and an A1 was (maybe a kind of car?). We still want to thank our what-to-do lists, written only for the mere satisfaction of ticking them of in order to have the feeling of approaching the conclusion toil as weell as our inseparable laptops (Camillo, don’t break down now please!), trusty workmates that, in spite of their countless desperate moments, allowed us to reach our final goal. 220

Finally thanks to my Friend, thesis mate, for these last demanding but amusing months, for the sleepless nights and for the twenty-eight days spent in China. I found in you not only a schoolmate but a close friend as well. Thanks for standing my acid answers and my excessive accuracy. Thanks to everyone who made the end of this race possible, and a new beginning arise from it. Fabrizia and Sara

Desideriamo ringraziare i nostri relatori Proff. Gustavo Ambrosini, Mauro Berta e Michele Bonino per la grande disponibilità e cortesia dimostrataci e per l’aiuto durante il lungo percorso che ha portato alla stesura di questo elaborato. Grazie per averci dato fiducia e averci coinvolte in una pubblicazione su “World Architecture”, la sensazione di leggere il nostro nome nell’articolo è stata impareggiabile. Ringraziamo poi con tutto il cuore I nostri genitori che in questi cinque anni hanno sopportato le nostre lamentele e hanno assistito alle scene di disperazione ed esaurimento, senza mai dubitare che ce l’avremmo fatta. Un ringraziamento in particolare alle nonne e ai nonni. Quando mostravamo orgogliose le nostre tavole di progetto dicevano sempre che erano bellissime, anche se forse non era sempre chiaro quello che raccontavamo. Un grazie ai martiri Marco e Andrea, per esserci sempre stati, per aver sopportato le nostre frequenti assenze quando dovevamo studiare o quando eravamo troppo stanche, e per averci incoraggiate a non mollare.

221

Grazie agli amici, quelli che sono qui oggi, quelli con cui abbiamo condiviso i pranzi al Valentino e quelli che fino a qualche anno fa erano ignari di che cosa fosse una revisione (se non quella che si fa dal meccanico), una tavola (se non quella dove si mangia) e un A1 (se non una macchina).

222

Ringraziamo le liste, create solo per la soddisfazione di depennarne le voci e avere sempre la sensazione di aver terminato il lavoro; i nostri inseparabili PC (Camillo non mollare adesso!), fidati compagni di lavoro che, nonostante i loro innumerevoli momenti di sconforto, ci hanno portate a concludere questo progetto. Infine un grazie alla mia Amica, compagna di tesi, per questi mesi impegnativi ma divertenti, per le notti insonne e per i ventotto giorni trascorsi in Cina. In te ho trovato non solo una compagna di scuola ma di vita. Grazie per aver sopportato le mie risposte acide e la mia precisione. Grazie a tutti coloro che hanno reso possibile il termine di questa corsa, e il nuovo inizio che ne nascerĂ . Fabrizia e Sara

FABRIZIA PARLANI

SARA RESSIA