Victory Street Neighborhood Committee and Oldies Daily-Care Center. Zhujiajiao
The Victory street locates at the southeastern corner of Zhujiajiao, a traditional water-town in Shanghai Qingpu. Far from the crowd and noise of the northern tourist area, it is a quiet neighborhood for original residence of the town. The new building of the neighborhood committee and oldies daily-care center sits at a crossroad of two small rivers and will provide community services for the local.
Since the site is within the historical preservation district, the urban planning bureau request that the new building has to follow the surrounding traditional fabric in terms of scale and architectural style. Taking this rule as a given condition, we try to use the simplest local wood structure and tectonic system as our basic architectural language, to weave a group of courtyard buildings based on program and circulation. We indulged in the configuration with threading and knitting, the courtyard space with the rhythm of light and silence, and the dialogue with aged neighbor buildings. As architects, we enjoyed the given delight from this design process and had no desire to pursue any fashionable form.
A monotonous building type won’t hinder the freedom of SPACE in shape and spirit. Why worry about the FORM if you get freshness from the VOID?
