Birdhouse

Eat your heart out, Pompidou!
Or should I say thank you, for shining a stage light on the incredible system that is a building, in this day and age.
Everyone inhabits these creations, but many do not realise the amazingly complex work that is required to make them habitable. The labourious work performed by the various tradesmen/women often goes unnoticed and unappreciated (oh yeah, I hate the constant noise too, so much). Well, guys, consider this my thank you post. For I can see the art in your work, just as Renzo Piano, Sir Richard Rodgers and many other Architects can.

These happy chaps will finish installing the internal layer of insulation today.

Yes, that’s right. We have two layers of insulation!

The external layer is rigid blue foam, 5cm thick and was set into the existing steel structure of the roof. This second layer is mineral wool insulation, otherwise known as rock wool. It is 7cm thick and already we can feel the difference in temperature under that roof (admittedly, we started building in the dead of summer – those first site meetings were pretty arduous – we won’t really be able to compare until next scorching summer).

As I watched them haul the massive sheets up it occurred to me that using so much insulation is somewhat of a rarity in Shanghai, particularly in a residential building. I also realised that all through the design of this apartment renovation, Mr Lin, our client, has done a lot of research into passive energy design methods and materials, including in-floor radiant heating, centralised HVAC systems and recycled materials to name a few.

For those unfamiliar with building standards in Shanghai, let me give a brief explanation. Common sustainable design methods are not standard practice. Things like passive heating and cooling, insulation and double glazed windows are not common, while solar panels, grey water tanks and composting almost don’t exist. Only in recent years, in the wake of terrible pollution, has sustainable design begun to take root.

So it has been a very positive experience to work with Mr Lin in implementing these simple and cost-effective passive techniques. The insulation is not as expensive as one might have thought, and it is going to go a long way in reducing electricity bills. On top of that, Mr Lin has chosen a centralised HVAC cooling system and radiant heating panels, both of which use much less energy than fan-forced wall-mounted units, not to mention produce a much more comfortable air quality.

I attended a talk on healthy buildings and sustainable design recently. They talked about how building standards these days should not only include reducing environmental impact, but must go further, and include practices that reduce the impact on our health. A large percentage of the pollution in China is caused by the buildings in which we live and work, from the materials and by-products during construction, to everyday usage of air-conditioners, heaters, lights and water. When you realise that the fan-forced wall-mounted air con system in every room is as bad for you as it is for the environment, you realise that sustainable design and human health are not mutually exclusive, they are actually the same problem. Solving one is solving the other.

The talk went on to discuss how little people know about what goes into a complete building. While ingredient labels on food products have been around for longer than I can remember, there aren’t the same requirements for ‘ingredients’ of a building. Why not? People have a right to know if something contains formaldehyde, or was treated with chemicals, or produced vast amounts of smoke in its production. All of these things affects the air quality both inside and outside the home.

Returning to our little project, although fairly small in square meters, the difference we are making to our client and his family’s quality of life will be huge. We are really looking forward to seeing and feeling the finished result, and hopefully we will have more clients in the future with the same enthusiasm as Mr Lin.

There’s that very old and overused expression that keeps coming up in my mind;

If these walls could talk…

I can’t help it. I really didn’t want to open with that, I tried to think of something else. But nothing else fits quite so well.

We have gutted the apartment and what is revealed are layers of history visible by the changes in shape, colour, structure, material.
It had been told through urban tale that this apartment was once in fact two smaller apartments. Now as we strip it down to its bones, we start to see how those apartments might have looked.

The first and most obvious tell-tale is the door-shaped patch of big blue masonry blocks sitting neatly in the otherwise red brick wall. So the door to the bathroom used to be there. The same blue patch appears on the other side of the bathroom, indicating another door into the same space. From this and the placement of the pipes we know that the current bathroom was once split into two tiny bathrooms, one for each tiny apartment. They backed onto each other, more than likely they were symmetric.

Next we demolished the wall between the master bedroom and the study, where there was what seemed like a structural column. We weren’t even sure we could demolish it. But it’s not structural at all. It’s brick built around an iron pipe. Water drainage. This used to be the other kitchen. And the pipe cannot be removed as the apartment below still uses it. Luckily we will be able to hide it again in the latest iteration.

As we removed the timber flooring, we noticed several changes in the height of the concrete slab. It is high at the kitchen and entry areas, then it drops about 10cm in the living room and master bedroom. Wet areas like kitchens and bathrooms do tend to be higher levels to accommodate piping, but at the southern end closer to the balcony the slab raises again by 8cm. Then on the balcony itself its another 3cm higher still. How peculiar.

Our explanation is provided by the builders, who have much experience in renovating old Shanghai buildings. That extra height in front of the balcony was a later addition in order to hold the weight of the balcony. In other words, the original building had no balconies.
The original two apartments would have looked something like this:

It’s so hard to imagine how families could have lived in these small apartments. Although I suppose a quick trip to Hong Kong and you would get the idea. But it’s certainly fascinating to see how much the floor layout influences how we live. Below are the plans of Mr Lin’s previous apartment, and future apartment. Interestingly, the bathroom will go back to almost its original size. It will, however, be supplemented by a second bathroom in the new loft level, with a bath tub!!
The rest of us continue to dream.

It never ceases to amaze me how each project comes with its own unique set of quirks (read: issues). You just can’t cookie-cut design.

Next week the demolishers will clear out and construction will commence on the Lin Residence renovation project. We began the design process back in February! No we have not been designing and redesigning for the last 7 months. There were several big issues (read: quirks) that we had no idea how they would play out. The most critical was whether or not Property Management would allow Mr Lin to reclaim the disused roof space above his apartment, and convert it into a second floor.

A little history about this building:

It was built during the 1980’s, one of several low rise apartment buildings in a compound (小区) in the Former French Concession. Shanghai in the 80’s saw a dramatic increase in population – the city was redefining its reputation as a high-tech, international, economic emperor, and the people were 来了-ing (coming in droves). So developers rushed to build as many buildings as quickly as possible to accommodate all the new citizens, not really able to foresee how much Shanghai would grow in 30 years. Who could have? It was unprecedented.

Because of this sudden increase in demand, building quality was not a priority. Nor were architectural aesthetics. Speed was the winner. Speed and budget. Our project is housed in a concrete box, 4 storeys high (my client on the forth), originally with 3 apartments on each floor, each of approx 36sqm. Mr Lin’s current apartment is the combination of the two southern facing apartments.

Some time later, after many many concrete boxes lined the streets and alleys, some urban planners with guanxi (it’s all about who you know…) decided the boxes were unattractive, and at the very least they should have a pitched tiled roof. That this would make the city pretty again. So all the buildings in our compound and all the ones around it were given fancy new hats.

And this is largely what you see today.

Does it work? Is it pretty? Well it doesn’t make it worse that’s for sure. What it did do, in the case of Mr Lin, is provide a great opportunity to build into it. Did they realise in doing this they were providing for extra floor area? I doubt it.

The pitched roofs were approved for two reasons; firstly for aesthetics as mentioned, secondly to provide an additional thermal barrier during hot summers. However, at the time birdhouse was involved, the roof was in such bad shape it gave no protection – holes everywhere, the steel structure supporting it completely rusted or eroded away even. And the structure itself is excessive,  columns everywhere on strange little concrete beams. It required a huge and costly amount of repair work before anything could be added.

We had these questions for Property Management. In this order:

1. Would you please pay for and organise repair work on the roof please?
2. May we please build a second floor in the roof for private use please?
3. While you’re up there, would you mind demolishing that unused water tank that’s taking up useful space please?

After a long period of guanxi negotiating, the bribing with cigarettes, Chinese wine, and I don’t know what else, moon cakes probably, we got our answers back:

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No.

We can work with that! 谢谢！

I’ve worked on large architectural projects before that have never been built. They were very unsatisfying. But this felt different. As we were designing, in the back of our minds we knew there was a chance it could never be realised. And the more we pulled the ideas from concept into form, the more we saw the potential for a really great space. It would have been devastating had it been turned down. For all involved. But we were patient and co operative and I’d say that saved us. It is so important keep a good relationship with your Property Management. They can make your life easier or much, much harder if they choose.

So management sent out a team to repair the roof and they have done a good job. Its waterproof and insulated as well. They did add more columns in… but thankfully we’ve been given approval to build and our Contractor is able to reorganise the structure.

Which brings us to today, with demolition almost done and construction about to begin. We’ve found more issues as we demolish – old pipes embedded in walls, uneven slabs to name a few. To be expected of a 30 year old building. After overcoming that major hurdle, these are easy peasy. I see these issues – quirks – as opportunities to celebrate uniqueness and character.

Another 4 months of construction to go. Let’s see what other quirks we find along the way!