Shanghai, China, 2000.

The built environment in China has sustained much destruction and demolition. Either out of a desire for ideological purity or for something flashier, Chinese municipal authorities and city planners have destroyed much of their architectural heritage in our lifetimes. We, at Taoho Design, lament this as tragic and try our hardest to encourage architectural preservation through workable renovation programmes.

One such programme was the Colourful Homes neighbourhood renewal project in Shanghai. After being hired to develop a residential community in Shanghai, we were given a plot of land with existing, vacant apartment blocks. Instead of the usual, we did the extraordinary: we did not demolish them, instead choosing to incorporate these seemingly disposable buildings into a bright, new housing scheme. At minimal cost and environmental impact, we went about cleaning up a thoroughly run-down area of Shanghai. We took dark, dreary apartment blocks and turned them into graphic icons in their own right, painting vivid collages on their exteriors and brightening the surrounding area with landscaping and sculptures. We integrated fountains, a clock tower and small community centre.

We made this section of Shanghai liveable again, and with out demolishing a single building, created a vibrant, lively neighbourhood. Our Colourful Homes project proves that preservation and environmentalism can play an integral role in the economic development of the urban centre.