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Old building preservation options
Print Edition
RESTORATION is not the only way to revive old buildings that seem to be beyond salvation. Carefully salvaging the original building materials and ornaments is also an option.
Some luxury resorts and hotels are built in such a way, not only extending the life span of a structure’s tangible heritage but also creating a distinctively new entity. This approach obviates the budget pressure of complete restoration and costly ongoing maintenance.
One such example is Amanyangyun, an Aman resort in Shanghai’s Maqiao Town in Minhang District.
The resort’s development is known for its painstaking preservation of 50 Ming and Qing dynasties homes. These were disassembled and transferred 700 kilometers from Jiangxi Province to Shanghai and rebuilt as 26 dwellings in the new resort.
The resort manager said the preservation concept was born from what happened a decade earlier when 10,000 camphor trees and ancient structures in 30 villages in Jiangxi were threatened by construction of a reservoir.
To save them from being submerged, Jiangxi-born entrepreneur and philanthropist Ma Dadong established a team of botanists and engineers to oversee extraction of the trees and 300-year-old buildings.
The “yangyun” part of the Aman resort’s name is linked to a pavilion called “Yangxinzhai” from 300 years ago in China’s Forbidden City. Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) in the Qing Dynasty erected a plaque bearing the words “yangyun,” literally meaning the nurturing of clouds. It referred to the nourishing of the human heart, cherishing nature and reverence for the rhythms of the universe.
The Aman resort consists of the 26 restored buildings, at the center of which stands the finest, “Nan Shufang,” named after the royal reading pavilion in the Forbidden City. It was used as a space for discussing politics, studying and contemplation during the Qing Dynasty. Today it is the resort’s culture pavilion where guests can experience a Chinese tea ceremony and practice Chinese calligraphy.
Thirteen dwellings have been designed as four-bedroom villas with pools, integrating wood, stone and bamboo materials into the decor. Another 12 heritage buildings have been converted into exquisite Aman Residences. All of these antique buildings are surrounded by a camphor forest that includes the 10,000 trees moved from Jiangxi.
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