Encounter

Artist: Wei Qin
Location: A substation located in the middle of Nanchang Road, Ruijin 2nd Road Street, Huangpu District, Shanghai, China
Year: 2021

Nanchang Road Substation in Huangpu District is located in Shanghai Hengfu Historical Features Reserve. There are profound historical and cultural heritage here. More than 20 celebrities from literary circles to calligraphy and painting have lived here, gathering buildings with French style, such as the Science Hall of the original French Children's School, the French Club, Nanchang Building with Art Deco style, and the lamps of Lane House.

How to highlight the classic humanities and arts of the neighborhood, render romantic literary feelings, and integrate them with the daily life of the neighborhood is the key point of artistic creation. However, the neighborhood is still fragmented public space nodes, negative street interfaces, lack of classic display of humanities and art, and insufficient functional complexity of street furniture, which is difficult to meet the daily needs of residents. The substation is adjacent to the French Club in the east, and the yellow canopy, arched windows and brushed wall texture of its building facade have become important architectural symbols of Nanchang Road; Sinan Building of Science Hall in the west is an important node of "Reading Ruijin" activity, with high spatial concentration and prominent geographical location, which makes the transformation of substation have greater potential as a catalyst for neighborhood vitality.

Based on the background and humanistic and artistic atmosphere of Nanchang Road historical neighborhood, in the way of "Urban Acupuncture", through the small-scale renewal activation of "point-entry", the walking experience of the neighborhood is improved by connecting points and taking lines. At the same time, combining with humanistic classics, increase the functional support of interface such as rest and communication, humanistic display, convenience service and other functional support, introduce art display, literary edification and design creativity into creation, expand more possibilities of street micro-infrastructure utilization as public space, and stimulate diversified social communication to create a beautiful street with temperature, reading and willing to stop.

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The street is responsible for project initiation, financial support, residents' feedback appeal and program consideration; the teachers and students of the Department of Architecture of Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts form a model of "professional teacher guidance + student participation in design", through field research, scheme design, construction guidance and activity planning, etc., to serve the artistic achievements in Shanghai community construction and meet the residents' high-quality life needs. Landscape Planning and Design Institute of Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute, Zhong Lyu Scene Space Shanghai Model Worker Innovation Studio carry out overall planning and design of Nanchang Road Community, formulate planning scheme, and provide design guidance and technical support in implementation stage.1. Empowerment of Aesthetic EducationThe "Encounter" is implanted in the daily life of the residents, making the street a public art exhibition ground. "Art Acupuncture" enhances the environmental quality of the neighborhood while enriches the public's visual experience, so that residents can see the beauty of the street as they push the door, and pedestrians can encounter the art as they stroll along the street, delivering an immersive aesthetic experience. In addition, "Encounter" was invited to participate in the theme exhibition "Beautiful Nanchang Road - neighborhood Renewal Design Record", where designers and residents had close dialogues and interactions. With humanistic care, residents were able to understand the concept of home construction, enhance their sense of community belonging and identity, and cultivate their ability to recognize, experience, appreciate and create beauty. The creative practice of the architecture students of the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts of Shanghai University has expanded new ideas for community renewal and governance, and the students will regularly volunteer in the "urban art micro-space" every week, participate in community building with the community and enterprises, and transport the concept of aesthetic education to the community.2. Industrial EmpowermentNanchang Road is a neighborhood where specialty cafes gather. As an important node of the coffee flower street, the "Encounter" is gathered around the street cafes to hold a series of activities of "Encounter Coffee", and the form of the works of "Encounter" also appears as a cultural symbol of Nanchang Road in the coffee shop's books, coasters and other cultural and creative products. The art acupuncture of the substation realizes professional empowerment industry, combining art and business effectively, and contributing to the creation of the atmosphere of the neighborhood art coffee street.3. Cultural EmpowermentStarting from the excavation of the cultural lineage of Nanchang Road, "Encounter" continues the historical and humanistic characteristics, and injects new vitality into Nanchang Road through artistic intervention and connection with cultural industry activities. Nanchang Road has also held painting exhibitions for special children, fun tours around Nanchang Road and study activities for young people under the theme of " Encounter", with young people using "Encounter" as inspiration for their paintings, and cultural activities promoting continuous interaction between the public and street space and neighborhood culture. 4. Governance EmpowermentShanghai Academy of Fine Arts intervenes in the neighborhood through art acupuncture led by public art, implanting the neighborhood micro-infrastructure renewal, art exhibitions, aesthetic education activities, and university teaching, which forms a multi-position research, creation, and teaching mode of cooperation between the university and the local community. The government coordinates the space of the neighborhood, and the teachers and students of the university professionally lead the control, and sort out and integrate the cultural resources of the Nanchang Road neighborhood, fully consider the development needs of the street and the demands of the residents, and accurately update the pain point "public space" through the art acupuncture method. Through regular art activities, community cultivation, design competitions, etc., space shaping and various types of public cultural activities are linked to promote the formation of a sustainable art ecosystem and a practical path for neighborhood renewal.

Progress Agency