Xiang Xi Bao - Caring for People
2022
DESIGN FOR CARE AWARD
Winner
Thinking Urban, Denmark
Designers / Creators / Authors / Leaders
Thinking Urban design team
Xiang Xi Bao is a small town in southern China where time has stood still. Once a busy river port, the town lost all relevance when that trade disappeared and is now a very valuable historical place.
The main challenge is how to carry out a major restoration of the town and yet to care for the people and let the citizens remain in place. To do so, we concentrate on the common spaces between existing buildings, the squares, and the alleys. To this is added the many abandoned houses. The buildings to be restored first are those which today have no roofs and are uninhabited ruins. In this way the fabric of the community is quickly regenerated and rapidly attracts revenue. With increased inward investment comes jobs, income, and grants for the population.
Much of impact of these dilemmas is absorbed by Thinking Urban's plan of "Inverse Space Development". This concentration on the space between the viable buildings allows much leeway for investment and progress. By using this common space and the many existing uninhabitable buildings there is ample room for considerable development.
