Lilong, a Place of Emotions

The Shanghai metropolis is imagined according to its famous skyline, a symbol of progress and modernity. At the foot of the residential and office towers, the Shanghai alleys allow the walker to discover a completely different aspect of the metropolis: the lilongs and their vernacular buzz. This urban fabric is associated, beyond the architecture, with a way of living where the alleyway becomes the bearer of sociability, where the intimate is revealed and enriches the urban landscape.

How to restore or renovate the habitat of the historic districts of the lilong? How to attempt a restructuring while keeping the population in place?
The project proposes a method of architectural and urban intervention in stages, based on a detailed analysis of the quality of existing living spaces and an observation of practices within them. The typological and morphological elements of the lilong - such as alleys, porches, terraces, courtyards - are reworked with a particular attention to the notions of proximity and neighborhood unit.