4pm on Sep 25th, 2015, The exhibition, Projective Preservationism: Preconditions and Strategies for the Future of Beijing Qianmen Hutongs, opened at SPACE-E6 of URBANUS that located at Bld.2, C&C Park 77 Meishuguan Back St. Dongcheng District, Beijing.
Since 2014, URBANUS has been invited to join forces for the preservation, planning, research and design of Beijing’s Hutong and Siheyuan space in the Xianyukou, Qianmen Area. Meanwhile, POSITION has also been working to advance a comprehensive history and systematic analysis of current conditions of the same area. Although POSITION’s work differs from that of Urbanus in approach, the two organizations share a similar position on the obstacles and opportunities of Hutong preservation. As contemporary perception of the preservation, operation, and redevelopment of Hutongs becomes increasingly convergent from both top-down and left-right ideologies, the two organizations have decided to work in parallel in order to produce an exhibition containing a truly comprehensive analysis of existing conditions, broadening the platform for exploration and debate in order to more sensitively interrogate emerging issues.
By displaying this research through both gallery-installation and video-presentation, this exhibition presents a comprehensive summary of the organizations’ work over the past two-years. In summary, this collaborative exhibition aims to unearth the essential features of the Hutong courtyard space in the east Qianmen area, ultimately providing strategic advice for the revitalization and preservation of this tragically vanishing district of old Beijing.
