The heritage value of an urban vernacular typology : establishing a community-based statement of significance for Yuanmao Alley in Hangzhou, China

Abstract

Until the end of the 20th century, shikumen, an early 20th-century form of a residential community, was still common in Shanghai and Hangzhou. Today, while many of such examples have remained in Shanghai, most of the examples in Hangzhou have been demolished. As shikumen is a kind of special vernacular building that combines both Western and Chinese characteristics, the main objective of this dissertation is contributing to the research studies of vernacular architecture in the context of China and rediscovers the significance of shikumen architecture in Hangzhou though finishing the first step of the conservation plan, which would include identification of heritage values and associated character-defining elements (CDEs), preparing a Statement of Significance (SOS) and conservation policy of Yuanmao Alley community. Mainly focus on finishing the first two steps of China principle which is equivalent to stage one of James Semple Kerr’s Conservation plan. By summarizing these two guidelines, the task of this dissertation is divided into two parts, gathering information and stating significance. In this dissertation, there are three main methods to help to catch the goal and they are reading documents of the site, analysing the current situation of the site, and interviewing stakeholders. The statement of significance was written after analysing the results of these three methods.