Abstract:
The quantity and importance of the historic teahouses to the development of Chengdu is exemplified in the saying "Teahouse is a little Chengdu", Chengdu is a big teahouse. They bear no resemblance to the ceremonial Japanese teahouses. Instead they have the commonness of the çayhane in turkey, busyness of the markets in Spain, and lawlessness of the taverns in Ireland. During 4000 years of isolated development, teahouses of Chengdu became the fundamental unit of life and the only social space for the public of the city. As the result, much of Chengdu's rich culture could be traced directly to its teahouses. Set in the western Chinese city of Chengdu, this thesis critiques the current construction frenzy of socially and financially unsustainable 'iconic' cultural centres and monumentalisation of historic relics as the mainstream approaches to cultural regeneration. The thesis, instead, sympathises with the bottom up movements to resuscitate the residual spaces in the city for the public. However, it takes this approach further by proposing the creation and protection of the residual spaces should be the first step of any major developments. Inspired by the traditional Chengdu Teahouse, Confucian philosophy of LiYue (which roughly translates to propriety and harmony), and validated by western discourses led by theorists such as Aldo van Ecyk, Jan Gehl, Nikos Salingaros, this project combines the generation of social identity with the financial backing of developers and businesses to create a protected and commoner driven public place that is socially and financially sustainable. Approaching from the reciprocity of the architecture and the city, the thesis starts by examining closely the workings of the traditional Chengdu Teahouse on a microscopic level through detailed research from historic texts, historian accounts by the likes of Wang Di, and first hand observations. The discussion revolves around the concept of catalyst and arena, where the tea is the attractor to allow the public to participate in the public sphere created by the teahouse. With the combination of Chinese and Western design philosophy, the thesis then discuss four gestures to create this 'arena' for the public in Chengdu, demarcation, order, fluidity and comprehension. The aim of these gestures is to create a public space that is a protected outside as well as a open inside. Lastly, the thesis looks at the influence of Chengdu Teahouse on the neighbourhood and city scale. It speculates a method of construction which will create a symbiotic business relationship between the teahouse and the surrounding neighbour, as well as generating a network of public spaces in the city that works in tantum with existing cultural centres.