Saving a slice of heritage

A landmark house in Shanghai has just been restored by a team comprising Italian and Chinese architects and craftsmen commissioned by Italian fashion house Prada

Shanghai has a lot of European-style villas and gardens. Buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries are hidden by the shade of trees on narrow streets.

Since mid-October, a three-floor white villa with Roman-style columns, stained-glass, an orange dome and a lavish green garden, at Shanxi Beilu Road, has attracted attention.

The house is called Rong Zhai, the abode of the Rong family.

It has just been restored by a team comprising Italian and Chinese architects and craftsmen commissioned by Italian fashion house Prada.

The house will be open to the public until Dec 17.

At the turn of the 20th century, a German businessman spent 10 years working on the house and garden.

Then, in 1918, Rong Zongjing (Yung Tsoong-King, 1873-1938), a famous Chinese entrepreneur who owned a successful flour and yarn business and was dubbed "the flour king of China", bought the house and commissioned architect Chen Chunjiang to remodel it.

Rong's house was a meeting place for celebrities and entrepreneurs.

During the Japanese occupation in Shanghai, Rong refused offers for the house from the Japanese-controlled government, but he had to move to Hong Kong in 1938, leaving the property vacant.

Since 1949, the house has been used by several organizations.

In 2002, media tycoon Rupert Murdoch rented it for the Shanghai office of News Corp.

And in 2011, Miuccia Prada, the founder and designer of Prada, visited Shanghai and fell in love with the residence.

A passionate lover of design and architecture, Prada decided to restore the house.

An Italy-China team led by Italian architect Roberto Baciocchi spent six years bringing back life and charm to the old house.

"Rong Zhai is a historic building that has witnessed the changes of society and culture," says Baciocchi.

He says the restoration aimed to both repair damage and reinstate the building's interiors and exterior, while also doing structural reinforcements and functional updates.

"We tried to restore it to its original appearance, blending Chinese cultural elements into this Western-style building," he says.

The team undertook the conservation of the building's many ornamental and structural elements, including plaster work, wooden paneling, stained glass and many types of decorative tiles.

He says the biggest challenge was communicating with Chinese craftsmen.

"We feel a great sense of achievement that whenever possible, fabrication and installation techniques were modeled on the traditional methods and materials used by craftsmen who built the house over a century ago," he says.

John Yung, the director of The Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank and great-grandson of Rong Zongjing, says: "Thanks to Prada for its promotion of the art of living and preservation of culture."

He says that his grandfather H.C.Yung, the youngest son of Rong Zongjing, came early this year to see the house.

"It was a very emotional visit. He saw how this house was being transformed back into the old house he grew up in. He had visited the house a few times, when it was used as a government office and later by Star TV. He was quite sad that the rooms were not in very good condition," says John Yung.

Commenting on the work, H.C. Yung says: "After 100 years, the residence was reduced from a magnificent house to an obsolete building. This renovation has been carried out in a very careful way. Even the walls and stained glass were given special care."

Zheng Shiling, a preservation expert from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, says that Prada's efforts to preserve the residence are an example for others to follow.

"The restoration of heritage architecture is costly and requires great skill. It's not simple repair. It needs redesign, structural reinforcements and functional updates. These kinds of historical buildings need companies or wealthy individuals who have the knowledge and can afford to care for them."

Prada has extensive experience in restoring historic architecture, including the renovation of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, and the Palazzo Ca' Corner della Regina in Venice.

Responding to the comments, Prada says in a statement: "We have always drawn inspiration from the arts, not least of all architecture. The study of the practical, commercial and historical implications of buildings has played an essential role in the development of Prada's practice, as we have been deeply involved in both contemporary architectural experimentation and meticulous historical preservation.

"China, the country itself and the European perception of it, has maintained a valued place in the imagination of Prada. As our various cultural activities have expanded both through the fashion company and Foundation Prada, we have searched for opportunities to extend our architectural and otherwise artistic explorations back to China. It was this imperative that led us to Rong Zhai, a historical landmark that can appropriately manifest our abiding commitment to Chinese culture."

Stefano Cantino, the Prada Group's strategic marketing director, says Prada decided to restore Rong Zhai because the company has always seen China as an opportunity, not just regarding commercial aspects and the market, but also culture. In addition, Prada Rong Zhai represents an opportunity to expand the architectural and artistic explorations of the brand to China and to manifest its commitment to Chinese culture through a dialogue between East and West.

He says that working side by side with Chinese historians, architects and artisans in the restoration of a building that is a symbol of Shanghai was an experience and a project that helped to not only strengthen, but also to better understand, deepen and develop Prada's ties with China in an area and a direction that go far beyond its core business.

chenjie@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 11/10/2017 page22)