Project Overview

Located on Zhongxing Road, Houpu, Jincheng Township, the Chen 12 shops stand as a townhouse building adjacent to the Chen Ancestral Hall. In 1963, the Chen family converted the east wing of the ancestral hall into a shop front divided into 12 units, each of which receives rent. The makeover of the Jincheng historic block was carried out around the Chen Ancestral Hall, for ten years in five phases, in the sequence of the artistic 16 shops, the 3 shops in front of the ancestral hall, the Chen Ancestral Hall, Zhixiao Hall (the Hall of Sheer Filial Piety), and the east-wing 12 shops.

Project Commissioner

GUANG JU INTERIOR DESIGN Co.,Ltd.

Project Creator

GUANG JU INTERIOR DESIGN Co.,Ltd.

Project Brief

The Chen 12 shops are renovated based on and subsidized by the “guidance and practice program on distinctive streets in Houpu, Jincheng Township, Kinmen County,” with half the fund from the government to encourage civilian renovation, a mode of cooperation that has become exemplary for giving old streets a new look and a new way to function. The layout is a two-story townhouse building that has shop fronts facing the street, with the first floor serving as stores and the entire second one shared by all the shops. The renovation features a representation of splendor and value from the 1940s to the 1960s, preserving the craftsmanship and aesthetics of old buildings. The encaustic tiles and windows retain motifs trendiest from the 40s to 60s. Great efforts are put into retaining the old street’s demeanor and countenance so that the world can see the quintessential artistry of the old buildings and the beauty of Kinmen.

Project Innovation/Need

The luminous environment of this project consists of four systems, including, from top to bottom, the parapets, the windows, the shop signs and the shops, each equipped with linear lights and pilot lamps. The overall luminous environment harmonizes with the surrounding ancestral hall, square and buildings on the block, accentuating the layered beauty and grandness of the entire zone, representing the wondrous historic demeanor and value of the Houpu street neighborhood in local people’s minds. In this way, the block is beautified, commercial activity reinvigorated, and the goal of reviving local tourism is fully accomplished.

Design Challenge

The building itself and its façade are overhauled by combing through the history of the neighborhood, including analysis of façade openings, numbers, proportions and materials, all of which are organized through careful planning to meet current needs and functionality before the revamp.

After repeated experiments and verifications, the most suitable restoration methods are chosen to complete the countenance betterment, revitalization and reuse of the entire building and its façade.

Sustainability

The main value of the redo, revitalization and reuse of the building and its façade lies in details aimed at restoration of the old reinforced concrete building, which includes such complex working details as strategy, methodology, structural reinforcement, electromechanical system update, interior-exterior façade renovation, repair of tiger-and-dragon wells, rooftop waterproofing and heat insulation.