Lessons from the Shikumen of Shanghai

This paper looks at the Shikumen housing in Shanghai, and explores the aspects of its unique character that can inform design to form, support and retain communities in today’s expanding urban landscape.
Unique to Shanghai, the Shikumen, built in the mid 19th Century, were speculative developments housing workers. Their layout, of a main alley with branch alleys off, formed city blocks and communities. Their typology, signified by the stone gate entrance, inner courtyards and hierarchy of internal spaces, created communities within communities. With the development boom in Shanghai, the Shikumen are being demolished. Some have been retained, but mostly in a pastiche form that supports non housing uses such as shops and restaurants. Only recently has the importance of their original function within families, communities and the wider city been realised. This is not being supported by any programme of retention or preservation. This paper will analyse the Shikumen to extract those important elements that are relevant to the development of Shanghai, and housing on an international scale. It will make a comparison with the Colonies housing in Edinburgh, housing of similar form and age, that has not only been retained, but is being reproduced in a modern form.