Gascogne Apartments Renovation

1. a masterpiece between Art Deco & Modernism The main building of Gascogne Apartment was built in 1935. Financed by International Savings Society, it was designed by well-known Leonard Veysseyre & Kruze Architects (LVKarchitects). Having been one of the most renowned luxurious apartment buildings in the history, it was announced as Excellent Historical Building of Shanghai (2nd batch) and was registered as Immovable Cultural Relics of Xuhui Distict. LVK architects was one of the most representative architectural studio in Shanghai by the time. They had completed 123 design projects in Shanghai during the year of 1920-1946, among which Gascoigne Apartment is one of the most prominent edifices. Gascoigne Apartments was born during the time when LVK architects turns their design style from Art Deco to Modernism, although they were still strongly labeled with Art Deco elements. Following historical literature studies, we have deducted general characteristics and value of Gascogne Apartments regarding aspects such as layout, façade, building materials. More detailed characteristics and historical value were collected and categorized relating to public passage, balcony, canopy, white vertical decorative strip, semicircle staircase, steel window, etc. Comparing to Magy apartments, a later masterpiece bearing typical modernism style from LVK architects, Gascogne Apartments was more of a transitional piece of architectural work referring to general design and decorative details. This transitional feature therefore provides a referential base for our renovation and preservation work. 2. 2. Reveal the layered authenticity for a responsible renovation We plunged into the literature of Gascogne Apartments and old photos from local residents, trying to restore the critical part of the building following the original detail, material and craftsmanship. Some other detail repair with no further information is based on the study of some LVK architects' contemporaneous buildings with the same style. Gascogne Apartments experienced at least 3 main renovations and expansions during the time from 1991 to 2007. We extracted relevant information of those renovations by means of data browsing, data analysis and interviews. More detailed information such as cracks in the façade, contaminated condition was more cautiously acquired and then being analyzed. A result of this analysis was categorized to protect and restore the authenticity of the building with a least intervention during the whole work. The courtyard of Gascogne Apartments did not belong to LVK architects' design scope. Despite the lushness of big trees, the peripheral part of planting including shrubs and groundcovers was severely deteriorated. The existing look of simplified classical south court, the material and style of main gate were all inconsistent with the general building appearance. Therefore how to solve the problems called 'error' by our design team is also one of the most significant parts of the preservation and renovation work. 3. 3. Fulfil the integrity by landscape renewal In fact, Gascogne Apartments did not hold complete integrity in terms of overall appearance before our renovation design. This is due to the absence of systematic landscape design rather than landscaping and facility error which was added lately. With the respect to historical district and historical building appearance preservation, the renovation work reconstructs an experience sequence that is “streetscape-alleyway-apartments gate -central courtyard garden-apartment building”. The renewal of the apartments gate appears to be a primary work concerning this sequence. We try to approach a balance between practical spatial requirements such as vehicular lane, columns, pedestrian passage and aesthetic aspects like an inviting vibe and grandness of the entrance. We design the gate's figure according to the outline of the main building, and fill the figure with vertical lines extracted from the language of the façade in addition. The secondary key point is the renewal of the central courtyard garden which is even more important. To initiate the design, we firstly extended the symmetrical layout of the façade to the ground level. We use the shape of the canopy formed by externalizing the octagonal foyer to design the landscape outline of the courtyard center. The fountain statue is maintained and lifted, and the foundation is widened to increasing the volume of general massing. In this way the fountain and statue are able to effectively talk to building behind, therefore become an essential element in the reconstructed landscape sequence. Considering the detailed design of the central landscape space, we take the simplified lining in the façade and the general modernism spirit of the building as inspiration. More contemporary landscape design details are also deliberately applied to create an identifiable renovation from historical architecture. 4. 4. the contemporary MODERN is a living MODERN As a prominent representative apartments building at 1930s, Gascogne Apartments has attracted numerous celebrities to stay in its history. The consulate general of Switzerland, Indonesia also used to be located here. The apartments later was served as the official residence of consulate staff for a long period. Because of the high turn-over rate of the tenants and multiple times of decoration, the original interior decoration of 1930s has been to a large extend missing. Considering the current requirement of functioning as a high quality service apartment after this renovation, some more contemporary functionality is highlighted for interior spatial renovation. We commenced the interior design from octagonal foyer at the very centre of the building. Some Art Deco elements filtered by Modernism are applied to strengthen the spatial morphology. Lines of modernism style are blended in to establish a historical interior centre of this building. With regards to public passage and standard Suite, a more simplified approach was adopted to avoid over-design and to create a pleasant and cozy experience. This method of our design which attempts to merge Art Deco and Modernism is an echo and a salute to the original design of LVK architects. This preservation and renovation design by TJAIDC and VIASCAPE creates a cross-generational fusion which merges the historical building itself from 1935 and several renovations from 1991 to 2007 with the contemporary landscape renewal and interior functional upgrade. It celebrates a living Modern in the historical evolution of Gascogne Apartments.