Ben Wood：在新天地中创造意外惊喜
上海新天地总建筑师 Benjamin Wood
个人简介：
美国建筑师协会会员(AIA)，于1984年从麻省理工大学(MIT)获建筑硕士学位。从1998年开始，在上海居住至今。代表作有上海新天地、新芝加哥足球体育场等，尤其擅长旧建筑再利用的设计。Ben在上海成立的Ben Wood STUDIO SHANGHAI，致力于改变现代中国的城市景观，努力探求形式与功能之间的新联系，向人们展现全新的空间感受。
主要作品：
上海新天地，重庆天地，武汉天地，上海洛克外滩源总体规划，朱家角康桥水乡小城，丹桂园总体规划，北京前门天街总体规划，新黄浦私家会所。
正文：
自1998年夏天开始，Ben把公司、自营的酒吧和家都扎根在上海新天地，这甚至成了他的一个标签。对于新天地的设计，Ben 认为，关键在于要记住，一些令人快乐的东西往往是一个意外惊喜，在一个拥有空间、视觉及知觉的丰富体验的环境中，更容易发现这种快乐；而新天地在商业上的成功，来自吸引了那些最富有热情及创造力的企业家。
对于一些建筑保护专家认为的应该“修旧如故、建新如新(old should be old and new should be new)”，Ben认为，尽管这种原则有时很重要，但历史需要被创造，而非保留，最好能通过天衣无缝的过渡，模糊新旧对比，在同一场景中将新旧混杂交织在一起，而不是将“新”和“旧”平行放置，产生不和谐的冲突。让老建筑吸入新的生命气息，比保留一些建筑细节重要得多。
上海新天地
令你快乐的东西往往是一个意外惊喜，在拥有丰富体验的环境中，更容易发现这种快乐
Ben wood: 我在中国的第一个项目是新天地。1998年，香港的一个开发商(编者注：香港瑞安地产集团)邀我前往上海，察看现今新天地的场地。这是我第一次到上海，也是第一次到中国。
当我开始着手这个项目时，当地政府官员认为，我们会拆除大部分现存建筑。但是，当认识到我们想要保留那些较老建筑物，而只移除那些较新的建国后建筑时，他们非常惊讶。在那时，法租界的石库门居住区不被认为具有重要的历史价值，只有中共二大会址才被认为是一个地标。一个地标之所以是地标，不是因为其建筑风格，而是因为一次历史事件。
在设计新天地的过程中，我想我的客户及当地规划局都对石库门的文化重要性有了正面评价。这种具有象征意义的建筑，是中国文化与西方建筑相熔合的体现。
现在，来访新天地的人能体验到一种现代中国的生活方式，这种现代生活方式同时又被过去时代造出的东西所环绕，人的心与眼也由此可在上海的20世纪早期和21世纪早期之间来回穿越，这是一种非常有力的结合。
在以高层建筑、裙房商场、钢筋水泥玻璃建筑为主的大量项目中，宜人尺度几乎总是被妥协。宜人尺度遭妥协或放弃之后，是被汽车驱动的城市规划如浦东。但新天地说明了保留街坊的宜人尺度，有其价值。
英语中有个单词“serendipity”，意思是，意外发现令人快乐的东西。英语是单词中有这种意思的唯一语言。那些随处可见的、主宰了现代中国城市景观的幕墙建筑，无任何诗意可言；也很难想象，如何能在现代shopping mall (大型购物中心) 里发现快乐踪迹。快乐不是一个日用品或一个奢侈品品牌。你在新天地获得快乐，是因为你知道你是崭新中国的一部分；是因为通过你作的选择，你明确了你的身份：跟谁在一起，穿什么衣服，到哪个地方晚餐，点什么酒，以及那些能看到你、你也正看着他们、围绕着你的人。
Why xintiandi would make so great success?
My first project in China was Xintiandi. I was asked by a Hong Kong developer to visit Shanghai in 1998 and to see the site of what is now Xintiandi. It was my first trip to China and to Shanghai.
When I began work on this project the local government officials assumed that we would demolish all but a few of the existing buildings. They were very surprised to learn that we wanted to keep all the older structures, removing only the more recent post PRC buildings. At that time the Shukumen townhouses of the French Concession were not considered historically important. Only the site of the Second Congress was considered a landmark. Not a landmark because of the architecture but because of an historical event.
Over the course of designing Xintiandi I think both my client and the local planning authorities gained an appreciation for the cultural importance of the Shukumen. This building typology represents a fusion of Chinese culture and Western architecture.
Today visitors to Xintiandi can experiencea modern Chinese lifestyle surrounded by artifacts a bygone era. This is a powerful combination when the mind’s eye can span the time between Shanghai of the early 20th Century with Shanghaiof the early 21st Century.
Xintiandi demonstrated the value of preserving the human scale of the neighborhoods that predate the automobile driven urban plans of a place like Pudong. Human scale is almost always compromised in the kind of mega projects that are dominated by high-rise buildings, podium shopping malls, and grey andglass architecture.
In the English language we have a word“serendipity”. Serendipity means accidently finding something that makes you happy. English is the only language that has a word with this meaning. It is hard to imagine finding happiness in a modern shopping mall. There is nothing romantic about the architecture of the ubiquitous glass curtain wall that dominates the urbanlandscape of modern China. Happiness is not a commodity or a luxury brand. Happiness in a place like Xintiandi , knowing that you are part of a new China and you are defining your identity by the choices you make; who you are with, what you are wearing, the place you choose to have dinner, the wine you order, and the people all around you who can watch you watching them.
新浪地产：您如何辨别某个老建筑是否值得保留、更新？
Ben wood: 很少有建筑因其建筑风格而值得保留。保留一个建筑，就像在一个尸首上涂以香料以防腐。文化在演变发展，而且在不断变化。过去时代的建筑是人工制品，不是所有人工制品都值得保留。少许应列入博物馆收藏；一些应像新天地的石库门这样，被回收利用；一些应被销毁。建筑物的生命周期接近于人类：70年；经过这么长的时间，建筑通常就废旧、该淘汰了。一个大型的综合体建筑比一个小型的简单建筑，更应该在废旧时淘汰掉。因为高层建造物需要大量的技术支持，如果要让这些建筑保持原样，在技术上花费的代价就很昂贵。
当我们做老建筑项目时，相较于精准保留，我们更注重保存某些建筑——这些建筑有助于创造建筑间空间的宜人尺度。我们会优先考虑公共空间的创造，这类公共空间应拥有丰富的空间定义及系列尺度。但当老建筑不能给予这类丰富和系列性的体验时，我们就会新建建筑，以达成上述目的。比如武汉天地，新建筑在数量上远远超过被更新的老建筑。而在重庆天地，我们没有更新现存建筑，而是转向（拆除重建）重庆山地村庄的风土建筑和重庆二战前的老工业区。
How could you tell whether one old building deserve renovation?
There are very few buildings that are worth preserving based on architectural style. When you preserve a building it is like embalming a cadaver. Culture evolves and is constantlychanging. The architecture of a bygone era is an artifact. Not all artifacts are worth saving. A few should be come part of a museum collection. Some should be recycled like the Shukumen of Xintiandi. Some should be demolished.The life cycle of a building is around the same as a human being: 70 years. After this much time a building is often obsolete. A big complex building is much more likely to become obsolete than a small simple building. High-rise structures require a great deal of technological support. Technology is expensive to replace.
When we work with old buildings, we pay more attention to saving the buildings that contribute to the human scale of the spaces between buildings than we do to strict preservation. The creation of public space that is rich in spatial definition and a range of scales takes priority. When we have no old buildings to give us that richness and range we create new ones that will. In Wuhan Tiandi the new buildings far outnumber the old renovated ones. In Chongqing Tiandi there were no existing buildings to renovate. Instead we looked to the vernacular architecture of the hillside villages and industrial sites of pre-World War II Chongqing.
新浪地产：老建筑改造、更新项目的魅力是什么？
Ben wood: 创造“新天地”这样的地方，其关键在于：要记住，一些令你快乐的东西几乎往往是一个意外的发现、一个偶然的邂逅、一个突如其来的惊喜。在一个拥有不同空间、视觉及知觉的丰富体验的环境中，更容易发现这种快乐。
在营造这种感觉的努力过程中，老建筑通常能给予建筑师一个先天优势——在时间考验中幸存下来的老建筑，通常拥有一些天然的特质：一种历练的神态，一种不拘礼节的感觉，一种质地纹理上的壮丽，以及只有老建筑才有的色彩，不同的时代共同冶炼了这种特质。建筑就像人，因为有了经历，而呈现出了更多的品格。
What's the charm of renovation projects?
The key to creating a place like Xintiandi is to remember that finding something that makes you happy is almost always anaccident, a chance encounter, an unexpected surprise. Happiness is easier to find in an environmentrich in different spatial, visual, and sensory experiences. Old buildings usually give the architect ahead start in this endeavor. Old buildings that have survived the test of time usually have some intrinsic character. Generations have contributedto this character. There is a “patina”of age, a feeling of informality, and panoply of textures and colors that only an old building can have. Buildings like people take on more personality with experience.
让老建筑吸入新的生命气息，比保留一些建筑细节重要得多
上海新天地
新浪地产：在这类更新项目中，如何平衡旧与新？
Ben wood: 如何平衡新和旧，没有一定标准。一些保护专家认为，应该修旧如故、建新如新。我认为，尽管这种原则有时候很重要，但更经常的，最好能够通过天衣无缝的过渡，模糊新旧对比，在同一场景中将新旧混杂交织在一起，而不是将“新”和“旧”平行放置，产生不和谐的冲突。
不要听从那些只想“保留”历史的“专家”，历史需要被创造，而非保留。让老建筑吸入新的生命气息，比保留一些建筑细节重要得多。
新天地这样的地方，它的商业成功，来自吸引了那些最富有热情及创造力的企业家，他们会在这里开设餐馆、酒吧、会所、画廊、商店及影院。如果通过商业地产的经纪人，你不会找到这些人。
如果想找到天分所在，就相信你自己的直觉，面对现实，如果“serendipity”找到了你，你应该要随时做好了准备。
regardingthe renovation of old building，how to balance “old” and “new”？
There is no rule for balancing old and new. There are some preservationists that believe that old should be old and new should be new. I believe that sometimes this principle is important but often it is better to blur the contrast. Interweave old and new in the samescene. Make seamless transitions notjarring juxtapositions. Do not listen tothe “experts” who only want to “save” history. History needs to be made, not saved. Breathing new life into old buildings is much more than preserving some architectural details. The commercial success of a place like Xintiandi comes from attracting the most passionate and creative entrepreneurs who will open restaurants, bars, clubs, galleries,shops, and theaters. You will not findthese people through a commercial real estate broker. If you want talent, relyon your own instincts, encounter reality, and be ready if “serendipity” finds you.
Ben wood 部分作品：上海新天地
图片提供：Ben Wood Studio Shanghai
图片提供：Ben Wood Studio Shanghai
Ben wood 部分作品：西湖天地
Ben wood 部分作品：佛山岭南天地
