The Shanghai municipal government has decided to conserve a row of four-story British-styled residential buildings near the Bund that were built a century ago, a city official said yesterday.
 
The buildings are located in the Waitanyuan area near the convergence of Suzhou Creek and the Huangpu River.

"Because the buildings reflect the city's unique history, we will not pull them down as we have done with other old houses," Wang Anshi, director of the renovation and maintenance department of the Shanghai Housing and Land Resource Administrative Bureau, said yesterday.

One of the buildings, located at 81 Yuanmingyuan Road, was constructed in 1897 and once housed the offices of Atkinson & Dallas Company, a British architecture company that thrived in the city during the early 1900s.

The buildings were rented out to residents as apartments after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

The buildings were never named excellent historic buildings and placed under municipal protection, leaving many people worried they would eventually be pulled down.

Architecture researchers said the four buildings were originally constructed with arcades typical of British architectural styles in the early 20th century.

Wang said the government will give each of the buildings a complete face-lift this year. Since the interiors of the buildings need a great amount of work, most residents will need to move out to make way for thorough renovations.

"Once renovated, the houses will be restored to their original outlook, which will add glamour to the whole Waitanyuan area," Wang said. He didn't say what the buildings would be used for after the renovations.

"Those houses are precious heritage constructions although they have not been included on the list of the city's more than 600 excellent historic buildings," said Zheng Shiling, an architecture expert at Tongji University.

"Hopefully, the government will soon publicize its policy on how it will effectively conserve the buildings," said Zhang Yao, 49, who has lived in one of the buildings since he was born.

(Shanghai Daily July 22, 2005)