By Xu Ying

Part of the 4th Wuhan Design Biennale, the Summit Forum on Wuhan Industrial Heritage Conservation and Reuse was held in the former site of Liddell Bros. Packing Plant which was designated industrial heritage. Organized by CITIC General Institute of Architectural Design and Research Co., Ltd.(CADI), 12 researchers from universities, construction companies, the municipality and CADI had rich discussions on industrial heritage issues.

Prof. Guo Yuemei, holder of the UNESCO Chair on Industrial Heritage, highly valued the abundant industrial heritage in Wuhan which had a history of industrial manufacture for over a hundred years. She stressed that the restoration of industrial heritage should not aim for instant success, turning the heritage into new constructions. The UNESCO Chair continuously focused on the identification, conservation, restoration and reuse of industrial heritage, among which the Liddell Bros. Packing Plant was an important project that was always in concern.

The forum consisted of two parts, on general issues of industrial heritage and on restoration practice. Prof. Li Baihao from Southeast University, Mr. Liu Qizhi from Wuhan Land Resources and Planning Bureau, Prof. Zhou Wei from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Mr. Chen Fei from the Hubei Heritage Building Protection Center discussed the general issues. Liu stressed that we should regard the industrial heritage sites as “old men” rather than “dead bodies”. To make active utilization of the industrial heritage buildings required both clear recognition of heritage value and complete sets of laws.

On practical level, Mr. Xiao Wei (vice manager of CADI), Mr. Gong Jianhua(key person in charge of the restoration of Liddell Bros. Packing Plant), Mr. Zhang Songming( section chief of heritage conservation of Wuhan Cultural Bureau), Prof. Zou Han(Hubei University of Technology), Mr. Liu Chen(senior architect, CADI) and Dr. Li Qiguo (Wuhan University) shared their experiences and views.

Executive Editor: Xu Ying