Cultural Aesthetics of Campus Public Space Based on the Concept of Micro-regeneration: A Case Study of Culture Renewal in Shanghai Conservatory of Music

Abstract

In the new stage of urban development in China, the dominant way of urban regeneration has transformed from the traditional mode of radical reconstruction on massive scale to the organic renewal in gradual process on micro scale. During the practice of organic renewal, the concept of ‘micro-regeneration’ has been developed, aiming at local adjustment and micro-transformation of urban space through small-scale development and renewal, so as to realize space renovation and environment improvement. As a lightweight and practical organic renewal method, ‘micro-renewal’ has been widely discussed and applied in the practice of urban community regeneration in recent years. Campus is a special type of community, but it faces similar problems as urban communities, which is the mismatching of existing environmental quality, functions and actual use demands with the change of development stage. Especially under the construction of socialist spiritual civilization, how to improve the overall cultural atmosphere through the renewal of campus public space is an important issue. Due to the special ownership and use mode of campus space, large-scale renovation is not applicable. While, the concept of ‘micro-regeneration’ provides a possible way for the sustainable development of campus environment. This article takes the regeneration project of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music as an example, applying the theory and method of ‘micro-regeneration’ to carry out the practice of cultural construction of campus public space. In this project, in terms of space renovation, the creation of a cultural atmosphere in the campus public space was achieved through ‘small-scale’ detailed design; in terms of investment costs, the cost control of ‘micro-input’ ensured the balance between social and economic benefits; In terms of the implementation process, the precise deployment of ‘quasi-operations’ avoided the interference of large-scale construction on the daily operation of the campus. In the course of the project, multiple departments and interests were collaborated, which contributed to the whole process control of the ‘microregeneration’ of campus from planning and design, communication and negotiation to construction and operation. The research shows that the concept of ‘micro-regeneration’ provides a suitable path for the reconstruction of the campus cultural, which can realize the continuous improvement of the campus space and cultural quality under the premise of maintaining the normal operation. At the same time, under the concept of ‘micro-regeneration’, the implementation mode of small-scale, micro-investment and quasi-operation is relatively easy for the whole process management from planning to landing, which is conducive to the full realization of the vision of regeneration.