Controversial culture projects

All design projects from the controversial Boston International Design Group (BIDG) have been officially cancelled by the government.

It follows complaints from cultural heritage experts, who accused the company of destroying Beijing's historic structures and districts, including Nanluoguxiang and the Drum and Bell Tower area.

Government-owned Beijing Oriental Culture Economic Development Group hired BIDG to develop projects, but they were all cancelled, after the designs were roundly criticized by both heritage experts and the public, according to the Municipal Commission of Urban Planning Wednesday.

Their aborted designs include Nanluoguxiang's southern end reconstruction, and a "Time Cultural City" project at the Drum Tower which was abandoned in December 2010, and later replaced by a small museum plan.

According to BIDG's "Nanluoguxiang subway construction, Dongcheng district" plan, seen on their website, two-story buildings would replace the current one-story courtyard houses along Di'anmen Dongdajie. New, ancient-style structures with glass roofs and French windows would replace the demolished houses that have made way for the Line 8 subway extension at the south end of Nanluoguxiang.

"BIDG's designs are concepts that didn't receive government approval, while designs on historic districts require expert discussion, public notices and final government approval," an anonymous official with the commission's construction management section told the Global Times.

"We've written letters to the Dongcheng and Xicheng district governments about it," said the official, "and informed them to follow regulations and make sure the reconstructions restore their original look."

An employee with BIDG's Beijing office said yesterday she was unclear about the status of their Beijing projects, as all the bosses have left for the New Year holidays.

Zeng Yizhi, of the International Committee on Monuments and Sites in China, submitted letters to the Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage and the commission in December and raised objections about similar designs or demolition and relocation plans concerning historic sites. In her appeal she mentioned BIDG is not certified to design projects on historically and culturally protected sites.

"Designs by uncertified companies should be cancelled, and the government should be careful verifying certifications," she said. The administration's head, Kong Fanzhi, has called her and said they will see to it and consider her suggestions, she said.

BIDG's reputation has been notorious among city planners. The company was registered in the US, but none of its staff is a certified planner there, according to the American Planning Association (APA), and most of its projects are in China.

The APA, a US organization for city planners, called BIDG a "speculation company" and said "what they did was bad for the reputation of the Chinese and American planning profession."

To design or carry out construction on protected sites requires certification from cultural heritage authorities, said an anonymous official with the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and BIDG is not government-certified.

Another BIDG plan to redevelop Beijing's Drum Tower into a "Beijing Time Cultural City," was officially abandoned and replaced by a "Time Museum." Construction is scheduled to commence in the first half of this year, according to a Beijing Youth Daily report on December 15, 2011.

Going by plans previously published on BIDG's website, as an uncertified company, BIDG is not entitled to modify a nationally protected site, like the Drum Tower, Zeng noted.

The official response to Zeng's appeals is a good sign that government has finally started to care about protecting, rather than just a makeover of historical sites, said He Shuzhong, chairman of Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center.

"Whether from a lack of confidence or being driven by profit, government used to have 'fakeover' plans for the sites to make them eye-catching. Now I see they're returning to the right track," he said.

It's good to hear from the government, said Zeng, "but I'm worried there'll be another company like BIDG to destroy our city again."