A study on the diversity of architectural external space in the historical concession area of Tianjin,China

Wudadao district is an upscale residential area in the historical concession area of Tianjin China which was established in 1906. The Tianjin government designated the entire area as a conservation area in 1995. It has been one century since construction was begun on Wudadao's historical buildings. An investigation of 736 individual street addresses from the six streets of Wudadao district clarified the current conditions of the reutilized historical buildings and the reformed lots. The study of Wudadao indicates that 30.7% of historical buildings are being reutilized in someway(i.e, business use), whereas 22.0% of them are serving dual purposes, both regular housing and some secondary purpose. A total of 52.7% of the historical architecture in the area is being reutilized in some fashion. A significant measure of the trend of reutilizing historical housing is related to the unique shapes of the buildings themselves.