Ghosts of Xia Guan

The project "Ghosts of Xia Guan" is exploring the once lively and culturally rich area of North-West Nanjing. The area is being expropriated and its inhabitants moved to what was described by a local politician as “vertical communities” in the periphery of the periphery of the city. The purpose of this action is to construct a high-end residential and commercial development designed by SOM. Working on site, in the area being demolished, we traced the routes of trade and social life that are disappearing. The proposal is a section of remaining pieces of Xia Guan to be preserved and protected.

“Xia Guan Mei Ying” overlaps typical everyday activities of the inhabitants with the current state of the site. The film is directed by Marko Milovanovic and Jessica Pappalardo and it is produced during the Micro-City workshop in Nanjing, China run by Shin Egashira (AA). It is a collaboration between architecture students from the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London, and Architecture Department of South East University, Nanjing.