Reinterpretare il passato. Un approccio integrato alla trasformazione urbana nella Suzhou storica. Una nuova forma di accomodazione.

REINTERPRETING THE PAST Suzhou is one of the most visited tourist destinations in China, thanks to its well-preserved old town surrounded by canals and the unique urban landscape. The city is also well-known for the magnificent Chinese gardens, most of which are enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage sites as the essence and the traditions of Chinese culture. The thesis work studied initially the main concepts of the Chinese gardens and the current dynamics of urban transformation related with the old town. A new form of urbanization is than proposed that reinterprets historical Suzhou; the masterplan proposes a new urban mixite taking into account the historical context and seeking how to supply the current inhabitants and visitors necessities. A NEW FORM OF ACCOMMODATION In this thesis, through the researches of the urban structure, architectural style and garden’s space in combination with the analysis of the current situation of tourism in Suzhou, I made a proposal of an alternative form of a hotel that incorporates modern architecture to interpret the genius loci of Suzhou. While collecting the necessary information for my survey, I used traditional field research to analyze the characteristics of local architecture, the atmosphere, and spatial composition. I adopted the “Mat-building strategy” defined by Alison Smithson to establish an architectural framework using the traditional building scale. The internal space of the hotel will be filled by reinterpretation of the spatial composition and the atmosphere of Suzhou gardens. In this way, I obtained a two-story building that uses the local architectural scale as its bone, enriched by the feeling of the garden, the poetic life, and the local spirit of Suzhou and by the use of modern materials and techniques. This new-style hotel building connects traditional and modern features, as well as connecting visitors’ experiences to the surrounding context. I hope that through the new form, visitors can enjoy “slow traveling,” experience the true Suzhou lifestyle, and the real feeling of “living the garden”.