Connecting Asian Heritage Conservation to the Idea of Performative Regionalism: A Case of Community-Enhancing Design Interventions in the Historical Art District of Liulichang, Beijing

Witnessing the active modernisation in Asian cities, there is an urgent need to conserve their rich heritage and diverse regional identities. However, as in the case of China, there is a stark contrast between the Asian perspective of conservation and that of the West, in terms of the character of design interventions produced and its purposes, which has frequently invited negative criticisms from heritage conservation professionals. Hence, the objective of this paper is to explore the interventions done on Asian heritage sites, taking the Liulichang Art District in Beijing as the case study, and analyze the positive influence they have brought. The paper starts by distinguishing the Asian values of authenticity in conservation that differ from the West and how these principles have been applied in Liulichang, a famous ancient street known for the selling and practice of Chinese painting. The paper further elaborates on the importance of community building in the process of learning and appreciating the art of Chinese painting and analyses the positive impact made by the design interventions, particularly in terms of community engagement and accommodation of traditional cultural practices. Results reflect that the Asian perspective of conservation do not always follow the principle of minimum intervention but how contemporary interventions could be merged into the heritage site to revive regional communities and cultural activities, connecting Asian architectural conservation with the design approach coined by Barbara Allen (2007) as Performative Regionalism, hence developing the idea and practice of this approach as a result of the discussion.