Old and old, old and small, counterattack to become a 'good house'

Adapting to the high-quality living needs of the people, improving standards and regulations, and promoting the construction of safe, comfortable, green, and smart 'good houses'.' Good houses' appeared in this year's government work report, carrying the people's beautiful expectations for living in good houses and living a good life. In order to transform the concept of "old but small houses" from a heartwarming vision to a comfortable daily life, representatives and committee members actively provided suggestions on how to "revolutionize" the concept, how to determine the funding ratio, and how to use new technologies to create high-quality housing.

How to change, what to change

Old residents like to propose new houses

A few years ago, Ms. Jiao, who lived in Building 114, Jinsong 1st District, Chaoyang District, Beijing, often "broke the defense".

Sometimes when there is water leakage upstairs, the house becomes a 'water curtain hole', and even trips when the air conditioning is turned on. Building 114, where Ms. Jiao's house is located, is a 6-story frame light slab experimental building built in 1978 and was once a D-level dangerous building. As one of the first pilot projects for the renovation of dangerous old buildings in Beijing, Building 114 now has elevators inside and small shops downstairs, becoming a "star building". In July 2023, Ms. Jiao and her neighbors happily acquired a larger and better experience "good house".

This new building, which 'grew' from the original site, can be called a 'complete transformation', "said Ms. Li, a resident of Building 114 in Jinsong District 1. Not only has the exterior been rebuilt, but facilities such as residential walkways and parking spaces have also been rebuilt. The interior decoration also uses waterproof, moisture-proof, and anti peeling techniques.

Because the original building of Building 114 did not have seismic reinforcement conditions, we chose the original demolition and reconstruction plan and rebuilt it according to modern residential design standards, "Zhang Xiaolei, a staff member of Jinsong Street, told reporters. In addition to updating aging pipelines such as water, electricity, gas, and heat, the plan also focuses on adapting to aging and adding relevant supporting facilities.

From "having a place to live" to "having a livable place to live", the renovation of old residential areas is related to people's well-being. When to make changes, what to change first, and whether the changes are good or not, the masses are talking and thinking about it.

The renovation of old residential areas is not just about simply demolishing the old and building new ones, but about 'building a temple inside a snail shell', achieving 'both internal and external repair'. I have noticed that some old house renovation projects in some places have just solved 'old problems', but have encountered' new problems'. For example, some residents have found poor sound insulation and heat insulation effects after moving in. "Representative Feng Yuan, Chief Engineer of China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., said that what residents most hope to renovate, how to spend money wisely, and how to reduce disturbance to residents are all specific issues in the renovation process. It is necessary to timely investigate residents' needs and design different renovation plans according to local conditions.

Who pays and how much

Crowdfunding for building houses offers many benefits

Transforming old houses into new ones is a common aspiration of many community residents. But when it comes to the proportion of investment in renovation costs, it is often difficult to reconcile.

The Xiaoying Lane Community Renovation Project in Xiaoying Street, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, once encountered funding difficulties. Whoever produces the big head and who produces the small head, each has its own reasons. In the end, Xiaoyingxiang Community adopted a multi-party funding model consisting of government, residents, and social capital.

Originally, we had to pay over 40000 yuan for renovation, but the government subsidized 20000 yuan, which greatly reduced our economic pressure, "said Fang Miaozhen, a resident of Xiaoyingxiang Community.

Our community has over 10000 residents, including more than 3000 elderly people. It is very suitable to adopt the work concept of 'government subsidies, enterprises provide some, and residents contribute some'. Representative Cao Chen, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Neighborhood Committee of Xiaoyingxiang Community, put forward suggestions on the aging friendly transformation of the community at the National People's Congress in 2024, including the funding model. This suggestion received a positive response.

The diversified fundraising model is a new path for the renovation of old residential areas. Through low interest loans, tax reductions, credit management, and other means, enterprises participating in the renovation of old residential areas are given greater preferential policies, which reasonably guarantee the return on investment of social capital and long-term operational rights, and attract more social capital. "Member Zhang Bin, Deputy Director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, praised the" crowdfunding "model for the renovation of old residential areas.

Member Zhang Bin believes that there is still considerable room for incremental public investment in China in the next five years. Cities including Beijing and Shanghai have great investment space and development potential in urban renewal and other areas.

In specific practice, it is necessary to demonstrate and analyze the details of introducing private capital into public investment projects, and fully leverage the positive role of social forces, "suggested Member Zhang Bin.

More efficient and environmentally friendly

Showcasing technology amplification strategies

The "rapid" upgrade of Building 8 in Huapi Chang Hutong, Xicheng District, Beijing, which completed the original demolition and construction in 90 days, has attracted widespread praise from residents.

We adopted a building system that combines concrete modular integrated construction with prefabricated components in the renovation, "said Yan Jianguo, Chairman of China Overseas Group Co., Ltd." For example, building a house is like building blocks. We scientifically planned the entire building of Building 8 into 55 concrete modules, with more than 90% of the construction process completed in the factory, and then transported to the site for hoisting and assembling into a complete building. This is the efficiency that satisfies residents

Compared with the traditional construction mode, this construction method reduces solid waste emissions by 75%, shortens the construction period, saves on-site labor, and fully demonstrates the further transformation and upgrading of the construction industry towards intelligence, greenness, and digitization. Yan Jianguo, a member of the committee, told reporters that applying standardized design and factory production to move the construction site to the factory not only shortens the resident relocation cycle, but also reduces the impact on surrounding residents and transportation environment.

It is reported that by 2024, 58000 old urban communities will be renovated nationwide, exceeding the annual target of 54000. This year, a number of urban renewal and renovation projects will be planned and implemented to fully complete the task of renovating old urban residential areas built before the end of 2000.

In the definition of 'good days' by the people,' good houses' account for a large proportion. The purpose of accelerating the promotion of modular building technology and applying new processes and technologies is to enable residents to live in 'good houses'. We will strive to create more safe, comfortable, green, and smart' good houses' to help improve the quality of people's lives, "said Yan Jianguo, a member of the committee.