青天制作所 | 苏州章太炎故居改造-古吴轩书店-设计风向

章太炎故居改造：国学文化与苏州记忆的空间容器

Renovation of the Former Residence of Zhang Taiyan by Tsing-Tien Making

A spatial container of Chinese classics and memories about Suzhou

“改造不是一味地融入仿旧，而是通过古与新的重叠，赋予这座老洋房新的语言，从设计到功能，再到访客。我们希望章太炎先生的故事，不仅仅停留在那个时间，还能够融入当代故事，不断生长，走向未来。”——青天制作所

“Renovation is not simply about blending into the old. Instead, it involves the fusion of the old and the new to imbue this long-standing house a new language, from design to functionality and the experience it offers to visitors. We hope the story of Zhang Taiyan and his house do not stop in that specific time period but to continue, with the new memory and language, to carry forward.”By Tsing-Tien Making

∇ © 汪敏杰 © Minjie Wang

一座姑苏城，半部江南诗。从古城区锦帆路走过，可以看到不少古朴典雅的老宅，这里曾是苏州子城，青砖平瓦下，沉淀着书画之地的底蕴和风骨。坐落于锦帆路38号的章园便是这个街区一处颇具价值的文化印迹，这座宅子始建于1932年，是国学泰斗章太炎晚年藏书、著述、会客和生活起居之所。2023年，古吴轩书店接手运营，委托青天制作所主持设计这座百年老宅，将其改造为古吴轩书店和故居博物馆后，正式对公众开放。

The enchanting city of Suzhou encapsulates the poetic beauty of the Southern Yangtze region. A stroll along the historic Jinfan Road in the city’s old neighborhoods reveals numerous quaint and elegant old residences. Once the heart of Suzhou, this area, adorned with gray bricks and flat tiles, embodies the profound cultural heritage and charm of a place steeped in the arts of calligraphy and painting. Among these treasures stands the Zhang Garden, located at No.38 Jinfan Road, a valuable cultural landmark in this neighborhood. Constructed in 1932, this residence belonged to an eminent scholar of Chinese nationalism named Zhang Taiyan. In his late years, Zhang housed his collection, engaged in writing, received guests, and lived in this residence. In 2023, Gu Wu Xuan Bookstore took over its operation and entrusted Tsing-Tien Making to renovate this century-old mansion into a bookstore and a museum based on the scholar’s former residence. In the same year, it officially opened to the public.

∇ © 蒋世颖 © Shiying Jiang

场地内由3栋民国老洋房组成，建筑外立面呈现中西合璧的风格，清水砖墙、苏式木花窗、中式亭廊与罗马柱结合。近600平米的南楼规划为故居博物馆，北面占地约880平米的两栋北建筑则是此次书店的主体部分。

The site comprises three mixed-style houses built during the Republican period (1911-1949), showcasing a harmonious blend of Chinese and Western architectural styles in the facades. The exterior features plain brick walls, Suzhou-style wooden lattice windows, Chinese-style pavilions, and Roman columns. The southern building, spanning nearly 600 square meters, is designated as the residence-based museum, while the two northern buildings, occupying approximately 880 square meters, constitute the main section of the bookstore.

∇ 章园整体轴测图 © 青天制作所

The axonometric drawing of the Zhang Garden © Tsing-Tien Making

∇ 鸟瞰 © 袁炜、王文斌 Aerial view © Wei Yuan, Wenbin Wang

∇ © 蒋世颖 © Shiying Jiang

#01 场地原貌

Site Conditions

在青天制作所接手章园的设计前，故居的整体面貌由古建保护修缮加固好后交接。待交接现场勘测后，发现整体存在几个问题和限制：

1、章太炎故居系江苏省文物保护单位，对此次改造的限制较为严格；

2、将1930年代的私人住宅转换成今后对公众开放的书店，原有的开间、布局、动线存在明显问题，会影响日后使用；

3、室内面宽有限且进深较深，采光存在问题；

4、原有建筑材料和风貌，在修缮过程中受到了折损；

5、墙体和柱子经过先前多次叠加修缮后，数据不准确且非直线；

6、景观过于直白，园子大门口就将整个庭院收入眼底，缺少了苏式园林本该有的委婉。

Before Tsing-Tien Making took charge of the project, the overall appearance of the residence had undergone comprehensive conservation and reinforcement. However, upon site survey, several issues and constraints were identified:

1.Zhang Taiyan’s former residence is a protected cultural heritage site of Jiangsu Province. The government imposed stringent limitations on its renovation.

2.The original room size, layout and circulation presented evident challenges for converting the 1930s private residence into apublicbookstore, which could affect future use.

3.The limited space width and considerable depth of the interior posed challenges to natural daylighting.

4.The original building materials and architectural appearance suffered damage during previous maintenance work.

5.Due to multiplerepairs before, the walls and columns became non-linear, resulting in inaccurate data.

6.The landscape design appeared too straightforward, with the main entrance exposing the entire courtyard at a glance, lacking the subtlety characteristic of traditional Suzhou gardens.

When the design team took over the project, the original limited space width caused poor natural daylighting © Tsing-Tien Making

The landscape design was too straightforward with everything exposed at a glance upon entrance of the garden. The rockery, the hardy banana trees, and the corridor needed to be improved © Tsing-Tien Making

The design of every room was highly repetitive and monotonous with too many entrances and exits yet lacking well-deigned circulation to guide visitors around the garden. This could cause visitors to lose patience or leave along the original path © Tsing-Tien Making