There are sports fields, starlight gatherings on the terrace..., you can take care of children, order breakfast, this party and mass service station

There is a party and mass service station in Zizhu Peninsula Community in Minhang. Due to the unfriendly nature of the space, residents have long been reluctant to use it. Nowadays, without demolition of bricks and tiles, this party and mass service station has undergone earth-shaking changes simply by "moving the universe" in the internal space. How can the update of party-mass service stations achieve real results at a small cost? The case of Zizhu Peninsula Community is worth learning from and thinking about.

Zizhu Peninsula Community, which has strong calls for renovation, is located at No. 333 Dongchuan Road, with an actual population of 6,328.

Also on Dongchuan Road, there are two more famous house numbers - No. 800 Dongchuan Road is the Minhang Campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and No. 500 Dongchuan Road is the Minhang Campus of East China Normal University.

Across the road from the community is the Zizhu National High-tech Zone, and nearby is the Zero Bay Science and Technology Innovation Park. The "three-area linkage" and "industry-city integration" of community, campus and park are the salient features of Zizhu Peninsula Community. The proportion of young residents in the community reaches 93.5%; the proportion of master's degree or above reaches 68.3%. For example, in Building 65, 5 out of 10 residents have PhDs; the proportion of corporate executives reaches 60%. This means that the community has many talented people and hidden dragons and crouching tigers. The general party branch of Zizhu Peninsula Residential Area in Wujing Town was established in 2017, four years later than the first batch of owners of the community. Wei Zhaomei, secretary of the Party branch of the residential area, remembers that when he first took office, when he greeted and introduced his identity to every passing resident in the community, some residents looked at him hesitantly.

How does the party branch in the residential areas that arrived late mobilize the residents? Grassroots governance here faces great challenges. Let’s talk about the important space of grassroots governance-the party-mass service station. It was originally a 3-story building in a community, and its appearance is actually not bad. But every time when residents’ needs and opinions are solicited, the call for “renovating party-mass service stations” is particularly strong.

It turns out that the spatial structure here is a long corridor with independent rooms on both sides, which is more like a government office.

Whether it is working for the neighborhood committee or holding community activities, there is a sense of distance from the residents. Some people even complained that the layout was like a "yamen", making it difficult to walk in and inconvenient to use. Yao Dong, associate professor at Tongji University, took over the upgrade of the Party and Mass Service Station.

It is not an "old and shabby" building that can be torn down and rebuilt, nor is it an abandoned space with room for improvement. Its minor update is more detailed and more difficult - keeping the appearance of the building unchanged and the basic frame structure unchanged, relying only on the transformation of the internal space and the "big shift" of the layout to give the public space a new look and activate its use value. Invigorate residents. In August this year, after the renovation was completed, the old residents who stepped in for the first time could hardly remember what it originally looked like. "It seems like a new place." One resident commented. Qiankun moved a lot, and opened a living room on the first floor to the left of the entrance. It was originally a property management office. With the communication and coordination of the neighborhood committee, the property management office moved out, and the walls of the office were knocked down to become an open front office area, which is also the party's office. The main reception area of ​​the group service station provides residents with fast access to property, employment, population registration and other services.

As soon as they enter the door, anyone can see and walk up to the staff. All community staff work in an open space here without any obstruction and at zero distance from residents. On the right side of the door, there was originally a dark public toilet, which was also a blind spot next to the stairs. Now the public toilets have been removed, the walls have also been knocked down, and they have become open service stations with 24-hour lights, equipped with various self-service machines, printers, ID cameras, emergency medicines, wheelchairs, carts, self-service tools and other equipment and items .

The Coca-Cola Company, an enterprise in the jurisdiction, saw the updated party-mass service station and immediately donated an automatic beverage machine with built-in drinks priced lower than the market price.

In the evening, the children who had just finished school held the hands of their parents and went straight to the drinks machine. This place has been transformed from a neglected blind spot into a popular and convenient area. The core area on the first floor is named "Zizhu Living Room". At first glance, there are various modular tables and chairs where residents can sit and chat in twos and threes.

The entire row of windows is designed as a long bar where young people can sit and relax alone. The square grid under the big screen actually "hides" small square stools, which can be taken out and used at any time.

This large space can host various events. At present, the "Xiao Bamboo" summer school, corporate talent salon, science popularization and handicraft activities distributed by various departments of East China Normal University, "Yue Zizhu" conference, "Red Scarf" conference, etc. are all held here. Tables and chairs are moved as needed and tucked into the wall when not in use.

On weekdays, residents can also sit down, order a cup of coffee, eat some snacks, read a book and relax. Yao Dong said that a survey of residents at the beginning of the update showed that “having a large public space” ranked first among residents’ needs.

Although the quality of the houses in Zizhu Peninsula Community is not bad, most families of three or five live together, and there is still a serious lack of "public living rooms" for leisure, chatting, gatherings with friends, and holding various activities. The original party and mass service stations were occupied by small rooms and could not provide such functions. In order to create a conference living room on the first floor, the design changes took a lot of thought.

Originally, one end of this place was the closed wall of the stairwell, and the other end was the end of the ventilation corridor. After sealing off a corner of the corridor and building a wall, the wall of the stairwell was demolished, and the entire stairway was turned around, we now have the large open living room.

To what extent do residents long for such a large living room?

While the construction team was still renovating the first floor, the spatial layout was only beginning to take shape. Many residents had already come spontaneously to sit down, chat, relax, and even play with their children.

The construction team members lamented with laughter: "We have a lot more supervisors." Open-air garden, cheers under the stars. From the first floor to the second floor, the outer wall that was originally a stairway is now an entire open bookshelf.

The designer deliberately placed several steps of the staircase in front to create a half-level platform that can accommodate several groups of tables and chairs, turning a passive space into a bright reading area.

The steps below the half-floor platform are shaped like tables and chairs, which also provide comfortable seats. It is almost impossible to tell that this was originally a dark and closed corner of the stairwell.

The space at the corner of the stairs on each floor is also fully utilized and becomes a gallery for residents. The residents themselves named the gallery "Yitong Zhuizhu".

The works of residents are displayed monthly, and there are also "aesthetic education assignments" that teachers and students from the Academy of Fine Arts of East China Normal University teach children in the community. So far, more than ten aesthetic education courses have been held in eight categories, such as "Impression·Purple Bamboo", "Community Cat Emoticon Pack", hand-painted community signboards, etc.

“There are too many talented people in the community and there is not enough work to be hung by the residents, so we are now discussing changing themes and hangings on a regular basis,” Wei Zhaomei said. The second floor is no longer an office space, the entire large space is more like a large bookstore reading area.

On the right is the children's reading area, which is a picture book library provided by East China Normal University Press. It is precisely because of the birth of such a new space that residents voluntarily organized community childcare services this year.

On the left hand side, the front wall shows the history of Minhang and Wujing. There are also booths of co-construction units and model booths provided by surrounding aviation companies, including a miniature model of the C919 aircraft.

From the Wujing Coking Plant in 1958 to today's COMAC, the scenes of struggle in industrial transformation are vividly presented in this large reading room. It is reported that all books and exhibits are provided voluntarily by residents of the community.

Moving forward, classrooms of different sizes are built according to different contents.

There are conference rooms for community experts to brainstorm, as well as folk music classrooms, calligraphy and painting classrooms, science popularization classrooms, baking classrooms, etc.

The town community school also donated an airplane simulator to a classroom.

The third floor is the studio and team incubation space for each team. 18 community service teams have been incubated and grown here. They all have clear service projects, fixed time, and clear service cycles. Residents can independently apply to use the "Zizhu Living Room" or sign up for after-school services, and there will be dedicated personnel to connect them. The most attractive thing on the third floor is the carefully built outdoor terrace. The carefully arranged small garden and seats provide a comfortable space for communication and gathering.

This open-air "healing garden" was designed by a community resident who is also a university teacher, and the residents planted it together.

The arrangement of plants in a small garden takes a lot of thought. For example, mint, basil, and mosquito repellent form an "energizing and refreshing zone", while jasmine, gardenia, and rosemary form a "soothing and calming zone", allowing people to get physical and mental healing while enjoying the beautiful scenery and socializing.

After the "Healing Garden" was built, many residents organized groups to hold family gatherings and neighborhood activities here. An aunt described it as: "It was a very unforgettable night" under the stars, surrounded by buildings, and toasting with relatives and friends in the sky garden surrounded by green plants. Baking space, incubating breakfast project In Yao Dong’s mind, it is not enough for an ideal community public space to be visually beautiful. The design must meet functional requirements and “allow residents to truly use the space.”

The renovated party-mass service station has indeed incubated a number of residents' self-governance projects. Shan Ying, a mother born in the 1980s, just moved into the community this year to study for her children. She has been running restaurants before. She once opened a hamburger restaurant on Fuxing Road and is well-known in the industry. After moving into the community, Shan Ying heard that the Party and Mass Service Station was being renovated and had a baking classroom. Shan Ying came to visit with great interest. At that time, the room was still being renovated. With the enthusiastic leadership of the neighborhood committee, Shan Ying decided to borrow a corner of the classroom to open a baking workshop. “Among the needs we collected from residents, breakfast ranks among the top three,” Wei Zhaomei said. It turns out that there are many young office workers in the community, but it is dominated by industrial parks and campuses, and there are few street restaurants nearby. Buying breakfast has become a major problem in residents' lives.

After Shan Ying's baking workshop settled in the party-mass service station, it was not only responsible for conducting regular baking courses, but more importantly, residents could order breakfast from her. At the entrance of the lobby on the first floor, the neighborhood committee also arranged a breakfast cart.

As a result, the original simple baking classroom also needs design upgrades. The baking studio and dance studio has a row of mirrored glass. These glass doors can be rotated to reveal the baking kitchen inside.

The designer opened a separate small door for the back kitchen to enter and exit, and built an independent exhaust system and a fully transparent sterile glass room. The professional kitchen design allows the baking workshop to prepare all kinds of Chinese and Western delicacies. The baking classroom itself is also a multi-purpose hall. The long tables on the walls on both sides can be pulled down and flat for learning.

After pushing it up, the space freed up can be used to practice Tai Chi, practice yoga or learn dance.

Now, residents can order breakfast from the bakery through a mobile app. In just one month, Shan Ying can receive more than 40 orders every day, and this number is still growing. Community expert, reading classics with children Li Yu, a "post-70s" generation, is a community expert and moved to the community in 2016.

She has a good relationship with her neighbors on weekdays, visiting each other and quickly establishing a neighborhood group. At that time, the general party branch in the residential area had not yet been established, and the owners carried out some neighborhood activities on their own. Li Yu organized a trash can design competition. When a poster was posted at the gate, residents responded one after another.

She borrowed a large display board from the property management company and posted the design works she received one by one. On that day, every resident passing by the gate will get a "little red flower", and they can put the little red flower on whichever work they like, and the best design work will be judged. Another time, when a neighbor saw Li Yu reading traditional Chinese classics with his children at home, he suddenly became interested and asked, "Why don't we bring our children to read with us?" After the news was posted in the community group, the first collective reading meeting was held. We have more than 20 families. Li Yu customized a series of regulations for this purpose, such as who takes care of whose children he is, and who only cares about his parents when studying, not the children, etc.

This classic reading class is held every Sunday morning, starting at 8:30 and reading for one hour. The content is such as "The Analects of Confucius" and "Laozi". The selected book versions are mostly large characters, vertical layout, and traditional Chinese. Everyone sits together, one person reads the text first, and the others follow in unison. The sound of adults reading aloud is a good example to children. The reading aloud class also encourages parents to continue reading on weekdays. After reading every day, they can mark the chapters if they collect a certain number of correct characters. Li Yu designed various chapters, such as the Excellence Chapter, Perseverance Chapter, etc.

At the end of the year, she pays out scholarships and prizes out of her own pocket, based on the circumstances of each family.

Three years later, "Can I lead everyone to read?" "I will provide scholarships this year" "I am willing to provide prizes"...enthusiastic parents spontaneously took on more responsibilities, forming a virtuous circle. "In 2017, when we were preparing for the neighborhood committee, we discovered that there were many enthusiastic residents from all walks of life in the community." Wei Zhaomei said.

Space was limited at the time, so she finally found a public space for her reading class in the community, but the environment was very cramped and the residents spent their own money to buy things and decorate it. Today, the reading class has continued into its seventh year and is quite famous. Enthusiastic parents in the community have become reading volunteers one after another, and family reading of Chinese classics has gradually become a public welfare project in the community. The updated Party and Mass Service Station provides a more suitable classroom for reading classes. The essence of space magic is still people. Under the guidance and support of the party branch, more and more residents are participating in public welfare projects in the community. Resident volunteers were gradually dissatisfied with reading classes. Young parents in the community have a long-standing problem - picking up their children from school. "With better conditions, we are willing to stand up and do more to solve community problems." said a community volunteer. With the recognition and support of relevant functional departments, scattered volunteers gradually coalesced into a team. For example, recently, an evening nursery class for picking up children started trial operation. Volunteers used three cars to run three to five times a day. Volunteers who pick up and drop off need to confirm the school dismissal time with parents every day: Is the child on duty today? Detention? Do I need to go to a hobby class? On the bus, volunteers initiated a topic every day. For example, it was discovered that a child had a lot of catchphrases. A volunteer specifically said: "If you speak beautiful language, we are beautiful containers. If you speak dirty language, we are dirty containers. What kind of container do you want to make?" This guides children to use civilized language. After the children were picked up, they were placed in the reading room on the second floor of the Party and Mass Service Station, where volunteers helped with homework.

After finishing their homework, they take physical classes in the fitness area of ​​the Party and Mass Service Station every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and concentration classes every Tuesday and Thursday. Currently all teachers are volunteers.

Children can stay at the Party and Mass Service Station until 20 o'clock at the latest and will be picked up by their parents. Dinner can also be reserved at the baking workshop.

After a month of trial operation, parents are very satisfied. But the team realized that this state of affairs was unsustainable. After many brainstorming sessions with the support of the Party branch, we planned to further optimize, introduce professionals and professional teams, and incubate it into a social organization.

Zizhu Peninsula Community has unique professional resources. In some communities, having a university empowerment team has benefited a lot, but this community has at least 6 - Meng Xiancheng College of East China Normal University, the School of Music, the School of Fine Arts, and professional teams in physics, sociology, ecology and environmental sciences , all empowering party and mass services in the community. However, empowerment still requires a good carrier and a useful physical space. While the party-mass service station, which was originally disliked by residents, was upgraded, a bottom-up participation mechanism for community experts and capable people was gradually formed. "It's easy to discuss things when they happen, discuss things when they happen, and handle everyone's affairs through discussion." A good party and mass service station can give community experts and capable people a position to connect with more resources and turn ideas and actions into individual actions. Community governance projects. "The size has not changed, and the appearance has not changed. After the transformation of the spatial layout, it can accommodate so much content at once, giving full play to the enthusiasm of community residents." Wu Yunyan, a member of the Wujing Town Party Committee, said.

People jokingly call Yao Dong's design a bit like "space magic". "In fact, the essence of public space is to return to people. From the perspective of people's use." Yao Dong said. In the context of urban renewal, small party and mass service stations, with relatively small renewal costs, can also explore a model path for refined governance through careful design and efficient use.