Shanghai owner fined $4.5 mln for drastic refurbishment of historic house

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A Shanghai owner who almost entirely demolished a nearly century-old residence as part of a refurbishment was fined 30.5 million yuan (4.5 million US dollars) and told to return the house to its original look within 10 months by the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government on Friday.

The seriously damaged building, located at No. 888 Julu Road in downtown Shanghai, was one of 12 detached houses designed by influential Hungarian architect Hugyecz Laszlo in the 1930s.

Six months ago however, it was almost entirely destroyed by its owner, a twenty-something woman only identified by her last name Jiang. By the time a local resident reported the refurbishment to authorities, steel skeletons had replaced the historic façade, and the building was surrounded by green protection nets.

Photo from China Central Television (CCTV)

The case sparked an online debate about private ownership of historic properties, with experts also pointing the finger at local supervisory groups who failed to notice the damage made to a protected property.

Some officials in Jing’an District responsible for housing management have now been demoted or dismissed, the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government said.

CCTV photo

The designer who helped plan the refurbishment will also no longer be permitted to participate in any design in Shanghai, while two companies involved in the illegal refit have been slapped with sanctions.

One company that took part in the demolition and re-construction was fined 307,200 yuan and will not be allowed to tender for any construction for a year. Another that was employed to clean and transport construction waste was fined 50,000 yuan, according to the enterprise management ordinance in construction industry, safe production and public health regulations. .

CCTV photo

The owner’s mother has made an apology to the public through a Shanghai-based news portal, The Paper, explaining they had intended to refurbish only the interior until they found the house’s wooden structures had decayed.

A government official in charge of the case has now called for an overview check on 159 historic constructions in the district and for drafting a guideline on further protection of heritage architecture.

Music: Facile by Kevin MacLeod in the video is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Nearly century old building brought to rubble in Shanghai