By Lu Xuejiao
The Lester School and Henry Lester Institute of Technical Education, the star project in the core area of the North Bund, restarted at once with the full resumption of production and life in Shanghai.
Both Pandemic Prevention and Construction under Control
At the construction site of the Project, located at No. 505, East Changzhi Road, the workers were working excitedly at their respective posts. The scene was in full swing.
In order to support the pandemic prevention and control, the project started at the beginning of the year was suspended at the end of March. During the nearly three months of shutdown, the closed-loop management was rigorously carried out at the site, and all the measures for the pandemic prevention and control and management were also strictly implemented. For example, the health management of “one file for one person” was established, and green no-pandemic construction site of “zero-infection” was set up.
After the restart of the project, the builders continued to adhere to the closed-loop management as required, formulated the pandemic prevention and control plan, the pandemic emergency plan and others, installed and set up the "digital sentinel" and the site code. The construction personnel strictly implemented the antigen twice a day, nucleic acid detection once per two days. If going in and out, they went through QR code scanning and body temperature measurement. They could enter the construction area only after meeting the conditions.
"We also set up special teams to coordinate pandemic prevention and safety production, and set up temporary observation and isolation areas to ensure that the health status of on-site construction workers is controllable." Bao Yi, head of the Project, told that the construction site required that all workers should not gather and carry out scattered construction, that every worker should wear masks. In the living area of the Project, food should be carried out point-to-point to ensure the in-place pandemic prevention and control.
While ensuring the daily life of construction personnel, the Project is speeding up. At present, all 128 staffs are on duty. Zhang Xin, project manager, said, "Although the pandemic has affected the progress, we are scientifically arranging the construction schedule and coordinating the increase of labor force in later stage. While ensuring the construction quality, we will continue to improve the efficiency, hurry up the construction progress and try to make up for the lost construction period."
It is learned that the overall progress of the project has reached 50%. Next, continuous construction will be carried out in three aspects: structural reinforcement, external facade construction of external walls, and interior decoration, which will be completed by the end of September.
The Century-old Architecture in Rebirth
The 100-year-old Lester School and Henry Lester Institute of Technical Education ushered in the protection and repair at the beginning of this year. This overall project aims in the old protection and repair, indoor decoration and environmental improvement of the main building, and restore the historical style and decorative features of the building while eliminating the potential hazards of the existing structure.
"The repair site seems to be an archaeological site. Old objects are excavated from time to time. We will constantly adjust the drawings and compare the details to try to keep the original appearance." Shen Qingqin, the design director of the project, said that while respecting the history and current situation of The Lester School and Henry Lester Institute of Technical Education, the project retains all the key historical parts such as the terrace classroom and the auditorium in accordance with the principle of "protecting as much as possible", echoing the context of historical buildings from the perspective of detail design, so that the old and new buildings form a new whole.
In order to protect and restore the historical characteristics as much as possible, the engineers also set up a material exhibition room, in which dozens of old building materials are displayed. They try to keep the original appearance through replica comparison.
It is reported that after the renovation, Shanghai Innovation and Creative Design Institute will be settled in the original site of The Lester School and Henry Lester Institute of Technical Education. It will focus on cross-border innovative scientific research, concentrate on design innovation and innovation transformation in the era of artificial intelligence, and it is committed to enabling industries, incubating innovation, and bringing together creative and industrial talents.
"In this space, there are multi-function halls, exhibition halls, practice workshops and a series of research rooms and studios, which work together to form an ecosystem, create an engine for innovation and transformation, drive innovation and entrepreneurship, promote industrial transformation, and facilitate urban development", said Zhang Jie, development director of Shanghai Innovation and Creative Design Institute.
What is worth mentioning is that SriniSrinivasan, the former president of the World Design Organization (WDO), moved his family from the United States to Shanghai when Shanghai was fighting against the pandemic. He told that he was very optimistic about the sustainable development of Shanghai, and he would participate in the work of Shanghai Innovation and Creative Design Institute as the chief operating officer in the future.