Strategic Reserch On The Historic City Preservation Based On The’Catalytic Architecture’ Theory

The success of China’s economic policies and the manner of their implementation has boosted the growth of the urban economy and construction since the Chinese economic reform in the1980s. However, due to the speeding exploitation of natural resources such as long-term as well as large-scale coal mining, coal resource in the city of Zaozhuang has been exhausted day by day and the transformation of such resource-dependent cities has become a major issue. Additionally sustainable development ties together concern for the carrying capacity of natural systems with the social and economic challenges faced by this city. With in-depth and extensive considerations of these challenges, Zaozhuang Municipal Committee and government tend to focus on the development of the local coal chemical industry and cultural tourism and the urban construction. And attention has been paid to the reestablishment and preservation of the old district Taierzhuang as a historic scenic place, which will revive the city in the future.In the late1980s,, Wayne Attoe and Donn Logan, conceiving of urban design in terms of architectural actions and reactions, proposed a theory of ’catalytic architecture’. They characterize urban design as a controlled evolution, one that must also be strategic, responding to existing elements and guiding those that follow. On the basis of their own combined experience as urban architects and scholars and a taxonomy of methods provided by them, urban design can exhibit higher standards and better results.With an extensive understanding of the theories of the ’catalytic architecture1and the preservation of the old city, this dissertation investigated the principles, objectives, characteristics and applications of the ’catalytic architecture’ strategy for the purpose of preservation. In the meantime, this dissertation make a thorough conclusion on which type of ’catalytic architecture’ Taierzhuang old district belongs to and on how to stimulate the economy of Zaozhuang city with catalysis through the field research of Zaozhuang.The aim of this dissertation is to not only preserve the originality of the old historic district but also promote its sustainable development of the economy and effective integration into the global economy. As a consequence, relevant case studies have been carried out specifically and this strategy can be extended and suitable for the preservation and reestablishment of old historic cities in China with consideration of the development of the local economy as well as the heritage of the local culture.By adopting an innovative preservation method the case of Taierzhuang old district is studied in this dissertation and both the preservation and economic advancement can be achieved by developing the cultural tourism industry, which offers the local government an attractive and effective development frame.