TanArt Community / Nomos Architects

The Xi'an Shiyou University residential campus boiler station was planned in 1994 and finally completed in 1997. However, due to changes in the urban heating system, it was closed in 2014. When we visited it in 2019, despite being relatively new, the boiler station presented an intriguing image of a historical ruin, surrounded by urban residential buildings. This type of coal-burning boiler station was once common in North China. However, with the shift to a different energy supply system, this type of facility will no longer be built. The tall chimneys and large coal scuttles that were designed with instrumental rationality have become obsolete with the end of production. However, these useless structures, which were not regulated by present zoning laws, remind us of the simplicity and straightforwardness of that rapidly developing decade. This type of boiler station has become a historical symbol of those golden years, even though most are still under 30 years old.