In the previous article, the author introduced the century-old western-style building in No. 49, Taierzhuang Road. To the south of this western-style building, there is an apartment building facing west and east, which is also of great historical value. However, because its history is only 65 years old, it has not yet been included in the ranks of cultural relics protection units.
This building was originally the "Staff Dormitory of the Tianjin Division of China Import and Export Corporation" and was completed in July 1957, which was the early days of the founding of New China. The architecture of this period is very distinctive. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, many things were waiting to be done, and many rules and standards were also being discussed and formulated. Throughout the 1950s, there had been criticism of the capitalist style of simple buildings with flat roofs, and there was also criticism of the excessive waste of Liang Sicheng and the "big roofs" of antique buildings.
Looking at this building again, it is in this transitional period. It can be said that it has many similarities with the small western-style building on the north side. After all, the two are not different from each other for 30 years. Its construction contractor is "Local State-owned Xinsheng Construction Factory". During the Republic of China, construction companies were called "Construction Factory". After liberation, they were merged and nationalized one after another, and named "Xinsheng". To put it bluntly, it is still a matter of fact. These construction companies built so many small Western-style buildings in the 1920s and 1930s, so they have traditions.
This dormitory building is a three-story brick-concrete structure. What is more prominent is the imitation columns, sloped roof and dormer windows of the exterior wall, which distinguish it from the buildings of the 1960s. Such a transitional building with a distinctive architectural style should be protected. (Jin 334, 2022.12.13)
