Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House
Neighborhoods in Beijing
by
Andr6 Casault
Bachelor of Architecture
Laval University
Qudbec, Canada
1977
SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE
DEGREE
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURE STUDIES AT THE
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
JUNE,1988
Andr6 Casault 1988 All rights reserved
The author hereby grants to M.I.T.
permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly copies
of this thesis document in whole or in part
Signature of the author_
Andr6 Casault
Department of Architecture
June, 1988
Certified by
N.John Habraken
Professor of Architecture
Thesis Supervisor
Accepted by
Julian Beinart
Chairman
RotCh
-
TDepartmental Committee for Graduate Students
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2
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House
Neighborhoods in Beijing
by
Andr6 Casault
Submitted to the Department of Architecture on May 10. 1988
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of
Master of Science in Architecture Studies
ABSTRACT
The courtyard houses in Beijing, named siheyuan, have undergone many changes
during the last three decades. The siheyuan is a type of house that had slowly developed
over more than two thousand years. At the beginning of the twentieth century it was still
pratically untouched by influences of the Western World and industrial revolution.
Though the first transformation to the Beijing courtyard house occured at the
beginning of this century, the most important transformation happened during the last few
decades. Due to a severe housing shortage and political events, such as the Cultural
Revolution (1966-1976), the courtyard house, once inhabited by one extended family, had
to be shared among several families. New shelters, referred in this thesis as additions,
had to be built inside the traditional compound. Due to a lack of space, the deployment of
pavilions (the traditional construction), was interrupted. Building materials also changed.
New building materials appeared on the market.
The resulting living environment looked messy at first sight. But underneath the
messiness, the deployment of additions shows and some constants, some characteristics
that are similar to the deployment of traditional pavilions. These implicit rules are important
for the preservation of the architectural language of the neighborhoods and of the entire
city, as well.
Methods of enclosure, levels of hierarchy in the built form, and dwellers direct control of
their living quarters, are among principles that should be respected in order to preserve a
continuity in the built environment. Without this continuity the architectural language of the
city cannot be protected.
Thesis Supervisor: N.John Habraken
Title: Professor of Architecture
4
Acknowledgement
I gratefully acknowledge the support and the guidance of my thesis advisor Professor
N.John Habraken, my readers Professor Tunney Lee and Professor Ronald Lewcock.
I also wish to thank Professors Nabeel Hamdi and Reinhard Goethert for the continuous
assistance during my two years at MIT.
Thanks to my dear friends.
This thesis is dedicated to Rita andRenefor their unconditionallove
6
Contents
A bstract .................................................................................................................................
3
Acknowledgement...............................................................................................................
5
Part 1; General introduction................................................................................................9
1.1 -the why's of this thesis..................................
1.2 -transformation.....................
....................
9
...
1.3 -the scope of this study .................................................................................
Part 2; Description of the actual global context
............................
10
10
13
2.1
-physical description or the apparent disorder...................................................................13
2.2 -two types....................................................................................................
13
2.3 -how are the neighborhoods of courtyard houses perceived........................15
2.4 -the city, a quick overview of the actual Beijing.........................................
16
Part 3; The traditional................................................19
3.1 -some thoughts on the backgrounds of the traditional type...........................19
3.2 -the traditional
type....................................................................................
22
3.3 -importance of a sense of infiniteness, details, and miniature......................26
3.4 -exploration of principles of deployment.........................29
3.5 -a brief history of the city's patterns..............................................................
39
Part 4; The contemporary additions................................................49
4.1 -what are the "additions"9. ........................................... ...... ...... ..... ........ ..... . . 49
4.2 -kinds of additions, sequence of erection, and deployment..........................50
4.3 -the territories and the levels of hierarchy ..................................................
4.4 -introversion and extroversion, enclosure and miniature.............................
4.5-the city transformations vs house/compound transformations.....................
59
63
65
Part 5; Comments...................................................................................................................73
5.1 -differences and similarities between traditional and contemporary addition
deployments................................................................................................
Postcript..................................................................................................................83
Bibliography..........................................................................................................................85
Illustration credits...................................................................................................................87
74
8
Part one
1.GENERAL
1.1
The Why's of this thesis
INTRODUCTION
I lived in Beijing, China between
September 1983 and August 1986. The
interest I had in community oriented
architecture and in vernacular architecture
brought me to this old and highly cultured
society.
In fact I have found more there than I had
expected. This ancient culture had been
isolated many times in its history. It has
developed, more often than not, almost as
though it were a closed circuit. At the
beginning of this century, China increased
exchanges with the rest of the world. From
1949 until almost the end of the seventies
China closed itself again to the world,
keeping relations only with a few countries
from the Communist world.
Living in a country where the stage of
development is different from your own
society is like travelling in time. It helps
you to understand the course of history.
The subject of this thesis originates from
my feelings toward the neighborhoods of
courtyard houses. While I saw a living
environment full of potential, I realized that
most of the population, led by a national
policy toward modernization, saw the same
neighborhoods as being obsolete and
backward. They were seen as the result, the
product of the feudal society. They were
said to be completely inadequate to modern
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
uses, this especially for a new socialist
state. In fact, planners and architects were
looking to the future and dreaming of
modem buildings, ready to start to repeat
the mistakes the West made during the
fifties and the sixties; erase from the urban
tissues these old and obsolete structures.
1.2
Transformation
Without speaking about a specific physical
context why would one study the
transformations of -human settlements?
Could the analysis of the changes and
constants in a built environment
(traditional) help us to understand more
how it is created and how it evolves and
eventually how to better intervene in it? If
one wants to understand something very
clearly, one must look at this "object" in
movement and not just analyze it when it is
static or immobile (or dead). Though
houses do not "move" (some actually do)
and tend to be at first sight quite static, we
can easily realize that in most cases houses
undergo quite a lot of minor and/or
important changes within a given span of
time. From these changes, and from the
constants, principles of development can be
drawn, a structure of deployment can be
outlined.
1.3 The scope of this study
Before talking about a specific case, it is
helpful to say a few words about the scope
of this work. At first, I am not a specialist
on Chinese architecture. Most parts of this
research are based on first hand material
that I have collected while staying in China.
My interest is to learn from what actually
remains, changed and unchanged, in a
given built environment, and then, see if it
is possible to draw principles or themes
from that. Also, how can these principles
be used in contemporary upgrading and/or
building of a built environment? What
patterns of behavior reflected on the built
forms are constants and important, if not
essential, to people?
If I mention further some principles of
Chinese cosmology or Chinese geomancy
(feng shui) the purpose of that is not to
find out or prove that these beliefs are good
or bad, or still in use, but more to see how
much they have an influence on
contemporary forms. It was not possible
here to investigate this aspect at an
extensive level. A history of the courtyard
house in Beijing is not the topic of my
study, this has been done before (though
not in English).
So, my purpose is to examine the
neighborhoods with a positive eye, trying
to select the good points and not just
looking at what is wrong with it. How can
Part one
creative involvement in the built
environment be supported in the future?
How can ingenious design solutions be
encouraged?
There are many facets in the renovation of
old districts of an ancient city like Beijing.
The economic, political and social aspects
are all very important. In the case of
Beijing, the population density to be
achieved is said to be one of the most
crucial aspect of urban renewal. Any waste
of land may become catastrophic. Though
we did not discuss these aspects in this
thesis, we know that while undertaking this
renewal one must be aware of the
importance of all these questions.
Obviously, here our concern is oriented
toward a more 'formal aspect of such
renewal and the meaning of these forms for
individuals and for the architectural
language of the city. We believe that an
appropriate living environment may be very
(positively) influential, and this, at many
levels.
I recognize that I am not objective.
Subjectivity is part of my work; more,
intuition has guided me a great deal. Simon
Leys, a well-known Belgian sinologist, has
written in La Foret en feu :
"...indispensable specialization but also
impossible ...because the richness, the
scope, and the diversity of the Chinese
sphere go far beyond the capacity of an
individual intelligence to assimilate
...Inversely, the global intuition which can
by itself be allowed to seize the essential
nature of the subject ...brings inevitably
with it, a sometimes offensive ignorance of
the surface or of the details." 1
Then I tried to humbly understand the
development of these neighborhoods. And
I am not pretending that I covered all
necessary aspects or all facets that needed
to be discussed. But one thing is sure: I
did it with love.
1- Simon Leys, La For8t en Feu, Paris 1983.
12
Part two
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE
ACTUAL GLOBAL CONTEXT
Physical description or the
2.1
apparent disorder
For the unaccustomed eye the
neighborhoods of courtyard houses in
Beijing today are somehow difficult to
read, at least at first sight.
Actually what one can see from the streets
is really only one side of a story, a fraction
of what is there. If we look at figure 1 we
see a hutong (the Chinese name given to
the lanes in Beijing). This space is almost
timeless.
1 A hutong
There are very few signs that can tell us
"when" we are. The grey walls that border
the lane seem to have been there for ever.
The asphalt is indeed new, the lane was
probably just a dust road at the beginning
of this century. Details here and there bring
us to the 80's -- bricks of different kind, a
wall of cement blocks here, or a new door
handle there. Then a black taxi Toyota
Crown is coming: not a rickshaw, now we
know.
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
If one is allowed to enter by one of the
doorways, one may distinguish older and
younger buildings (see figure 2) (see also
photos in Part 4). There is a kind of
laisser-faire attitude.
3 Roofs
2.2
2 Old and new constructions
It is an agglomeration of relatively small
buildings, very often detached from one
another. Roofs of old curved clay tile are
seen along with cement tile roofs, metal
sheet roofs or tar paper roofs. All walls of
buildings are made of bricks, red bricks or
grey bricks. If one does not investigate
further it is disorder if not chaos (see figure
3).
Two types
In fact the traditional pavilions easily show
a certain order in their deployment. That is
the first type of buildings. It is clear that
this traditional type was built several
decades ago, if not, centuries ago. These
pavilions are surmounted by large roofs,
most of them of two slopes,' covered by
curved grey tiles.
This type has been invaded by several
buildings, smaller and much less gracious.
A few are old, but most of them seem to
have been built very recently,though their
building materials are often old.
It is these two types of buildings found
within each compound that we will be
described in parts 3 and 4.
Both types of buildings have been
constructed by people of the same culture,
but at different times and under different
At first sight,
social systems.
dissimilarities are much more striking than
similarities.
However, very important similarities do
Part two
exist.
2.3
How are the neighborhoods of
courtyard houses perceived?
The neighborhoods, the blocks, the narrow
lanes, are part of the Beijing heritage from
the past (see part 4.5). As mentioned
before, all this represents the feudal
society. During the Cultural Revolution
(1966-76), much more than during the
years following it, everything that was
issued from the feudal or Empirial rules had
to be changed or eliminated.
The courtyard house was the "image" of the
social hierarchy of the past. Therefore was
considered improper for a socialist state2 .
In fact, these neighborhoods were lacking
commodities such as running water for
individual households, sewage systems,
and sometimes sufficient electrical power.
The lanes were said to be too narrow for
car circulation and eventually parking (the
plague of our western cities). All
commodities that a "modem" neighborhood
should have.
Also the traditional way of living was then
compared to something else. In the 50's
Russian technical advisors were in China,
2- "As the heart of a modem capital, the character
and function of the inner City should differ
significiently from that of a feudal society." Zhu
Zi-xuan, Planning and Management of BeijingFocus on The Development and Conservation of
the Inner City Area, p. 7, Beijing !985.
helping the Chinese to build mass housing
and overcome the shortage of housing
units3 . Rows of walk-ups of five-six
stories were constructed. Every unit
should be oriented south and have a
balcony. Electricity, running water, and
sewage were the norm. This model was
seen as the ideal dwelling and one day
everyone should inhabit a dwelling like
that.
This tendency away from the traditional
Chinese living environment was influenced
by what happened in the Western cities and
where old neighborhoods were torn down
and the so-called urban renewal was going
on. City centers were losing their attraction
at the expense to the suburbs4 .
Still today the thousands of courtyard
houses that we can see in Beijing, though
most of them are still in good condition, are
not considered worth preserving. Different
reasons are given for not conserving them;
the density of inhabitants per hectare is said
to be too low, services are not adequate if
existing at all, cost of renovation is said to
be to expensive. Also the area occupied by
the courtyard house is too large and the city
is in need of space for building office
buildings, hotels and roads. The houses
which will be conserved are the ones in
"relatively good condition that exhibit the
3- According to socialist policy, housing is a
universal need and must be provided by the state.
4- "Since Liberation, Beijing has built a total of
90 milion sq. meters of house. Only 8 millions of
which are located inside the inner city". Zhu Zixuan, Planning and Management of Beiiing-Focus
on The Development and Conservation of the Inner
City Area. p. 8, Beijing 1985.
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
traditional courtyard...Examples of such
areas are the Luoguxiang and Dongxibei
neighborhoods 5 ." The majority of these
renovated courtyards will be used as hotels,
as small museums, as offices and very few
of them will be kept for housing.
For the moment, the type of restoration that
has been done in Beijing is extremely
expensive. A project like the Liu Li Chang
street in the west outer city, is actually not
even a restoration but a reconstruction after
total demolition. Of course such a solution
is impossible at a large scale. But it is also
not desirable. This kind of restoration has
produced a very stiff, fake, and unauthentic
environment, that is only good, if at all, for
tourism.
2.4
The City, a quick overview of
the actual Beijing.
gross population is 300 people/hectare, but
several densely populated areas reach a
density of 1000 people/hectare 6.
If we look at figure 4, which has been
4 A part of Beijing
taken from the hearth of the old Beijing (the
top of The Coal Hill, on the northern side
of the Forbidden City), we see a city that
has already undergone drastic mutations.
The picture shows, in the middle portion,
the northeast corner of the Forbidden City
and the outer moat. Even if we stand in the
middle of the ancient city, we can see
several ugly buildings that have been built
right next to low rise traditional buildings,
or simply, have replaced them. The
disrespect of the existing (traditional)
structures has influenced the urban street
layout as well as the neighboring buildings.
The city is invaded by vehicles. The citywalls have been replaced by a wide four-
Metropolitan Beijing covers an area of
16,800 sq. kilometers, with a population of
about 10 million inhabitants. But the urban
districts occupy only 750 sq. kilometers
with a population of more or less 6 million
people.
The neighborhoods of courtyard houses
that interest us are all located in ancient city
limits, which is still considered as the
whole city center. The land area of this
core city is 62 sq.kilometers and its current
population about 1.8 million. The average
Unfortunately many of the constructions,
built during the last decades, are matchboxlike buildings. These buildings were
5 - ibid, p.6,
6- ibid, p.1,
way road -- the second ring road.
Part two
influenced by "the Party's directives laid
down for buildings: utility, economy, and
if possible beauty...Because of the criticism
against the style of large roofs, they [the
architects] changed to a box-like style
instead, and because of the criticism against
waste, they sacrificed beauty and utility for
economy."7
The architectural language of the city is
very much perturbed but not in the least
wasted forever. Though the official
interventions were and are, more often than
not, very much influenced by foreign ideas,
and create great discontinuity, new policies
can still be adopted and improved the
situation.
7. Chinese Architecture -Past and Contempgrr
Gin-Djih Su, Hong kong 1964.
18
Part three
3. THE TRADITIONAL
Some thoughts on the
3.1
background of the traditional type.
This section of the thesis gives a brief
overview of the background of the
traditional type that is the siheyuan. We
will try to understand why the siheyuan
has reached the beginning of the 20th
century with the shape it had. As the
historical aspect of the siheyuan is not our
main concern, this section is intended to be
short.
5 An excavation showing a rectangular half pit
dwelling plan in Xian Ban Po, Shaanxi
We have to go back in time as far as the
Shang Dynasty (1751 B.C.- 1111 B.C.)
to find in the dwelling of that time
characteristics common with the courtyard
house we know. In fact "a rectangular
dwelling site excavated by the Chinese
archeologists in 1954 in Xian, Ban-po of
Shaanxi province showed that (as early as
in Shang period) the entrance with a small
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods inBeijing
raised with platform and steps;
c) symmetrical layout with a central court;
d) living quarters on both sides of the court;
e) court in Zhou period was mainly used
for the ancestral tablet and shows strong
influence of the cult of ancestral worship.
"On the foundation laid in the feudal period
(1751 B. C. to 222 B.C.) the Chinese
MIr Empire created an original civilization that
made great achievements in such fields as
public administration, philosophy,
literature, and the arts. For over two
thousand years following the Qin conquest
China remained unified despite foreign
invasions and sporadic outburst of feudal
warfare. She offers an unique example of
political and cultural continuity stretching
over more than four thousand years from
the middle of the second millennium B.C.
to contemporary China. This political and
cultural continuity had produced a fairly
static Chinese society and economy (broken
briefly by the internal upheavals at intervals
only), which in turn enabled the continuous
development of a particular Chinese house
entrance lobby had already [been] planned
at the north facing southward" 8 (see
figure 5).
The following characteristics already
existed in a Zhou Dynasty's (770 B.C.256 B.C.) official residence (see figure 6):
N
Ts
i
mas
1ESIUW
-STIC
NS AXIS
W
form -- the courtyard house for over two
6 A standard layout plan of high official's residence
in Zhou Dynasty
a) a dominant north-south axis with south
orientation;
b) axial planning of main entrance and hall
8 - From "Evolution of Domestic House Form
in China". Master Thesis, University of Hong
Kong, September, 1978. (Author unknown).
thousand years from Zhou to Qing
Dynasties" 9 .
The square and rectangular walled
compounds are said to originate from the
Han period (206 B.C -A.D. 220) (see
figure 7).
9 - ibid, p.16
Part three
8).
NOWj.
7 Square and rectangular walled, from a Han
painted brick exhumed in Sichuan
They intend to create a space image of the
world where man was the master within.
The Chinese view of the cosmos was
derived from the Confucian viewpoint - "
the way of Heaven is to be round, while the
way of Earth is to be square. Squareness
dominates darkness (the earth) 10 ."
;--7
8 Acourtyard houses from a painting called "Spring
Promenade", by Zhan Ziwen, Sui Dynasty
Axiality and symmetry
Four
Though axiality and symmetry already
appeared in the Zhou Dynasty, they were
apparently not common in the H a n
courtyard houses. They gained their
overall popularity in layout design since the
Sui (A.D. 581-618) and Tang (A.D. 618
-907) Dynasties. From then on, these
characteristics were existing even in the
houses of the common people (see figure
10 - The Huai nan tzu. Trans. by Derk Boddle.
Ch3, p.3.
Inward
facing
pavilions
around a courtyard
This organization stressed blood ties and
family ethics. The patriarch would stay in
the south oriented pavilions, the first son
would occupy the west suites facing east,
and the daughter the east suites. The
inwardness showed the strong linkage and
unity among the family members.
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
Solid and void
non-being out of being was applied" 12 .
Continuity
Architecturally speaking, the court is a
negative space, a void against the four
masses of the roof of the four suites and the
enclosing walls.
While much of the rigid composition of the
siheyuan is guided by confucianist
principles of family ethics, the relationship
and flexibility of the void (non-being) and
solid is said to be influenced by the
philosophy of Laotze and Taoism:
"Mould clay into a vessel;
From its non-being (in the vessel's hollow)
Arises the utility of the vessel.
Cut out doors and windows in the house
(wall)
From their non-being (empty space) arises
the utility of the house.
Therefore by the existence of things we
profit.
And by the non-existence of things we are
served" 11 .
"Space and form of space were created and
shaped by means of the enclosing elements.
Hence the whole complex was regarded as
big void. By means of enclosing walls,
different spaces for different functions were
created. The void of the exterior spaces of
the courtyard were thus formed by
enclosing walls while the voids of interior
spaces of the suites were created by means
of both roofs and walls . The principle of
being created by means of non-being and
11 - Laotze. Tao Te Ching, Chapter II, Tr & Ed.
by Lin Yu-tang in the Wisdom of Laotze, London,
Michel Joseph p. 92.
The transition between the solid and void is
made by galleries, verandas, and halls,
which are covered or semi-enclosed spaces.
The court (void) is linked with a suite
(solid) by a gallery or a veranda. From the
street one passes through the lobby
entrance, which is a void in a solid wall but
yet a different kind of void from the street.
3.2 The traditional type
The following description is the description
of a three courtyard house, which is
considered the most typical compound
found in Beijing. Three characteristics
seem to be very important in the Beijing
courtyard house as we found it at the
beginning of this century: its introverted
form, its symmetry and its hierarchical
structure (see figure 9). As its Chinese
name -- siheyuan1 3 -- says, the Beijing
Courtyard House is composed, in its more
common and more traditional form, of four
pavilions surrounding a courtyard, these
four pavilions being themselves
encompassed by a wall. The gate which
gives access to the court is almost always
situated at the southeast corner, this for
12 - From "Evoloution of Domestic House Form
in China", Master Thesis, University of Hong
Kong, September, 1978. (Authour unknown).
13 - Si-he-yuan; four (pavilions), enclosed,
courtyard.
Part three
reasons of geomancy 14 . This gate is an
windows are facing north, the worst
orientation for the Chinese. Sometimes the
wall facing the outside is pierced in its
upper part by little windows.
1 0 the door - no interruption of the wall
9 Plan and section of a siheyuan
opening in a surrounding wall (wei qiang)
and not an interruption of it (see figure 10).
Its leads to the first court. Facing the door,
a screen wall called the "ying bi" stops
both indiscreet glances and unlucky
influences. Sometimes the end wall of the
lateral pavilion, a simple wooden screen, or
a specially built wall serves this function.
In this first court, the least important, there
is a pavilion called the "dao zuo fang"
which leans up against the wall that fronts
on the alley (hutong). In this building the
14 - According to geomancy theory of the School
of thought of geomancy of the north...It is why the
house situated on the northern side of the lanes
have their doors in the southeast corner, the ones
situated on the southern side of the lanes in the
nortwest corner. The northeast is less favorable,
we often use this place for kitchens, and when
necessary we can open a door there. The southwest
corner is very inauspicious. There we can only put
latrines or service buildings. In La Maison
Chinoise de Liu Dun Zhen, Berger-Levrault, 1980,
p.137.
This pavilion, in which there are three or
four rooms, housed the male servants, the
guest, distant relatives or poorer members
of the family. The latrines were often
located at the southwest end of this first
court behind a screen, the southwest corner
being the most inauspicious part according
to Chinese geomancy orfeng shui (that is;
wind and water).
0/
*1
b-I
i~
9
qj~
1 1 The Chui Hua Men
From the first court, long and narrow in the
east-west direction, we can pass through a
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
second gate called "chui hua men", the
gate of the hanging flowers (see figure 11),
to reach the second court, a square one,
which is the most important "room" of the
house. Even here visual privacy is
respected between the two courts.
Opposite the second gate, facing south, is
the main pavilion, "zheng fang", the
highest and most imposing one, where the
patriarch lived (see figure 12).
doorway situated at the east end side of this
last pavilion. The third court is like the first
one, long in the east-west orientation, and
narrow.
12 The main pavilion (Zheng Fang)
It was also the gathering place of the
extended family. Built against the lateral
walls of this pavilion, still facing south, are
the ear pavilions "erfang" in which the
bedrooms or rooms for resting are located.
On the east and west side of the main court,
there are the "xiang fang" where the
second generation lived. Often built against
these pavilions there is a kind of "erfang"
called "little flat terrace" (xiaoping tai or
lu-ding). These are service rooms,
kitchens, etc. In most cases behind the
main pavilion there is a third court which
can be reached by passing through a
1 3 Galleries in Mural paintings, Dunhuang, Tang
Dynasty
There, also facing south, is the "hou zhao
fang", the pavilion where the concubines
Part three
and female servants lived. Sometimes the
kitchen is also located there.In a lot of
siheyuan, a covered gallery links the
pavilions together. Galleries already
existed in the Tang dynasty (618-907) (see
figure 13).In the corner between the
pavilions, behind the gallery, families often
arranged a little garden called "The Garden
under the Dew" (or lu-di). There,
rockeries are laid out with bamboo plants.
The back walls are white-washed to give
the feeling of depth and spacious
landscape. Viewing this corner from the
center of the main court gives an
impression of openness, of a larger and
quieter space. We must note also the
presence of potted landscape (pen jing),
that is, miniature trees and fish tanks in the
central courtyard. Both .elements serve as a
reproduction of nature in miniature. (see
part 3.3)
During the winter, grey and dusty Beijing
is cold and windy. During the summer the
air is quite hot, though never as heavy as
the air in the southern part of the country.
The square form of the main courtyard of
the siheyuan permits much sunshine to
enter. At the same time, the wide
overhanging roofs of the pavilions and the
smaller gallery roofs provide efficient
protection against the rain and the intense
midday sun. The surrounding wall, the
wei qiang, is more than three meters high.
It prevents unwelcome eyes from looking
in and is a good protection against
annoying noises from the outside world. It
also protects against the cold winter winds.
The inside of the enclosed wall was
reserved for the members of the large
family, their parents and friends. The
quantity and quality of the "thresholds"
inside the courtyard house indicate very
clearly its hierarchical structure. The higher
the buildings, the more private and more
important they are. All the openings of the
pavilions (windows and doors) are directed
toward the center. There are no windows
in the surrounding exterior walls except for
the little ones on the back building facing
the hutong which, as we said before, are
small and located on the upper part of the
wall (see figure 14 a) b)).
14 a) Small windows on the upper part of the wall
If the family was rich or more important,
they often added more courtyards and the
process of passing through a threshold
became more intricate.A small siheyuan
may be about 120 square meters, while big
ones might easily be ten times larger (see
figure 15 a) b)).
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
14 b) Detail of a window
interesting characteristic or distinguishing
feature of these hutong, which vary in
width from 60 centimeters to five or six
meters and in length from 50 meters to four
or 500 meters, is that they are alleys
bordered by blind walls.
People living in the siheyuan as well as the
passers-by cannot see each other, due to the
tall exterior walls. Formerly there used to
be a gate at both ends of the hutong; these
gates were called zha Ian. In order to
interact with other people, one must go out
of the hutong to a bigger street where there
normally are stores, markets and streetsellers, and where the majority of the urban
traffic circulates. People used the hutong
for the express purpose of reaching one's
house.
15 a) Small courtyard houses
3.3
Importance
of a
sense
of
infiniteness, details, and miniature.
15 b) A large courtyard house
16
The neighborhood of this type of house
forms lanes called hutong15. A very
15 - We should note here that often the exterior
walls are not party-walls and there is between them
a narrow paasageway less than one meter wide
called geng dao where the crier used to walk to call
out to the people the time of the day.
Part three
In order to explain my points in this section
of my thesis I will use some wood
engravings from the "Ming Kan Xi Xiang
Ji Quan Tu". This book is not a book on
Chinese architecture or on housing. Some
of these illustrations show very well what I
want to point out.
The sense of infiniteness
The fact that the deployment of the Chinese
house is done by pavilions that are
separated from each other by a void helps
to give the viewer a sense of vastness.
These openings between the pavilions give
a sense of depth to the whole compound.
The solid (the pavilion) does not exist
without the void annexed to it. If we look
at some of the illustrations inserted in this
section we see that the space where the
people stand is never shown as being
completely indoors or outdoors. The artist
shows always part of the inside (that is
often widely open) viewed from the
outside. We then see part of the veranda or
the gallery and the adjacent courtyard.
Inside the enclosed walls the wild nature is
reproduced. The rockeries in the courtyard
often reflect a real landscape. The plants are
used to suggest the larger natural world. In
addition the screen wall inside the pavilion
represents nature. In these layers of false
and true images, the mind of the viewer is
"travelling". To the contrary of what one
may think, the courtyards are never very
vast. What gives the sense of infiniteness
is a succession and juxtaposition of
relatively small open spaces.
Even today, in some well kept courtyards
the little "ludi" (small gardens in the
corners of the courtyard) help to give this
feeling of depth (see figure 24).
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
The details and miniature
As we can see in the drawings, doors,
window panels, walls, roofs and floors are
all very detailed elements. The structure of
the galleries, the motifs of the doors and the
windows are as much occasions for the
eyes to escape, to find another world.
detail, and you will see how the detail
increases an object's stature"16.
"Thus the minuscule, a narrow gate, opens
up an entire world. The details of a thing
can be the sign of a new world which like
all worlds, contains the attributes of the
greatness. The miniature is one of the
refuges of the greatness." 17
21
In the Poetic of Space, Gaston Bachelard
makes some interesting observations about
details and miniature.
"The miniature deploys to the dimensions
of a universe. Once more, large is
contained in small." 18
22
20
"Reader, study the periwinkle (a plant) in
16 - The Poetics of Space, Gaston Bachelard
p.155, Paris 1957.
17 - ibid, p.155.
18- ibid, p.157.
Part three
In almost all the wood-prints trees, plants
or bamboo are present to show that the
inside of the courtyard must recreate the
outside world, in the sense that it must be
self-contained.
In Rolf Stein's "Jardins en miniature
d'Extreme-Orient" he wrote: "These
characteristics are the same as those of the
Antique Chinese house: a hole in the roof
through which the light and the rain
penetrate and to which the smoke of the
central foyer [heart] rises; central puisard
[cesspool] through which the waters flows
out. But this conception of the house is
exactly the image of the universe: a celestial
opening from which lightning bolts escape,
bourbier [quagmire] of the world which
communicate with the yellow sources." 19
3.4 Exploration
of principles of
deployment
In this part we will try to understand the
deployment of the traditional compound
and see how such living space could have
been created. From the preceding part
(3.2) we will choose a set of physical
elements that we believe are the most
determinant for the creation of the
siheyuan.
The deployment of a house:
elements versus spaces in the lot
The elements
S...........
24
Tt~iJ
19- Jardins en miniature d'Extr8mes-Orient, Rolf
Stein, Paris 192?
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
Let us present the most important elements
that will form spaces in the courtyard house
deployment.
1. The first one, the wall, is probably the
first one to be erected. The wall is never
structural. There are four categories of
walls.
a- The wall that surrounds the compound.
This wall has an average height of three
meters. There are no windows pierced
in this wall (see figure 25). Normally
we found only one major entry (and
sometime a secondary).
c- The walls that divide the different
courtyards. These walls are always
pierced by doorways that allow a
communication between the two
courtyards (see figure 27).
27 Walls dividing different courtyards
d- The windowed walls. These walls close
the indoor space formed by the walls B
(see figure 28). These walls are always
oriented toward the center of the
courtyard.
2 5 The surrounding wall
b- The walls that enclose the indoor spaces.
These walls form the pavilions. They
are normally on three adjacent sides (see
figure 26) and do not have important
openings.
2 8 A windowed wall
11
2 6 Walls of pavilions
Part three
2 The columns, the beams, and the
roofs versus the space created.
30 a) The gallery between the pavilions
r
.6 -
A
30 b) A section
.I
29 Columns, beams, and roofs delineating indoor
and semi-enclosed spaces
The columns, beams, and roofs as shown
in figure 29 are delineating indoor spaces or
pavilions (A being the main rooms) and
some semi-enclosed and covered spaces (B
being the verandas). The roof is the most
visible element. It is supported by the
columns and the beams assembled without
any triangulation.
Smaller scale agglomeration of elements
will form the galleries that will link the
pavilion together (see figures 30 a), and 30
b)).
3. The doorways as links between
spaces
a- The main entrance, the largest doorway.
It separates the public from the private.
This doorway always has a roof. Often
the structure of the doorway creates its
own hall that is used as an intermediary
space (see figure 31).
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
f
-C
figure 33).
3 3 Other doorways
31 The main entrance
b- The doorway in between the main
courtyard and the first one (the Chui
hua men gate). This doorway is built in
the wall that divide two outdoor spaces
(see figure 32). This doorway is
always located in front of the main
pavilion.
The spaces
The indoor spaces = pavilions.
We distinguish four kinds of indoor
spaces.
a- The main pavilions and the lateral
pavilions. They have the standard shape
(see figure 34).
3 4 The main pavilions
b- The ear pavilions. These pavilions are
located on one or both sides of a major
pavilion (see figure 35).
3 2 The Chui Hua Men
3 5 The ear pavilion
c- The doorways in the wall dividing the
main courtyard and a lateral courtyard or
between a garden and a courtyard (see
c- Long and narrow pavilions. These
pavilions have the full width of the lot
and are normally located at both ends
Part three
(north and south) of the lot (see figure
36).
- -
-
-
-
-
Semi-outdoor and outdoor covered
spaces
a- The veranda, in front if the major
pavilions.(see figure 39)
3 6 Long and narrow pavilions
d- Transparent pavilions. These pavilions
are opened on two opposed sides.
These pavilions are most of the time
located in the north-south axis (see
figure 37).
They are called hall or reception
pavilions, and are open to two
courtyards (see plan figure 38).
3 9 Veranda in front of the major pavilions
b- The gallery, around the main courtyard,
in between the major pavilions (see
figure 40)
3 7 Transparent pavilions
Except for the transparent pavilions that
might sometimes be two rooms deep, the
rest of the pavilions are always only one
room deep.
4 0 Gallery
Outdoor spaces; the courtyards
3 8 Location on plan
a- The main courtyards the square shaped
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods inBeijing
(see figure 43).
ones.
1- The courtyards that are enclosed by
three pavilions and a wall (see figure
41).
43
2-The courtyards enclosed by a pavilion
and three walls (two parts of the
surrounding wall and a wall separating
two courtyards) (see figure 44).
2-The courtyards that are enclosed by
four pavilions (see figure 42).
I-
.LI
'-?
I
c- The tertiary courtyards
1- The small courtyard located in the
corners enclosed by two pavilions (a ear
pavilion and the lateral side of a wing
pavilion), a wall (part of the surrounding
wall) and a gallery (see figure 45).
42
b- The secondary courtyards, long and
narrow.
1-The courtyards enclosed by two
pavilions (the facade of one pavilion and
the back of another one) and two walls
(normally part of the surrounding
w a l l s ) .
Em
45
Part three
2- The small courtyards in between a
wall (the wall dividing two courtyards)
two pavilions (the facade of the ear
pavilion and the lateral side of a wing
pavilion and a gallery (see figure 46).
2- a symmetric composition along the
north-south axis (see figure 48)
The principal characteristics of the
basic unit (set of elements/spaces)
To understand the deployment of the
courtyard house we take a "model" that we
call here our basic unit. The purpose of
choosing a basic unit that is composed of
arrangements of elements and spaces is to
understand how the compounds are laid out
in the block. We define a basic unit as,
1- an enclosure. Whatever the shape is,
big or small the compound will always
be surrounded by a wall (see figure #7
a) and photo from the Qian Long Ditu
map, figure 47 b)).
47 a)
47 b)
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
3- a set of elements/spaces composed of
four(4) pavilions
lowest will be the least important. The
closer the pavilions are from the public
space, the less private they are. The
deeper in the compound, the more
private they will be (see figure 52).
enclosing a
courtyard (see figure 49).
52
4- an introverted space. There will be no
opening toward the outside, all pavilions
will be opened toward the center (see
figure 50).
7- an equilibrium between indoor and
outdoor spaces will be respected (see
examples figure 53).
71
50
5- the south is the preferred orientation
(buildings looking south will be more
important) (see figure 51).
E~I
Enu I
10,N
OuK
53
8- all pavilions will be one story and built
on a platform (high and low) (see
figure 54).
6- a hierarchical structure. The highest
building will be the most important, the
Part three
Forming the basic unit
north.
Figure 55 illustrates the arrangement of the
deployment of pavilions in the basic unit,
from its first component (the surrounding
wall) to the complete unit, with four
pavilions.
The second line shows enclosures with two
pavilions. The first three alternatives have
one pavilion oriented toward the south with
a second either on the west, the east or the
south side. The last alternative in this line
is an enclosure with no pavilion built on the
north side (oriented to the south) so that the
two pavilions face each other on the eastwest axis.
rI El
Nm
HM1
aen
55
After the surrounding wall is erected, the
first pavilion is built with a southern
orientation. In figure 55, the top line
presents the four possibilities of enclosures
with one pavilion per enclosure. The
leftmost design -- the one with its pavilion
facing south -- is the most preferred. The
other alternatives for that first pavilion
locate it either on the east or on the west
side. The least preferred design locates its
pavilion on the south side, open toward the
The best alternative using three pavilions
shown on the third line, locates one
pavilion on the north side and one pavilion
on each of the east and west sides. The
two second-best alternatives would locate
one pavilion on the north, one on the south,
and one either on the west or on the east.
While the least desirable alternative for a
two
three-pavilion compound has
pavilions, on the east and west sides, and
one on the south (open toward the north),
with no pavilion facing south.
The last line shows the optimum: an
enclosure with four pavilions.
Let's see an arrangement of a basic
unit in the block.
If there are two basic units, the first
alternative will appear as shown in figure
56.
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
south axis, figures 58, 59, and 60 show
where the supplementary unit will be
added.
56
The north-south axis is the preferred one
for the deployment, if that deployment is
not possible then it will occur along the
east-west axis (see figure 57).
EM EM
I
tUM
I
IM
MMEIM
M
I
MH
3
UM
I W
ffma
F7
N
57
It is important to note that if the basic unit is
doubled along the north-south axis, one of
the two pavilions in the middle will be
eliminated, though often this middle
pavilion will be two rooms deep (a hall or
reception pavilion). In other cases the
middle pavilion may be completely
eliminated and replaced by a wall.
If a unit is added on either the east or west
side, none of the pavilions disappear, and
each of them is oriented toward its
respective courtyard.
3
a
60
Again the least desirable possibility will be
three units along the east-west axis (see
figure 61).
FMMni
MM
M
E2.E
If one more basic unit is added, to form an
agglomeration of three basic units, the
preferred place will be along the north-
61
A four-unit deployment along the north-
Part three
south axis appears to be the limit on length,
because that equals the width of a standard
block in Beijing (see figure 62).
J -
O
LAMOL
From then on the deployment will progress
on either or both sides, (east or west) (see
figure 63).
3.5 A brief history of the city's
patterns
Beijing's contemporary urban tissue is her
direct heritage from the last dynasties,
Ming and Qing (1368-1911).
The
indirect, more subtle heritage -- or
influences of earlier dynasties -- is also
63
L.AN41
Then the width of a lot is equivalent to
about one (1) open (courtyard) + two (2)
built (pavilions). And the width of a
block is about four (4) open (courtyards)
+ five (5) built A (pavilions) (see figure 64.
evident (see figure 65). The Ming and
Qing city site is itself an adaptation of the
site of the Yuan dynasty's Dadu (12711368) (see figure 66). Dadu ( Great
Capital) was similarly built on the site of
the former Daning 'Great Tranquility'
Palace, an Imperial retreat used by the Jin
Emperor whose capital city was Zhongdu
(1153-1279) (see figure 67).
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
Zhongdu was located in the southwest area
of modem Beijing (and of the Daning
Palace) (see figure 68). Zhongdu was the
last and largest pre-modem city built on that
old location, succeeding Yenjing (early
Jin 1125-1153) and Xijing Fu of the
Liao Dynasty (907-1125).
It is from these former cities that Beijing
inherited its oldest streets, located in the
southwest area of the modem outer city
(see part 4.5).
Around A.D. 1284 the population of
Zhongdu started officially to move to
Dadu (see figure 69). At that time the two
urban tissues coexisted side by side. Some
people, too poor, could not move to Dadu
and stayed in Zhongdu; and what once
had been the most prosperous part was
never really deserted (see figure 70).
Part three
Da-ning Palace
OAOU
CITY)I
city walls of Dadu) been very populated.
When the Ming took over the Yuan Dadu,
they slightly modified the layout of the city,
keeping the east and west city walls as they
were but building a new north wall about
2.5 km south of Dadu's former northern
earth wall; they also rebuilt both the south
city wall and the Emperor's palace a little to
the south.
68
70 Beijing 1420 - 1553
The present Chang An boulevard is located
on the site of the south wall of Yuan Dadu
(see part 4.5).
6 9 Dadu 1285-1368,
Inversely, the northern part of the capital
city Dadu had never (while enclosed by the
The street patterns of Dadu followed the
former patterns of Zhongdu. Around
1553, the outside, southern part of Beijing
-- which included the former northeastern
part of Zhongdu, some workshop areas
with workers' living quarters (on the east
side), and the Temple of Heaven and Altar
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
of Mountain and River -- was surrounded
by a city wall and became the actual outer
city or Chinese City (see figure 71).
71
cross wise, thus forming a checkered street
pattern. On the left (east) side an Emperial
Ancestral Temple was built, and on the
right (west) there was a national altar
consecrated to the gods of soil and grain.
Beijing 1553 - 1750
The area enclosed by the walls could be
inhabited by more people than the
population actually living intra muro.
Therefore, in case of emergency, attack of
enemies, or natural catastrophes, the
surrounding population could be protected
within the city walls.
In general, the planning of Ming Qing
Beijing followed the principles of the ideal
Chinese City, as did (partially) Dadu and
the other cities (see figure 72). In
summation, the principles can be described
as follows. The capital city was a square
with each side nine "ii" long, containing
three city gates. Nine roads ran cross wise,
with nine similar roads running counter
7 2 Ming Qing Beijing
In the front (south), stood the Emperor's
administration building along with his
official residence, in the rear (north) was
the commercial center. The Emperor's
court buildings (the Forbidden City)
formed its heart as the center of the
Universe (see figure 73).
How was the Ming Qing Beijing at the
beginning of this century? Before the
changes influenced by the western world,
before the input of the industrial revolution,
before the coming of cars and tramways,
and so forth. The city was composed of
the inner (or Tartar) city and the outer (or
Chinese) city (see figure 74). The Tartar
Part three
city was enclosed by a wall, with two gates
on each of the northern, eastern and
western sides, and three on the southern
side.
cluster as was each individual house. The
urban tissue was an agglomeration of
clusters big and small containing other
smaller clusters or contained within bigger.
The large streets and avenues enclosed
smaller lanes called hutong (see figure 76).
7 3 the principles
75 the major streets
7 4 inner and outer city
The Chinese city adjacent to this southern
wall had one gate on each side just by the
exterior corner of the Tartar city, one on
each side,east and west, and three gates on
its southern wall. In the center of the inner
city, the Imperial city was surrounded by a
wall, and in the core, also enclosed by a
wall, was the Forbidden city -the Emperor
Palace (see figure 75). In the city the major
buildings or groups of buildings were in a
68
76
vel
zew e L
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
step alleys. These alleys were always in
east-west direction (see figure 77).
2
I
I
I
H57
'V ig'ILL
I
7I
=4~
4' e.ve.L
76 levels of hierarchy (the neighborhood shown
corresponds to shaded area in figure 75)
44SIeM
50
8Acres
44
+6
The wards and the blocks
We have seen in the part 3.4 how the
houses could be deployed in a lot and
within a block. Let's see now how the
blocks were planned. If the houses and
their deployment were under the control of
each owner, the division of the entire city
into wards and blocks was under the
control of the city authority. We saw that
Ming Qing Beijing inherited most of its
urban tissue from the Yuan Dadu, in
which "The main streets divided the city
into rectangular wards...Each ward was
divided into long and narrow blocks by six
77 the ward divisions
The land on each block was further divided
into 44-steps by 44-steps square. The area
of the square was eight Chinese acres, and
was considered to be possessed by one
owner. However, most people could not
afford to own such a large piece of land.
Thus, each square was further divided into
Part three
smaller lots to meet the needs of different
residents. We can still identify those
squares and sub-divisions from some of the
courtyard houses remaining today" 20 (see
figure 78).
integrally, as a house has its details and
furniture. These elements were the Pailou
(or archways and gateways) (see figure
80),
IA&
78 A Oing Dynasty courtyard complex surveyed in
1982
City-scale elements
The gates of the city were directly
connected to its main arteries of the city
(see figure 79).
80 Pailou
the Zhalan (the doorways at the entrance of
the hutong) and the towers such as the
Drum and Bell towers (see figures 81).
79
The city had its own city-scale elements, or
details, and urban furniture linked
20 - Ming-chorng Hwang, A study of Urban
Form in 18th Century Beijing, p.31.
Thesis,1985, MIT, Cambridge.
81 the Bell tower
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
They were associated with the street,
avenue and hutong patterns and were the
third dimensions of the urban tissue; the
elements that linked the surrounding wall,
the gates, and the compounds. Were
mostly located in the city's strategic points
and were important landmarks. The Bell
and the Drum towers gave the time and
signaled the fires respectively to the people
in the city. The Pailou defined some
important street junctions and entrances of
special streets or sections of streets. They
also indicated the location of important
compounds. The Pailou framed the view
of a street and in that way changed the
perception one had of the street and of the
entire urban tissue. They had no real
function by today's standards, but they
were symbols reminding people of the
significance of the place where they stood.
The Pailou were very elaborate and
detailed structures that gave another
dimension to the street. The detailing of
these urban structures were similar to the
detailing of the gallery structures inside the
courtyard house itself. Details, as Gaston
Bachelard 21 pointed out are worlds in
themselves. The entrance gate was the
major element that linked the courtyard
house to the hutong and signaled the the
presence of the house. The doorway was
the "window to the world". Often, the more
luxurious compounds had a wall facing the
doorway, on the opposite side of the
21 - Gaston Bachelard, La Podtique de l'Espace.
Paris 1957.
hutong. The space in between, though
still public, would be associated with the
house and have a special meaning. One
side of the lane was linked to the other side.
Doorways never faced one another. There
was a continuity between the lane and the
block.
"Closable" city
We may say that Beijing was a "closable"
city, that is, it was built out of a series of
different sizes of clusters that could be
closed at any moment. Composed of the
agglomeration of introverted elements,
these clusters were linked to each other by
the bustling street activities. At night for
instance the Zhalan were closed: as a result
small groups of blocks were separated from
the rest of the city and formed larger
blocks. For centuries the city gates were
guarded during the day and closed at night.
The enclosure permitted different activities
to take place side by side without one group
(or activity) disturbing the other. The street
activity could be crowded and noisy
without disturbing the inside life of the
neighboring siheyuan or temples.
Street life
The
introverted
compounds
were
independent and did not "control" the street
activities. All the public space surrounding
Part dree
the clusters was considered one area (see
figure 82 a) and b)). Any activities going
on in shops, stands, markets, fairs, were
oriented toward the streets. If we look at
stands all sharing the public space. The
streets were used not only for
transportation but also for exchange of
goods, ideas, and services. The public
space was a communication ground.
the physiognomy of the old shop in Beijing
(see figure 83 a),83 b), and 83 c)), we note
that most of the shops were widely open to
the street.
83 a);old Beijing shop
82 a) the public space
.i4
82 b); a diagram of fig.#82 a)
Shops, street stands, mobile street-seller
83 b) old Beijing shop
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
Before the twentieth century, vehicles did
not disturb this communication; people
walked, rode horses, and drove carts pulled
donkeys or horses (see figure 84).
centuries old.
Though sometimes the
appearance has changed, the patterns -- the
essential matter -- remained fundamentally
the same.
A~ t
-
8 5 sale of Guo-guo
83 c) old Beijing shop
Even when cities change in form, the
people, their daily needs and their basic
activities are constant. Because new is
created from old there is something
powerful in the familiar that must be
respected.
84 a street, near D Sheng Men, in Beijing in
1920
Beijing has a long history of street life.
Some of these activities, like the sales of
Guo-guo (kind of grass-hoppers) (see
figure 85) or that of hun dun soup are
Part four
4.
THE CONTEMPORARY
4.1 What are the "additions"?
ADDITIONS
Social changes brought physical
transformations in the built environment.
The long and very homogeneous
development of the traditional courtyard
houses was broken. We cannot in this
thesis write too much about this rupture.
But it is sure that these changes were
neither quick nor brutal. The coming of
foreigners to China, especially after the
European industrial revolution (circa the
end of the nineteen century), had an
important impact. The social structure was
weakened, and the last dynasty was about
to fall 22 . New ideas were in the air. The
social body was changing. And this had to
influenced the built environment.
Poverty made it difficult for a family to
build its own courtyard house. People
commonly shared courtyards and rented out
rooms or pavilions. This type of sharing
began before the Liberation and went on
increasing during the sixties and seventies.
New constructions, called here additions,
were then erected in order to provide more
indoor space within available land. In
order to grow, the traditional courtyard
house required more land (see part 3.4).
This growth was done with an equilibrium
between indoor and outdoor space, that is
void and built space. On the other hand
additions had to be deployed within
22 - We know that the last dynasty, the Qing,
felt in 1911.
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
existing boundary.
4.2 Kinds of additions, sequence of
erection, and deployment.
The difference between the pavilions and
the additions is not only in the position but
also in the materials and the method of
building used.
In the preceding chapter, we introduced the
traditional pavilion and the way it was built.
Additions are made of different materials,
and more importantly, the materials are
fixed together in different configurations.
The techniques of construction are
different. Some new materials have
appeared. Cement, corrugated metal
sheets, tar roof paper, red bricks (as
opposed to grey ones) have become more
common. Wood has become more rare and
unaffordable. All building materials have
become difficult to buy, not only because
they are expensive but also because they are
impossible to find. Retail sales are very
rare because the building material industry
is largely under the state control. It is for
these reasons that in most courtyards today,
there are piles of second hand bricks and
planks of wood. Most families keep all
these materials in order to be able to build
other additions for sons or daughters who
will soon be married and will not be able to
get an apartment. The additions are built to
be inhabited for short periods of time,
while the occupants wait for an apartment
in the new housing projects. But these
periods of time may turn out to be years.
We will describe these additions starting
from the earliest moving to the most recent
ones erected. Our enumeration follows the
usual deployments but does not necessarily
reflect all cases.
4.2.1
Small
additions
in
the
corners.
The least utilized corners were the
appropriate spots to build additional
shelters. The first additions were generally
built in the free corners or ends of the least
important courtyards. There were the
closest to the street and the least private (see
figure 86).
More additions of this kind were built
gradually in the other corners of the inner
courtyards. Each courtyard was an
introverted space. The importance of space
in such arrangement increased from the
periphery to the center. The most valuable
area was the center (see figure 87). It is
therefore understandable that the void
spaces at the periphery were filled first.
Most of the "Gardens Under the Dew", that
is, the small gardens in the corners, became
partially or completely occupied by small
constructions (see figure 88 a),drawing and
photo figure 88 b) and c)). In some cases
pavilions were built in the corners of the
first or the third courtyard.
Part four
88 a) small construction in the comers
8 6 first additions to be built
88 b)
fr..
87 peripheral voids
W\
88 c) the dark part on the sketch shows an
addition built exactly where the ludi, "The Garden
Under the Dew", was.
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
4.2.2
Closing
of
galleries
A,
and
verandas
Other construction done at the periphery of
the courtyards were transformations of
existing pavilions. For instance, the
galleries connecting one pavilion to the
adjacent (see part 3) were closed. This
closing provided more indoor space.
89 b) a closed gallery
89 a) cross-hatched areas are verandas or galleries
that might be closed
These indoor spaces were not directly
linked with any other indoor spaces. They
are usually narrow (the width of a gallery,
four or five feet and were normally used for
storage (see figures 89 a), and 89 b). The
verandas were also closed in many cases.
This modification occurred particularly
within the main pavilion, because its
veranda was bigger, and its closing
provided more indoor space (see figure
90).
9 0 the closing of the main pavilion's veranda
Part four
4.2.3 Additions built against walls
(but not in the corners).
With all additions, the objective was to
minimize the use of material. Obviously,
one of the easiest existing elements to
incorporate into new constructions was the
wall. We saw that the additions erected in
the corners used already existing walls -either a pavilion's lateral wall and/or part of
the surrounding wall. Some of the
additions actually used the wall separating
the first court from the second one (see
figure 92 a), b) and c)). These additions
also followed the "implicit rule" that
peripheral space was used first, and central
space was kept.
91 a) b) c) (the shaded areas shown additions)
This picture is taken from the north-eastern corner
of the main courtyard. The doorway we see in the
back- is the Chui Hua Men "The Hanging Flowers
Gate" separating the main courtyard from the one in
the front. The galleries on each side of the gate
have been closed by the construction of shelters (
on the rear left of the picture). The shelter in the
middle of the picture was built in front of the
traditional lateral pavilion on the west side.
One window is opened on the north facade and
another on the east facade. The door faces the
lateral pavilion's facade, forming in between a
territory for the people who live there. The rest of
the central courtyard has been appropriated by
different residents of this courtyard.
92 b) a plan
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
-~
92 c)
93 a) additions in front of the lateral pavilions
(xiang fang)
4.2.4 Additions in front of existing
pavilions.
The dao zuo fang pavilions, the huo zhao
fang pavilions, the xiang fang pavilions
and the zheng fang pavilions are those in
front of which pavilions additions were
most commonly added.
Most commonly this kind of extension was
added in front of the xiang fang (lateral)
pavilions. The xiang fang pavilions are
always located in a larger courtyard,
usually a square one. The construction of
an extension in front of this pavilion still
left some space in the courtyard. It was rare
to see additions in front of both lateral
pavilions. Also, these extensions were
constructed either on one side of the
entrance, on the other, or on both, but
rarely was an extension added along the full
width of the pavilion (see figure 93 a), 93
b), and 93 c)).
93 b) plan
KOYK
93 c) on either side, but never on the full width
Part four
The dao zuo fang pavilion and the hou
zhaofang pavilion were located in the first
courtyard and the third courtyard
respectively.
Both courtyards were
narrow, and allowed for fewer extensions
than the main courtyards. The construction
of additions in front of the pavilion in these
courtyards normally happened later in the
process of transformation (see figure 94).
independent from other elements--buildings
or walls. Most of these shelters were not
demolished after the earth-quake. Instead,
the building of these additions in the center
was the beginning of a new pattern. Since
then, many additions have been built in the
center of the courtyards. It became an
alternative to the additions built in front of
the lateral pavilions. The arrangement of
additions in the center of the courtyards
ranged from one addition that left the whole
space relatively free to many additions
which filled the courtyard. And almost all
of them were integrated parts of a family's
space (see figures 95 a) and 95 b)).
9 4 additions in front of the dao zuo fang or the huo
zhao fang
After the building of these additions, the
left-over space was sometimes reduced to a
simple passageway (see territories in part
4.3).
95 a) one addition in the center
4.2.5 Additions in the center
The construction of additions in the center
of the courtyard is said to have started in
1976. In fact, during the summer of that
year, there was an earth-quake in Tang
shan near Beijing. Some people afraid that
their houses would collapse, started
building small light shelters that were
95 b) several additions in the center
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
96 Sometimes, the center courtyard is packed with
additions. In this picture (see figure 96) the
courtyard in front of the traditional main pavilion
shown at the back of the picture (with the roof
covered with the curved tiles) contains three
shelters. The one in the middle is part of the space
occupied by the people who live in the main
pavilion. The center of the picture is a semi-public
space (like a passage for example) that leads to
some dwellings situated in the back.
traditional pavilion was built would not
easily permit the erection of a second story.
Finally and probably also a very important
reason is that such transformations were
more expensive. On a more permanent
base, we could imagine second stories
would be built more frequently.
The only vertical additions are the
skylights. We find a wide variety of them
all over the neighborhoods of siheyuan
(see figure 97). They are normally built to
give light to a pavilion (and sometimes to
an addition) that would not receive light
otherwise. This is the case in very
crowded courtyard completely filled with
additions.
4r..'-'t
\
041
4.2.6 "Building up" additions
There are actually no additions (informally
built by laymen) to my knowledge, higher
that one story. In the settlement of
courtyard houses in Beijing, the only two
story pavilions were found along the main
commercial avenues23.
Why have the additions or extensions
always stayed one story high? From my
point of view, there are different
explanations for that. First, traditionally
people were not allowed to build any
building that would have a view over the
Forbidden City. Also the way the
23 - see MIT thesis by Hwang on the Complete
Map of Beijing (QianLong Ditu).
97 a) Two skylights built on top of relatively newly
built rooms. Often this way of receiving light and
ventilation is the only one possible. it is often very
efficient for kitchens that have been surrounded by
other rooms.
97 b)
Part four
4.2.7
97 c) section
Extension
outside
the
compound
When inward extensions are impossible to
build by the people living in the peripheral
zones adjacent to the public space, the
extensions then are constructed toward the
outside, toward the lane (see figure 99). In
most cases windows will be opened in the
exterior facade of the dao zuo fang
pavilion, that is, open onto the hutong.
But as an indispensable element if openings
are pierced toward the public space, a wall
will be erected just in front of the pavilion.
9 9 addition in the hutong
9 8 Just in the link between a gallery and a pavilion,
a small shelter has been built. A part of the gallery
has been closed. The inside room of the pavilion
became too dark and a sky-light has been added on
the roof.
As the public space was never very large
and could have not allowed big extensions,
these courtyards extended into the lanes
were usually quite narrow. Most of them
did not exceed two meters, even though
the walls are easily more than two meters
high. Sometimes the entrance will be
directly on the street and a small gate will
be pierced in the wall. Other times, the
entrance will remain as it was, that is,
through the main gateway and the first
courtyard (see figures 100 a) and b)). In
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
these cases the extension is the extension of
a void that surround the wall.
Sometimes a wall will also be erected in
front of a pavilion that used to be a
commercial building and is now used for
housing. This is more common in the outer
city, around Dazhalan.
it will be a built extensions. The size of
these additions is usually also small, due to
the same reasons as the narrowness of the
courtyard added toward the outside (see
figure 101). If no wall is erected, small
windows if any are located on the higher
level of the addition's wall (see fig.102).
101 addition and wall added in the hutong
It is important to note that in any of these
outward extensions the compound is
preserving its enclosed characteristic.
100 a) void and wall added inthe hutong
100 b) section
Additions can also be built on the outside
periphery of the siheyuan. In these cases
102 addition (on the left hand side of the picture)
and void added in the hutong
The narrowness of the hutong directly
influences the size of the courtyard built in
the public space, but the reason for the
construction of a high wall is not this
Part four
narrowness of the street (in fact the
neighbor's courtyards in front are also
looking inward). The preservation of the
enclosure, the physical and strong
separation between the public and the
private, between the crowded and less
crowded are the real needs that these walls
protect.
another, and the pavilions enclosed a
courtyard. The pavilions and the courtyards
in the siheyuan were like the rooms in a
house. They were occupied by different
generations and different activities took
place in them.
If we look at figures 103 and 104, we see
that 103 represents a plan of a typical
courtyard house.
4.3 The territories and the levels of
hierarchy.
In this part we will examine how the
traditional compounds with the additions
are divided currently. Many families are
now sharing the space that was traditionally
designed for one large extended family. In
the preceding chapter we saw that the
traditional compound was under the control
of one power, that is a large extended
family led by the patriarch. Everything
was enclosed within the surrounding walls
103
-- this enclosed space was only one
territory. There was a very precise
hierarchy between courtyards and pavilions
(see diagram in part 3). Most open spaces
were shared and used by everyone living in
the whole compound. Only one major door
would give access to the whole courtyard
house. But sometimes when the courtyard
occupied a lot that covered the width
between two hutong, we might have found
a back door on the northern wall of the lot.
All pavilions were separated from one
KJ
104
Here the black zones are the pavilions. If
the whole compound was owned by one
family this was then only one large territory
(see Ta in figure 104). If rooms were
rented out to other people, the territories Tb
were included into Ta. Then part of Ta was
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
a public space shared by the people who
rent the pavilion and the owner of the
siheyuan (see figure 105, figure 106 is a
diagram representing the same thing.
more layer is added to the territorial depth
(as in the traditional case where rooms or
pavilions were rented out).
IFmame-17i
107
105
108
106
If more pavilions were rented out, the
public space of Ta would be bigger
(because all powers of Tb would have to
share a part of Ta) and more territories Th
were added (see figures 107 and 108). The
public space in the courtyard was shared by
everyone in the large family.
From 1949 on, a large number of siheyuan
became State properties. The courtyard
houses were divided among many families.
Different divisions happened, the most
common case is the following: there is still
only one access to the compound, and one
The original public space (T.a) has
diminished greatly in area. And the private
territories (T.c) now have their own public
space (T.b) (see figures 109 and 110).
A second case, also quite common, is the
division of the courtyard into several
independent entities. The plan of figure
111 show what may often happen, when
the location and the shape of the original
courtyard allowed it. In figure 111 , the
east side of the courtyard must open onto a
street or a hutong in order to allow the
openings.
Part four
-
~bIIC.
SL
0 1CV
1 09
pavilions and additions, public space of
each family territory,
public space of the entire
compound
110
One door has been pierced to enter directly
into the second courtyard and a second new
door has been pierced to give access to the
third courtyard.
112
Figure 112 is the diagram representing this
situation. While the plan of figure 113, is
the case of a courtyard that is open on only
one side to the hutong, two more doors
have been pierced in that wall. Here the
first courtyard has been divided into three
parts. After entering the middle gate,
which is the original gate, a wall has been
erected on each side of a walkway leading
to the second courtyard and then on to the
third courtyard. On the left side of the first
gate another gate has been opened and
gives access to a portion of this first
courtyard. A third gate has been opened on
the right hand side of the original gate.
This one gives access to the right portion of
the first courtyard and a portion of the
second courtyard. If the walls that
surround the territory Ta are very clear
limits, the limits between Ta and Th, with
all the additions that have been made, are
often very subtle (see figure 109). Most of
the time, no physical barriers, such as a
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods inBeijing
wall or a fence will be erected. These
territories are divided among all the people
sharing the courtyard, according to their
original location and their needs for
expansion. The limits of territories can be
as follows: a wall can be the limit of the
whole compound, it can also be the limit of
one's private territory (see figure 113).
114
113
i
But we must also note that a wall and a gate
(like the wall and the Chui Hua Men gate
dividing the first from the second
courtyard) may still remain in between two
courtyards and not be a territorial division.
The pavilions' walls are sometimes
territorial divisions but not always. In fact
the walls of the pavilions belong to the
territory Ta and most of the additions
belong to the family territories Tb which
can be represented as follows (see figure
114).
This is of course the case for the courtyard
houses that belong to the State. People are
not normally allowed to demolish or
transform the buildings they occupy, at
least without authorization, while the
additions that have been built, most of the
time, with second hand materials are under
their control.
The courtyard houses have been gradually
(over time) divided between different
families, each family use to occupy one or
two pavilions. And from then on the
territory of this separate family would
grow. The space in between two pavilions
belonging to the same family would then be
controlled by it. The space in front of one
pavilion would, to a certain extent be
controlled by this family. Additions were
then erected on these spaces. The limits
between the different territories are marked
by the appropriation of the space. People
use the space and leave objects around;
bikes, washing basins, piles of second
hand materials. It is also interesting to note
the quality of things that identify territories.
Part four
A living thing such as a plant shows that
the territory is controlled regularly. A cloth
line is also something very alive, something
that shows. that the owner is present.
While a pile of bricks or a bunch of
wooden planks are dead, though they can
be physically very present they don't show
any constant control.
been in many cases fairly possible to erect a
fence or a wall, nothing as such separates
these territories from the shared public
space into the courtyard. The additions'
windows are open to this shared public
space. Inside the physical enclosure that is
the original siheyuan there is no tendency
to recreate another layer of enclosure. If
more doors are added to the original
compound, and walls built to divide it, this
does not add a layer but divides a big
compound into smaller ones. The territorial
depth remains the same.
115 Familial territory -the addition that we see in
this picture is bult just in front of the main pavilion.
This shelter belongs to the family that inhabits the
main pavilion in front. The space in between both
buildings clearly becomes their territory.
4.4 Introversion and extroversion,
enclosure and miniature.
We should look at the physical form of the
individual territories in the compound
today. The following sketches and photos
show a few different family territories. See
also description of figure 91 and figure
115.
We clearly see that the spaces created are
not introverted. Though it would have
116 This picture shows an addition built in the
center of a courtyard. The addition itself has
windows on two facades that are directed toward
others' territories. The larger window is open to a
part of the former courtyard that is now part of their
territory. The appropriation of space is marked
mainly by plants.
See figure 88; Though there are no walls or fences
separating different familys' territories, the
appropriation of space is very clear. The private
territory in front of the pavilion is filled up with plants.
The walkway is also clearly delineated. The pavilion
in the middle of the picture is the traditional ear
pavilion (er fang). And the hatched and shaded
areas showed on the sketch is an addition built
exactly where the "ludi" (Garden Under the Dew)
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
used to be. The space in between both buildings
becomes their private outdoor space. The space
created is open to the rest of the courtyard.
There are many examples of small
introverted spaces. Some of them used to
be part of bigger courtyards but many of
them have always been separate entities.
The following pictures and sketches show
some of these small introverted spaces (see
figure 117).
We know that walls are normally not
demolished in these neighborhoods of
siheyuan. The clear separation between
the hutong or the street and the private
areas is a major pattern. There seems to be
a size (or number of territories Th) that
allows people not to recreate introverted
space into a bigger one. The block was a
bigger territory divided into several familial
territories (the siheyuan). These siheyuan
were introverted (see figure 118).
/
A
118
The social group living the siheyuan does
not seem big enough to "force" people to
build a small introverted living space in an
already small introverted one, that is the
original compound.
117 examples of small introverted spaces for one
family
One important thing to remember is the
"pavilionnaire" [incremental] aspect of the
additions growth. We know that the
traditional had a "pavilionnaire" growth,
contacts were made from indoor to indoor
through outdoor space. The same thing
Part four
happened in the new divided courtyard, the
additions were like small pavilions one
separated from another. There is no longer
equilibrium between built and void or
indoor and outdoor. There is much more
built than void in the whole compound.
Dynasties' urban tissue ( see figure 119).
7-
Miniature
The idea of miniature is still present today.
Though the courtyards are now very
crowded we can often notice these objects
that tend to reproduce world in miniature.
Bonsais or rockeries, small gardens or fish
tanks are found almost everywhere. People
are still very fond of small potted
landscapes. All these objects, that we
talked about in part 3.3, still have their
reasons of being. They are still very
helpful to relieve the sense of exiguity of
the living quarters.
4.5 The city
transformations vs
house/compound transformations
While all these transformations occurred in
the compounds, the old city formerly
surrounded by the city walls and gates also
underwent transformations.
As we noted from the preceding part (part
3), the actual urban tissue of Beijing is the
direct heritage of the Ming and Qing
agglomeration today
Until recently, very few city-scale (large)
transformations were made in Beijing's
urban tissue were inherited from these last
dynasties. The street patterns in general
and the lane (hutong) patterns have
undergone very little transformations (see
figure 120 a) and b)). We saw in the first
parts of chapter four the courtyard house
transformations, which happened in the
private areas.
Probably one of the biggest changes, and
the first one in the modern era, was the
reconstruction of Qian Men (see figure
121). The reasons for this renewal were
certainly the changes in the means of
transport and especially the installment of
the tramway lines in Beijing. The walls
surrounding the gateyard were demolish
and two big entrances were pierced in the
city wall. Only the inner and outer towers
remained
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
'i---120 a)
1750
Oian Men Gate general plan before
121
reconstruction
But the period between the fall of the Qing
dynasty and 1949 was economically very
difficult, and therefore saw very few
important changes.
120 b) 1981
The gates on the east of the city wall were
all open for the passage of the railway (see
figure 122).
The liberation brought another era of
changes. During the end of the fifties and
the beginning of the sixties, some very
large public works were undertaken, some
of them had and still have great influences
on the urban tissue and more on' the general
aspect of the city. It is of importance to
note that these changes were greatly
influenced by the western industrial
Part four
revolution and by the western world in
general.
.4 O~Fl
the things replaced. Their essence and
background were and are different. One of
the most influential changes was the
destruction of the walls and gates. The city
walls surrounding the inner and the outer
city were completely torn down 24,
123 propostion by Prof. Liang
122 a) Qian Men just before 1949
111L
It is necessary to see what was the meaning
of these walls and gates and what they
represented in the image of the city and for
the citizens. We may say that they were,
for almost a century, "functionally
useless". But they were part of the symbol
of Beijing. The walls and gates were the
real physical limits of the old Beijing,
24 - Some people were at that time opposed to the
destruction of the walls, one of the most famous
opponents was Liang Si cheng, architect and dean
of the Department of architecture at Qing Hua
122 b) actual Oian Men layout
But more specifically influenced by the
Russians who were at that time very much
present in China. The objects (forms) of
replacement were of different origin than
University. One of his counter propositions was to
transform the city walls and gates into a linear park
and rehabilitate the towers and the gates into
museums or cultural centres. The moat around the
walls was to be enlarged and used for transportation
and recreation (see figure 123). It is interesting to
note that the city walls of Xian were preserved and
are now used as Prof. Liang suggested for Beijing.
It is also evident that the fact that the walls were
kept did not jeopardize the development of the city.-
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
reminding us of its past, its history, but
also offering a very clear boundary to the
city territory. They were an appeasing
enclosure (see figure 124), as the
functionally useless fences or walls around
a house often are today.
unknown, i.e. they had the status of
foreign bodies in the old surrounding (see
figure 125).
12 5 .replacing the wall
124 the wall from inside the inner city
Its gates were the thresholds of the city.
They were parts of the whole city network.
Today, only the outer tower of De Sheng
Men (gate), the Qian Men (gate) inner and
outer towers and the southeast corner of the
inner city remain. The rest of the walls
were replaced mainly by ring roads and
boulevards, which in their own way, are
also barriers, no less aggressive but
certainly not as appeasing as the walls
were.
When the Ming replaced the walls of the
Yuan Dadu, they knew and understood
what the walls would be replaced by, the
replaced objects being known and their
effects too. But when the walls were
destroyed in the 50's and 60's, the effects
of the replacement (highways) were
The reaction was as unpredictable as the
entering of a foreign body into the human
organism.
The enlargement of the Tian An Men
Square is also impressive. From the Qing
Dynasty's "T" shaped Imperial Palace, it
has become a vast people's square in front
of Tian An Men. The old place, which was
surrounded by a huge purple wall, has now
become a completely opened square (see
figure 126 a) and b)). It is among the
largest squares in the world. There was no
tradition of such huge open squares in the
history of Chinese city planning 25 . It was
during the reconstruction of the square that
the two sides (east and west) of Chang An
boulevard were extended and widened,
forming a new axis. The location of
Chang An was the former location of the
southern wall of Yuan Dadu that were
demolish by the Ming Dynasty (see part
3.5).
25 -The Russian experience here is not to be
neglected with their Red Square in Moscow.
Part four
the intersections of major streets as the
pailou were, they too frame the view (see
figure 127).
127 overpass
At the blocks level, both ends of the
hutong have lost their small gate; the
zhalan. The hutong became more
accessible. Cars could from then on go
through. But the hutong, due to their
narrowness, succeeded in preserving part
of their character. In fact, the entry of a
hutong viewed from a main street or
avenue is very discreet and subtle.
126 b) new Tian An Men
Contrary to the Chinese traditional axis
which was a south north succession of
gates, towers, courtyards, etc, than would
create an axial whole, ChangAn is now an
open vista on the model of some European
axes.
The pailou (see part 3.5, see figure 80)
were also almost all destroyed, very few of
them remain. Today, the big pedestrian
overpasses have replaced them. Located at
Changes in the street forms
The public space used to be one whole,
without being divided by anything. The
stores and shops during the business hours
were widely open to the streets (see figures
82 and 83). Pailou and zhalan were nonterritorial gates that would divide into
sections the public domain and helped to
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
differentiated it. Every other activities that
were not part of or associated with the
public space were apart in a cluster.
Therefore all living quarters, all religious or
administrative activities were clustered.
streets to separate cars, bicycles, and
pedestrians are harmful.
Today the city has lost many of its layers of
enclosure. The city walls were destroyed.
The imperial city walls underwent the same
faith.
But many are still there and many have
even been built. A lot of large institutions,
universities, hospitals or governmental
complexes have their surrounding walls,
following from the traditional patterns, thus
allowing the inside "desired" atmosphere to
take place. Many of these complexes are
introverted. But most of the new buildings
have, followed the modern international
trends. They are isolated and extroverted
entities., without any link with their
surroundings. Today these extroverted
buildings "look" at the street, they have an
eye on it, control it (see figure 128). We
can't know clearly where their domain
stops, whereas the traditional compound
did not control the outside and left it free
for other activities. Today the streets are
too often just seen as being for circulation
purposes, whereas as before, they are in
reality a lot more than that. The street was
a communication place. The emphasis now
is on circulation, and in the division of
means of transport. Streets as such are
dying. The fences that are put on the
128 a) the new trend
128 b) itcontrols the surroundings
We can't know clearly where their domain
stops, whereas the traditional compound
did not control the outside and left it free
for other activities. Today the streets are
too often just seen as being for circulation
Part four
purposes, whereas as before, they are in
reality a lot more than that. The street was
a communication place. The emphasis now
is on circulation, and in the division of
means of transport. Streets as such are
dying. The fences that are put on the
streets to separate cars, bicycles, and
pedestrians are harmful.
The
communication between both sides of the
street is then impossible. Since interaction
is necessary, streets must be functionally
conflictive; "There should be open conflict
about the use of public spaces" 2 6 The
division of the street into different zones for
cars, bicycles, and pedestrians might be
difficult to avoid, but the installment of
barriers that are impossible to transgress is
not only unnecessary but also jeopardizes
the street activity on both sides. Low
obstacles that are not visually aggressive or
a green space with trees can be as efficient
as the fences without having a negative
effect on the environment. Fences not only
suggest interdiction but literally preclude
the pedestrians from passing from one side
of the street to the other (see figure 129).
The extreme case of division is the elevated
highway in a city, which is a real wound in
the urban tissue. The areas underneath and
around are useless leftovers that are
eventually good only for parking. So there
are two roughly opposed forces, the
intervention of laymen on one side, and the
action of the architects, planners and
26- Oriol Bohigas, Forces, No. 74, p.107,
Summer 1986, Montral.
- --
V-" L
officials on the other.
129 the fences disturb the quality of the street life
We saw that the first tends to recreate
enclosure and respect a certain spatial
hierarchy.
7.n-0
1 3 0 a laymen intervention: a small restaurant open
to the public space
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
Their action on the built environment is in
continuity with tradition, tradition which is
still alive. Their gestures are spontaneous
and implicit (see figure 130). While the
second, much more influenced by western
or foreign ideas, is trying to transform the
city into a "modern" city, following the
international trend. Their gestures are
calculated and explicit
The city is thus becoming more and more
"open" and unfortunately largely
"unclosable", everything is shown and the
high density of population is perceived
easily.
Part five
5. COMMENTS
In the preceding parts we have described a
certain built environment. Only describing
one could say... but describing is taking a
position; selecting, pointing out what we
believe to be important and worth learning
from.
Not everything is shown or written...
Lessons can be learned by looking. Even if
conclusions are clearly written, one must be
prepared to understand them. Parts 1-4
were mainly descriptive. The objects, the
elements, the spaces, the traditions and
fashions described, have been chosen for
calculated, known reasons, but also
intuitively chosen. I often think of Gaston
Bachelard's approach to the materialistic
world and poetry. Reasons that guide
human beings to built a house, to decorate
it, to make it a comfortable home are not all
calculated reasons. "The heart has reasons
that reason knows nothing of."
From what we have seen and learned and
possibly felt about the traditional house's
deployment, the deployment of additions
and the city transformations, we should
now be able, to extract some "lessons".
These lessons can eventually help us to
make future interventions in the renovation
and modernization of traditional
neighborhoods. They that would perhaps
help us to understand a little more what
housing is about.
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods inBeijing
The history of the ways both deployments
have developed over time; the various roles
played by people in these deployments; the
quality of living spaces that existed and
have been created will teach us a lot.
5.1
Differences
between
and
similarities
traditional
would create different configurations and
arrangements. No two courtyard houses
were identical.
If an entrepreneur built a series of identical
courtyard houses (we can see something of
the sort in the Qian Long Ditu map of
Beijing (circa 1750)) and sold them to
individuals afterward, they would not stay
identical for long. People would very
quickly adapt them to their own needs.
contemporary addition deployments
On the dwellers' role (control)
Probably the most important aspect that
both type of deployment share, is the role
taken by the dwellers. They are in fact in
control of their living space. At the lowest
levels these interventions were and are
under the control of thousands of
individuals. Action is decentralized. Over a
given period, they have control of a portion
of the built environment.
In the traditional deployment we saw that
people (in our case the citizens of Beijing)
were sharing a common group of elements:
building materials; the techniques of
construction (developed over hundreds of
years) and a tradition for structuring their
built environment. The results were
nonetheless all different. Different because
each inhabitant, being different and being in
control of a part of the neighborhood,
We saw in the deployment of additions
that, although most people do not own their
living quarters, they do have very direct
control of the lower level configuration of
elements and arrangements of space. They
can restore or build additional rooms with
very little restriction and with the material
they can acquire; they have total freedom at
that level. This, of course, is within the
rules and structure of the social, political
and historical circumstances. Though the
additions are very different , the situation is
the same. People all use a common,
restricted group of elements (building
materials) and are acting (building) on
similar ground (within the traditional
deployment). But because the lower level's
territories (their immediate living spaces)
are controlled by the users themselves, the
results are also all different. Of course, here
one must remember that these
transformations are produced on a
temporary basis. People, even though they
have great control over their own territory,
do not own their home. Furthermore the
Part five
future of their neighborhoods being also
unknown, makes permanent interventions
almost impossible. I always imagined if
the courtyard belonged to the people, in
groups (several families per compound) or
individually (one family per small
courtyard) the results would be different.
Buildings would look, though different, as
imposing as the traditional one and would
be permanent structures.
This brings us to the point that the quality
of the living environment is directly related
to the intervention of dwellers. And
dwellers must be free to model the
immediate surroundings to their own
aspirations and dreams.
The traditional deployment had a very
harmonious style and had developed in a
way that allowed each dweller to have a
house adapted to his needs, within a set of
regulations. In this sense, the addition's
deployment (even with all its constraints)
responded to the dwellers' essential needs.
The enclosure
We saw that the enclosure, in both
deployments, is a very crucial pattern. The
first thing to be built traditionally was the
surrounding wall. The enclosure protected
the family life -- that was and is so
important in China. It created a private
world.
We also saw, in looking at the additions'
deployment, that the original wall remains
an untouchable element. Whatever
transformations the compound might
undergo, the walls are never torn down.
The social composition inside the
compound has changed quite a lot, but the
walls remain. As we saw, walls may be
added. When the compound grows outside
of its original limits, a wall is erected in the
hutong and part of the public space
becomes a private territory. Or walls may
be added within the compound to
physically divide the territories. (see
"Different kinds of additions" in part 4.2).
Even if this fact may seem "normal" at first
sight, especially for Beijingners 27 , one
must realize that for many other cultural
groups the surrounding walls are the first
things that would be demolished.
The presence of these walls allowed
activities of different density to happen side
by side with different sizes of compounds
and different times of day 2 8 (see figure
131). In a city like Beijing where the
density (people per hectare) is very high, a
compound surrounded by a wall is a good
27 - Actually most foreigners visiting Beijing and
China in general are astonished by the presence of
so many walls.
28- I often give the analogy with a basin
containing water in which one would dispose a
number of smaller cups and glasses also containing
liquid. In that way the level of liquid in each glass
could be different.
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods inBeijing
protection against the bustling street activity
(see figure 132).
132 enclosure
Today in the courtyard house
neighborhoods a single compound is no
longer inhabited by a large extended family.
Many different, unrelated families now
share a compound, but the surrounding
walls are still necessary. The enclosure
continues to give people a distinct status. It
creates an entity where people easily know
each other and with which people can
identify.
L..
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n
-
.l4/
//-
s
134 except for the balconies, all outdoor spaces
are public
Territorial
depth
(hierarchy
of
enclosure)
In the traditional deployment we saw that
there was a hierarchy of enclosure. A city
(surrounded by a wall), within a country
(surrounded by a wall), neighborhoods
(delineated by large avenues and often by
walls) within the city, blocks (surrounded
within
walls)
compound
by
neighborhoods, and compounds within the
blocks (see part 3). Additions added more
levels to this territorial hierarchical depth.
In the compound (which was the lowest
territorial level controlled by one family)
there was a public space that gave access to
each family space. This added one or more
layers to the territorial depth.
If we compare this intricacy of threshold
with what happens in the mass housing
projects built by the State during the last
decades, we see that there are fewer
territorial levels (depth) in these projects.
The public space is much more extensive
(give figure 134).
1 33 agglomeration of clusters - the enclosure is
respected
Part five
And much more land remains unused,
being under the control of ambiguously
identified power, there is a lack of territorial
clarity. All land is public up to the door of
one's block (see figure 135). Of course
one may argue that the same thing happens
in the old city; the hutong are in fact all
public space. But hutong, due to their
size, are of another level -- they eliminate or
discourage rapid transit traffic. Very large
avenues are bordered with commercial
activities and entries of the hutong are
very narrow and discreet.
~2CD
1 35 no selection - no hierarchy
Cul-de-sac lanes within the block are even
smaller. One must remember that not long
ago, many of these hutong were closed at
night, by gates at both ends, delineating
very clearly another territory and adding
another level.
The hierarchical depth is important is giving
a sense of identification to space inhabited
by people.
131 ...like clusters, allowing different densities and
characteres
Infiniteness (or the lost pattern)
We saw in part 3.3 that many design
features created a sense of infiniteness in
the courtyard house. These design "tricks"
were pertinent in an environment where
land is so precious, and living space so
exigeous.
The compounds being
completely enclosed, it was necessary that
the inhabitants should not feel oppressed
inside by the smallness of the space.
The wall, which is all one can see from the
hutong, is nevertheless almost
imperceptible from the inside. Small
openings in the corners with plants and
rockeries give a sense of vastness. All that
we see from the inside is the light and well
detailed elements -- the windowed facades,
the structures of the galleries, the doors,
and so forth.
These design features, that give a human
scale to the living environment, have been
lost in the mass housing projects. On the
contrary, as in most mass housing projects
around the world, one feels oppressed
when threading through rows of walk-ups
and their flat and monotonous facades.
These buildings are extroverted, all looking
out at the public spaces or at other
buildings. Facades of windows face
facades of balconies.
The environment is too easily controllable
by masses of dwellers and therefore offers
a minimum of freedom. Because these
mass housing projects are all open; the
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods inBeijing
coming and going of everybody becomes a
careless matter, thus the environment offers
very little possibility of identification and
facilitate an undesirable anonymity.
Miniature
While living in China I was intrigued to see
how fond of miniature the Chinese were.
Pen-jing (miniature landscape), rockeries,
fish-tanks, and very small gardens were
objects of great interest (see figure 136).
136 fish-tank
Thinking this matter over and over, I
became convinced that these were not
merely objects of distraction or leisure.
I remembered, when I was a child, we had
at home a "bibelot" (small displayed
object). A small seashell slightly opened
into which someone had sculpted and
arranged a beautiful miniature landscape.
There was a house with a door and
windows, a tree, a river in front of the
house and a bridge passing over the river.
As I remember it , the seashell must have
been at the maximum three inches long and
not more than two inches wide. But to a
child this landscape was fascinating. Why
a landscape, a house, a river, etc, in a
seashell? I remember very clearly, that on
some rainy days, I sat by the window and
looked at the seashell for hours. I was
walking over the bridge, taking the path
leading to the house, going around the
house, to the back of it. The house was
big, the whole landscape was vast. Rainy
days spent indoors were not monotonous at
all. I had my own adventure field at home,
in my hand.
I was convinced that the Chinese bonsais
(pen-jing) responded equally to this need
of escape, when I finally found a work by
Rolf Stein on "Jardins en Miniature
d'Extreme-Orient" and discovered this
translation of a sentence written on a
Chinese painting representing a rockery
"...the inferior cave communicates with the
superior cave in a triple contortion. And
that day I made a mystical promenade" (see
figure 137). The lack of wide and vast
gardens, the lack of open space may be
compensated by these small worlds where
the dreamer can escape "...the world is my
imagination. The cleverer I am at
miniaturizing the world the better I possess
it."29
29- Gaston Bachelard; La podtique de 'espace.
p.142
Part five
VI - -
.
139 open toward the center
yr-T
-2
4
T
Iis I ;IUI
137 mountain ink-stand by AS Nan Kong
courtyard was introverted toward itself (see
figure 140). No opening, except for the
main door (and sometimes a secondary
door) pierced the walls. The social unit
inhabiting this introverted space was the
large family.
Introversion versus extroversion
The traditional deployment formed an
introverted compound (see part 3 and figure
138).
138 introversion
Of course the surrounding walls created
such a space. But also all pavilions were
opened (directed) toward a courtyard, the
central place. We saw that the pavilions'
shape was designed in such a way that only
one side was opened (see figure 139). And
if the compound had more than one
courtyard, each
140 traditionally - double level of introversion
Today after the transformation by additions
the walls still surround an introverted
space, but the social unit is no longer one
extended family. Although several families
now occupy the compound, they do not
form smaller introverted entities (see figure
141).
People do not tend to close their living
space to the others inside a shared space of
a siheyuan. The facades of the additions
are windowed on more than one side,
opening toward the exterior (see figure
142). And generally a family would not
built a fence or a wall around its outdoor
territory (see figure 143). This reaction
inside the compound is very different than
the reaction people have when the
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods inBeijing
surroundings is completely opened and
public.
introversion of smaller living space is not
necessary. A certain sense of security then
exists.
141 today; no longer introversion inside the
introverted space
143 no fence between family territory
142
an addition, inside the traditional compound,
People know everyone in the compound.
But of course identification of private
territories always occurs. And in the
compounds the public space tends to be as
small as possible. All spaces tend to be
used by the dwellers.
open toward the neighbor
A good example of that is the usually very
closed private area found on the ground
floor of the walk-up apartment buildings.
These private outside territories are almost
always surrounded by fences and very
closed to the outside (see figure 144 a) and
b)).
That shows that if the surroundings are
easily "known", that is, if the number of
people in the compound is not too big,
144 a) example of location
Part five
Size of lot
144 b) a fenced yard in a mass housing project
Signs of privacy are very discreet, like the
curtains in the windows that protect the
indoor intimacy.
The traditional patterns of land division and
size of group correspond to needs of
privacy/intimacy,
security, and
identification (see figure 145).
145 privacy/intimacy, security and identification
Another point that seems rather important in
what we have seen, is the lot size. The
traditional blocks were divided into lots of
44, 44/2, 44/3, and 44/4 steps (see part
3.5). A lot could be multiplied to form a
larger compound or sometimes divided to
give smaller ones. Housing interventions
were never massive interventions from the
State. The State had to make decisions on
the size of the blocks, the location of
avenues, of streets and hutong. Definitive
sizes of lots and of the situation of smaller
lanes were decided later at a lower level
--
by the owner of each lot.
For the contemporary renovation of the
neighborhoods of courtyards, the lot is still
the best ground for intervention, involving
less control from the municipality. The
decisions on infrastructure and services
should then be the only ones taken by the
block and city level powers.
Scope of intervention
To be efficient, the renovation process of
neighborhoods, like those of the
courtyards, has to be decentralized. A
centralized process, which would be put in
the hand of very few people, would be
expensive. Conservation of elements
-EEO=
Understanding the Changes and Constants of the Courtyard House Neighborhoods in Beijing
seems (and it is) very illogical viewed from
the position of a centralized power. A wall
(or any other element) to be preserved at the
house level (lower level) is very easy to
manage but the same wall, multiplied
hundreds, if not thousands, of times, and
seen at the neighborhood or worst at the
city level, is a very complex problem. For
that reason centralization favors waste. On
the other hand, when a centralized power is
not acting judiciously at the higher levels
where its true effectiveness lies (often for
political or economical reasons) the powers
controlling the lower levels can be in a bad
position or jeopardized. This is the actual
case in Beijing where the municipality is
not providing an adequate infrastructure in
the neighborhoods. Therefore any initiative
at the compound level is largely restricted.
There is no contradiction between the old
structure of the courtyard house, the
neighborhoods, and the modernization.
The main obstacle is more located in
people's minds than anywhere else (a
problem of understanding). Formally,
such adaptation is fairly possible.
Contemporary and high-tech devices,
objects or furniture can easily fit within the
traditional house. Electricity and running
water have already been installed in some
courtyards. The process is not so
expensive when it can be done individually,
and at a time that is convenient for the
people in the place, or when the work can
be distributed over a longer span of time if
necessary. A step by step process, which is
integrated with the lives of the inhabitants,
is more effective than "politically efficient"
unilateral government intervention.
If the renovation process were to follow the
way in which the neighborhoods were
created, it would be less costly and be
much more stimulating for the economy.
The infrastructure should be the task of the
municipality, while the building and the
restructuring of the existing compound
should be undertaken at the lot level by the
group of individuals inhabiting it. Each
compound that is located on a specific lot
has its own problems, and any process that
would try to generalize these problems and
find a common solution would therefore
fail.
146 a) example of traditional two story pavilion
The rules imposed by the higher levels on
Part five
the lower levels should be kept to the
Postscript
Some general rules should be adopted in
order to obtain a healthy environment that
would guarantee a minimum of day light
and ventilation to all dwellings -maximum
height, maximum F.A.R.
As I said in the introduction I have tried to
understand the transformations of the
courtyard house neighborhoods in Beijing.
I have not tried to discover any recipe that
could be subsequently followed. Such easy
solutions do not exist. I believe that there
are many ways of doing things, -- of
146 b) example of traditional two story pavilion
146 c) drawing
Many design solutions already exist. Either
in the traditional design or in the already
built additions. Skylights, green houses,
and second stories are all indigenous and
ingenious solutions that have been tried
already (see figures 146 a), b) and c).
living. To respect the differences between
people, between cultures, between ways of
life is still the best choice. But also, like
Don Quichotte del la Mancha fighting
against wind mills,we must fight for
however, something crazy, or even for
some lost cause that we really believe in.
I don't even really know why I believe in
continuity. Probably because I never felt
more comfortable than in these places
where history has been respected, where
the passing of time can be seen. Where
also, the present has respectfully taken its
place. To destroy completely our past and
to try to erase our memory in creating new
environments will produce as fake an
environment as an one protected from any
changes (that is, trying to stop history), and
preserved it as if it were a museum.
A city has its own architectural language,
which is a mix of human, artistic, social,
and economic factors. People are actors in
this setting. If we wish to respect the
individuality of a city, its language, and its
population, there must be a certain amount
of continuity in the built environment.
84
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-Wz' 4plim tg
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1 t 1 lI1 Ia r4
ijf
yd*
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Jh V fit E Q
it -
Illustrations 83a), 83b), 83c):
4L
1987
Illustrations 84,119, 134, 144a); L6on Hua, Reconstruire la Chine, Paris 1981.
Ilustration 85; :b 3 E
fil a f
N
M
Ilustration 120b); map of Beijing
Illustrations 121a), 121b), 122a), 122b), 124; Oswald Siren, The Walls and Gates of
Peking, London 1924.
Illustrations 126a), 126b); Hou Ren zhi, Evolution of the City Plan of Beijing, Beijing
1986.
Illustration 137; Rolf Stein, Les Jardins Miniatures d'Extr~mes-Orient, Paris 192?.
M #*8 *
Illustration 146a); Vt ' U
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Illustration 146b), 146c); Environnement Ouotidien en Chine, Centre George Pompidou,
Paris 1982.
All other illustrations, otherwise mentioned, are by the author.