Building booms around the world can render entire neighborhoods unrecognizable in a matter of days, demolishing historic structures to make way for new developments. In cities like Beijing, where older architecture such as “siheyuan” courtyard houses stand out for their uniqueness and beauty, the transition from traditional to contemporary can feel all the more jarring. Urban development is all but inevitable to manage growing populations, but for many onlookers, it’s sad to see the past bulldozed in favor of new buildings that don’t even acknowledge the area’s cultural and architectural legacy.

Many of Beijing’s older buildings fell in a frenzy of demolition throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Traditional “hutongs,” or ancient city alleys lined with siheyuan residences, had fallen into disrepair and often lacked basic services and sanitation. City planners reportedly saw the historic, hutong-filled core of the city surrounding Tianenmen Square and the Forbidden City as prime real estate. In the ‘90s, about 600 hutong were destroyed every year, displacing roughly 500,000 residents. In place of those neighborhoods built during the Ming Dynasty came glittering skyscrapers and eight-lane highways.

Only a few hundred complete courtyard houses remain, down from the 3,000 that stood during the 1980s. But among those that still exist, an interesting trend is taking root: modernization projects that preserve and honor the historic structures while making them suitable for 21st century lifestyles. The best examples of respectful Chinese courtyard house renovations repair and maintain the existing elements of the siheyuan, keep the courtyards open to the outdoors and add new complementary elements that augment the usefulness of the original buildings without diminishing their character.

Transforming Formerly Hidden Courtyards into Inclusive Spaces

Designing homes around courtyards is an ancient tradition in China, with evidence of walled-in yards going as far back as the Shang Dynasty (approx. 1700 – 1100 BCE). The houses themselves opened out onto the alleyways outside, creating tranquil and private outdoor spaces protected from the eyes of strangers. This layout is similar to that of Beijing itself, which began as a walled city arranged like a checkerboard according to Confucian code. Each courtyard contained at least two trees along with water features and caged birds. Originally, each siheyuan was occupied by a single (often wealthy) family, but over time, they came to be inhabited by groups of families forming their own tiny villages. Many have since been converted into businesses.

The walls of a hutong “can be seen as a boundary between public and private venues,” acknowledges the firm MINOR Lab, which completed this renovation in the Dongcheng District in 2017 updating an old hutong with lots of transparent glass, translucent textured acrylic panels for privacy and warm wood. But their project, like many others, transforms these former residences into spaces that are meant for community use.

“Within the walls remains an inward and enclosed space, however, the yard resembles a vast container, letting in sky, wind, sunlight, air and sound. The crowns of the two grand gingko trees are the flowing roof in the open air, overlapping layers of grey tiles. The exterior space under the trees connects to the interior one underneath the four roofs, floating and exchanging in a continuous way.”

An interesting project by the firm CAA explores the continuation of multi-family and multi-generational hutong traditions in a way that can help support the owner’s aging parents, who have Alzheimer’s Disease. CAA kept the hutong’s original wooden structure and added an additional steel roof, creating larger windows and skylights in the existing structures to make them brighter. The layout of the courtyard and the surrounding houses gives each generation their own private living space, but they’re connected to each other, and the flat, accessible courtyard allows the client’s mother to get around in her wheelchair.

“Tea House in Hutong” by ARCHSTUDIO is a striking example of the bolder approach. Forced to demolish parts that were too unsafe to keep, the architects added new wood and metal structures and created more enclosed spaces protected from the elements by adding a white-painted concrete roof. Openings to the outdoors are glassed in like atriums, and you can still get a sense of the original space as you gaze across the courtyard despite all of these alterations.

The same firm took an old siheyuan in Beijing’s Dashilar Area and transformed it into a public space with a dramatic, river-like undulating surface of grey brick that flows in and out of the interior and exterior spaces. Curved walls hide auxiliary spaces like the kitchen, bathrooms, private guest rooms and storage areas while visually connecting communal spaces like the dining room and reception to the courtyard. It’s not subtle by any means and it doesn’t shy away from ultramodern touches, but somehow the combination of old and new still feels cohesive.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Art Of The Chinese Courtyard Respectful Renovations Keep Hutongs Alive

When the architect of this remarkable remodel was hired to create a new home for his clients, a derelict building on the site caught his eye and turned out to be the focal point of a marvelous design project.

Estudio Castillo Oli (images by Angel Baltanas) balances old and new in this hybrid project, inserting a contemporary dwelling into a stone-and-brick shell on the site.

Part of the existing structural remnants were retrofit with modern windows and a roof to create interior spaces for the home while the rest were left up as a kind of fence for a semi-private exterior courtyard.

New ceramic tiles and timber framing matches the existing context while steel and glass add a modern touch. A glass wall between inside and outside spaces reduces the sense of separation between them.

Inside, new walls are pulled back from window openings to reveal the old structure. Glass and trim likewise give space to old openings, preserving what was there. The net result is a gorgeous, rich and complex mixture of aged elements and new, creating something with a sense of time but also fit for modern living.

Traditional hutongs found in Beijing wind in upon themselves, organically shaped by the forces around them to create nesting neighborhoods that are cozy and serene. Alleys branch off of larger alleys and even larger streets as visitors make their way deep into the heart of huge city blocks.

This new hostel project by ZAO and Standard Architecture builds on the long tradition of hutongs and measures just 320 square feet. It represents a Brualist/Modernist take on the alley-based architecture of China’s capital.

An expansion of previous hutong projects – including a co-living courtyard, library and gallery space – this hostel brings small-scale social housing into the mix.

Guests enter through a semi-public transitional space, much like the branching alleys and courtyards of a normal hutong, then enters a complex of angular architecture forms composed of concrete and glass.

A series of extruded volumes rise up slightly above the adjacent rooflines to access views, air and light from beyond the compressed confines of the site. The courtyard at the heart of the plan serves to connect it to the neighborhood, acting as a liminal zone for guests and community members alike.

“The result is an architectural operation that brings back the courtyard as a generator of the program, as it activates the building by creating a direct relationship with its urban context,” say the architects.

Expertly blending the minimalist aesthetics of traditional Japanese architecture with modern sensibilities to meet the needs of contemporary residents, architect Tomohiro Hata graces each of his cleverly-designed homes with his own distinctive style. Haha is particularly skilled at producing sunny, airy residences that feel luxurious, dynamic and fresh despite tight budgets, challenging sites and building regulations.

Re-Slope House

Modern Japanese architects have found creative ways to enable privacy in densely packed urban residential areas without cutting off access to sunlight, and to balance a cozy cave-like atmosphere in one part of the home with an airy, almost entirely open facade. In the case of Tomohiro Hata’s ‘Re-Slope House,’ the plot is set into a rocky Kobe hillside, cutting off access to light and air in the back half of the house.

Hata’s adaptive design is a wedge-shaped metal volume that follows the slope of the hill, placing oversized windows at the front and inserting wooden platforms inside for varying access to the light. Three open-plan terraced platforms mimic an oversized set of stairs, stepping from a sunny room adjacent to the windows down into the more private rooms. Skylights let the sun pierce through to the back of the home, and sliding glass doors offer access to a top-floor terrace and a set of metal scaffolding on the hillside for plants. The street-facing facade is windowless; nearly all of the glass looks out onto the landscape, blocking the interior from the view of neighbors.

Complex House

The narrow profile of this plot of land in Nagoya created a challenge for Hata in designing a single-family residence that feels open and spacious, yet also private. The architect’s solution was to create a sharply angled, jagged silhouette pointing most of the windows up to the sky. The series of voids created by alternating pitched roofs brings sunlight in from all directions at various times of day as well as entirely walled-in courtyards.

The clever layout lets the occupants look out without providing passersby with a view into their home, creates a dynamic flow of foot traffic inside and has a far more interesting appearance from the curb than a simple box. The use of simple metal cladding keeps costs down and gives the home a minimalist, streamlined vibe.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Modern Japanese Architecture Sunny Minimalism By Tomohiro Hata

Ceilings retract and glazed walls swing open to connect intimate indoor spaces with courtyards, terraces and gardens in these modern residences blurring the lines between indoors and out. Located everywhere from Colorado to Kuala Lumpur, these open-air homes take advantage of mild climates and spectacular views, with alternatives to conventional walls enabling natural ventilation and a sense of being connected to nature.

Kloof House, Johannesburg, South Africa

Every room in the sculptural Kloof House by Nico van der Meulen Architects opens directly to the outdoors via gigantic sliding glass walls. The kitchen, living room, dining room and bedrooms can all be fully connected to various outdoor spaces like courtyards, balconies and gardens. The swimming pool becomes part of the living room area, and one bedroom connects to a cantilevered koi pond.

The Fish House, Singapore

This modern tropical residence in Singapore seamlessly integrates courtyard spaces into the interiors on every level for natural ventilation and nearly uninterrupted views of the ocean. A glass-walled lounge cantilevers out over the swimming pool, and residents can walk up onto the green roof, which is partially shaded with solar panels.

Loft 24-7, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Decks and terraces connect the various freestanding volumes that make up Loft 24-7 by Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados, with the effect continued indoors using glazed walls and ceilings. “Being inside feeling like one is outside. I believe that to be a key issue in understanding the interior design being produced today,” says the architect. “In times when environmental awareness is growing, and, of course, also the desire to be close to nature.”

Casa P, Sao Paulo, Brazil

The ground floor of Casa P by Studio MK27 is enclosed with a slatted wooden ‘freijó’ wall, which acts as a privacy screen and offers natural ventilation. These oversized shutters can be opened completely to connect the interiors to the courtyard. Two more concrete volumes are stacked on top of the first, with the topmost one boasting all-glass walls for optimal views.

Willow House, Singapore

Greenery from the planted roof drips down into a living space via an open oculus, living spaces overlook swimming pools and reflecting pools, and trees grow indoors in this boundary-blurring house by Guz Architects. Taking advantage of Singapore’s warm, humid climate, the tropical residence blends traditional Singaporean architectural typologies with modern aesthetics.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Blurring Boundaries 14 Modern Houses That Open To The Air