Chunze Li
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HUTONG SITTING ROOM
CADG Summer Studio
2021.7-2021.8Site: Beijing, China
Instructor: Zhaohui Wu
Individual Work
[ANCIENT CAPITAL STYLE – still for living]
The scope of this project is Yude Hutong in Pinganli area, which belongs to the "Ancient Capital Style and Features Protection Area". Public space is the basic attribute of Hutong. In the existing Hutong space, public activities are very abundant. There is no need to re-plan community life, but to provide topics and places for public activities. The demolition of the wall opens the enclosed courtyard, while the retention of the door, electric meter, and other components realize the superposition of time and space scenes so that the development history of the courtyard is revealed. At the same time, the preservation of various objects also provides the possibility for future residents' independent transformation. The information of each period remains on the architectural entity, which brings the overlapping of architectural time and space scenes. The cohabitation of public and private scenes also provides residents with the superimposed gain of public and private rights. Greening is not only to play the role of green protection and landscape. In the public and private life of the community, greening plays an important role. For many elderly people, cultivating plants is a signifi cant part of their leisure life. The site is located in the Pinganli area within the second ring road of Beijing, which is a traditional historical district. The base not only preserves the traditional courtyard house but also has newly built high-rise buildings, presenting a completely diff erent scene on the plan and the elevation
Site Research
In the bungalow area on the west side of the hutong, a very vivid life scene has been formed through the transformation and participation of residents on the public facade of the building. Various buildings and additional small components on the pavement are the main objects I observed. They refl ect the various details of residents' lives. There are intersections on both sides of the roadway leading to the construction site of the subway station. The deepest point leads to an existing yard.
On the simple masonry wall, various components used by the residents create the intention of the entrance, which is extremely confusing. The structure is composed of an iron frame and the electric meter is placed at the top of the door, which not only functions as an electric meter but also marks the entrance. At the same time, it seems to tell us that inside this door is a large courtyard with many residents, but the current facts are no longer the case. The iron frame is distinguished from the electric meter as a supporting structure, reflecting the clear construction ideas between diff erent components.
Concerning the basic structure of the house, the residents, through the addition of various functions, fi nally formed a well-founded, cluttered and undisciplined public facade image. Residents have fully satisfi ed and expressed their pursuit of quality of life under limited conditions. Every small object used has its clear function behind it. There is no superfl uous thing, and every element added has its characteristics. There are some unreasonable places, such as leaks in air-conditioning water pipes, but they are all controlled within acceptable limits. In short, it can be seen from the rationality of the public facade configuration that the residents have extremely clear design goals and strong control over materials.
LIFE SCENE
The grandmother of the household said that her life has become very comfortable after the demolition. The residents of the original courtyard moved to the upper fl oors of the Lugou Bridge area due to the construction of the subway station. A stove was set up under the shelf as kitchen. She grow flowers and raise animals in the courtyard.
Private:
Close the door is a private garden. The one on the left was originally a large courtyard with 12 households but was demolished due to the construction of the subway station. Now the one on the right will use the scaff olding inside, and the middle and right two are bedrooms. The door on the left was originally the courtyard door, but now it serves as the door of this household, and the door on the right is not used. The gate of the courtyard was originally made of red wood and covered with red iron. After the demolition, there was a damaged ring on the right side, the construction team replaced the blue iron door for the residents, and the left one was retained and fi xed, and no longer opened.
Public:
Opening the door is like a corner park . The garden was originally a yard and was originally a part of the public space. Because the demolition activities were occupied by individual households, it was not a normal way to use it. In the exchange, it was found that the residents did not necessarily have the willingness to close the occupancy. The former courtyard has a neighborhood supervision mechanism to ensure safety. But now the bedroom of the residents directly opens the door to the garden. If the garden becomes a public place, it will affect the safety of the residents.
AXONOMETRIC DRAWING
THE EVOLUTION OF THE PLAN
To abandon the way of handling the door to deal with public-private relations, I remove the wall to open the garden without forming a dark corner in front of the residents. Keeping wooden doors, electric meters, and other components and fi xing them with a steel frame form an open community park. I use sunlight panels that are commonly used by residents for certain shades.