M.Arch Thesis | Joint Studio 2015 | Politecnico di Torino by Angelica Manfredini

POLITECNICO DI TORINO

DIPARTIMENTO DI ARCHITETTURA E DESIGN

TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

ZHANGJIAKOU SUSTAINABLE PROJECTS FOR 2022 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES

JOINT STUDIO 2015

POLITECNICO DI TORINO

DIPARTIMENTO DI ARCHITETTURA E DESIGN

TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

ZHANGJIAKOU SUSTAINABLE PROJECTS FOR 2022 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES

JOINT STUDIO 2015

MASTER DEGREE THESIS

ACADEMIC YEAR 2014/2015 AUTUMN SESSION

MEET THE MENTORS

Professor

Gustavo Ambrosini

Mauro Berta

Michele Bonino

Davide Vero

Zhang Li

Liu Jian

Xia Mingming

Professor

Tutor

Professor

Tutor

MEET THE TEAM

Architecture and Restoration

Angelica Manfredini

Elena Maioglio Architecture City Construction

FOREWORD

1.1 Overview and metodology

2.1 Masterplan and schemes 2.2 First site: Experience 2.3 Second site: Workshop 2.4 Third site: Greenhouse 2.5 Fourth site: Public Square 2.6 Fifth site: Courtyard

INTRODUCTION

PROJECT PROPOSAL

3.1 The history and typology of Chinese Courtyard house 3.2 The actual context of Chinese Courtyard 3.3 Design principles

4.1 Contemporary Chinese Courtyard 4.2 Great (Bamboo) Wall 4.3 Bamboo Courtyard Teahouse 4.4 Courtyard 105, Caochangdi 4.5 The Concave House 4.6 Xiang Jing + Qu Guangci Sculpture Studio 4.7 Artist Studios 4.8 A House For All Seasons 4.9 Student Accommodation 4.10 Fan Zeng Gallery 4.11 Mulan Primary School 4.12 The Forbidden City Red-wall Teahouse 4.13 Niyang River Visitor Center

CHINESE COURTYARD HOUSE

CASE STUDIES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

FOREWORD

前言

Rural area context and traditions in China. Throughout the centuries some 80 to 90 percent of the Chinese population have been farmers, and land was the fundamental form of property. Peasant families might own all of the land they worked, or own some and rent some from a landowner, or rent all their land. Regardless of the form of tenure, the farm was managed as a unit, and the head of household was free to decide what to plant and how to use the labor of family members. Before 1950 the basic units of social stratification and social mobility were families: most families contained five or six people. In socioeconomic terms, late traditional China was composed of a large number of small enterprises, perhaps as many as 100 million farms and small businesses.1 Each was operated by a family, which acted not only as a household but also as a commercial enterprise. The family head also was the trustee of the estate and manager of the family business. Families could own property, such as land or shops, and pass it on to the next generation. The farmers supported a small number of specialized craftsmen and traders and also an even smaller number of land- and officeholding elite families who ran the society. In all cases, the long-term goal of the head of the family was to ensure the survival and prosperity of the family and to pass the estate along to the next generation. The most common family strategy was to diversify the familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic activities.

1. Worden, R., Savada, A. and Dolan, R. (1988). China: A Country Study. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government, Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. Fig.1 Si bu wan yao bing, Nanhui District Spare Time Art Group, 1976, August. This poster uses a depiction of the four seasons to illustrate how much agriculture has changed in the New China. For centuries, rice cultivation was manual labour. Farmers had to stand in the water, bent over, to look after the rice plants. Mechanization brings this to an end. Image from: http://chineseposters.net/

Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s post-1950 leaders devoted energy and attention to changing some aspects of traditional society, such as rural land tenure and the content of education, while leaving other aspects, such as family structure, largely untouched. Under the commune system the household remained the basic unit of consumption, and some differences in standards of living remained, although they were not as marked as they had been before land reform. Decollectivization in the early 1980s resulted in the revival of rural marketing, and a limited relaxation of controls on outmigration opened villages and diminished the social boundaries around them. The social world of peasants expanded, and the larger marketing community took on more significance as that of the village proper was diminished. Village membership, once the single most important determinant of an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s circumstances, became only one of a number of significant factors, which also included occupation, personal connections, and managerial talent. Rural society was more open and diverse than in the 1960s and 1970s, and the rigid collective units of that period, which had reflected the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overwhelming concern for security, were replaced by networks and clusters of smaller units. The new, looser structure demonstrated the priority placed on efficiency and economic growth. Such strategies lay behind the large number of small-scale enterprises that characterized Chinese society before 1950.

2. Collectivization is made up of a three-tier system of basic administration: the people’s commune, the production brigade and the production team. 3. Yuan, J. (n.d.). Institutional Analyses of Poverty Evolution in Rural China, 1978-2003. SSRN Electronic Journal.

Market activity played a central role in the rural economy of the 1980s. Farmers sold a growing share of their produce in rural or urban free markets and purchased many of the inputs that had formerly been supplied by the team or brigade.2 A prominent new institution that thrived in the market environment was the “specialized household.” Specialized households operated in the classic pattern of the entrepreneur, buying or renting equipment to produce a good or service that was in short supply locally. Some of the most common specialties were trucking, chicken raising, pig raising, and technical agricultural services, such as irrigation and pest control. Many of the specialized households became quite wealthy relative to the average farmer. The new economic climate and the relaxation of restrictions on the movements of rural residents gave rise to numerous opportunities for profit-making ventures in the countryside. Towns, villages, and groups of households referred to as “rural economic unions” established small factories, processing operations, construction teams, catering services, and other kinds of nonagricultural concerns. The growth of these nonagricultural enterprises in the countryside created a large number of new jobs, making it possible for many workers who were no longer needed in agriculture to “leave the land but stay in the country,” significantly changing the structure of the rural economy. In 1986 nonagricultural enterprises in the countryside employed 21 percent of the rural labor force.3

Fig.2 In Ximawan Village, Jingbian County, Shanxi Province, 67 year old Tian Yunxiu (left) and his 65 year old wife Liu Dezhen sit beside the buckwheat field. There are 6 chilren in Tianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family who have left the countryside for work in the city. Picture from http://www.towchina.com/

4. From National Bureau of Statistics of China, http://www.stats.gov.cn/

The discrepancy between farm and non-farm wage rates is an important attraction of labour migration, although it is not the only factor affecting migration decision. Off-farm employment in the cities is likely to offer higher earnings than farming, especially in the remote and poor rural areas. According to the 2010 census, the rural population has declined from 82 percent in 1970 to 74 percent in 1990 to 64 percent in 2001 to 56 percent in 2007 and is expected to drop below 40 percent by 2030. Land essentially belongs to local government, a holdover from the commune era.There are around 800 million rural peasants and migrant workers, roughly 500 million farmers and 300 million to 400 million excess unskilled rural laborers.4 There is a wide gap between the wealth of the impoverished countryside and the booming cities, with the income of rural residents less than a third of that of urban residents. Nevertheless the rural China has experienced an tremendous decline in poverty over the last twenty years and the rural poor who resided in less remote and less hilly areas in the coastal and central regions, were better able to participate in the rapid agricultural growth of the reform period. The remainder of the rural poor have remained trapped in more remote upland areas, particularly in western provinces, where agricultural productivity gains have proven far more problematic. A numbers of observers have concluded that Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poverty problem mainly occurs in poor mountain regions, and Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poverty reduction programs have long focused on mountain areas.

1.INTRODUCTION

第一章

1.1 Overview and methodology Rural China

The thesis explores a possible solution for the growth and development of the Tazicheng Olympic Village, during and after the Winter Olympic Games, which will be held in Beijing in 2022. This was started by analyzing the current Chinese situation, which is increasingly dynamic and marked by profound socio-cultural changes. The notion of a traditional Chinese village is difficult to define: over the past thirty years, the process of urbanisation has created a reliance on the city as a primary source of income. As a result the city has also become the model for development. We think it is possible to have another model, an authentically rural model of development that is equally progressive and economically sustainable, but altogether different from the city. We have therefore chosen to analyze how rural life has changed in China in the first chapter, in order to record and comprehend the complexities of the village during this transition. Then, the methodology chosen is shown through several strategies, in which villagers and agriculture production play a central role. The second chapter deals with Master Plan design; since each group developed a part of the Master Plan, we focused on the east area, especially on central public axis. Finally, the third and the fourth chapters specifically talk about the traditional courtyard house, introducing valid contemporary case studies that approach todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs.

Fig.3 A local farmer in Taizicheng village, Hebei province. Picture from Grassland scenery in Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Inner Mongolia, http://www.sino-us.com/

5. OECD publications and databases from online library: www.oecdilibrary.org.

statistical

Taizicheng area. Situated at the foot of the Great Wall, is a small village tucked away in the Yanshan Mountain Range in Chongli County. Chongli was a country living in poverty during the 90s, which was only removed from the list of China’s poorest counties in 2014. The annual income per capita of the farmers was below RMB1,000. However, thanks to the snow, the economy of Chongli has advanced. With measures such as a boost of tourism and snow development, the net income per capita of the farmers in the county reached RMB 6,071 in 2013, which is well above a five-fold increase compared to 1996.5 Nowadays, the villagers are making a living through different means. They used to travel to another city for work, but now they may find a job or create their business in their hometown. Almost the entire workforce of the village work at the ski resort, from snowmakers to sky coaches, chef to construction workers, while those who stay in the village have yet to find their place in the sustainable development. A solution which takes into account a global view in a totally local context must be found. “While the mining industry is gradually being reduced, the three major industries – ecotourism, organic farming and new industry – must increase in quality and efficiency,” believed Li Li, Secretary of the CPC County Committee. The bid for the Winter Olympic Games brings more than simply the opportunity for rapidly developing new industry, but also reversed pressure and restrictions for the elimination and transformation of outdated industries.

Fig.4 Taizicheng villageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s characterised by fields of crops. Picture from Google Earth

landscape

Traditional farming industry in Taizicheng Village. The territorial resource analysis is the starting point of the design and planning process. First of all, an analysis of the situation in terms of strengths and weaknesses and the potential for development is required. Taizicheng occupies an area of about 2,000,000 square metres at an altitude of 1,580 metres. It reflects all the problems of Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poor mountain countryside: the transportation between the village and the surroundings is difficult, as well as the infrastructure of transportation, health care and education. Lack of appropriate technologies make the achieving even subsistence level of agricultural production in this area a difficult challenge: important bottlenecks in many household production system are limited fodder availability and poor feed quality during the cold winters. Because of the low efficiency of farming, most of the young male villagers are working in the Beijing city. Despite these problems, agriculture still remains the principal means of subsistence for the inhabitants. Every family owns a piece of farmland, used to cultivate purple cabbages, potatoes, and Chinese cabbages. Almost every family has an independent house, and the courtyard is generally cultivated as a vegetable garden, so they are self sufficient for the basic necesseties. Different kinds of poultry and animals are raised scatteredly, most of which are only for the familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs. Most of the buildings were put up in the past two decades, with the prevalence of generic, concrete, brick and tiled houses.

A “rururban area” is hoped. With a technological progress, the agricultural and tourism resource would be more accessible to the locals. If the potential demands for better food were satisfied the farmers would have more income and the overall environment would be improved. At the same time the expanding employment opportunities would be more attractive to the younger educated generation and a self standing sustainable community could be expected. Furthermore, with the improvement of the transportation facility (the High – Speed Railway from Beijing to Zhangjiakou), the village could become the preferential resort “0-mile” destination for Beijing residents. To move in this direction, the concept of “rururban” 6 has been introduced and integrated with the ancient Chinese idea of Yin-Yang: the countryside provides food for the city, while the active participation in agricultural activities could improve the citizens’ quality of life, as well as bringing the needed economic resources to the countryside. The rural and the urban can generate a new form of symbiosis where they complement to each other. Food, agriculture, hospitality, mobility and health exploit the local treasure in order to design with a global vision. The result is the network society-small, local, open and connected. In the network society, the method of maximizing efficiency is to collaborate with each other and involve all of the roles actively. Even dealing with different topics, we tried to create synergy through our project.

6. Baek, J., Meroni, A. and Manzini, E. (2015). A socio-technical approach to design for community resilience: A framework for analysis and design goal forming. Design Studies, 40, pp.60-84. Fig.5 This graphic depicts a model of sustainable development in rural area, following the “rururban” concept. From: http://www. sustainableeverydayexplorations.net/

Agriculture

Hospitality

Mobility

Food

Health

Concept: Agritainment. We can state that just a century ago living on a farm was much more common. Nowadays those places are quickly disappearing along with that ideal image in our mind of the slow peaceful life away from everything. Our proposal is based on the idea that the poor rural people have the potential to be important players in protecting natural resources and providing important environmental services. Utilising the local potential to the full, Taizicheng Village can come up with its own route to prosperity and to provide a model for the development of other rural areas. Under the concept of sustainable development, we have to find the most suitable industry for the village: based on the existing resources and culture of the village, the transformation of traditional agriculture to ecological and cultural tourism is our answer. For all this purpose we came up with a concept proposal, which is Agritainment7, that means the combination of dwelling ,agriculture and entertainment, inducing tourism. Agritainment refers to any farm-based tourism operation that provides agriculture-themed entertainment, such as real farming experiences and homemade meals made from food grown on the farm. Through this experience, we recover the memories of an origin that we had forgotten, and develop new links connecting people to each other and to the land. Development of the economy will bring a joyful life to villagers and convince young people to stay in their homeland drawn by an interest in the new rising eco-tourism industry.

7. Shen, Fujun, (2009). Agritourism sustainability in rural mountain areas of China: a community perspective. International Journal of Business and Globalisation 3.2 (2009): 123-145. Fig.6 The slogan for the post-Olympics development of Taizicheng village.

dwelling/residence

agriculture

experiencing agricultural work under the roof of the residence

Before Olympic Games

During Olympic Games

After Olympic Games

Fig.7 Sustainable approach to managing the movement of villagers, before/during/after the Olympic Games. Picture from Google Earth

Villagers: Before/During/After the Olympic Games. “Without the participation of residents, it’s hard to maintain the unique personality and characteristics of the village, let alone to save or rebuild nostalgia, or create a new home which belongs to the local.” De-fu Lin, Institute of Architecture and Urban, Taiwan university. Following on from that statement, we tried to figure out an operating mechanism which enables the villagers to play an active role in the Post-Olympic utilization of the Olympic Village. First of all, we came up with a strategy to involve local communities, minimising their movements. As we can see from the pictures, the first step provides for the movement of villagers to the blank area in order to conduct the construction of the Olympic Village. Meanwhile, the villagers could still look after their fields. During the Olympic Games, the Olympic Village and the area for local villagers will be operated separately, so that the villagers and athletes will live in the same site without compromising the different activities. After the Olympics, villagers will get involved in the operation of the residential area and facilities. Some locals will be able to make much more practical use of those existing administrative structures, through the sale of their products. At the same time, the entire residential area will be filled with “farmhouses”, families that open their houses to guests and provide simple entertainment, meals, and lodging. And in that sense, Agritainment solves the problem of how to be environmentally and culturally friendly while having a good time.

2. and reduce the footprint ...

1. To be more sustainable ...

Bamboo

3. we can use materials from site

Rammed Earth

8. Due to the large quantity of materials required to construct the wall, the builders always tried to use local sources. In different periods of Chinese history the building material is different in different areas. Before the use of bricks, the wall was mainly built from earth, stones and wood. However the principle of using local material was maintained. Three hundred million cubic meters (393 million yards) of earthwork were used in the construction of the Great Wall, and with the appearance of large brick and lime workshops, some parts were also built with these new materials. Fig.8 Rammed earth and bamboo enables us to create a deep connection between architecture and land.

Bamboo and Rammed earth. Rammed earth was used to build up the Great Wall of China8: if the wall was going through a mountain, stones from that same mountain would be used as materials for the wall. When the wall passed through the desert, the materials used were juniper tamarisks and sanded reeds. As regards bamboo, China has the most bamboo of any country in the world. Throughout Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s building tradition, bamboo has been a dominant material in architecture. It was used for all the elements: structure, wall, floor, furniture, or ladders and stairs. There are technical properties of bamboo which make it suitable for architecture, but also aspects which connect to peoplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; emotion and feelings. Since the territorial resource is our starting point of the design and planning process and we need to create a system that promotes innovation in the interests of all villagers, Bamboo and rammed earth are ideal materials for such a project. Usually, only one trained worker is required and the majority of the form building and mixing can be done by unskilled local workers. Furthermore, thanks to their low cost and large availability, the villagers are individually involved in an ongoing process of building their houses. In this way we can use advanced technologies to upgrade traditional technology and play to its strengths. Finally, using rammed earth the finished walls have a unique beauty of their own and require no exterior or interior finishing. Depending on the landscape, the materials of the wall change, shaping architecture in a unique way.

2.PROJECT PROPOSAL

第二章

2.1 Masterplan and schemes General concept

Our proposal is a reaction against the prevalence of generic, multistorey, concrete, brick and tiled village houses. Generic buildings are replacing very specific vernacular house types that have gradually been adapted over hundreds of years to their climate and location. This phenomenon represents the systematic erasure of the specific by the generic. In order to resist to the generic we have designed something as specific as possible in relation to its own time and place. Currently the process of rural development favours the destruction and abandonment of the traditional in exchange for the new. Our project attempts to provide a bridge between the two extremes and preserve the intelligence of local materials and techniques. It is an investigation into the modern village vernacular, and it represents an architectural attempt to consciously evolve vernacular village construction in China. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as if the village reflects the condition of rural life, which is also caught somewhere between tradition and modernity.

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Fig.1 Old and new urban fabric compared: an alternative approaches to rural development a. status quo b. new fabric

Memory. The spatial framework of the project is based on the existing fabric. It arises from a precise design intent and from the incidence of physical conformation of the natural site: we tried to reproduce the compositional randomness which characterises the village fabric. Consequently, the particular shape of the urban grid assumes an extremely diversified and heterogeneous shape. Our interest was always directed to the minimum morphological unit, but not referring to the simple act of the subdivision, without a further reflection on the relationship between the different parts of the village. The base unit is given by courtyard dwelling, used throughout the project both for residences and public activities. We have tried to interpret this housing typology, by simplifying forms and elements. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s left is little more than a suggestion, for instance the size of the domestic courts used do not strictly respect the traditional proportions. The target was to create the intimacy of this internal space, a marked characteristic that has always been stressed in the Chinese culture. Moreover this design comes from a urban design criteria related to the optimal sunlight exposure, ventilation and circulation. From north to south, the tissue becomes progressively more rarefied, until they reach the cultivated fields of mass production, where we find only single-family homes, the dedicated area for the locals. From north to south the height of buildings decreases, allowing good lighting in the courts and between buildings.

Fig.2 New roads and fingers systems.

Road System. The road system proposed redraws the territory in a very precise conception: a rational and capillary system with a cycle and pedestrian connections is an opportunity to increase the quality of life. The Master Plan provides the redevelopment of the existing network alongside the construction of new roads and cycle and pedestrian paths. The network project is developed on the following lines: the North-South axis and the East-West axis. The first axis consists of five green corridors, called â&#x20AC;&#x153;fingersâ&#x20AC;?, which cross the urban area from north to south, up to the mass production fields . Each of them, depending on what it intercepts, is characterized by different activities. Starting from the west, the third finger is the central ax of the project and it will serve as the central zone for the services of the village: symbolically this will point out to the train station. The second axes is constituted by a hierarchy of roads in which those external to the village connect the big sports and urban centers. On the other hand, cycle and pedestrian mobility takes place on low-traffic roads within the village, through which only public transportation is allowed. This public transportation system connects the village to the train station and not only that: it allows people to reach all the adjacent municipalities and winter sports facilities. In this way it will be possible to have a private traffic free village favoring soft mobility. In case of an expansion of the village, this system allows for future development of the village along both axes.

Fig.3 Ceremony Square and Cultural Area: during and after Olympic Games.

Celebration. The diversified mix of activities and functions in the village makes it heterogeneous and dynamic. However, two major openings in the more compact part of the tissue are easily distinguishable: they are the two focal public points of the project. Each of them intersects a finger and is characterized accordingly. There has been a successful attempt at framing these two dominant public spaces. With this approach we have been able to connect the whole area, creating a more fluid circulation. The first public square is located in the west part of the village and meets the river finger, which will serve as contour and valorization for the brook in order to make a fluvial park. The fluvial park is a relaxing area, which is overlooked by a number of cultural activities. Then, the second public square is located in the east part which is the celebration zone during the Olympic Games. It meet the third finger, which will serve as central zone for the services of the village: attached with this finger will be all the public buildings to confirm a square design, formally representing a â&#x20AC;&#x153;huge hugâ&#x20AC;?, gathering the surroundings to the central axis. After this period the square will be re-functionalized and will host an open market, where there will be commercialization of all the local agricultural products, attracting tourists and inhabitants. The parking lot belongs to a parking system constituted by three main areas, which are located underground in the center and on the surface in both extremities, west and east.

Fig.4 Public facilities and Residential area: during and after Olympic Games.

Functions: during and after the Olympic Games. On the west side, the buildings bordering the river are large enough to house exhibitions and big events. The finger that follows the river has a panoramic restaurant through which you can cross the river; the offices will be converted into administration center of the village during the post-Olympic period. In addition to the cultural and recreational activities, there are the bus terminal and the check-in point at the west entrance of the village. During the Olympic Games they will be very important, allowing to sort and organize all the athletes and journalists troupes around the village. With the Olympic Games finished, the two buildings will be converted: the check-in point will become a tourist center, whereby visitors can learn about all the possibilities offered by the site and its surroundings; the bus terminal will continue its function and will be the arrival point of a lot of tourists interested in the Agritainment experience. The commercial activities will retain their character and will sell local agricultural products. More generally, the west area of the village is predominantly residential: during the Olympic Games it will host athletes from around the world, at the end of the Olympic Games these apartments will be transformed and subdivided to accommodate tourists. The goal is to keep the cultural character of the area during the entire life of the village, in order to create a site of exceptionally prolific and varied activity, a reference point for the organization of cultural events.

Moving from west towards the east, we find an area with less compact fabric, but we can still recognize a big opening: the central public square designed for celebrations during the Olympic period. Here again, there are several public facilities facing the square. Shops define its northern perimeter and they will be intended for the villagers, who can sell their products directly. Instead, the squareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s south facade is bordered by two large buildings that during the Olympic Games will be the Media Center. With the Olympic Games finished, big glass volumes are converted to green houses and will be connected to the workshop building towards the south by a path along the finger. Proceeding eastward, there are two activities related to wellness: the clinic and the gym, which will retain their function even in the post-Olympics. In conclusion, central-east side is predominantly public due to the centered public square that connects northsouth and west-east axes. This location is of significant importance both during and after the Olympic Games and this needs to be looked into further. In the coming pages we will analyse each buildings overlooking the central finger. They are experimental stations of a path, where travelers may experience several activities, starting with those related to land and ending with the open market. Furthermore, thanks to this educational trail the travelers can really get inside architectural perception and have them the gradient, the principle that permeates the whole project. From south to north, from the fields to the village, the volumes increase and grow in complexity with each passing stations.

Fig.5 East part in exploded view

4th floor

3rd floor

2nd floor

1st floor

Finger network and public square

Courtyard

Density gradient

Square

Greenhouse

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2. didascalia immagine o testo o elaborato

Workshop

Experience

2.2 First site: Experience Design solution

Experience. H. Repton, a famous garden historian and English landscape garden designer, had said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;A garden is, or ought to be cultivatedâ&#x20AC;?.9 Actually, the earliest gardens, such as vegetable gardens, orchard or herb gardens were pragmatic. Later, these pragmatic gardens gradually evolved to all types and styles of gardens, and many theories, such as garden space and art, came into being. The Linear Garden is a return to the simple garden essence that we have ignored, forgotten or not recognized, and brings people the fun of rural life to people. Besides being a horticulture activity, a garden is also a kind of art, a spatial art. In the Linear Garden, a boardwalk winds through an irregular gourd - crawling treillage built in bamboo. Bamboo is a cheap and strong construction material, symbolizing Chinese rural characteristics. Garden treillage is very popular in a farmhouse, and the gourd is the most common plant in a farmhouse courtyard. Its fruit not only is edible and useful, but also represents well-being, peace and happiness in China. Sunlight shining through gourd treillage dappleds the ground, creating a thick shadowy game. By using local materials and simple form language, we actually create unpredictable spaces in such a small parcel of space. This garden shows the seasonal cycle and invites people to explore the fun. Whenever walking or meditating in it, people can feel the deep poetic sense and similar space of a traditional, Chinese garden.

1. Turner, T. (2005). Garden history. London: Spon Press. Fig.6 Entrance pavillion to the village, horizontal section and frontal view

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

Bamboo

Cultivation area Experience

Fig.7 How the Linear Garden looks like throughout the four seasons. The native vegetation from north-eastern China, in particular in the mountains around Beijing area, is the pine-oak mixed broad leaved deciduous forest. Among the several species of native plants, the category chosen is: 1. BROUSSONETIA PAPYFER 2. CANFORA 3. PHILADELPHUS PEKINESIS 4. SPIRAEA DASYANTHA 5. RICINUS COMMUNIS 6. BAMBUSEAE

Linear Garden. Along the bamboo fence flourishes a Linear Garden that extends over more than 60 metres, which features edible and aromatic plants. Carefully integrated into the surrounding fields, the boardwalk is located on the road that once connected the village with the southern part of the county. Walking on this boardwalk, visitors can experience unpredictable spatial and visual variation, inside and outside, high and low, brightness and darkness, open and closed. This responds to the space characteristics of Chinese traditional garden. The Linear Garden is also an art of process. Plants growing, blooming, fruiting, withering and rebirthing, are the normal lifecycle of a garden. The Linear Garden embodies an art of process and shows different charm in different life phases. Here, construction, maintenance, picking, seed sowing become an integral part of the garden, ever-changing and full of dynamic. Its identity and functions will remain the same both before and after Olympic Games: it will be the entrance pavillion to the village, symbolizing the link between the surrounding agricultural land and the farmers.

2.3 Second site: Workshop Design solution

Workshop. The aims of the workshop’s rural public space are, firstly, to identify the spare available spaces in the village, planning to reuse them especially for the public life of the villagers. Secondly, to modify the existing farming plan, in order to improve the agricultural productivity and the farmers’ income. Just like most of the villages in China, there are few facilities for the public life in Taizicheng Village. This new community center can be used generally for the committee’s meeting and occasionally as a projection room for the villagers. This community center will be a multifunctional center for all of the villagers, particular providing public services, such as information services and primary farmer training. With the future vision of agritourism, a better streetscape with basic outdoor furniture would not only improve the living condition of the villagers, but also make the village more attractive and friendly to the visitors. The second task of the workshop is to rearrange the farmland. With a view to achieving greater efficiency in production, a well planned planting chart will be helpful for the villagers. Having reserved enough space for the crops, some farmlands could be cultivated diversely with different seasonal plants, including vegetables and fruits, which would obviously improve the farmers’ income evidently, meanwhile the monotonous landscape will be improved naturally.

Fig.8 Workshop station, horizontal section and frontal view

Building

Finger

During the Olympic Games: entertainment. Due to its high-visibility position, the workshop building will host the museum relating to the Villageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development strategy. In order to become a new model that drives the sustainable development of the region, will be set up illustrative stands concerning the life process of the village.

Fig.9 Use of space: a. during Olympic Games b. after Olympic Games

Post Olympic Games: farmer training. Since it appears that farmers do not always pass on their knowledge to other farmers, it is best for technicians to provide training directly to the farm population. The effectiveness of the mix of training methods such as farming demonstrations, lectures style and field training, could be improved through greater emphasis on practical, on-farm training. Training materials could be improved by the use of pictures and diagrams which semi-literate poor farmers can understand, and be complemented by the establishment of small libraries containing relevant technical information. For minority farmers unable to speak the language, training materials should be provided in their local language. Household training should also include household financial management and vocational and life skills training, particularly those which would enable them to develop off-farm enterprises, such as small turistic businesses.

2.4 Third site: Greenhouse Design solution

Greenhouse. Following the rural public space workshop, a more specific workshop will be held in a greenhouse. Whether growing vegetables, fruits or plants, a green house is required to combat a cold climate like this one. Geen houses are useful for growing and propagating plants because they allow sunlight to enter and prevent heat from escaping. Having a greenhouse allows not only to teach gardening classes and educate young people on how things grow, but also gives the possibility of buying plants. People interested in agricultural activities may rent space for the cold months, allowing them to over-winter potted plants they cannot take inside for the winter. In this way, users can maximize each growing cycle, provide higher quality produce and obtain higher prices for their crops. In addition, with the expectation of agritourism, diverse functions should be considered to meet the visitors’ demands. Our research topics started from the ‘kitchen’: with a rapid process of urbanization, the Chinese traditions have been reduced to urban or rural, with the exception of the cuisine. Eating retains its importance in the everyday life, so that the kitchen could be an interesting portal to observe the lifestyle. That is why we thought that the ‘common kitchen’ is the answer: besides the basic function-cooking-of the kitchen, it is also a space for the casual meeting of the neighbours. The rural kitchen is not only for the tourist experience, but also for the reorientation of the lifestyle.

Fig.10 Greenhouses station, horizontal section and frontal view

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Fig.11 Use of space: a. during Olympic Games b. after Olympic Games

During the Olympic Games: Media Center. The Media Center, with a ceiling height of eight metres and usable space of more than 1500 square metres, will be built according to the broadcasting needs. A lobby area will be set up in the opaque buildings for media reception and information services. A big glass volume will be used for logistical and storage services; two big volumes will house rental spaces for the media and delegation press officials, and office rooms for the Olympic News Service. Finally, two big halls for press releases will be set up here, including a main press conference hall and a second press conference hall. Post Olympic Games: pick & eat point. We figured out a pick & eat point in order to motivate both villagers and tourists to cook and eat healthy food. In this station, the rural kitchen will be located in the opaque volumes next to the big glass volumes, the food production sites. The aim is to provide a fam experience in addition to eating agricultural products deriving from the greenhouses in the same building: in this way, tourists come for the experience of both picking the produce as well as consuming produce that is local and fresh.

2.5 Fourth site: Public Square Design solution

The Public Square. The green area connector flows into the plaza, the heart of our project. The square is a great pedestrian traffic node since it is located in the intersection of the the horizontal and vertical pedestrian axes of the village. Surrounding terracing and vertical circulation connecting to ground level add more layers to the space which offers more complex visualization. In the north square, terraced steps lead to a big raised platform that provides more shaded seating overlooking the plaza. A perforated roof screen casts an ever changing pattern of shadow on this installation, and provides a luminous backdrop for evening events. Both the rural public space planning and the design of the rural kitchen are the reconstruction of the existing living conditions, both are mainly aimed at the improvement of the infrastructure. However, in order to figure out the sustainable mode of the village, possible commercial opportunities will be the urgent, pratical issue for the project. That is why we laid down several selling points on the north side of the square. Here, the villagers could have additional income besides farming, by selling their agricultural or hand-made products. These enterprises can be operated successfully because of the small scale and high efficiency. Our goal is to see the plaza serving diverse activities of the village as a central gathering space, which represents the convergence of the community in this diverse, mixed income, development.

Fig.12 Public Square, horizontal section and frontal view

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Fig.13 Flow diagram: a. extraordinary b. ordinary

During the Olympic Games: Ceremony Square. The Village Plaza is the place for the team welcome ceremonies and cultural activities. The Plaza also includes a number of facilities such as the Olympic store, photo service, bank, post office, information office and first aid station for the convenience of athletes and team officials. After the Olympics, all these business activities will be replaced by selling points run by locals. Another important aspect is the spatial use: since this is a extraordinary event, the central area will house a large number of people. The openings in the side will be related to facilities. Post Olympic Games: Public Market Square. Leisure activities, market activities and contemplative seating areas allow for various groups to utilize the plaza spaces in different ways. These interactive systems promote the communication among people and add more vitality to the plaza. The Plaza introduces different variable installations to contain such diverse activities: we can recognise three areas thanks to the slight bamboo elements arrayed around them, as a see-through barrier. This â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;architectural promenadeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; provides a shady retreat from the summer sun, by differentiating the market area from thr leisure area. Finally, this path ends up into a labyrinth within a bamboo forest, next to the green house building.

2.6 Fifth site: Courtyard Design solution

Courtyard. After walking the entire length of the finger, there is the residential area that marks the north border of the village. Tortous alleys along with all the individual courtyard houses connect and make the whole neighborhood appear in a natural way, just like the old village. We focused on a cluster facing the public square, composed by several apartments and services surrounding four courtyards. Just like the traditional dwelling, there is a sequence of spaces from the neighborhood to the family courtyard. In our project this has been achieved introducing a lobby and then a pedestrian alley to reach the apartments. In this way we emphasized the privacy and the territoriality of the house, introducing at the same time places for the neighbors to share. The pedestrian alley is only two meters wide, and the wall on the north side is seven meters high, while the south one is three and half meters high. The alley, with this depth-width ratio, brings a great deal of cross ventilation ,which makes it a cool and confortable place in the summer and meanwhile it conserves a feeling of enclosure thet belongs to traditional hutongs. For indoor faรงades, we have adopted a doublewall system: the inner wall serves as separation between the interior and exterior, while the outer wall forms a transitional outdoor shaded space. At the same time, a balance between traditional solid walls and modern functional needs is created by this double-wall system.

Fig.14 Courtyard, horizontal section and frontal view

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During the Olympic Games: athletes apartments. Given its proximity to snow venues, a Residential Zone is set up in Taizicheng Olympic Village for the convenience of the athletes. The cluster we focused on has thirty-two apartments with a linked gym and spa, where athletes can relax before and after competing. The apartments consist of one to three single or double rooms meant to accomodate no more than five people. The apartments do not have kitchens, there will be a 24-hour dining hall nearby. Nevertheless, gas and water supply already in place make the apartments convertible after Olympics. Fig.15 Quarters typology: a. During Olympic Games b. After Olympic Games

Post Olympic Games: tourism accommodation facility. After the Olympics, the Taizicheng Olympic Village will be converted into a touristic accommodation facility where tourists can experience agritainment. Each apartment will be subdivided in order to meet the needs of tourists. At the same time, some villagers will occupy several apartments, in order to care for and maintain the agricultural courtyard. We regard the Residential Zone as an important starting point in moving towards a sustainable development in Taizicheng: the collaboration between locals and tourists â&#x20AC;&#x153;under the same roofâ&#x20AC;? is one of the objects of our sustainable community project. This way, attractive scenarios and solutions between providers and users will be created.

3.CHINESE COURTYARD HOUSE

第三章

3.1 The history and typology of a Chinese Courtyard House Framing: Introduction

1. Wu, L. (1994). Beijing Juâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;er Hutong New Courtyard Housing Experiment. Tsinghua University, Institute of Architectural and Urban Studies. Fig.1 Differentiated typologies of Courtyard houses all around China. A courtyard house is a residential compound with a set of courtyards enclosed by the surrounding buildings and high walls on four sides. The characteristics of the physical form of the courtyard house compound have been mainly determined by climatic and socio-cultural factors.

The courtyard house, a traditional dwelling typology compound with buildings surrounding a courtyard on four (or sometimes three) sides, has been representative of housing patterns for over one thousand years in China, most famously in Beijing. It is a historical heritage deeply rooted to the specific Chinese traditions and culture. The literally translated name â&#x20AC;&#x153;quadranglesâ&#x20AC;? indicates the characteristical layout of the courtyard house: a courtyard surrounded by four buildings. Along the history of China, the courtyard house composition has always been the fundamental brick of the urban and sub-urban tissue. Its broad usage has comprehended residences, palaces, temples, monasteries, businesses and government offices for thousands of years. Although the courtyard house was not the only house typology in China, it was the most diffused form of building from north to south. The form of the courtyard house has been selected over the constructive variety not by a mere coincidence, but through a proper evolutionary process. In fact, the shape of the courtyard house has proved to be far more suitable than other vernacular dwelling types to adapt to the natural environment, acomplishing in the meantime the task to meet the cultural needs of locals in the majority of Chinese areas. It may be assumed that physical forces such as climate and natural environmental conditions and socio-cultural forces are the main determinants that dictated the growth of the courtyard house form and the development of its style.1

Situated in the Northern Hemisphere, the Chinese mainland is to the east of Europe, on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean. Such a geographic position enables monsoon circulation to form easily. As a result, China is one of the regions in the world where a strong monsoon climate can be observed. The direction the wind blows changes periodically at different seasons of the year. During the winter and early spring, most areas in China are subject to a cold wind from the north (the strong wind from the north and north-east or northwest). This always happens in the loess regions and desert zones. These areas are located along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, where the largest group of Chinese nationals, the Han people, were first scattered. The howling wind coming from the north carries yellow dust that darkens the sky and obscures everything. As a practical solution, the form of courtyard dwelling with high walls forming an enclosure on four sides was developed.2 In the summer, the regions along the Chinese south-east coastal areas are frequently struck by typhoons produced by tropical cyclones in the western part of the North Pacific Ocean and by tropical monsoons from the south-east and southwest Indian Ocean. Under such conditions, multi-storey courtyard housing complexes were constructed on the hillsides in many of the southern areas of China to provide an ideal refuge and protection from typhoons and floods, while livestock was kept inside the courtyards to lessen the damage.3

2. Cheng, J. (1994). Feng-shui and Architecture. Jiangxi: Science and Technique Press, (Chinese). 3. Shan, D. (1992). Human Beings with their Living Environment: A Study on Traditional Local Dwellings. Tsinghua University Press, (Chinese). Fig. 2 Natural Climate conditions in China: a. The aggression of cold wind in winter b. The aggression of tropical cyclone in summer

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With its vast territorial extension populated by many different ethnic groups, China is a country that presents a wide range of morphological territories combined with different traditional lifestyles. The latter being the reason for which various differences in residence designs can be found from a province to another. In fact, certain styles are more representative for specific places, for instance due to weather conditions. Nevertheless, acknowledge the aforementioned assortment, it is worth noticing how the seclusion of the courtyard is a common feature among all the Chinese architecture. From the imperial palaces left by past dynasties down to the dwellings of the common people, the walled-off compounds with their own courtyards inside have remained to the present time. This architectural tradition can be explained by the social conditions of Chinese political history. The course of historical development in China has been full of changes politically, socially and culturally. During the past 2â&#x20AC;&#x2122;000 years more than 20 Chinese dynasties have succeeded to one another. Moreover, invasions of â&#x20AC;&#x153;barbarous or semi-civilized tribesâ&#x20AC;? swept through along history, that caused the arise of an unstable condition of order. To add, internal dissension and factional strife broke out periodically. It is a natural response becoming protected within the safe barriers of an inner life, a shelter against outward misfortunes, making true happiness depend entirely upon their own inward state.

Fig. 3 Siheyuan in Beijing (北京四合院, běijīng sìhéyuàn): Traditional Chinese courtyard house. It is called siheyuan because the houses in it are constructed in such a way that the main house, the wing house and the house facing the main house are connected with walls and the whole complex creates an enclosed square courtyard. It has been served hundred years since this kind of architectural form first took shape. From: http://www. chinadaily.com.cn; Fig.4 Yaodong in Northern China (华北窑洞, Huáběi yáodòng)– Cave dwellings on Loess Plateau. Having selected a good place, local people would dig a large pit and dig caves at the four sides, a tunnel leading to the ground at one side and a well in the center of the pit and build low walls at the four sides. The courtyard cave dwelling is warm in winter, cool in summer along with being both rain and fireproof. The pits of different families sit close to each other. From: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn;

Fig.5 Tulou of Kejia (客家土楼, Kèjiā tǔlóu): Ancient earthen castles of China. Centuries ago, waves of Han emigrants fled south to avoid natural disasters and social unrest in northern China. They settled in the mountains of Fujian and parts of Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces. Within their sturdy walls, the people became self-sufficient and somewhat isolated. If enemies come, the tulou will be strong fortress once the gate is locked. A tulou can accommodate as many as 200 to 800 people. From: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn; Fig.6 Boat-shaped house (黎族船草屋, Lízú chuáncǎowū): Dwellings of the Li people in Hainan province. Their general an inverted boat. With fences woven with coconut, bamboo and mango leaves and roofs made of thatches, coconut and sunflower leaves, the crude materials needed for the boat-shaped houses were readily available. The houses provide shelter from rain and wind, and protect its inhabitants from wild animals. It can withstand the powerful sun, typhoons and storms. From: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn;

Fig.7 Mongolian Yurt (蒙古包, Měnggǔ bāo): Portable house of nomads. The frame of the yurt is a supporting ring, formed by some wooden poles. The yurt’s frame is covered with thick felt fastened from outside with ropes. Every yurt has an opening on the top, which provides both light and ventilation, and a wooden door facing south or southeast. The convenient design suits the mobility of the Mongolian people who live on grazing. As more and more Mongolians settle down, yurts are decreasing in number. From: http:// www.chinadaily.com.cn; Fig.8 Diaolou of the Qiang people (羌族碉楼, Qiāngzú diāolóu): Castle-like tower. Between 10 and 30 meters high, the watchtowers were normally built beside lower houses. The Qiang ancestors built them to store grain and offer shelter during wars. While in Kaiping city of Guangdong province, about 1,800 castle-like towers dot the landscape. Some of the towers date to the Ming dynasty. Others were constructed in the early 20th century and bear obvious Western influences. From: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn;

Fig.9 Diaojiaolou of the Tujia people (土家吊脚楼, Tǔjiā diàojiǎolóu): Stilted houses entirely made of woods. Sitting high above ground, the design is meant to avoid insects and animals. From: http://www.chinadaily. com.cn;

Fig.10 Tuzhangfang (彝族土掌房, Yízú tǔzhǎngfáng): traditional residential building of the Yi ethnic group. They look like Tibetan stone-houses but their walls are made of earth beaten hard while under construction. Its flat roof is also used for drying items. Most of these houses are found in central and southeast Yunnan. The house in the photo consists of three to five rooms. The central room has a fire-pit and is the gathering spot both for family members and guests. From: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn;

Fig.11 Bamboo building of the Dai people ( 傣族竹楼, Dǎizú zhúlóu): Tropical loft in the rainforests. Is the stilt style building that takes bamboo as the main construction material. The buildings of this kind are mainly distributed in Yunnan province. The stilt style building is conducive for avoiding insects, snakes and beasts; they are also damp-proof and well ventilated. Besides, the empty room below can be used as a store house or for poultry homes. From: http://www.chinadaily. com.cn; Fig.12 Water town in Zhouzhuang (周庄水乡, Zhōuzhuāng shuǐxiāng: House of dreams for all. The traditional residences in the town, mostly built in the Ming and Qing dynasties (1644-1911), flank the winding waterways. Many of them are well-kept and have preserved their original appearances, with white walls and black-tiled roofs.From: http://www. chinadaily.com.cn;

3.2 The actual context of Chinese Courtyard City grown and high-rise buildings

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From the collapse of the last imperial dynasty (1911) to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (1949), China underwent a series of wars which entailed destructive impacts on the development of the courtyard houses After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, dramatic changes took place under a series of national policies with the guidance of Mao Zedong’s Communist ideology and political influence. The early national policy followed the Soviet pattern of stressing heavy industrial development and urbanization. The operation of socialized industrialization and the state-supervised planned economy was carried out with a decisive priority in the allocation of state investment funds given to urban industry rather than agriculture, and to “productive” investment like heavy industry rather than to “non-productive” investment such as housing construction.4 On the one hand, the emphasis of national policy on industrialization and urban development stimulated the rapid increase of the urban population, which brought the expansion of large cities. On the other hand, the urban policy was initiated to encourage a common living style with a low level of consumption and consequently the low level of investment in urban housing construction remained. Faced with the pressure of an acute housing shortage, the government used the old housing settlements as a flexible housing stock to absorb the severe pressure of the housing shortage.

4. Liu, Y., & Awotona, A. (1996). The Traditional Courtyard House in China: Its Formation and Transition. Fig.13 Tansition from traditional life to the actual new urban space in Beijing. From: https://www.pinterest.com/

The skyline of Beijing

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Beijing dwellings underwent a process of subdivision: the most traditional single-household courtyard houses were completely converted into multihousehold compounds and those multi-household compounds were further subdivided. The latter being a strategic maneuver to stem the housing shortage, but also serving in executing the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s housing policy of abolishing private housing ownership, which was in line with the rising movement of the nationalization of ownership. Nevertheless, the wide usage of courtyard housing seemed not to satisfy the steep growth of the population. In addition, Beijing was given all the administrative functions that befit the national capital. Most of the housing in Beijing was built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (14th-19th century), largely of the one-storey courtyard house type. In the past, a spacious courtyard house would be occupied by a single family. But demographical needs turned out this type of living construction suitable for mass cohabitation. This meant that a new type of housing had to be established, necessarily with a higher ratio of living residents per unit area. This primarily served as a way to improve living condition and for accommodating more people. All of this has seriously affected the cultural continuity of the traditional Chinese housing form, revolutionizing its concept.

Fig.14 The expansion of Beijing. Liang, S. Y. (2014). Remaking Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Great Cities: Space and Culture in Urban Housing, Renewal, and Expansion. Routledge.

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Fig.15 Due to the increased density of settlement since the fifties traditional patios are gradually filled by illegal buildings; while the expression dà zá yuàn 1 (overcrowded house) takes place the traditional siheyuan. From http://senseable.mit.edu/papers/ [dà zá yuàn 大雜院] compound with many families living together

A large number of peasants went into the cities, and settled in there. Most of Chinese younger generations, who were born in the 1980s, have several moving experiences during their lifetimes. From the original garden type of house to the multi-storey or high-rise residences, the changing patterns of living space also contributed to the change of people’s live. Deepest thoughts and feelings in the relationship between the neighbor’s lifestyle no longer exists. Furthermore, the lack of modern facilities caused conflicts between traditional housing and the lifestyle generated by multi house-hold compunds. Since the vast majority of courtyard houses in Beijing were built just before modern technology was invented, equipment such as water supply, drainage, piped gas, electricity, or telephone cable was not installed in the old courtyard houses. Any environmental thermal system such as heating or cooling was not applied. The absence of water supply directly implied the absence of lavatories in the courtyard houses. Public restrooms were usually located along the street. People living in traditional courtyard house had to live in a conventional way. They had to use jars or buckets to store water, fire stoves for cooking and oil lamps for lighting. Later, those structures that served as kitchens or bathrooms were directly built in the courtyards by co-living families themselves, in pursuit of a modern life. However, those solutions brought a certain degree of destruction in the harmony proper of the courtyard and also in the urban landscape of the whole city.

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3.3 Design principles Traditional Chinese Courtyard house

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As mentioned previously, traditional Chinese housing varied by era and region, but some similarities and peculiar traits can be clearly distinguished as common factors. Site orientation, materials, foundation blueprint, and the characteristical Chinese concern with harmony and balance still influence and even more, determine house design. People coming from disparate social classes lived in the same basic layout: residences built with the only usage of natural resources, in order to conform to spiritual principles. The fundamental materials used until now were: mud brick, pounded earth, wood framing and tile. “In order to reinterpret the traditional spatial, social and cultural logics is necessary to analyze the traditional Chinese courtyard house first as a reference for all the other typologies.” 5 All the main designs principles are very similar, bringing little adaption with regards to area and geographical conditions. Through one thousand years of housing development, the courtyard house had been set up as an “ideal model”. In practice, this model protected people from outside forces and disturbances. In essence, it expressed the Chinese philosophical ideology through the construction of an ideal form of a house representing the social and family hierarchy and enhancing harmony between man, house and nature.

5. Rowe, C. (1982). The mathematics of the ideal villa and other essays. MIT Press. Fig.15 Shijia Courtyard 24 Beijing China. From:http://www.princes-foundation.org/ what-we-do/projects/cn/shijia-courtyard-24beijing-china-regeneration. Typical and the most basic layout of Beijing courtyard house with two central innercourtyard spaces.

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Cultural values. The physical design and spatial organization of the traditional courtyard house compound are also rooted in the ancient Chinese philosophy, during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A.D. 220). The ancient Chinese philosophy is divided into two parts: Daoism and Confucianism. Comparing Daoist with Confucian influences on Chinese architecture, it can be observed that Daoism stressed a harmony between buildings and their environments, finding architectural expression in beautifully sited buildings and romantic ensembles, and developing artificial landscapes and ideal man-made environments. The qualities of Confucian architectonics emphasized the importance of hierarchical order, axis and symmetry to control spatial organizations.â&#x20AC;?6 In other words, Confucianism dealt with the connection between man and his society, while the emphasis in Daoism was on the holistic and harmonious relationship between man and nature. On the one hand, the philosophical ideology provided a theoretical guidance for house building practice. On the other, the builders tried to express the ideology through the design of the house. Therefore, the traditional philosophy and the house patterns began to be integrated with each other. As a result, the form and spatial organization of the courtyard house specifically reflected features which the ideology embraced, the rigidly patriarchal life-style and the thoughts of all the family members, and also encouraged the importance of the orderly family as the basis for a harmonious and peaceful world.

6. Needham, J. (1971). Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 4. Cambridge University Press. Fig.16 The spatial organization of a traditional Chinese courtyard house reflected by hierarchical nature and feng-shui

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Spatial Values. The basic configuration of a courtyard house is formed by a certain number of rectangular blocks that combined together generate a strong north-south and east-west axial layout in a symmetrical plan with the void space in the middle. The space within four columns is recognized as a bay with a certain dimension. The number of the bays determines the scale of the building as well as the social status of the owner. To reflect the family hierarchical nature, the form of axial, symmetrical courtyard houses were developed to symbolize the authority, expressing the power elders had over the younger generations. The spatial organization of a house compound and the arrangement of the important buildings were designed in the following way. The most honored buildings were located in the core quarter with the highest roof and biggest size in the whole compound and were placed to the north of a central axis. The core quarter was provided for the older generation. Following the order, the building for the â&#x20AC;&#x153;executiveâ&#x20AC;? householder was in the inner quarter before the core quarter. The outer quarter was built for servants and guests and was open to all family members. Thus, the courtyard house is symmetrical as a whole, but the asymmetrical position of certain elements (ex. entrance door) prohibits the stiffness of the plan and creates a sinuous and interesting circulation.

The courtyard house does not have any absolute distinction between indoor and outdoor, natural and artificial, closed and open. Instead, a series of spaces overlap on each other, generating a complex model. For example, the courtyard as an outdoor space is also an extension of the indoor. Kinds of supposedly indoor behaviors such as dining and meeting often appear in the courtyard. It is not only because of the compact enclosure the surrounding buildings provide, but also because of the spatial permeation from the rooms. As another example, the central hall as the living room of the family which always opens to the courtyard contains some outdoor quality as well. Multiple spaces are sensed simultaneously, and multiple moments exist in the same space. The feeble separation between indoor and outdoor makes this permeation possible. No solid walls are placed between the courtyard and the rooms. Lattice window panels having translucent paper on the inside provide variable amounts of light, air, and privacy to the interior space and permeate the warm and intimate atmosphere to the exterior courtyard.

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Most of courtyards in Beijing are constructed in Ming and Qing Dynasties. From Ming Dynasty bricks were widely used in traditional buildings. Beijing courtyards are wooden structures; bricks are as a filling material of walls. Foundations are based primarily on the stones and roofs are based on the tiles. Open-airs courtyards are usually covered by stones, gravel, bricks and tiles. Grey is the dominant color for the bricks, walls, roofs and the grounds, only on the door and window coated some paint of red and green, all of which bring harmony and simple elegance to the courtyard house. The paths in the yard are all paved by the bricks with the four corners of the yard left for planting trees. Green trees and red flowers really make good scenery. Some big courtyard houses even have gardens, kiosks, platforms or pavilions. Flowers, wood, mountain and stone; Traditional Chinese architecture focuses on the building efficiency and practicality. In particular, such as the residential buildings of courtyard, in the choice of materials and structures are dominated by low-cost and convenience. Many materials are local materials and ease of handling. The most obvious features of traditional Chinese building material is suitable for rapid construction, so the completion of a building will often require a short few weeks, or even just within a few days.

Fig.17 The materials Chinesecourtyard house

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Social Values. Social interaction happens inside the family and between the families, with good protection of privacy. The configuration is between public and private spaces.7 The courtyard at the center of the house is the public space open to the whole family. The central hall in the main building ranks the next, followed by the serving rooms, adjacent to the street, is the place for servantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; activities such cooking. Bedrooms are always very private, especially the back building for the daughters. Spaces gradually shift and what indicate this alteration are the gates in various forms.8 Gates in the courtyard house are the divisions between certain kinds of social relationships. In other words, the gates are more like ethical divisions rather than physical ones. What is noticeable is that the separation between public and private spaces does not compromise the integrity and the consistency of the entire space. With an emphasis on privacy, Chinese courtyard house is developed in depth, putting the privacy in the deep end. Simultaneously, the transparency of the spaces discussed in the last section is designed to deny this depth. In a neighborhood, the array and combination of families is even more complex due to the urban texture. Hutong is a term that cannot be avoided when it comes to the neighborhood scale. Hutong means the alley connecting the families in the narrow sense and the neighborhood made up of alleys and courtyard houses in the broad one.

7. Public means the outside world and private means the family. Among the family members, the model of public and private works as radiant circles. 8. Social interaction happens inside the family and between the families, with a good protection of privacy Fig.18 Public and private zones in a traditional Chinese courtyard house. Rowe, C. (1976). â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Transparency: Literal and Phenomenalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, The Mathematics of the Ideal Villa. a. Linear Change from Public to Private in Section. b. Radiant Change from Public to Private

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4.CASE STUDIES

第四章

4.1 Contemporary Chinese Courtyard Projects Private and public projects

There are plenty of modern housing examples which demonstrate some kind of contemplation of traditional Chinese culture. Those projects do display the unique charm of the Chinese architecture to some degree. However, a majority of the projects dealing with Chinese traditions just borrow some segments or symbolic elements from traditional architecture. Although they have achieved a success in real estate, the segments do not fully give expression to Chinese architectural culture. In the following pages, there will be an overview on contemporary use of courtyard in China. We have chosen twelve case studies, both public and private. All these projects are the result of complex process of abstracting and distilling the spatial values, presenting them in the modern architectural language.

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4.2 Great (Bamboo) Wall Residential

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Great (Bamboo) Wall. Architects: Kengo Kuma and Associates Location: Shuiguan, Badaling, China Area: 528.25 sqm Project Year: 2002

wall courtyard passage way

The basic concept for this project was to leave the original geographical features intact and utilize locally-produced materials as much as possible. Indeed, the idea of leaving the land intact conforms with the broader planning ideology of the Great Wall project. In addition, brought long ago from China to Japan, bamboo is a symbol of cultural interchange between the two countries. Thanks to bamboo, this building is a similar symbol of cultural interchange: the bamboo filter allows light and wind to pass through and it also represents this connection between two worlds. Public spaces are grouped at the entrance where the kitchen meets the living/lounge/dining area. To reach the bedrooms hallways and staircases are provided, acting as transition spaces. Transition spaces and the distribution of rooms over different levels also has a zoning effect, creating private and public arenas for guests. The circulation of spaces was predetermined by prioritising views and location of the tea room. Like a â&#x20AC;&#x153;courtyardâ&#x20AC;?, this room is the central internal space, a lounge container of social activities.

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4.3 Bamboo Coutyard Teahouse Commercial

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Bamboo Courtyard Teahouse. Architects: Harmony World Consulting & Design Location: ShiQiao, Yangzhou, China Area: 400.0 sqm Project Year: 2012

porous wall wall courtyard private courtyard passage way water

The Bamboo Courtyard embraces the traditional Chinese garden fundamentals while blends into the natural environment. The bamboo is arranged vertically and horizontally to produce â&#x20AC;&#x153;depthâ&#x20AC;? and visual effects as you walk around. Tall rows of bamboo sticks create corridors along the outdoor walkway and are organized in asymmetric fashion on the lake. Traditionally, Yangzhou courtyards are formed with inward facing pavilions, creating an internal landscape space. Drawing inspiration from this, the bamboo courtyard was designed from a basic square footprint, fragmented into small spaces to create an internal landscape area. Each of the spaces has views into the surrounding lake through a private courtyard, allowing a panoramic view of the area. From the exterior, the bamboo courtyard is a simple cubic form with a variation of solids and voids. This difference between indoor and outdoor spaces illustrates the sense of intimacy of Chinese culture. Moreover, the natural materials such as bamboo and bricks provide sustainable sensibilities.

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4.4 Courtyard 105, Caochangdi Residential and commercial

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Courtyard 105. Architect: Ai Weiwei, FAKE Design Location: Caochangdi, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China Area: site area: 3044 sqm, existing building 1322 sqm, extension 281sqm Project Year: 2005

new wall wall courtyard private courtyard passage way vegetation

The building used to be a small company with one-story office buildings and warehouse of about 1322 sqm. The new owner wanted to convert it into a studio, consisting of a few independent living areas, office rooms and a rehearsal space. He keeps most of the existing constructions. The renovation of the north part is mainly by adding the gray brick volumes out of the old facades and adjusting the windows, as to keep consistent with the new extension. The total area of the new extension is 281 sqm. The new order is set to divide the courtyard according to function; a clear relationship is built for the different parts of the buildings, so they can show respect to each other. With the grafting of new volumes and two boxes, the central courtyard is fragmented. The result is the creation of multiple private courtyards enclosed by wooden bulkheads. At the center of the courtyard, there is a meeting room on two levels, one building to rise to more than one plane, which interrupts the fronts of all the sleeves.

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4.5 The Concave House Residential, commercial and semi-public

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The Concave House. Architects: Tao Lei Architect Studio Location: Benxi, Liaoning Province, China Area: site area: 5000.0 sqm, project area: 3000.0 sqm Project Year: 2010

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This project, including multiple functions such as residence, studio and gallery, is specially designed for Mr. Dazhong Feng who is a prestigious artist in China. The building is neither constructed for public nor purely for private purpose. Therefore, it not only requires a quiet living space for the artist but also a dynamic gallery space for visitors. The shape is a cube with all side roofs inclining downwardly to the centre. Three inter-connected yards create the atmosphere that all views are pulled into the internal of the building. And once again, this concept matches a traditional Chinese housing design mode. Within the brick cube, the artistic creation of the book yard, the bamboo yard, and the mountain yard has made the interior space unique and full of surprise while the exterior is stable and serious. This design origins form traditional Chinese building mode and culture but using a modern way of expression and regional criticism to reconsider traditions, which lead to the result of an oriental modern architecture.

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4.6 Xiang Jing + Qu Guangci Sculpture Studio Residential and commercial and semi-public

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Xiang Jing + Qu Guangci Sculpture Studio. Architects: aterlier100s+1 Location: Songzhuangzhen, Tongzhou, Beijing, China Area: 1257.0 sqm Project Year: 2013

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The mountain shape building gradually setback towards northwest realizes better lighting and ventilation. According to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mountainâ&#x20AC;? shape, three dimension routes have been organized between southeastern courtyard to roof courtyard. We can separate two pathways: to the north, people can arrive to the residences, each of them facing private courtyard; the the south, a external boardwalk connects public spaces. Corridors, external and internal stairs, stones, plants have been organized by connection between skylights and pavilion. Chinese courtyard concept has been embedded in the whole building by contract between emptiness and concrete, sparse and dense, turn and return.

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4.7 Artist Studios Residential and commercial

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Artist Studios. Architects: Knowspace Location: Songzhuan, China Area: 1488.0 sqm Project Year: 2013

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The design for the studio houses departs from the traditional Chinese Courtyard House Type in terms of aspects of its spatial performance, namely shelter (shielded outdoor space within the structure and figure), introversion (all openings open towards the inside, not towards the street), degrees of privacy (gradated levels of privacy through the succession of courtyards), orientation (main living spaces with south orientation). These are examined and translated into an architectural Prototype that reconciled 3 different juxtapositions: the inside and the outside, the working and the living, the individual and the collective. The adaptive figures of the buildings and their specific spatial configurations create differentiated courtyards / outdoor spaces. The walled exterior shields the building from the outside world, while on the interior the spaces open up into the courtyards. In this project the question of coexistence between the individual expression and the collective shared spatial experience play a decisive role for the design. These courtyards are crucial space because the relationships between work and live happen through them.

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4.8 A House For All Seasons Public

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A House For All Seasons. Architects: John Lin Location: Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China Area: 380.0 sqm Project Year: 2012

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The project there looks at the idea of the vernacular village house and attempts to propose a contemporary prototype. All the houses in Shijia Village are originally of mud brick construction and occupy parcels of the same configuration: 10 m x 30 m. They are each in the midst of a long process of change as villagers gradually renovate and build upon the courtyard typology, traditional elements fused with new brick and concrete buildings. In this context, rural livelihood is best expressed through the utilization of the domestic courtyard, where much of life takes place, where the majority of a villageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s open space is contained. This sets up an intimate relationship between the courtyard and other interior rooms that is both visual and functional. This prototype house design includes four functional courtyards as the primary elements of the house. The courtyards are inserted throughout the house to relate to the main functional rooms: kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedrooms. In addition each courtyard is spatially unique. One could say the house is designed around the courtyards.

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4.9 Student Accommodation Semi-public

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Student Accommodation. Architects: Wuyang Architecture Location: Jian Chuan Lu, Minhang Qu, Shanghai Shi, China Area: 975.0 sqm Project Year: 2014

porous wall wall courtyard private courtyard passage way

This project is a small accommodation for female students, in the campus of the Shanghai Electronic Industry School. The site is limited by surrounding environment. To fit the condition of site, the building is designed as two blocks connected by a corridor and a courtyard. As a comfortable living space for students, the ground of courtyard is bespread by deck, and placed a camphor tree inside. Between the corridor and courtyard, a row of glass doors brings a continuum of inside and outside spaces. The outside boundary of courtyard is made by slight steel wires with white sleevings which bring the wires wall delicate lighting effect. Such a translucent surface also is used to create a friendly relationship between the building and its environment.

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4.10 Fan Zeng Gallery Semi-public

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Fan Zeng Gallery. Architects: Original Design Studio Location: Nantong, Jiangsu, China Area: 7028.0 sqm Project Year: 2014

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The “courtyards of relationships” is a theme of Fan Zeng art gallery. It is reflected in the presentation of three different forms of courtyards: “well courtyard” on the ground floor, “water courtyard” and “stone courtyard” across from north to south, “encircled courtyard” on the third floor. With those courtyards, a threedimensional courtyard framework is established, in which those courtyards play major roles. A big and integral volume transferred into three smaller volumes allows the scale of the courtyards become more approach to the scale of human body, and then can be more sensible and understandable. Three yards actually express extraordinary possibility after the communication and intermediation with each other. The evolution of relationship plays a more important role than the evolution of every single unit. Art gallery advocates the “diffuse boundary” in order to break the usual separation in exhibition by a dispersed display mode. This helps build a space with widespread possible path.

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4.11 Mulan Primary School Public

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Mulan Primary School. Architects: Rural Urban Framework Location: Huaiji County, Guangdong, China Area: 503.00 sqm Project Year: 2012

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The project brief involved the expansion of an existing primary school by adding an additional building of 6 classrooms. The strategy of the design was to not only extend the school but to also extend the courtyard and organize the site through a series of linked open spaces. The new building defines the edge of the site as a U-section with one side of the courtyard left open. The roof plane is a continuous ribbon that rises from the ground as a series of steps forming a new public space and outdoor classroom that then becomes the roof, before dropping down again to form a ground plane that defines the edge of the courtyard. The steps are punctuated with small micro-courtyards which continue into the library which has its own internal courtyard.

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4.12 The Forbidden City Red-wall Teahouse Commercial

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The Forbidden City Red-wall Teahouse. Architects: CutscapeArchitecture Location: Beijing, China Area: 280.0 sqm Project Year: 2014

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The renovation project took place right at the breakage of the wall Between Imperial Garden and Hutong houses. A cluster of freestanding steel-frame tearooms were inserted into the middle of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;unroofed gardenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; introducing courtyards in between the old and the new structures. The exterior of the north teahouse which had been kept in better shape was insulated with new cover material. Its interior was opened up to match modern program needs. It is, then, through such interplay of old and new, volume and void, tradition and modern, solemnity and absurdness that unprecedented readings on local environment start to emerge. When one enters the courtyard, one sees the over height of the solid brick palace wall reflected on the teahouse exterior on human scale as if many pieces of the palace wall standing on freewill. New structures do not seek to establish autonomy but to engage cultural heritage with respect. The experience of rambling inside the teahouse becomes effectively walking across a village as if the overall size of the space is enlarged.

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4.13 Niyang River Visitor Center Public

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Niyang River Visitor Center. Architects: Standardarchitecture, Zhaoyang Architects Location: Nyingchi, Xizang, China Area: 430.0 sqm Project Year: 2009

wall courtyard road passage way water

How to establish relationships between an isolated building and its surroundings is the main concern of this project. This seemingly arbitrary plan is actually shaped by circulation, program and site conditions. The building’s exterior boundary is a response to the border conditions. The inner public space is “carved” out from the irregular-shaped volume. The central courtyard connects four openings, responding to the orientations and circulation. The left over mass after “carving” accommodates three major interior functions- a ticket office, a dressing room for rafting and toilets. The transitions of colors highlight the geometric transitions of space. From morning to dusk, the sunshine changes its direction and altitude angle, penetrating through the different openings. When passing through the building, people perceive ever-changing color combination from different perspective and at different time. These colors are abstract, they multiply the spatial experience and also work as an independent performance of colors.

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Conclusion. Throughout Chinese history, the courtyard house composition has been the fundamental pattern used for residences, palaces, temples, monasteries, businesses and government offices in the gridded urban fabric of cities. its continous use through the ages is due to the fact that the courtyard house presents some essential valuable spatial features which are the expression of Chinese culture. After a process of abstracting and distilling such spatial elements, several contemporary architects have been able to present them in modern architectural language. The contemporary case studies we have chosen are twelve examples which successfully extract Chinese traditional spatial elements. Instead of literally copying old elements, the designers reveal a deeper consideration of tradition, attempting to interpret some traditional values. Enclosure and opening in one is the fundamental principle of this form of housing: this enclosure is a representation of the secretive and introversive Chinese culture. The enclosed courtyard house is a microcosm its owner, with the sky and the earth as the abstract nature and people and their activities the artificial ones. Chinese culture and religion attaches great importance to the serenity and safety of the inward world, so that space is arranged opening to the inside but closed to the outside. Starting from this principle, plenty of functional advantages such as sufficient

social interaction, a clear spatial division between public and private, and a close connection between humans and nature all exist in the traditional courtyard house, as in such case studies. The contemporary architects made great efforts to emphasize the outdoor as an extension of the indoor: the courtyard does not have any absolute distinction between indoor and outdoor, natural and artificial, closed and open. In some cases, a series of spaces overlap each other, generating a complex model. The feeble separation between indoor and outdoor makes this permeation possible. Another key element of the spatial permeation is the corridor which is the overlapped space of the indoor and the outdoor. Nevertheless, this dwelling typology started to eclipse in the last century. The growing population in addition with the conflict between the traditional housing and the modern living style, made vertical development of residential buildings an inevitable tendency in the city. The challenge we are facing today is how to minimize the disadvantages of highrises and to create a lively living model in the vertical-developed structure. Since traditional architecture obtains the desired social and cultural values, borrowing the spatial spirit from tradition is a sound approach. A new reference model for the city and a new one for rural villages will be achieved after having cultivated deeper cultural, social and spatial values of the traditional architecture.

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Acknowledgements. We would like to thank our thesis tutors for all of their guidance through this process; your discussion, ideas, and feedback have been absolutely invaluable. Also a special thanks to our fellow graduate students, research technicians, collaborators and the multitude of undergraduates who contributed to this project. We are very grateful to all of you. Finally, we would like to thank and dedicate this thesis to our families and friends, for their constant enthusiasm, encouragement, support that we have gotten over the years, without you all it would never be possible.

Ringraziamenti. Vorremmo ringraziare i nostri tutor per tutte le conoscenze che ci hanno trasmesso durante questo percorso di tesi; le nostre discussioni e scambi di idee sono stati davvero preziosi. Inoltre un ringraziamento speciale va ai nostri colleghi universitari, collaboratori e a tutti gli studenti che hanno contribuito a questo progetto. Siamo molto grati a tutti voi. Infine, vorremmo ringraziare e dedicare questa tesi alle nostre famiglie e agli amici, per il loro entusiasmo costante, incoraggiamento e sostegno che abbiamo ottenuto nel corso degli anni, senza di tutti voi non sarebbe mai stato possibile.

ANGELICA MANFREDINI

ELENA MAIOGLIO