modernizing beijing - master thesis by rutger kuipers @ tudelft msc3 explorelab - 2006

MODERNIZINGBEIJING

AthesisbyRutgerKuipers

�Modernizing Beijing Rutger H. Kuipers TU Delft MSc3

AbstractandAcknowledgement

Introduction

1 History

�.� China’s ancient architectural history

�.�.� General features

�.�.2 Imperial architecture

�.�.3 Residential architecture

�.�.4 Hutongs

�.2 Periods of Modernisation until �978

�.3 Rising China (after �978)

1.4China’s future development and goals

2 ReconstructingBeijing

2.� City planning and architecture of Beijing

2.2 Architectural debates on Beijing

2.2.� Discussing Koolhaas’ CCTV

3 Theoreticalframework

3.� Regionalism

3.2 Supermodernism

3.3 Critical Regionalism

3.4 Defamiliarization

4 CaseStudiesinBeijing

4.� Wu Liangyong: Ju’er Hutong

4.2 Steven Holl: Linked Hybrid

4.3 Andreu: National Theatre

5 Conclusions

Additions

References

Pictorialreferences

Content

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I Thesis ‘ModernizingBeijing’

2Modernizing Beijing Rutger H. Kuipers TU Delft MSc3

II Impressions of Beijing

III Analyses and precedents

IV Location


Abstract

By modernizing the city, Beijing is upgrading to a

higher level of prosperity. At the same time though

we see the reverse side of a global development,

the interventions in the city ruin parts of the city by

destroying its traditional architecture, in particular the

traditional hutong-areas, which are one of the main

characteristics of this city, and which carry a long

history of Beijing’s ancient life and architecture.

My interest is mainly concerned within a dilemma of

upgrading Beijing to a modern wealthy city on the

one hand and on the other hand destroying part of

its tradition. How could an architect operate within a

dilemma like this? Does the architect need to choose

the one or the other position or is there a possible

solution to a new architecture which embeds the local

traditions? My goal is to find the last solution: a new

architecture that embeds local tradition.

I will discuss the interventions in Beijing according

to a few theoretical themes; globalisation, critical

regionalism and defamiliarization.

Special thanks goes out to Karina Moraes Zarzar,

Marc Koehler and to the mentors of the ExploreLab

Studio for supporting me on this project.

Thanks to the founders of the ExploreLab Studio at

TU Delft for providing the possibility of a graduation

project based on personal interest. And of course

thanks to my current team of students at ExploreLab2

for the valuable reflections on each others projects

and having a good time during the process.

Acknowledgement


We live in an era of globalisation, it takes less time

then before to get from one point in the world to

another –in travel of speech, written words, images

or physically-, the world becomes one, or doesn’t

it? A definition given by Wikipedia (which in itself

is a product and process of globalisation): “an

umbrella term for a complex series of economic,

social technological, cultural and political changes

seen as increasing interdependence, integration

and interaction between people and companies in

disparate locations” (Wikipedia, 2006). The effects

of globalisation reflect in the vision

Introduction

society (in fact they originate from America, the

world’s hegemony). One of the problems or critique

on globalisation is that it happens mainly between the

rich countries in the world, who try to dictate capitalist

principles to the rest of the world. A lot of poor

countries do not get the benefits from globalisation

-meaning here: becoming a wealthier society-, unless

there is any profit to make for Western investors and

the country is willing to cooperate with the capitalist

market system. On the other hand globalisation helps

developing countries (that are of interest and willing to

cooperate) to become more prosperous.

China has been confronted with globalisation, since

Deng Xiaoping introduced the ‘open door’ policy to

China in �978 and changed the planned system to

a market system, which resulted in a tremendous

economic boom. Beijing has since then started

developing towards a modern city in a rapid pace.

At the moment ‘starchitects’ from all over the world

imprint this city with amazing designs, Beijing has

become the platform of the next architectures,

of architectural and urban debates.� The world is

following closely what is happening to China and how

it is dealing with this rapid change, since there has

been such a remarkable big economic transformation

for this country and its cities. The government of

China seems to be eager to profile itself in the world,

the reserved position the communist China had

towards capitalism has made place for an embracing

of it. One of the results is the 2008 Olympic Games

in Beijing, which means an acceleration of the

that everybody drinks Coca-Cola, eats McDonalds,

wears Nikes and listens to the same pop-music.

The one thing that seems peculiar in the effects of

globalisation, is that all these trademarked items

come from the rich part of the world, the Western

�.`McDonaldization`

2. An old foodstand in inner Beijing wears the Coca Cola advertisement.

1. Given the example: on october 17th, 2006 TU Delft organizes a forum

in Beijing on its urbanism in cooperation with the Tsinghua University,

NTU Taipei and the Berlage Institute. (www.ifou.org). The Netherlands

Architecture Institute organised an exposition in the summer of 2006 on

Contemporary China, in which Beijing and Shanghai are the main cities

of subject (www.nai.nl). In Beijing, the dutch architect Neville Mars (a

former associate of Koolhaas) founded the Dynamic City Foundation which

arranges several debates around the transformation of Beijing.

�Modernizing Beijing Rutger H. Kuipers TU Delft MSc3

building program. It means a new deadline for

Beijing that shows to when the cities facilities should

be upgraded to a higher level of prosperity. At the

same time though we see the reverse side of global

development, the interventions in the city ruin parts

of the city by destroying its traditional architecture, in

particular the traditional hutong-areas, which are one

of the main characteristics of this city, and which carry

a long history of Beijing’s ancient life and architecture.

My interest is mainly concerned with a dilemma of

upgrading Beijing to a modern wealthy city on the

one hand and on the other hand destroying part of

its tradition. How could an architect operate within a

dilemma like this? Does the architect need to choose

deal with the phenomenon of globalisation and the

local identity of the place. An important theory comes

from Tzonis and Lefaivre, who introduced the Critical

Regionalism, where they propose a new vision of

architectural approach, with a critical view towards the

products of globalisation as well as local potentials.

I presume that with the research on this theory I

can formulate a design task that will help to find

the solution to a new architecture with local identity

embedded.

I will discuss the interventions in Beijing according

to a few theoretical themes; supermodernism,

regionalism, critical regionalism and defamiliarization.

Supermodernism is discussed by Hans Ibelings,

who found a new ‘ism’ to grasp the architecture of

globalisation from the last decade of the twentieth

century in words: Supermodernism, according to

Ibelings, covers architecture with decreasing value for

“symbolic or metaphorical references” (Ibelings, �998,

p.�33). Regionalism on the other hand is a rather

conservative way of reviving past architectures. Its

main critic towards sorts of Supermodern architecture

like Ibelings describes is the loss of local identity.

Critical Regionalism is introduced by Tzonis and

Lefaivre and presents a discourse on Regional and

Global architecture. It attempts to critically combine

these into a new approach on architecture. Despite

its progressive ideas many still wrongly reflect to it

as a conservative theory. Defamiliarization (originally

used in linguistics by Victor Shklovsky) is a theory

discussed by Tzonis and Lefaivre. The theory

presents a way of how to deal with the re-use of

(fragments of) precedents.

The purpose of this graduation thesis in MSc3 is to

form a basic knowledge to support me in a design

task in the last semester, MSc4. I have written most

part of the thesis from my home in the Netherlands

(globalisation provided me this possibility) in addition

the one or the other position or is there a possible

solution to a new architecture which embeds the local

traditions?

My goal is to find the last solution: a new architecture

that embeds local tradition.

To research this I consulted architectural theories that

4. Destruction close to the Zhengyangmen Gate at Tiananmensquare

3. The planned olympic field for 2008


I spend three weeks in Beijing the summer of 2006,

examining and photographing parts of the city as well

as collecting verbal and written information.

The first chapter starts with a brief overview

of historical moments where I will try to briefly

describe, from history till present, China’s traditional

architecture and the influences from the Western

society. The chapter provides a general insight in

the nation’s development, its architecture and its

politics. As Beijing is the primary goal I will attempt

to focus on Beijing. In this historical part of the

thesis is introduced how certain architectures have

derived and how the Chinese reasoned on urban

planning and architecture. There is a differentiation

between ancient architecture, the period before �978,

(turning point in late history) with the influences from

modern societies and the period after �978 until

now. Sometimes history is discussed according to

dynasties, the dynasty chronology can be found as a

supplement at the end of the thesis.

In the second chapter I will discuss the city planning

and architecture of Beijing itself. I will discuss past

and current interventions, the future development and

the discourse on Beijing’s architecture from a Western

point of view and from that of Beijing architects.

In the third chapter I will digress upon the theories of

Regionalism, Supermodernism and mainly on Critical

Regionalism and Defamiliarization.

In the fourth chapter three case studies are discussed

according to these theories; Wu Liangyong’s Ju’er

Hutong, Steven Holl’s Linked Hybrid and Paul

Andreu’s National Theatre.

Attached to this thesis are � books containing;

an impression of the city, analyses of precedents,

location study, programmatic content and design

concepts.


This chapter provides an overview of Chinese

architecture and the influences from the West.

It is not an attempt to rewrite Chinese architectural

history, but to point out certain architectural

approaches, styles and influences, which could

contribute to a discourse on the traditional

architectures of Beijing and its ‘global’ architectures.

�.� CHINA’S ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE

This section will present an overview on China’s

ancient architecture, divided in; the typical features of

China’s architecture derived from history, the imperial

architecture and the residential architecture. It will

present knowledge of some of the basics in ancient

architecture that nowadays still have their traces in the

architecture of China, including Beijing. Still a lot of

modern architects use traditional features, sometimes

in an intelligent way and sometimes in a (disneyfied)

esthetical way.

timbers could be laid. One of the oldest examples

of ancient wooden architecture still remaining, is the

Foguang temple in the Shanxi province (picture 8),

dating back to the Tang dynasty (8�7).

1 History

�.�.� GENERAL FEATURES OF ANCIENT CHINESE

ARCHITECTURE

Materials

According to Lou Qingxi, author of the book ‘Ancient

Chinese Architecture’, the Chinese built constructions

of wooden frames in the earliest days, dating back

to about 6�00 years ago. Wooden pillars supported

wooden beams and crossbeams where upon the roof

Clay was used to make bricks and rooftiles, and is

still a very common material used in China. In Beijing

you will find the bricks are all grey and together with

the grey stones and tiles, this provides the city with an

overall grey appearance.

For the foundation pounded earth was used,

sometimes this was also used for walls.

Lattice patterns

A traditional Chinese window has lattices that form a

6. The Foguang Temple

7,8. Fabrication of rooftiles

�. Modern glass building with traditional shaped roof

9. Lattice pattern near Forbidden City, Beijing.

special pattern. These derived from the application

of rice paper for windows. The paper needed to have


many points of attachment, so a pattern was designed

for it to enlarge the surface. Numerous of these

designs have been found in China and nowadays

Chinese windows have the same kind of lattices for

glass-windows, a more modern type would even have

the pattern painted (or stickered up-) on the glass.

(In the additional Mapping booklet there is a photo-

shows the all the specific features of Chinese palace

architecture from layout to appearance of structures

and decoration. “The Forbidden City concentrates

the highest technical and artistic achievements of

ancient palace architecture.” Qingxi asserts that

traditional Chinese buildings are always grouped

together, whether they are residences, temples or

palaces. In the Forbidden City there are about �000

halls which are all grouped around a large or small

courtyard. All the courtyards are connected, lanes

provide circulation between them. The structural

layout is very similar to that of a courtyard house

complex, which will be highlighted in the next section.

Qingxi notices that traditional architectural complexes

had “decorative archways, pillars, screen walls,

ands stone lions and tablets beside small buildings”,

those were of major importance to arrange the

space around it and set the scene. Most traditional

architecture was formed in a simple rectangular

structure, “and it is the complex of single structures,

rather than the single structures themselves that

expresses the broadness and magnanimousness of

ancient Chinese architecture” (Qinxi, 2002, p.8).

Temples

Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and other tenets

collage of lattices in Beijing)

�.�.2 IMPERIAL ARCHITECTURE

Palaces

Qinxi mentions about that in the feudal history of

China the emperors had palaces that exalted them far

above the populace. They were impressive structures

which expressed the “architectural techniques and

aesthetic aspirations of that epoch.” According

to Qinxi the only extant imperial palaces are the

Forbidden City and the Imperial Palace in Shenyang.

The Forbidden City is built in �420 according to the

ancient regulations of Chinese palace architecture; it

�0. Top view on the Forbidden City.

or religions provided the architecture of China with

beautiful temple complexes and pagoda’s as well

��. Round openings create a pictorial view of the environment.


circle of wooden pillars (picture �3), later rectangular

shapes would be made (picture �4). These houses

were all found in the Shaanxi province, west of Beijing.

as imperial gardens; all will not be addressed to

here in detail. The importance of this architecture for

this project is that it possesses features that show

the class of Chinese architecture, ancient high-tech

structures (pagoda’s), beautiful gardens and their

architectural elements, e.g. shown in picture ��.

Military structures

In the Bronze Age (2�st to �th century BC) massive

structures on high platforms represented the

architecture of that time. One extant example is a �3

meters high platform of a Song-Jin palace that is later

used for a building of the Qing dynasty. The traditional

type of these so-called high-platform buildings were

built on big scaled platforms, they represented power

and wealth and were also used as a military tool to

frighten the enemy. It was the most monumental

expressive form of architecture in China. The gates

of Beijing show a similar arrangement, a big platform

the Yangzi River, in the south of China, where the

ground was marshy, while cave dwellings were to

be found near the Yellow river, in the north on “plain

or loess tableland.” This may have resulted in the

different house typologies found there later, the

northern typologies exist mainly of one storey houses

while southern typologies show multiple storeys. The

earliest houses (dating roughly from around 4000

BC) by archaeological research were formed in a

with a structure on top and gates peering through the

massive base.

�.�.3 RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE

In ‘Chinese Architecture and Planning, Ideas,

Methods, Techniques’, Qinghua Guo argues that

the earliest forms of Chinese dwellings “emerged

from two different physical environments”, resulting

in nest type, pile dwellings and a cave type, earth

dwellings. The pile dwellings were to be found around

�2. Zhengyangmen Gate, Beijing

�3. Circular arrangement �4. Rectangular arrangement

The houses were situated around a central square

(picture ��). Main building materials used, were earth

and wood, that are still being used frequently today.

��. Archaelogical site in Shaanxi Province

The oldest courtyard house Guo asserts, is the Erlitou

Palace (from around 2000 BC) (picture �6). Courtyard

�6. Reconstruction of courtyard house, Erlitou

�0Modernizing Beijing Rutger H. Kuipers TU Delft MSc3

houses were built for protection; they exist of roofed

walls or inward facing buildings on each side. The

courtyard houses are orientated north-south, as

most houses in China are built traditionally facing the

south, so to make good use of sunlight, according to

Guo this could have been the reason why the south-

side later became so respectful in Chinese building,

and for instance in Feng Shui thinking (Guo, 200�).

Beijing’s courtyard houses are also called

quadrangles or siheyuans (meaning quadrangle

compound with rooms on its four sides). In A

Guidebook to Alleys in Beijing Zhengyong and

Mingde describe their unique

features. The rooms

facing the

south

amount of decoration and the scale of a compound

were confined by the status of the inhabitants. “Those

who exceeded the according standards would be

punished or even executed.”

In the larger complexes between the principal rooms

2. I experienced the courtyard house for myself in the hotel I stayed in

Beijing, it was an old courtyard house turned into a backpackers hotel.

It had a courtyard which had a very calm and relaxing atmosphere, you

wouldn’t notice anything from outside, it is a totally different environment,

the trees presented a natural feeling together with the old stone

architecture. The only thing that was added was a big roof over the

courtyard to protect you from the Chinese rains.

side

are called

the ‘principal

rooms’, the ones

facing the north are called ‘reversely-set rooms’. The

gate to the compound is usually set at the south-

east side, this, in combination with a screenwall, is to

maintain privacy since one cannot look directly into

the compound. There is also presumed that this is

the case because the people believed that evil spirits

could not travel around a corner. Because of the

feudal hierarchy in a family, the difference between

juniors and seniors, men and women masters

and servants of a family, there was a need to have

different standards of the rooms. It would not work if

all the rooms had the same standards, and it would

cause trouble to the family management if they lived

scattered in different places. The architectural form

would show clear distinction of people’s positions,

the building facing the south was of high importance,

while the one facing the north was mostly used for

the servants of the family. The architectural styles, the

N

�7. Traditional courtyard house layout.

and the reverse-set rooms there is a “Chuihuamen

or Dropping Flowers Gate” separating them, in most

cases there is another screenwall behind this gate.

Behind the principal rooms there are posterior rooms

or buildings for storage. In large courtyard complexes

you would find beautiful gardens, artificial hills and

fishing pounds, showing the good taste of the master.

No matter the scale, the courtyard complex is always

enclosed by the rooms and low walls, enough for

preventing people to peek over. Inside the court the

rooms are linked by a roofed canopy, which is like the

rooms raised a few steps from ground level (as well

as the gates of the compound). The walls prevent the

people from wind and sandstorms and from the noise

outside.2 The residence has become a quite place for

the people to relax from the exhausting life outside

(especially during those days). Rooms had thick and

solid walls which would give warmness in winter and

coolness in summer (Zhengyong and Mingde, 200�).

�8. Dropping Flowers Gate (at the right is an entrance screenwall)

��Modernizing Beijing Rutger H. Kuipers TU Delft MSc3

The houses were made government property and

people had to provide space to migrants. The number

of alleys would increase from 3000 before liberation

to about 6000 after. This was crucial to the state of

the areas, they would fill up with people and their

qualitative living space would decline. Until now there

are still hutongs which are in a dilapidated state.

Nowadays these hutongs are under enormous

pressure of modernisation, which will be digressed

upon in the second chapter.

�.2 PERIODS OF MODERNISATION UNTIL �978

This section discusses the Western influences on

China. It is significant to have an understanding of

former periods of modernisation in Chinese history

to understand where China is today. Mainly because

of colonial influences China has met and sometimes

clashed with modernity before today’s process of

modernisation.

The Catholic Encyclopaedia argues that the first

contact with Judaism was already in the 7th century:

“They seemed to have reached China in the seventh

�.�.4. HUTONGS

Beijing’s houses were built around the Forbidden

City, the houses closest to it would contain residents

that were related to the Forbidden City, like the

servants and guards. The houses were all arranged

people to gather together and live, used as the centre

of tent compounds. By �944 there were 2300 alleys in

Beijing and after liberation under Mao’s regime Beijing

witnessed a fast development in urban construction.

3. Arguably it could also be derived from the Mongolian word ‘huotuan’,

which means passageway.

in a rigid grid which was divided in rectangular

divisions. North-south and east-west directed streets

would provide the routing in the city. In the divisions

smaller passageways would provide the routing

for the people between their houses and it would

function as isolation belts against fire risks. In the

Ming dynasty an avenue would be 24 bu (about 36

meters), a street would be �2 bu (about �2 meters)

and an alley would be 6 bu (about 9 meters). In that

time there were about 400 alleys in the city. They were

called hutongs, which derived from the Mongolian

word ‘hottog’3, meaning ‘well’, which was a place for

�9. View on two courtyardhouses in a hutong area

20. View in a contemporary hutong

2�. Transformation of the courtyard house


century, according to the Si-ngan-fu inscription”

(Catholic Encyclopaedia). China’s oldest known

synagogue is situated in Kaifeng, dating from the

Northern Song Dynasty, when Jews settled in Kaifeng,

refused to treat the Europeans as “cultural or political

equals.” Russia was the first European power to reach

a treaty with China in �689: the Treaty of Nerchinsk.

The other nations were seen as inferior, and their

efforts to reach a trade agreement were “rebuffed” by

the Chinese, “the official Chinese assumption being

that the empire was not in need of foreign - and thus

inferior - products” (Shinn and Worden, �988).

Peter G. Rowe and Seng Kuan provided for the main

source for this part of the thesis on modernizations in

China, with their book: Architectural Encounters with

Essence and Form in Modern China. Rowe and Kuan

argue that “Traditionalism versus modernism in China

emerged strongly as an issue of cultural development,

though not for the first time [as seen above], in the

aftermath of the Opium War of �840 to �842.” To

reach peace China was forced to sign the Treaty of

Nanjing, a ceding of the Treaty Ports (Rowe and Kuan,

2002). Five port cities were opened to foreign trade

and trading nations were allowed to build settlements.

According to Layla Dawson, who wrote China’s

New Dawn in 200�, “The first western, imported

architecture was built in the �842 Treaty Ports, which

became the seedbeds for China’s modernization”

(Dawson, 200�). There was an extraterritoriality, which

meant that people in these cities were subject to the

laws of their home nation, to avoid any conflicts which

Chinese laws. The British had the best conditions of

all nations in the Treaty of Nanjing, they would get

Hong Kong as their colony and would be treated the

most-favoured, which meant that they would receive

every trading concessions that the Chinese would

promise to other powers in future agreements (Shinn

and Worden, �988). Dawson asserts, “To this day

German building regulations still apply in Qingdao

(picture 24), where an Anglo-German company

began brewing ‘Tsingtao’ beer … The architects were

German and designed accordingly in Jugendstil

and Neo-Romanesque with hipped, red-tiled roofs,

22. Model of the Kaifeng Synagogue

which was then capital of China.

In a Country Study for the Library of Congress in

Washington, Rinn-Sup Shinn and Robert L. Worden,

argue that from the thirteenth century there have been

Roman Catholic missionary attempts to establish

their church in China. “Although by �800 only a few

hundred thousand Chinese had been converted,

the missionaries--mostly Jesuits--contributed greatly

to Chinese knowledge in such fields as cannon

casting, calendar making, geography, mathematics,

cartography, music, art, and architecture” (Shinn

and Worden, �988). The first contacts with the West

by trade are described by Shinn and Worden, who

note that the Western pioneers of China were the

Portuguese. They reached China in ��7, at Macau

23,24. Portuguese architecture in Macau; German architecture in Qingdao.

(picture 23) and were followed by the Spanish, the

British and the French. Except for Russia, “the most

powerful inland neighbour”, the imperial court,


rustic granite plinths and corners with plastered

walls, sometimes with half-timbered upper storeys.”

(Dawson, 200�) “Eventually these ‘Concessions’

or ‘Settlements,’ as they were called, in places like

Shanghai, became the centres of modern cities from

which contemporary Western ideas and technologies

were propagated” (Rowe and Kuan, 2002).

“The rude realities of the Opium War, the unequal

treaties, and the mid-century mass uprisings

caused Qing courtiers and officials to recognize the

need to strengthen China.” Since that time (�840)

schools started examining Western learning. Under

the direction of Han officials Western science and

languages were being studied. “Students were

sent abroad by the government and on individual

or community initiative in the hope that national

regeneration could be achieved through the

application of Western practical methods” (Shinn

and Worden, �988). Since that time China seemed to

adapt itself to the West albeit under the pressure of

with countries for that time new to the Treaty Ports of

China; Austria-Hungary, Italy and Belgium. They built

their own prisons, schools, barracks and hospitals.

Five miles in total were covered by the European

Settlements and the riverfront was governed by

past confrontations.

In Tianjin, situated south-west of Beijing and often

referred to as the port city of Beijing, there were

eventually 9 concessions in the city. According

to Wikipedia, the first concessions were British

and French, between �89� and �900, then Japan,

Germany and imperial Russia joined them, together

2�. American Barracks in Tianjin built by Germans

foreign powers (Wikipedia, 2006).

The result for Beijing was a legation quarter in

DongCheng district where �� legations were to be

found, situated southeast of the Forbidden City. With

the Xinchou Treaty in �900 the Qing government was

forced to turn the area into a legation quarter. This

introduced some Western architecture in Beijing (see

picture 26). There was a patriotic Catholic church built

in �890 by the French mission, which is said to be

the largest church in Beijing. It’s built in a neo-Gothic

style with brick and cast iron and the facade is of grey

marble (picture 28,29)

Before the ‘Unequal Treaties’ as they were called,

the Chinese had always felt superior towards

26. Former Belgian legation (2006).

27. Plan of the Legation Quarter, �9�2. (This picture is in large format with content, added at the end of the thesis)


foreigners. These treaties however gave foreigners

special treatment compared to the Chinese. In the

eyes of the Chinese this was seen as damage on

their prestige. Such “feelings increasingly resulted

in civil disobedience and violence towards both

foreigners and Chinese Christians” (Wikipedia,

2006). It eventually resulted in the famous Boxer

movement that had a strong aversion against

foreigners. The Boxers peaked at �900 when they

attacked foreign compounds in Tianjin and Beijing.

In Beijing the legations were besieged during 2

months, the legations almost tripled in inhabitants

because anxious foreigners sought refuge at the

compounds. A German minister was shot to dead

and a Japanese ambassador was killed in violence.

Part of the area (on the west side) was set on fire

and burned down. Wikipedia mentions the following:

“Chinese Christians suffered even more greatly, as

there were more of them and most were not able to

seek refuge in the legations, having to seek shelter

elsewhere. Those that were caught were raped as

well as tortured and murdered. As a result of these

reports, a great deal of anti-Chinese sentiment was

generated in Europe, America, and Japan.” Eventually

international forces with troops from 8 nations, Japan,

Russia, Great Britain, France, U.S., Germany, Italy and

Austria (accompanied by Chinese anti-Boxer forces)

started a march of �20 kilometres from Tianjin to

Beijing. There they “engaged in plunder, looting and

rape.” Eventually the Qing court signed the peace

agreement in �90�. (Wikipedia, 2006)

The Catholic Church was besieged during the

Boxer war and the facade was renewed in �902. It

later became subject of attack during the Cultural

Revolution.

According to Dawson, “China’s second

‘modernization’ took place after the fall of the Imperial

Court and the founding of the Republic of China in

�9�� with Sun Yat-sen as the first president.” The

new “nationalistic semi-democratic government”

existed of Chinese who had studied in the West, but

they still remained the feudal structure. (Dawson,

200�) Rowe and Kuan mention that in treaty ports

like Shanghai, there raised a new style, known as the

“compradoric style”, which emerged out of colonial

and Chinese architecture. (Rowe and Kuan, 2002)

Chinese architecture was clearly getting influenced by

the colonialism. Western style buildings with Chinese-

style roofs were and still are a common sight in the

architecture of China.

In �949 the communists under Mao Zedong took

power. Mao put an end to the collaboration with the

Western colonialism. In his famous public speech

he said: “Ours will no longer be a nation subject to

insult and humiliation.” Rowe and Kuan mention

the almost immediate Russian Soviet influence

equally to the ascendance of the communists. About

��.000 Russian advisors came to China and brought

28,29 Xishiku, Catholic church in former Legation Quarter

��Modernizing Beijing Rutger H. Kuipers TU Delft MSc3

especially technical expertise and some 37.000

Chinese went to Russia for education or training

“primarily in technical areas.” “These changes

affected the study of architecture,” Rowe and Kuan

assert, they mention a merging with the technical field

revolutional ideas meant to industrialize the city and

maintain a political centre in the city. The focus on

industrialization resulted into housing shortages,

and therefore the government turned to the “Soviet

model of potential relief,” a system that “emphasized

construction speed, low cost, labour savings. ... Basic

features of the system were design standardization,

mass production and systematic construction.”

Standard dwelling units made of standard

components would be the basis for residential areas,

and the influence of the Bauhaus-style.

Linda Vlassenrood, contributed to ‘China

Contemporary,’ a book published aside the similar

named exhibition at the Nai. She discusses style the

change during the Cultural Revolution (�96�-�969).

Most national architecture design institutes and

schools then were closed and their employees were

sent off to work at the countryside. “In these years

anonymous buildings epitomized the absence of

design”, Vlassenrood asserts. Fundamental changes

didn’t appear until the death of Chairman Mao. “After a

ten-year intellectual vacuum, the architectural debate

had to be ignited all over again.” (Vlassenrood et al,

2006)

Liang Sicheng was a vice-director of the Beijing City

Planning Commission, he wished to preserve the

old character of central Beijing and did a remarkable

proposition to the Communist government, to change

the main centre where the government would be

situated not on the north-south axis, but to the west

of the Old City, which would get the pressure of

development off the Old City. But the Communists

were not interested in such a conservative plan, their

30,3� Soviet-Communist style apartment blocks, Beijing

they would form rigid apartment blocks. “Sometimes

an aesthetic program of socialist realism was

employed, as pitched gable roofs and other motifs

were added to the standardized units.” “More often

than not, though, housing was functional, well-built.”

Later there came a growing dissatisfaction with the

Soviet standardized style. Which didn’t mean it was

abandoned but it began to be modified and adapted

(Rowe and Kuan, 2002).

Dawson also mentions Licheng in connection with

the old city wall he wanted to preserve, but his ideas

lost against those of new planners who had the wall

demolished to make way for the Second Ring Road

(Dawson, 200�). A decision of which many still argue

whether it was right or whether it’s a shame the wall

has been torn down.

32 View on the Second Ring Road.


�.3 RISING CHINA

In �978 Deng Xiaoping came to power in China, and

he made his greatest achievement for political and

economical reforms at the Third Plenary Session

of the Eleventh National Party Congress Central

Committee in December �978, which was considered

a huge turning point in Chinese political history. The

policy that was conducted until then – that meant

basically to support whatever policy decision Mao

made and to follow whatever instructions he gave

– was abandoned at this Third Plenum and gave way

to the open door policy (Shinn and Worden, �988).

Deng introduced a refreshing idea to the public,

which was the contrary of Mao’s ideal of the poor. He

wanted China to become rich. The, until then detested

capitalistic system, was embraced and gave way to

the market principle (Van der Putten, 2003, p.�8). The

new goal of China was to achieve the modernization

of industry, agriculture, science and national defence.

Deng repudiated the class struggle and reformed

the classic party line into one promoting these Four

Modernizations. Success and failure in the future

would now depend on economy instead of politics

(Shinn and Worden, �988).

But politically no big changes occurred, there was

still a strict communist regime at the top. Those who

attended to make a statement against the political

system were still being prosecuted. For instance Wei

Jingsheng, who responded on � December �978 to

the Four Modernizations announced, with a poster

calling for a Fifth Modernization: Democracy. He

became the leader of the Democracy Wall Movement

which started in December �978 alongside the

reforms in the Chinese Communist Party. A long brick

wall on Chang’an Street was the focus of democratic

dissent. But the wall was closed in December �979

and Wei was sentenced to �8 years of incarceration.

In �997 under international pressure and to the

request of Bill Clinton Wei was sent to the United

States where he is now still fighting for Chinese

democracy in the Overseas Chinese Democracy

Coalition (Van der Putten, 2003).

In �989 on the 4th of June, the world was shocked

by the performance of the Beijing army. During two

months there was a protest started by students

against the communist regime, the Democracy

Movement. The leader of the CCP, Zhao Ziyang

was sympathising with the movement, but the old

conservative members of the party under guidance of

Deng Xiaoping decided to dismiss Zhao Ziyang, sign

the new leader, Jiang Zhemin and to activate troops

against the demonstrators. The massacre of Beijing

followed in the night from 3rd to the 4th of June. Only

for a moment the troops were slowed down by the

famous unknown ‘Tankman’.

33 The famous unknown ‘Tankman’.

On the respond of the west to the Human Rights in

China, Jan van der Putten says the following: “In

the field of Human Rights western leaders are easily

satisfied by a gesture. China anticipates excellent

on this. The release of one or more prisoners shortly

before an important foreign visit is a routine.” He gives

an example of Wang Dan who was flown to America

just before Clinton arrived for a visit. But still there are

a lot of activists kept prison (Van der Putten, 2003).

The Open Door Policy meant for the architecture of

China a sudden strong influence from the Western


architecture, reacting on and investing in the

inevitable urban growth. Dawson mentions that “China

was to be inundated by alien lifestyles, shopping

fever, youth culture, McDonalds and Starbucks on

every corner, international hotels, new environments

and more foreigners.” She also mentions that 30 % of

Shanghai’s urban development in the 90’s involved

foreign architects, that would later move onto Beijing.

In 2004, Dawson asserts, �40 out of 200 of the

“world’s top design consortiums had offices on the

mainland.” (Dawson, 200�) A growing national pride

of international appearance made China wanting to

further promote itself to the international community.

A reason to have the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 and

the Expo 20�0 in Shanghai.

Linda Vlassenrood, points out some style issues in

the Chinese architecture in this period of time in.

The ‘New Vernacular’ style was led by I.M. Pei in

the early 80’s. He designed the Fragrant Hill Hotel

in ‘77 and tried to set an example by bringing back

traditional building styles in his architecture. It then

evolved in the New Vernacular style. The regionalist

copied without any theoretical understanding,”

questions of materialization and local integration

were never the issue. Pragmatism seemed to be

the leading style at the architecture schools. Lots of

impressionistic en simply trendy images appeared

that responded to the fast process of modernization.

A severe understanding of the architectural style

seemed to be lacking. The appearing style would be

seen as Kitsch by critics. According to Vlassenrood,

the abundance of ornaments, an exuberant use of

colours and the diversity of styles would be typical for

this period. The influence of the property developer

was rising and was overpowering the architect. The

architect was lacking a market directed view and his

work would be underpaid and altered afterwards by a

market consultant. In the early 90’s these developers

embraced “Western national architectural styles as a

symbol of a modern lifestyle”, which led to some very

German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, American or Dutch

appearing urban districts.

Currently there are three types of architects present

in China, according to Vlassenrood; the ones that

are working for the government, the ones that are

attached to the universities and a growing number

that work in an architectural office.

Yung Ho Chang is the first one to start an architectural

office in Beijing, a long time before it was prohibited

for architects to start their own company. Until that

time national design institutes had a monopoly and

this restrained the quality of the designs at the time.

“The elite of today’s avant-garde,” as Vlassenrood

puts it, is now led by Yung Ho Chang and the

ones influenced by him. The term avant-garde

is mainly used by Chinese, to indicate a small

group of architects that prefer pure modern styles.

The absence of a generation of architects and of

architectural education during the Cultural Revolution,

has been clearly lacking the architecture field. In

the avant-garde most architects have studied or

attempt, however, was contradictory to the eager

embarking of the globalisation. It disappeared with

the new embracing of Western architecture. Due to

a very superficial approach in that time, the outward

appearance became totally detached from any

content. “All manner of architectural styles were

34 Fragrant Hill Hotel, by I.M. Pei, �977


have experienced working in the West, mostly in

America and some in Europe. Chinese identity was

an important subject to some of these architects. “It

was clear to everyone, however, that the essence

of traditional architecture had to be sought in its

construction and spatial proportions and not in its

outward appearance.”

Vlassenrood sets out three different approaches;

“first of all a very precise translation of tradition into a

modern architecture with special influences of Feng

Shui and Yin Yang and traditional forms.” Second,

“a more conceptual reinterpretation that integrates

traditional architecture less obviously, and finally a

Critical Regionalism that explicitly elaborates on local

building styles.” (Vlassenrood et al, 2006)

low-cost labour on materials like bamboo, concrete

and cement-bonded fibreboard makes it possible to

experiment and achieve a lot with these materials.

In the last � years, according to Vlassenrood, the

minimalism has become more popular to the public.

The commercial market adopted this image as a

trademark. To people this represented the modern

culture. The Avant-Garde architects clearly developed

an own idiom. Most architects are of opinion that it will

take another �0 years before this style is developed

to its “desired standard.” Vlassenrood points to the

importance of this new development in architecture

but however, she states, “the anti-formalist

architecture of the avant-garde does not yet provide a

critical response to the rapidly changing city and the

socially disruption this is causing. However, the self-

awareness of the Avant-Garde is growing.”

New-coming architects are now more aware

of the problems that arrive with the fast urban

transformations. Most of these new architects have

a Chinese and Western background, they studied

or worked in America or Europe. (Vlassenrood et al,

2006) The Chinese identity nowadays has become

more and more under pressure of the modernizing

city with its progressive demands. Something with

which architects have to deal now.

�.4 CHINA’S FUTURE DEVELOPMENT AND

GOALS

China, with its (former) communist regime and

the adjustment to the capitalist market, created an

almost unique position in this world. It has become

an authoritarian capitalist country, the danger of

such a regime is that it doesn’t need to justify

itself for its decisions, justice is implied in every

decision. The opening to a more intense contact

with the West might change their approach from

the former communist time and it might even lead

Vlassenrood argues that the designs of the Avant-

Garde show a similar minimalism. This inherent in

the aversion of exuberant use of decoration and

colour and in the use of “(inexpensive) materials” like

bamboo, wood, grey slate, concrete and metal.

The “standard of execution” is much lower then in

the West. On the one hand, Vlassenrood argues,

it is because construction companies lack certain

knowledge cause they have been using concrete

as a main material for decades. On the other hand

there are a lot of low-paid and unskilled peasants

at building sites with poor equipment “responsible

for the actual construction.” However, the intensive

InthisthesistheCriticalRegionalismis

notseenasamerepragmaticapproach

(seechapter3),asintheexampleof

Vlassenrood,moreovertheinterpretation

ofthetheoryinthisthesisrelatestothe

secondexamplegivenabove,“amore

conceptualreinterpretationthatintegrates

traditionalarchitecturelessobviously.”


to a democratizing of China. It is believed that

China will outgrow the United States as the world’s

hegemony in �0 years from now, will it then still have

its authoritarian regime it could be threatening world

peace. But that are all still presumptions.

In the NRC Handelsblad weekend edition of April

the 22nd Garrie van Pinxteren, who was a Dutch

sinologist and correspondent in China from �982

until 2006, writes about China’s change into the

market-economy. “In �982 as a student, I have seen

how unfree the daily life of most Chinese was then.

Criticism on the government was only held within

closed walls and with the far most cautiousness.”

… “The government told them [her Chinese student

friends] which profession to choose after their study

and where to work.” Then she compares that time

to the current situation: “The personal freedom and

the prosperity have indeed increased strongly, but

still I have noticed that the ones, who cross the lines

of what China allows, still are being prosecuted as

ruthless as before.”

She gives an example of a leader of a farmers protest

who was arrested for years and continues about the

human rights in China: “The care for human rights in

the foreign countries turned into an admiration and

respect for a government that knew how to rapidly

expand its economic growth and so strengthened

China’s position in the world. With that the Chinese

government and thus the communist party has

internationally secured legitimacy…” (Van Pinxteren,

2006)

China is undergoing a fast urbanization, there is a

big shift of people moving from the rural areas to

the urban areas. Currently 38 percent of China’s

population is living in the urban area. By 2020 this

should be over �0 percent. With an annual number of

�2 million people being expected to migrate from the

rural to the urban. 400 New cities have been planned

to support this increasing urbanization, with 20 cities a

year until 2020.

In his book Beyond Metropolis, Laquian quotes an

observation of the United Nations4 to point at an

important view on the relation of development and

urbanization, where they note that “urbanization has

been an essential part of most nations’ development

towards a stronger and more stable economy ... The

countries in the south that urbanized most rapidly in

the last �0-20 years are generally those with the most

rapid economic growth. Most of the world’s largest

cities are in the world’s largest economies, which is

further evidence of this link between economic wealth

and cities...” (Laquian, 200�)

For China the urbanization is a grand project, for the

future it will be of major importance to accurately

coordinate the process of urbanization. For the benefit

of both rural areas as urban.�

4. Quote derived from The United Nations’ Cities in a Globalizing World:

Global Report on Human Settlements, 1996 (UNCHS 1996, xxv)

5. For more information on China’s development, see book IV


This chapter is focused on

Beijing, the choice for this

city seems interesting, and

it is not a coincidence the

city is carefully studied at the

moment by architecture and urban planning schools

all over the world. The cities’ fast growth, the richness

of architectural typologies, the clash of a traditional

inner city with a growing number of modern high-

rises and the great new projects of prominent

architects turn the city into a subject of worldwide

architectural debate.

2.� PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE IN BEIJING

Planning

Anne-Marie Broudehoux describes the planning of

Beijing in her thesis of Neighbourhood Regeneration

in Beijing (�994). Beijing is located in the northeast of

China, from a Feng Shui perspective the city is ideally

located between mountain ranges on the north, the

than an accretion”. Wu Liangyong, who is the writer

of ‘Rehabilitating the Old City of Beijing’ asserts

that “Beijing, as the most precious piece of Chinese

architectural and planning heritage, should continue

to provide us with inspirations in planning and design”

(Liangyong, �999). Otherwise then the cities that

2 ReconstructingBeijing

west and the east, while the south side is widely open.

Beijing is praised by planners around the world ever

since Marco Polo set foot in China. Beijing’s history

as a capital has started in the twelfth century with

a few interruptions until now. According to Andrew

Boyd [�962; 63], the city evolved of a “creation rather

3� Beijing from above, with mountain range

evolved around a trade centre, Beijing did not start

as an economical plan, but more as a political and

cultural one (Broudehoux, �994; chapter 3.�). In an

interview for this thesis with Qi Xin, of Qi Xin Architects

and Engineers in Beijing, Xin points out that Beijing is

a city designed for one person, namely the Emperor.

Rather then for the purpose to accommodate people,

Beijing is designed as an administrative centre of

China.

The Old City is unique in its symmetrical. The Old City

is developed within a rigid grid of north-south and

west-east oriented directions. The layout relates to the

central axis that runs north to south and contains the

most important monuments of Beijing. Respectively

from the north to the south you’ll find the Bell tower,

Drum tower, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.

For the upcoming Olympics, the axis will be extended

to the north with the Olympic field.

In every level of scale from city to city-block to

neighbourhood (sub-block) to courtyard house and

36 The Old City, the center of Beijing.

2�Modernizing Beijing Rutger H. Kuipers TU Delft MSc3

its rooms, the symmetrical lay-out of, what Liangyong

calls the “fishbone-structure”, is repeated.

Commercial and handicraft buildings were situated

along the busy main streets, while residential blocks

were planned along the quiet narrow lanes. The

buildings with a limited height. The monumental

architectures were all very precisely planned, as well

as the surrounding space. Mostly these spaces were

to support the visual expression of the architecture.

For instance a large open space would surround

a gate. The residential houses were very limited in

height and would strengthen the visual effect of the

skyline. Another restriction to residential housing was

the colour of the houses, they would all be grey, while

the imperial architecture was brightly coloured and

decorated, the latter also a restriction on residential

houses. “But,” Liangyong asserts, “like green leaves

behind bright flowers, they made the architectural

arrangement of the whole city more colourful and

splendid” (Liangyong, �999).

The Old City was enclosed by a large city wall, which

was destroyed when, under Mao, it was decided to

be destroyed and make place for the Second Ring

Road, which circles around the Old City now. Beijing

has since developed several Ring Roads to primarily

circulate the fast traffic, they count six right now

(although there seems no precise indication of where

the first Ring Road actually is) and a seventh is on the

way. (Wikipedia, 2006)

37 The Central axis.

blocks are all square, fitting with the courtyard house

typology. According to Liangyong, to break the

monotonous stretches of the (main) streets, decorative

structures were designed, like “archways over the

streets, entrance gates, entrance arches, side gates of

government offices and screenwalls.” Main buildings

were carefully located at certain points to “create

splendid vistas” (Liangyong, �999).

According to Liangyong, the architecture of the

buildings of the whole city, palaces temples and

houses, are all composed of rather simple formed

Demolishing Hutongs

In the Old City the hutong areas became subjected

to rapid growth and overcrowding from migrants

in the �0’s when the land became state-owned. It

resulted into an increasing density, by which they

lost their formal lay-outs (as shown in picture 2�).

38 Ring Roads of Beijing (until the �th)


Nowadays lots of the siheyuans are in a bad

condition, buildings have been neglected. Most

courtyards have been filled with additional structures

pay construction cost of the apartment, and find

themselves a temporary place during construction

of 2 to 3 years. If they can’t, they are “allocated a

rental flat in newly developed housing areas in the

suburbs.”

According to Ying most families affected by the

relocation are of a relatively low status. Their socio-

economical structures get disrupted by the renewal

programs, most people had jobs and a social

network close to their home. Although she points out

that living conditions have improved for these people,

she concludes that most people were not satisfied

with the given compensation (Ying, �998).

The view of Aprodicio A. Laquian has a wider

perspective on this relocation in his book Beyond

Metropolis. He asserts it is a common Asian problem

that mass-migration occurred after World War II and

the people started settling in slums. “Policymakers

saw the colonies of urban poor people as a

cancerous growth on the city.” Resettlement was

the solution to “excise these cancerous growths”

(Laquian, 200�).

Future Plans

To deal with the

enormous

population

39 A new road in a destroyed neighborhood

for living or storage and the facilities in most hutong

areas are very poor. Some of them should obviously

be restored, or upgraded. But the reason of

demolishing is mostly not just because their condition

is bad, cause some are in a seemingly good state, as

Wu Liangyong asserts: “bulldozers continue to roll

over courtyard houses regardless of their quality and

condition.” (Liangyong, �999). The problem is not

mere the condition of the hutongs. The hutong areas

are all in the centre of the city which has become

the most wanted and expensive ground. For that

reason there is a lot of pressure laid on these areas

from real estate owners who are eager to develop

these areas. It is a clash of the old hutong areas

with the modernizing city. They don’t seem to fit to

the modern urban machine anymore. It is the same

thing that happened during the Industrial Revolution.

The siheyuans are currently being demolished at

a rapid pace, some claim there is presently one

siheyuan being destroyed per day. Most of the former

inhabitants of demolished siheyuans are relocated

outside the centre in Beijing. In case there homes are

being renewed, they suppose to have the possibility

to move back to their home. However, in a research

on the relocation of former residents, Tan Ying asserts

that, if they want to move back, they will have to

growth of

Beijing the

government designed

a new masterplan of the

city until 2020. The new plan is called: Two Axes, Two

Belts and Multi-centres. The latter refers to 6 new

satellite towns that are planned around the centre

40 ‘Two Axes, Two Belts and Multi-centers.’


city to ease the pressure of the centre. Each of them

will be designed to accommodate �00.000 people.

The two axes are the north-south axis that will be

maintained as an important cultural axis and the

east-west axis that includes the Chang’an Avenue,

will be an important traffic vein in the city, connecting

the CBD in the east with the inner city. The two belts

refer to the west ecological belt and the (south-)east

development belt. The ecological belt is an attempt

to create an ecological buffer zone with ecologically

friendly industries such as high-technology and

higher education enterprises. The development

belt expected to absorb people and industries that

are encouraged to leave the downtown area. The

belt runs towards Tianjin, so a stronger interaction

between the cities will be possible in the future.

The infrastructure in Beijing is now a big problem,

as most people will get stuck in traffic jams every

day. The centre city simply does not provide enough

circulation, and the car-usage is high (2.3� million

A last thing to highlight is the fact that Beijing has no

clear city centre. Whereas in a typical Western city as

for instance Amsterdam, there is a central area that

connects all commercial functions with administrative

and business functions. The Old City in Beijing has

decentralized clusters of different functions. The

Tiananmen Square obviously is the geographical

centre, but it takes a long walk to the next shopping

district, and from there it takes even longer to get

to another commercial district. A question of how to

adjust this Old City to become an effective central

area need to be raised.

2.2 ARCHITECTURAL DEBATES ON BEIJING

Modernizing a city this fast raises a lot of questions,

for instance what to do with hutong areas and how to

treat the identity of Beijing. This section will provide

some views in these ongoing debates.

For this thesis 3 architects have been interviewed to

give their view on topics as preservation and identity:

Hui Wang of Urbanus, Qi Xin of Qi Xin Architects and

Engineers and Wei Lu of Studio PeiZhu.

Preservation

Mainly people from the West have a lot of comments

and critique on Beijing’s way of dealing with the

hutong areas. From their point of view such areas

should not be destroyed, because they stand for a

typical Chinese lifestyle and a unique piece of Beijing

architecture. To most Chinese these areas are slums

that should be renewed as soon as possible. Is there

difference in the level of nostalgia between these the

Chinese and the West? It must be said that some

Chinese (mostly academics or intellectuals) do prefer

to preserve these areas.

The Chinese government has seen the importance of

preserving their typical Chinese residential areas and

so they set out a preservation plan. 2� Districts are

on this plan to be preserved for the future. Hui Wang

cars) and even more cars (� million by 2020) will

join in the future. The government is improving its

public transportation network to encourage people

to move by public transport instead of cars. �4 New

subway-lines are planned in the city, which now has

3 lines. For a city of �� million inhabitants that is a

pretty poor amount. Eventually it will have a length of

8�0 kilometres which is twice the length of London’s

underground network.

4� Beijing traffic jam


is one of the founders of Urbanus, one of China’s

leading architectural offices. In an interview he gave

for this thesis, he presumes that the preservation plan

of the government is subjected to the appearance of

example? It became a reason for me to investigate

what the means of preservation are.

Xin explains that Chinese architecture has always

been built as a temporary form of architecture, while

European ancient architecture has been built for

permanence (e.g. the Greek architecture). Chinese

realize the building will disappear and make place

for a new one. A philosophy that is passed on for

generations, is that one should learn how to copy

from the past. China, according to Xin has a copy

culture. As in the West a good copy would still be a

good copy, a good copy in China means it is similar

to the copied. Somebody that watched the corps of

Mao and is getting told afterwards that it might be

a replica, would be a little disappointed, but for the

Chinese it is just the same thing.

Xin gives the example of the Forbidden City that has

been built in the �4th century. None of its current

structures are really from that period of time, simply

because the buildings are being renewed to maintain

the quality.

Preservation can be divided in 4 different approaches:

the Forbidden City, as to preserve the height of the

buildings around it.

When I walked through one of these areas (Qianmen)

in Beijing it occurred to me that the area was pretty

much deserted. Even further into the heart of the area

the total destruction of hutong buildings was visible.

A road was being constructed in the middle of this

destruction. Wandering around I suddenly entered

a building site and I was amazed that in the middle

of this destruction there were people building brand

42 Preservation Plan (yellow is to be preserved)

new courtyard houses in the old traditional style. (See

picture 43) Does preservation mean to tear down the

old dilapidated building and erect a brand new classic

43 A new courtyard house built in the old style

- The first is ‘hands off’, the aging of the structure

will be clearly visible and it will only be looked

after for to keep the structure standing.

- Secondly, the restoration of the existing

structure, the building is carefully restored as it

was and the materials and construction are kept

as much as possible.

- Thirdly, the replacement of the structure, the

building is torn down completely, to build up a

new structure similar to the old.

- The last is to renovate the structure, the building

is adapted to a new function that fits new

demands.

In Beijing you will find the third option is a common

solution for the renewal of the hutong areas. It


is a cheaper solution, because the restoration of

a structure would take much time and skills to

accomplish.

The last option is something you see in for instance

the Hohai area, a famous place with restaurants and

bars, where some of the courtyard houses have been

renovated to serve as bars or restaurants. In other

places the courtyard houses sometimes function

as picturesque hotels. According to Wang, there is

a current question for architects of how to renovate

these buildings so the functional use of the building’s

typology is maximized.

The interviewed architects all agree on the fact that

hutongs can not cope with the density and therefore

most of them should be destroyed. Still some of the

areas in the Old City should be preserved to serve the

cultural image of the city.

Identity

Is Chinese or Beijing’s identity a common issue in

the designs of Chinese architects? The July 2006

edition of TBJ Home, a free magazine on Beijing’s

architecture and real estate, presents an interview with

young architecture students. One of the students, Fox

Yu, comments on the identity of his city and says: “we

need our own culture again but not an old-fashioned

culture - we need a style to represent the new,

modern China.” The Western architects provide the

city with flashy icons and the city becomes a city of

objects. Fox responds sceptical to this matter: “When

you see the Pyramids in the Valley of the Kings, you

feel something inside. You feel amazed, you feel full

of wonder ... But when you see a city full of pyramids,

you feel nothing. But this is a question for urban

planners, not for architects.” (Jager, 2006)

To Wei Lu the relation of the place to the people’s live

is more important then the overall image.

Xin and Wang argue that the question of identity is

not particular a Chinese issue. Xin regards China

as having become part of the world now, the

identity question is a universal question. To Wang

the architectural language is universal and the

architecture is specific for the client and for the area.

There is though a difference between the foreign

approaches and that of Chinese architects. According

to Wang there are many restrictions in the regulations

in China and the market is very competitive. Foreign

architects do not bear this in mind, which is why they

have more freedom in the design then the Chinese

who lose creativity knowing the restrictions.

44,4� Blur Hotel, designed by Studio PeiZhu with the innovative use of blocks of frosted translucent fiberglass. At night the building lits like a lantern.

Wang mentions there are many good examples of

functional layouts in residential complexes designed

by Chinese architects; the problem is the relationship

between the buildings is too emphasized.

Daniel Elsa wrote an article in Architectural Record

on Chinese architects and refers to the same Chinese

architects as mentioned in this thesis. He opposes

their architecture to that of the prominent building

projects in the cities with their grand gestures and

praises the small group of innovative Chinese

architects that incorporate issues of “materiality, low-

budget construction, and local context.” (Elsa, 2006)


This next generation of architects is very influential

and progressive designers that strive for innovation

and new Chinese identity.

As Elsa puts it: “Instead of putting curved roofs on

top of commercial buildings like big hats or imagining

pagoda-shaped office towers, architects such as

Zhu, Chang, Fei, and Urbanus are exploring more

sophisticated ways of connecting today’s construction

to their nation’s cultural heritage.” (Elsa, 2006)

2.2.� KOOLHAAS: CCTV

This example of Koolhaas does not reflect the style

of his CCTV building but it contains a discussion on

the political considerations of the architect designing

the building for the state‘s television company.

The importance of a discussion on politics is not

directly related to the presented discourse on Critical

Regionalism and related theories, but I believe that

the architect should consider his position in a social

and political matter very carefully. The example shows

a discussion between a famous architect and his

critics. The presented views in the discussion can be

of influence on my design, albeit in a symbolic way.

When other ‘starchitectural’ firms were competing

for New York’s Ground Zero, Rem Koolhaas’ OMA

competed with others, among who were Dominique

Perrault, Toyo Ito and SOM, for the building of the

state television company of China: CCTV, and he

won. But when Koolhaas designed the CCTV tower in

Beijing he also designed a building that is the symbol

of a state’s propaganda machine that still has control

over more than a milliard Chinese.

In a populist article in the Guardian, Ian Buruma puts

a question mark to this wanted assignment. “Unless

one takes the view that all business with China is

evil, there is nothing reprehensible about building an

opera house in Beijing, or indeed a hotel, a hospital, a

university or even a corporate headquarters. But state

television is something else. CCTV is the voice of the

party, the centre of state propaganda, the organ which

tells a billion peoples what to think.” (Buruma, 2002)

VPRO’s RAM made a documentary about this work

of Koolhaas, and they asked him what he thought

about the criticism of supporting a dictatorial regime

with this choice. Koolhaas reacted by saying that is

“an absolute serious issue. We carefully considered

this and we are aware of any risks.” He continues

by stating that their participation “is based on the

assessment that there are forces active in China

that will develop the Chinese politics in a certain

direction, with which I can conform and which I can

support. Firstly there is privatising coming up, they

want to turn the states television into a sort of BBC

as quick as possible. And secondly I think that the

eventual influence of digitalising will be the medium

of liberation and synchronisation of information.” …

“The Chinese state is in evolution, the building has to

be finished in 2007 and it is the intent that the state

will change fundamentally and that there will occur an

autonomisation.” This assumption Koolhaas makes

here is of course extremely dangerous and Koolhaas

is totally aware of that. The reporter asks him if he

would be disappointed whether these changes will

not occur and Koolhaas answers with: “If this would

not be the case, that means our assessment is wrong

and that would be disastrous, also for me. I admit that

it is an assessment and that it could be possible we

would have mistaken us. But if I would have doubts

about it I wouldn’t do it, I am convinced that there

will be a change with the privatising of Chinese state

television and that’s why we participate.” (RAM VPRO,

2004)

Koolhaas is convinced that these changes will

occur and many other foreign firms and investors

have the same conviction. They mostly believe that

these economic changes eventually force China to

democratise. Van Pinxteren says the following about

this conviction “It’s tempting to see the economic


expansion of China as an introduction of political

change. Maybe China will almost automatically

transform its politics into democracy on the base

of the expansion, since a ‘poly-parties’ democracy

seems eventually to be the best system for a civilized

developed country.” There are Asian examples that

can make a case for this argument, like Taiwan and

South-Korea. “Still I believe that nor the Chinese

government, nor most of the Chinese believe that

China will evolve into a ‘poly-parties’ democracy.

Since my work as a correspondent in China I am

more over convinced that that is just a vision too

rash in its assumption that the Chinese government

or the ‘suppressed’ people of China agree with us

Westerners that the Western democratic system is

the most useful political system until now … We may

see it as superior to communism, fascism and the

fundamental Islam, but China’s leaders have a very

different opinion about that.” (NRC Van Pinxteren,

2006) On the verdict of RAM’s reporter that the system

is abject, Koolhaas replies: “There has never been a

system that pulled people out of poverty on this big

scale. There has never been a market system with

this effect” (Koolhaas, RAM, 2004). Ian Buruma of The

Guardian has his clear-cut opinion about the issue:

“…huge numbers of workers and peasants are being

exploited, thrown out of work or driven out of their

homes. Instead of free speech and democracy, there

is propaganda. That is what CCTV is for. And that is

what our architects are helping to maintain. It is not a

noble enterprise.” (Buruma, 2002)


In this thesis the basics of Critical Regionalism

are taken as the leading knowledge to develop a

theoretical support of eventual design concepts. This

chapter will focus on Critical Regionalism and related

theories, influenced by the author’s interpretation of

these theories.

3.� REGIONALISM

Aimed at Critical Regionalism, discussed in section

3.3, it is useful to understand Regionalism as well as

Global approaches. Regionalism was re-introduced

by Mumford in �924 as a reaction to the Beaux-Arts

Movement of that time. Regionalism to Mumford

meant architecture “based on the perception of place”

(Tzonis & Lefaivre, 2003). The regionalist interventions

in Beijing show mostly very citationist attempts, a very

common approach is to use the tilted roof on top of a

building as a traditional precedent to give the building

a Chinese feeling. Some of the new courtyard house

projects in Beijing are simply clear copies from the

past (as discussed in section 2.2). They are adapted

to the current modern needs. They show a good

example of Regionalism in Beijing.

3.2 SUPERMODERNISM

There are many attempts to categorize the global

architecture. Not the easiest job with all these varying

styles and attitudes toward design. One attempt is

of Hans Ibelings, former director of the Netherlands

Architectural institute, he called attention to the

new idea of Supermodernism, a new ‘ism’, first

introduced by the anthropologist Marc Augé in his

book: Non Lieux; introduction à une anthropologie de

la surmodernité. (Marc Augé introduced the notion

of place and non-places: If a place can be defined

as relational, historical and concerned with identity,

then a space which cannot be defined as relational,

or historical, or concerned with identity will be a non-

place) Supermodernism is seen by Ibelings as a

reaction on Postmodernism as he puts it: “The rising

of notions as indeterminacy, infinity, and neutrality can

strictly, in history of art, be seen as the prominent path

of the preliminary period, the postmodernism.” To

look beyond architecture Ibelings sees globalisation

as the generic term for a complex of changes.

Ibelings then explains the condition of supermodernity

according to Augé on three profusions: profusion of

space, the profusion of signs and the profusion of

individualisation. (Ibelings, �998)

3.3 CRITICAL REGIONALISM

Critical Regionalism was first introduced by

Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre, who dwelled

upon the regionalist ideas of Mumford, that they call

‘critical’. They explain why they named Mumford’s

regionalism ‘critical’ in their book on ‘Critical

Regionalism: Architecture and Identity in a Globalized

World’. Lefaivre writes: “since the Renaissance it

[regionalism] has always been critical of an outside

power wishing to impose an international, globalizing,

universalizing architecture against the particular local

identity...” Now she continues with an important part

of the understanding of the Critical Regionalism:

“But Mumford’s regionalism is critical in a second,

more important sense. It is critical not only towards

globalism, it is also critical of regionalism.” ... “For the

first time ... regionalism is seen as an engagement

with the global universalizing world rather than by an

attitude of resistance.” There are a lot of people who

still misjudge the Critical Regionalism as an attitude

of resistance. Lefaivre concludes then: “In this sense

we use the term Critical Regionalism, a regionalism

evolved from an internal, self-directed criticism.”

Mumford rejected the historicism, however, he

supported preservation, but he opposed to the mere

“mimicking” of historic buildings into new ones.

3 TheoreticalFramework


As what is done for instance in the hutong areas

that are now being torn down and newly rebuilt. To

quote Mumford: “it is a piece of rank materialism to

attempt to duplicate some earlier form, because of

its delight for the eye, without realizing how empty a

form is without the life that once supported it.” A clear

quotation of this past architecture was like a “costume

ball” to Mumford, trying to live the life of others. But

the past is not to be neglected and he argues: “Our

task is not to imitate the past, but to understand it, so

we may face the opportunity of our own day and deal

with them in an equally creative spirit.”

An example of this approach of an in-between the

global and local is seen in Alvar Aalto’s ‘Torre Velasca’

(pic. 46), a skyscraper in the heart of the historic

centre of Milan. The concept of the skyscraper

was very modern for that time (‘�0-’�8) but the

appearance and materiality are clearly derived from

an understanding of the local architectures.

Architectural principles can be precedents like the

courtyard of which the typology should then be

adjusted to fit the modern life-style, with the use of

global as well as local products. Learn from the past

and face the future.

3.4 DEFAMILIARIZATION

Defamiliarization is a term derived from the Russian

writer Victor Shklovsky, who used the term to explain

a technique in linguistics how to intensify the reader’s

sensation by making the familiar look unfamiliar. In

Art as Technique he writes: “The purpose of art is to

impart the sensation of things as they are perceived

and not as they are known. The technique of art is

to make objects ‘unfamiliar’, to make forms difficult,

to increase the difficulty and length of perception

because the process of perception is an aesthetic

end in itself and must be prolonged. Art is a way of

experiencing the artfulness of an object; the object is

not important.” Or as he quotes Robert Scholes: “In

art, it is our experience of the process of construction

that counts, not the finished product” (Shklovsky,

�9�7).

Defamiliarization is taken by Tzonis and Lefaivre to

apply it to architecture firstly in their book ‘Classical

Architecture, The Poetics of Order’. The theory

provides a way of rethinking classical architecture

in new design in a way other then mere copying

or citing it, but to re-use and adapt it to the actual.

Time has exceeded this architecture, and the

Romantic Regionalism and kitsch Post-modernist

copy-cat architectures neglect this actual by copying

or citing. The technique of defamiliarization is

explained by Tzonis and Lefaivre in the light of the

Critical Regionalism, that, as explained in the former

section is a merging of regional and global ideas.

Defamiliarization, in ‘Classical Architecture, The

Poetics of Order’ merges the classical with modern(-

46 Torre Velasca

The principles shown above in Tzonis’ and Lefaivre’s

explanation of Mumfords ideas form the basic

understanding of the Critical Regionalism for this

thesis. The Critical Regionalism is in this case not

seen as the mere pragmatic approach as to use local

forms and materials and adjust the building to its local

ecological environment, but the theory is used to

generate a design formula with architectural principles

derived from the past and combined with the global

products to fit the demands of our modern society.


ist) ideas. Poetics can be assisting in the use of

defamiliarization, elements or fragments are not seen

as columns roofs or doors, but as there actions;

supporting, protecting, opening, etc. Creating a new

world by using these principles in a way adapted

to the current time and making them strange in the

perception is basically the idea of defamiliarization.

Tzonis and Lefaivre propose three different

applications of the classical precedents in ‘Classical

Architecture, The Poetics of Order’; “The … citing

of classical motives …, Syncretism, and the use of

classical fragments in architectural meta-statement.”

(Tzonis and Lefaivre, �989)

With the proposal of this classification Tzonis and

Lefaivre already mention that it requires a new

study on its own. Karina Moraes Zarzar, professor

at TU Delft and the supervisor on this thesis,

further digresses upon this classification and uses

it not merely on classical architecture, like Tzonis

and Lefaivre, but in the collection of all the (local)

precedents. In her article on ‘Design Precedents and

Identity’, Zarzar explains how these three applications

can be understood. Next is an attempt of how to

understand these application principles by learning

from the theories of Tzonis and Lefaivre, and Zarzar.

Citationism is opposing to the idea of

defamiliarization, it is the approach that familiarizes or

over-familiarizes the sense of the viewer, as in Kitsch

architecture and some Post-Modern architecture.

The typical traditional Las Vegas architecture which

refers to past times and different places uses a citing

in an extreme way and actually it is mere a copying of

precedents. It “alienates the dweller from the reality.”

The surreality proposed by the architect is more a

feeling of sentiment. Zarzar asserts that it “avoids

the confrontation and tries to promote a sentimental

embracing between the building and the consumer,

a relation that is broken in modernity.” There seems

to be a lack of depth in the viewer’s process of

perception.

Syncretism and meta-statement are both applications

that use the concept of defamiliarization. In the

syncretism and meta-statement the collected

fragments of precedents may be mutated and used

in a new design in a new setting, a new compilation

combined with other elements, so they become

estranged in the perception of the viewer. The familiar

is becoming unfamiliar by rearrangement. (Zarzar,

2004)

According to Tzonis and Lefaivre the syncretism and

meta-statement are harder to isolate, but they do give

a distinguishing. They assert that in the syncretism

segments of (classical) precedents are used as to

restore the historic memory. In the syncretism there is

a kind of renewed devotion to the precedent (Tzonis

and Lefaivre, �989). In Venturi’s addition on the Allen

Memorial Art Museum he uses a similar approach.

The column he designed, shown in picture 47, is

clearly referring to the ancient Greek Ionic column.

However it is questionable whether he is or is not

defamiliarizing the column. On the one hand he

cites the literal form of an Ionic capital and on the

other hand he uses a different material and size

proportions.

In meta-statement, according to Tzonis and Lefaivre,

“segments of the (classical) precedent are used

as a medium to state something about itself, in

other words, they become statements in a bigger

statement.

The syncretism differs from the meta-statement which

can express irony and desperation and which can

become a critical commentary on the formal ways on

the architectonic thinking.”6 Both are used to raise

questions about the “dogmatic or quasi-automatic,”

6. Freely translated from the Dutch version of their book ‘Classical

Architecture, The Poetics of Order’.


use of the classical order, according to Tzonis and

Lefaivre (Tzonis and Lefaivre, �989). And in this

case about the questions are raised about collected

precedents.

These applications can become a set of tools helping

to approach the new design. By using the syncretism

or meta-statement then we can achieve to enrich the

design with the concept of defamiliarization.

47 Venturi’s column.


This chapter is focussed on three interventions

in Beijing, chosen on their difference approach

of design. The theories presented in the former

chapter will be used to explain these approaches

and in turn the cases can clarify the presented

theories. Chronologically it starts with the most

Regional example towards and ends it with the most

Supermodern example.

As an example of a rather regionalist approach in

Beijing one project of Wu Liangyong, architect and

teacher in Beijing, is discussed in the first section. It

had several awards, under which the UN’s �992 World

Residential Prize. It is renowned for its attempt to

reintroduce courtyardhouse architecture in a modern

period.

The other highlighted cases are of two foreign (star-)

architects, Steven Holl and Paul Andreu.

The example of Steven Holl might seem Supermodern

in first appearance, but a closer look at the project

reveals the use of local precedents and it is argued

that the project might be classified as Critical

Regionalist. The example of Paul Andreu is in this

thesis taken as the extreme of a Supermodern

architecture.

Whenever analyzing a project, it is a subjective view

on the project. The architect’s intentions may differ

from the output of the analysis.

4.� WU LIANGYONG: JU’ER HUTONG

Wu Liangyong is a director of the Institute of

Architectural and Urban Studies at Tsinghua

University in Beijing. In �978 he developed a new

set of courtyard houses based on the analysis of the

traditional courtyard house typology. He came up with

a project for a modern courtyard house referred to as

the Ju’er Hutong (named after its neighbourhood).

It clearly refers to the traditional siheyuan, only this

one is answering to the demands of a higher density.

It has two- and three-storey compounds and each of

the apartments in them all share an inner courtyard.

The project is a renewal of an area that existed of

old hutong buildings that were quite dilapidated

structures. He maintained the pattern of streets

and the old trees. The structure is aesthetically well

integrated in its environment. It uses a lot of elements

of traditional architecture such as the courtyard and

the typical roofs (picture �2).

4 CaseStudiesinBeijing

48,49 Closed doors in the Ju’er Hutong

traditional Ju’er

�0 Different perspectives on privacy

�� ‘Courtyard parking’ �2 Typical siheyuan roof

�3 Ju’er Hutong from the streetside


The quality of living space has improved compared to

the former structures. Only a low number of residents

returned to the place, because of the high prices

and the lack of government financial aid. There was

much interest by wealthier families and businesses.

The project’s exquisity is a reason it gained much

attention. Because of this new mixture of people the

intensity of a sense of community is, however, lower

then it might be before. When I walked through the

area the place felt somewhat deserted, no people

were inside the courtyards. Karina Moraes Zarzar

explains (in a yet to be published article) the using of

elements of traditional architecture: “[The elements]

such as the port, the roof and the courtyard ... are

not transferred in the sense of bringing the hidden

principles to reinforce the lifestyle of the inhabitants,

but as a solace.” (Zarzar, 2006) Which she refers to

as a citationist collection of precedents (see section

3.4) The attempt to reintroduce the courtyard as

a typical typology Beijing architecture might have

missed the success because the families living there

are too segregated and keep their privacy in the

apartment. The courtyard misses an interpretation of

the modern life-style, the place is now mostly used

as a parking lot, not as a community space (picture

49). Doors in the old hutong neighbourhoods are

mostly open, while those in the Ju’er area are mostly

closed (picture 48,49). Another comparison to the old

courtyard complexes shows that the Ju’er Hutong has

windows at the street-side (picture �3) while the old

siheyuan kept the privacy strictly to the inhabitants

inside the compound (picture �0). That means

another level of private to public space has been

introduced. A garden in front provides a semi-private

space, however there is no physical connection to

the street. The choice of the placement of these

windows is however understandable as this is the

south-side of these apartments. Whereas hierarchy in

the old courtyard houses created a better setting for

the house in the north than the one on the south, the

Ju’er clearly is designed to provide every inhabitant a

qualitative living space, a modern interpretation of the

typology fulfilling the demands of today.

4.2 STEVEN HOLL: LINKED HYBRID

In 2008 to be completed, the Linked Hybrid building

designed by Steven Holl Architects is now under

construction. It is a grand housing project to

house over 2�00 people. It combines housing with

underground parking, commercial functions and

several services for the inhabitants situated in a top

ring that links all the buildings. A semi-public park

is situated at ground level, the use of integrated

�4 Linked Hybrid

�� Use of bright colours found in traditional Chinese architecture

functions is controlled by the resident’s cards. The

project uses features of traditional architecture, for

instance the bright colours (picture ��) that were used

in traditional Chinese architecture. The way in which

the colours are re-used is in a syncretic manner.

The colours are taken from their original setting and

renewed in the use on faces of the building. The

courtyard concept used in the traditional courtyard


houses seems to be applied to the complex,

as there are gardens on top of every flat that

are accessible for the residents. This is clearly

defamiliarizing

the courtyard as a concept. A somewhat syncretic

approach is used as the concept is renewed in the

project or maybe it is even a meta-statement. The

hutong could also be seen as a concept used in the

project in the ring that connects all the buildings and

contains all the public facilities. A park at ground level

resembles the Chinese garden.

Overall we could state that the concept of

defamiliarization is widely used in the project, mostly

by using the syncretism approach. The project

is therefore a good example of how to use local

precedents.

4.3 ANDREU: NATIONAL THEATRE

The national theatre of Paul Andreu is probably the

most commented project in Beijing, as it is probably

the most controversial project. Mainly this is because

it is situated close to state architecture around

Tiananmen Square and because of its round shape,

with a skin hanging like a curtain over the immense

construction that is covering the theatre. Dawson

notices the discussions that was raised by people,

mostly attacking it for its lack of concern with the

city, the national identity as well as tradition versus

modernism were discussed all over (Dawson, 200�).

I will argue that Beijing couldn’t have chosen a better

building on a better place, however, I don’t see this as

a good example from a critical regionalist view.

Near all this rigid state architecture, this building looks

alienated. But, situated at the border of the political

zone, it is still subjected to the state architecture,

although it is extremely symmetrical in its appearance

as well as the site plan surrounding it, besides,

Andreu’s building is not politically loaded it is simply

there for the entertainment of the people.

The reason why I think this building is ideally in

place and architecture, is that it is like a manifest for

globalisation, an icon for Beijing that resembles the

new capitalistic society (with a twist of communism,

or the other way around…), an extremely modern

creature. Costing about 260 million euros on itself can

be an indicator for the economic explosion in China.

It is a perfect reflection of the undergoing change for

Beijing as well for China, symbolizing the prosperity of

the country.

�6,�7 The contrast of the hutong with the theatre gives both buildings a stronger appearance.

Though prosperity doesn’t reach every citizen of

Beijing, poor people mostly don’t get the benefit of

the economical success. For instance the habitants

of hutongs get relocated and loose their socio-

economical structure, which eventually draws them

even further back behind.

I will argue that the National theatre of Beijing

symbolizes the present transformation of the Chinese

culture, a symbol purely for the wealthy China serving


the rich inhabitants of Beijing (who can afford a ticket

for the theatre), ignoring the backside of modern

Beijing.

One thing that needs be commented on Paul

Andreu’s building, seen from the pictures (�6 & �7)

is that it provides an immense contrast to the hutong

area next to it. That contrast is strengthening the

appearance of the old hutong as well as the theatre.

It is a good example of how modern architecture can

enforce and strengthen the aesthetic appearance of

the old architecture. Concepts of defamiliarization

can hardly be derived from this project. Because of

the very supermodern approach it does not make

much sense to judge this building on the use of

defamiliarization.


5 Conclusions

Modernizing Beijing is a project of many different

faces, different opinions and different approaches.

Beijing has a long history and some beautiful

remnants of past architectures, like the old hutong

houses. Those can not simply be ignored and

swapped for a modern infill.

On the other hand you have to be honest and look at

the present demands that the modern Beijing asks

for. These old structures simply can’t cope with the

modern Beijing. They occupy a lot of ground space,

while the inner city needs more density. And they are

simply neglected over time and now lacking several

basic needs such as a toilet or water supplies.

The preserving of the hutong areas is done in a way

- as discussed in section 2.2 - that raises questions

on the authenticity. Presently these areas represent

a unique - but poor - life-style. As they will clean this

area and turn the current overcrowded dilapidated

buildings into expensive courtyard houses, the life-

style will be obviously disappearing. The hutong

will then turn into a tourist attraction that exlusively

represents the old architecture. The houses become

simulacra, inauthentic representations of the past that

once was. For the sake of the nostalgic minds.

I am pro-preservation of the hutong areas. ‘Hands

off’, that is, because these areas, like Dazhalan, will

otherwise lose their typical life-style. I would like to

see parts of the hutong-areas preserved and some

demolished and modernized. All in order to make

a composition in the Old City with high contrasts,

amazing the visitor of the different settings. From out

of the hutong areas modern architecture will stick

out in the skyline, like the setting of the National

Theatre (pictures �6 and �7). And walking through a

modern part, turning a corner, you could surprisingly

find yourself at once in an old hutong-area. This

is one of the pleasant surprises I experienced on

my visit to Beijing. Beijing without its old hutong

architecture would be as boring as Beijing without its

new modern architecture. This mutual reinforcement

of architectures is one of the most important urban

lessons from this city.

Defamiliarization has provided me a theoretical

basis to approach a new design. Preservation of

‘precedents’ is important, but more important for

architecture is to learn from these precedents. The

Critical Regionalism to me is not a conservative way

of dealing past, but a progressive way of dealing with

the future demands and learning from the past local

architectures. The different applications (discussed in

section 3.4) in the concept of defamiliarization help to

understand how to approach a design task.

With the use of these theories I try to create a

design which embeds the qualities found in the local

precedents. Therefore I analysed the hutongs and

the layout of courtyard houses, to be found in book

III. With transposing the concepts and elements of

the traditional architecture, according to the used set

of theories, I hope to design an architecture which

enriches the context and not ignoring it. On the other

hand, the design has to face the current modern

needs and has to fit into our post-modern paradigm.


DynastieTimeline

ca. 21st-16th century B.C. Xia 1700-1027 B.C. Shang 1027-771 B.C. Western Zhou 770-221 B.C. Eastern Zhou 770-476 B.C. Spring and Autumn period 475-221 B.C. Warring States period 221-207 B.C. Qin 206 B.C.-A.D. 9 Western Han A.D. 9-24 Xin (Wang Mang interregnum) A.D. 25-220 Eastern Han A.D. 220-280 Three Kingdoms (San Guo) 220-265 Wei 221-263 Shu 229-280 Wu A.D. 265-316 Western Jin A.D. 317-420 Eastern Jin A.D. 420-588 Southern and Northern Dynasties 420-588 Southern Dynasties 420-478 Song 479-501 Qi 502-556 Liang 557-588 Chen 386-588 Northern Dynasties 386-533 Northern Wei 534-549 Eastern Wei 535-557 Western Wei 550-577 Northern Qi 557-588 Northern Zhou A.D. 581-617 Sui A.D. 618-907 Tang A.D. 907-960 Five Dynasties A.D. 907-979 Ten Kingdoms 916-1125 Liao 960-1279 Song 960-1127 Northern Song 1127-1279 Southern Song 1038-1227 Western Xia 1115-1234 Jin 1279-1368 Yuan 1368-1644 Ming 1644-1911 Qing1911-1949 Republic of China 1949- People’s Republic of China

in‘China’,byJanvanderPutten,Novib2003

Information taken from the Country Study for the Library of Congress in Washington


27. Plan of the Legation Quarter, �9�2. (large format)


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Dawson, L. China’s new dawn: an architectural transformation, München, Prestel, 200�. �76 p.

Frampton, K. Moderne architectuur een kritische geschiedenis, Nijmegen, sun,�988 (4e druk 200�), 477 p. Deel

3, h. � ‘Kritisch regionalisme: moderne architectuur en culturele identiteit’

Guo, Q. Chinese Architecture and Planning Ideas, Methods, Techniques, Stuttgart, Edition Axel Menges, 200�.

Hung, W. Remaking Beijing, Tiananmen square and the creation of a political space, Londen, 200�, Reaktion

Books. 244 p.

Ibelings, H. Supermodernisme, architectuur in het tijdperk van globalisering. Rotterdam, Nai �998. �44 p.

Laquian, A. Beyond Metropolis: the planning and governance of Asia’s mega-urban regions, Washington,

Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 200�.

Lefaivre, L. Critical regionalism architecture and identity in a globalized world. Munich, Prestel, 2003. ��9 p.

Liangyong, W. Rehabilitating the Old City of Beijing : a project in the Ju’er Hutong neighbourhood, Vancouver,Rehabilitating the Old City of Beijing : a project in the Ju’er Hutong neighbourhood, Vancouver,

UBC Press, �999.

Mingde, L. & Zhenyong, Z. A Guidebook to Alleys in Beijing, Beijing, China Tourism Press, 200�

Putten, J. van der, China: Mensen Politiek Economie Cultuur Milieu, Amsterdam, KIT Publishers, 2003.

Qinxi, L. Ancient Chinese Architecture, Beijing, Foreign Language Press, 2002.

Rowe, P.G. & Kuan, S. Architectural encounters with essence and form, Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT press,

2002. 2�3 p.

Sassen, S. Globalization and its discontents, New York, The New Press, �998.Globalization and its discontents, New York, The New Press, �998.

Shaughnessy, E. L. China: wereldgeschiedenis, Kerkdriel, Librero, 2006. Deel 3, h. ��, Architectuur en

planning, pp. 2�2-229

Shklovsky, V. Art as Technique, first published in �9�7, translated by Lemon and Reis in �96�, reprinted in

David Lodge, ed., Modern Criticism and Theory: A Reader, London, Longmans, �988, pp. �6-30.

Tzonis, A. & Lefaivre, L. Critical Regionalism, Architecture and Identity in a Globalized World, New York,

Prestel, 2003.

Tzonis, A. & Lefaivre, L. & Stagno, B. Tropical architecture ‘critical regionalism in the age of globalization’,

Chichester, Wiley-Academy, 200�. 3�� p.

Tzonis, A. & Lefaivre, L. & Bilodeau, D. Klassieke Architectuur, de Poetica van de Orde, Nijmegen,SUN,�989.

Vlassenrood, L. et al, China Contemporary, Rotterdam, Nai, 2006

ARTICLES:

Broudehoux, A.: Neighborhood regeneration in Beijing: an overview of projects implemented in the inner city

since 1990, �994.

Elsa, D. Chinese Architects Look to the Future while Connecting with the Past, Architectural Record, 2006

Jager, M. Identity Crisis, article in TBJ Home, July 2006 edition, Beijing, 2006

MoraesZarzar, K. Design Precedents and Identity. Procedures GA2004, 2004.

MoraesZarzar, K. Hutongs, Precedents and Identity - An Exploratory Essay on the Essences of Design

Precedents in Beijing, (yet to be published) 2006.

Tzonis, A. & Lefaivre, L. Why Critical Regionalism Today?, A+U, edition �, may �990.

Ying, T. Relocation and the people - A research on Neighborhood Renewal in the Old City of Beijing. http://

web.telia.com/~u3�22426�/index.html, �998


Cover ‘The Hollywood Remains’, copyright of Natalie Behring. (www.nataliebehring.com)

� Copyright by Rutger H. Kuipers, 2006. (Ronald McDonald taken from: www.finishingtouchshows.com

2 Copyright by Rutger H. Kuipers, 2006.

3 From Architectural Record website: http://archrecord.construction.com/china/�_projects/Olympics.asp


� Unknown

6 From: http://www.siu.edu/~dfll/Chinese/index.html

7 Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp

�988, Shuanglin zhen, Huzhou shi, Zhejiang Province

8 Photograph courtesy of Ronald G. Knapp

�987, Shifuxiang, Zhejiang Province


�0 From Google Earth

�� From: Chinese Pavillion Architecture, Werner Blaser, Niederteufen, Arthur Niggli Ltd., �974.

�2 From: www.drben.net

�3-�6 From: Qinghua Guo, Chinese Architecture and Planning, Stuttgart, Edition Axel Menges, 200�.Qinghua Guo, Chinese Architecture and Planning, Stuttgart, Edition Axel Menges, 200�.

�7 Liangyong, W. Rehabilitating the Old City of Beijing, Vancouver, UBC Press, �999.Liangyong, W. Rehabilitating the Old City of Beijing, Vancouver, UBC Press, �999.Rehabilitating the Old City of Beijing, Vancouver, UBC Press, �999.

�8-20 Copyright by Rutger H. Kuipers, 2006.

2� From: Broudehoux, A. NBroudehoux, A. Neighborhood regeneration in Beijing, �994.

22 From: http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln270/LINKS270.htm

23 Copyright by Travelblog.org

24 From: http://muninn.net/pics/qingdao/qingdao.html

2� American Barracks. “The images are scanned from postcards collected by Svend P. Morch during

his time of service in Tientsin.” Copyright �999, 200� by Philip R. Abbey (photographic images are

provided by Mr. Edgar C. Smith) Source: www.geocities.com/Eureka/Plaza/77�0/tientsin0�.html


27 Plan of the Legation Quarter in Beijing. From Madrolle’s Guide Books: Northern China, The Valley

of the Blue River, Korea. Hachette & Company, �9�2.


29 From: www.drben.net

30-32 Copyright by Rutger H. Kuipers, 2006.

33 Copyright by Jeff Widener from the Associated Press

34 Rowe & Kuan, Architectural encounters with essence and form, Cambridge, MIT press, 2002.

3� Copyright by NASA

36,37 Liangyong, W. Rehabilitating the Old City of Beijing, Vancouver, UBC Press, �999.Liangyong, W. Rehabilitating the Old City of Beijing, Vancouver, UBC Press, �999.Rehabilitating the Old City of Beijing, Vancouver, UBC Press, �999.

38,39 Copyright by Rutger H. Kuipers, 2006

40 In BJHGS, planning magazine, Beijing, 2006

4� Taken from Flickr.com

42 In BJHGS, planning magazine, Beijing, 2006

43 Copyright by Rutger H. Kuipers

Pictorialreferences


44,4� Blur Hotel, taken from Architectural Record http://archrecord.construction.com/

46 Torre Velasca, taken from http://web.tiscali.it/dammatra/Milano.htm

47 Column Venturi, taken from http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/venturi/add.html

48-�3 Copyright by Rutger H. Kuipers

�4 Linked Hybrid, taken from Stevenholl.com

�� Linked Hybrid, taken from www.skyscrapercity.org

�6,�7 Copyright by Rutger H. Kuipers

Thesis by Rutger H. Kuipers TUDelft MSc 3 Studio: ExploreLab

IMPRESSIONS

II

Thesis by Rutger H. Kuipers TUDelft MSc 3 Studio: ExploreLab“HUTONG ENTRANCES”

Thesis by Rutger H. Kuipers TUDelft MSc 3 Studio: ExploreLab“BEIJING LATTICES”

Thesis by Rutger H. Kuipers TUDelft MSc 3 Studio: ExploreLab“PUBLIC SPACE: BIKES,CARS,LAUNDRY AND STORAGE”

Thesis by Rutger H. Kuipers TUDelft MSc 3 Studio: ExploreLab“PUBLIC SPACE: DIRECT USE”

Thesis by Rutger H. Kuipers TUDelft MSc 3 Studio: ExploreLab“BEIJING ADVERTISEMENTS”

Thesis by Rutger H. Kuipers TUDelft MSc 3 Studio: ExploreLab“RED”

Thesis by Rutger H. Kuipers TUDelft MSc 3 Studio: ExploreLab“GREEN IN THE CITY”

Thesis by Rutger H. Kuipers TUDelft MSc 3 Studio: ExploreLab“HUTONG WASTE”

“MODERNIZING BEIJING”Thesis by Rutger H. Kuipers TUDelft MSc 3 Studio: ExploreLab

ANALYSIS & PRECEDENTS

III


2

1 32 courts with backyard

2 courts,1 frontyard, 1 backyard, several sideyards

1 court with frontyard

COURTYARD HOUSEAnalysis of 3 traditional types of Siheyuan


321

COURTYARD HOUSE

Additive form. The Courtyard house is a complex of additive forms arranged in symmetry, and along a north-south axis. Some face eachother, others stand alone. A wall encloses the whole complex.

face to face

spatial tension

Analized by the Ching-method.

Faces

Axis


COURTYARD HOUSEAnalized by the Ching-method.

321

Entrance.The entrance is always at the south and at the east side of the axis. The path is always fenced by a screenwall. The approach to the complex is always side-wards.

Routing.Linear, circular and radial.

secundary routing

primary routing

Configuration of the path

Orientation of units.All the units are opening to the courts. The importance of the unit are given by the thickness of the arrows. The most important buildings are oriented southwards.

Path

Approach


1 2 3

COURTYARD HOUSEAnalized by the Ching-method.

Spaces.The units in the complex are linked by courts. The spaces in the courts are open and semi-open, low and raised level. The picture shown beneath shows the different levels. The raised part in the court is always covered by a roof. The outer wall brings privacy to the inner court. The sloped roofs allow much sunlight.

raised level

ground level


PRECEDENTS Dong Nan Yuan


LOCATION

IV


CHINA

Population: 1.3 billion peopleArea: 9.6 million square meters

Rapid Economic Growth of 9 % per year due to planned economy changed to market-based economy. Because of rapid growth China planned to built 400 new cities for the next 20 years, some 20 a year. Annually there are 12 million people expected to migrate from rural areas to the urban area. Now there are 38 percent of the inhabitants living in urban areas by 2020 this should go up to 50 percent.

copyright by: www.dynamiccity.org

copyright by: www.dynamiccity.org

Source: Goldman Sachs

2005

1 USA 11,3512 Japan 4,3663 Germany 1,9664 UK 1,6475 China 1,5296 France 1,4557 Italy 1,2128 Canada 7289 Spain 65510 Mexico 642

2050

1 China 44,4532 USA 35,1653 India 27,8034 Japan 6,6735 Brazil 6,0746 Russia 5,8707 UK 3,7828 Germany 3,6039 France 3,14810 Italy 2,061

Top ten countries in Gross National Product 2005 and 2050

Europe and China compared

Urbanization


BEIJING

Population: 14.930.000 approx. 7.5 million in urban areaArea: 16,808 km2

Density: 888 /km2

GDP: € 41,8 billion Per capita: € 2802 Growth rate: 10 %

Ethnicity: Han (96%)Language: Mandarin

Ages: 0-14: 13,6 % 14-64: 78 % 65+: 8,4 %Median age: 34.4 years

Industry: IT, Real Estate, Automobiles

Time-zone: UTC+8

Central City 8 Central Districts 5 Ring Roads

Beijing Municipality

Metropolitan area

Inner cityDensity

Mean Temperature: Jan Feb Mar April May Jun July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

-4.4/-2.1/4.7/13.0/17.2/18.9/23.6/25.6/24.0/19.1/12.2/4.3

Images of Jing Zhou


Beijing has expanded in 50 years to about 20 times its size. In the 60’s and early 70’s, after the WW II, Beijing had a dramatic high natural birth-rate: 2 - 3.5 %.In the 70’s it decreased to 0.75 - 0.93 %, because of the One Family One Child Policy. From the 90’s the city started expanding due to the increase of the economy with the migration of people from the countryside.To support further expansion and to ease the pressure on the city centre, the government planned new towns in the suburb. 6 Satellite cities will be built that can accomodate 500.000 people each.

BEIJING

Images by: Jing Zhou


BEIJING

In the process of modernizing, Beijing has set its self a goal: upgrading the city for the 2008 Olympics. The next goals are already planned for 2020. “Two axes, two belts and multiple centres”, is the main idea of the new plans. The two important axes that will be enforced are the north-south axis along tiananmen square and the forbidden city added with the Olympic field and the east-west axis which will connect the CBD with the inner city. The belts include a development (busi-ness) belt along east Beijing and in the west a ecological belt to draw back the pollution of the city. Several new centres are planned, such as the CBD and new satellite towns circle around the city, to take the pres-sure off the centre city.

DEVELOPMENT

A lack of good infrastructure in the city leads to lots of traffic jams. To ease pressure off the roads, Beijing is ex-panding its subway network with 14 new subway-lines. Currently the city has only 3. New roads are planned in the city to improve the circulation in the city. Currently Beijing has 6 Ring Roads to circulate the fast traffic around, and a seventh is planned.

2 Belts

2nd - 5th Ring Road

2 Belts +multiple centres


city block subblock courtyardcompound

house room

BEIJING CHARACTER

The Old City is developed within a rigid grid of north-south and west-east oriented directions. The layout relates to the central axis that runs north to south and contains the most important monuments of Beijing.

In every level of scale from city to city-block to neighborhood (sub-block) to courtyard house and its rooms, the symmetrical lay-out of, what Liangyong calls the “fishbone-structure”, is repeated.

In the Ming dynastie an avenue would be 24 bu (about 36 meters), a street would be 2 bu (about 2 meters) and an alley would be 6 bu (about 9 meters). In that time there were about 400 alleys in the city. Due to the overcrowding smaller alleys appeared.

In the Old City the hutong areas became subjected to rapid growth and overcrowding from migrants in the 50’s when the land became state-owned. Itresulted into an increasing density, by which they lost their formal lay-outs.

To preserve the cityscape, the government introduced a building height regulation on the city centre area. Although corruption lead to the ignorance of the regulation.

Typical to Beijing is its low-rise city centre. The resulted cityscape is under pressure of modernisation. The density is too high in the center, the answer could be high-rise, which will destroy the cityscape.

From RingRoad to alley

Building Height Regulation


BEIJING PRESERVATION

In order to preserve the old hutong areas, or at least some of them, Beijing introduced the Preservation Plan.The yellow areas indicate the 25 areas listed for preservation.


BEIJING POSTMODERN PRESERVATION

Despite this preservation policy, still a lot of buildings get torn down and their inhabitants are being relocated to the outskirts. The buildings that are torn down are being rebuilt in their old original state. The state in which they were before they became victims of overcrowding and dilapidation. They are being adapted to the modern demands, added with good facilities like; toilets, bathroom, electricity etc. The result is a kind of postmodern replica of the courtyard house. The new buildings are then being sold again. The former inhabitants should originally be able to move back, as the government stated in their policies. But in reality the building is now so expensive that they can not afford it anymore. Moreover they will be encouraged to move to the outskirts, so there is more profit to make on the buildings. These buildings are now very popular in wealthier population groups. The combination of a traditional styled courtyard house and a prime location in the city center appeal to many people. This gentrification is a solution to the density in the innercity. It’s likely that the government doesn’t want to expose the ‘poor face’ of Beijing to its visitors and thus relocates poor people to the outskirts, ashamed as it is for their appearance.

modernizing beijing - master thesis by rutger kuipers @ tudelft msc3 explorelab - 2006

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