This project is located in Beijing?s historic center, in an area full of hutong laneways and ancient courtyards. It?s a hands-on academic project, conceived by master students from Tsinghua University, in which they investigate how to ?lever social change in China through design?. Students deal with issues from a grounded, built reality, which complements what they learn in the design studio. Surrounded by authentic hutong life, the proximity of the site to the White Pagoda Temple provided a unique experience for the students to investigate.
Photography: Martijn de Geus
After starting with an 8-week long urban design studio called Sharing Cities, the local government allocated a dilapidated courtyard for them to regenerate, as a test case for the student?s ideas. The design was inspired by the opportunity to bring a new perspective to the traditional hutong experience. People can now explore the courtyard in three dimensions, including quiet corners, a skywalk, and small amphitheater, and is implemented as a useful addition to the neighborhood, not as an abstract stand-alone installation.
The new structure creates a very direct connection with the renovated courtyard house and opens up never-before-seen perspectives. This has allowed a visitor to interact with the traditional architecture very close-up, including a skywalk and tea-drinking platform offering amazing sunset views of the temple. An elevated view of the Buddhist, white pagoda that been standing quietly above...