Hutong Bubble 218 Urban Renovation
MAD Architects, led by Ma Yansong, has completed the restoration and reconstruction of a 305 sqm traditional courtyard house that dates back to the Qing Dynasty. ?Hutong Bubble 218? is a continuation of MAD?s exploration into urban renovations as a means of revitalizing the Chinese capital?s old neighborhoods that have been confronted with degradation and demolition as a result of rapid development. MAD?s renovation demonstrates how small-scale, artistic interventions can provide new spaces and programs for these adverse areas, creating a dialogue between the old and the new.
Photography by © Fangfang Tian
In 2006, at the Venice Architecture Biennale, MAD proposed ideas for the future ambitions of Beijing, whose urban landscape, as a result social and economic developments, had started to alter, eroding the city?s delicate urban tissue. ?Beijing 2050? imagined different scenarios for the city, including the ?Future of Hutongs?. With the ideology that progress does not necessarily require large-scale change and construction, MAD conceived a network of metallic bubbles to be cultivated in Beijing?s historic neighborhoods. Inserted into the city?s existing urban fabric, they were envisioned to attract new people, activities and resources back to these aging and neglected communities. Ma Yansong said: ?This is a micro-utopian ideal. I hope that these bubbles will serve as vital newborn cells, giving the traditional hutong new life, and revita...