Team 2: CO-LAB Project Blog

Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Environmental Design China Program presented a valuable opportunity for interdisciplinary efforts of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning students to work in a foreign setting and effectively hone student communication, leadership, and collaboration skills. The trip also exposed students to cultures and practices beyond the scope of their normal educational curricula.

The Fayuan Temple Backstreet Hutong, a series of dilapidated traditional courtyard houses near the heart of Beijing, was the site we studied throughout the program. Despite its appearance, the Hutong holds significant cultural value and had once housed students from across the empire in ancient times. It also functioned as a memorial for a semi-ambiguous Chinese general by the name of Xie. A further analysis of this site through two projects enabled each team to establish a better understanding of the significance of Fayuan Temple Backstreet.

The first of two projects completed in China was a site analysis focusing on a theme prescribed by the program professors. Our team analyzed the site based on the theme of community fabric and social elements. The analysis was built off of analytical research conducted the previous year. We added to this research and made conclusions about what the local community needed and desired. The challenge was to create a piece that was both an analytical and interpretative evaluation of the site.

The second project was a conceptual design proposal for the same location as the site analysis. The goal was to create a strong vision for the site which was anchored with a substantial theme. By looking at opportunities and limitations students were to establish a design that would be most effective for the community, as well as innovative.

Layers and doorways stood out to us as important elements of the Fayuan Temple Backstreet Hutong because they revealed narrow alleyways, current and previous housing units, and what is left of the deteriorating traditional hutong courtyard and culture. However, it is not just the physical act of opening a door to a house or courtyard that left an impression on us, but rather that the layers led us into the lives and stories of the people that occupy the space. We felt that each doorway we walked through brought us to a deeper and better understanding of the situation in the hutongs of Beijing.

To evoke the experience of exploring the hutong and meeting the people who live there, our design is comprised of layers of found hutong objects and doors. This medium allows the audience to peel away the layers that we experienced when we walked through each doorway and discovered more about the hutong. For example, our first impression of each space started with an image, then verbal information, and finally a deeper understanding of the people that inhabit the space. We used this sequencing to organize our information. Analytical diagrams and drawings were also inserted into the piece as reflections of the space after our visit.

The organization of primary doors or layers is based on the locations of the homes of three residents we met in the hutong. The stories of these residents serve as connectors between the current state of social and cultural elements of the hutong, how these elements have changed over time, and what the future holds for the residents.

The site zoning diagram illustrates the relationship between the site, the surrounding landmarks, and community gathering spaces. The diagram additionally makes a general assesment of land-use density. This ratio of low-density housing (hutong residential) to moderate/high density housing (high rise residential) as shown in the diagram articulates the shift in modern Beijing and throughout China towards high-rise, high-density residential.

The site zoning diagram also demonstrates that the area is used by a diverse range of people. The community is loosely defined by three landmarks found within the major city block encompassing the General Xie Memorial site. This broader community is comprised of three distinct groups: The Fauyan Temple community, the Niujie Mosque Community, and the residents of the high-rise developments.

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Chairman Mao's Revolution in 1945 brought about several changes in the state of property ownership and thus altered the traditional spatial structure of hutong housing. Originally, hutongs were owned by large wealthy families and were equivalent to western-style single family housing units. Due to the revolution, the hutongs experienced a major shift in how the land was used. The government began leasing out hutongs as housing units to the common people. Thus, the single-family-designed hutongs were redistributed to accommodate multiple single residences or apartment-style living.

The central courtyard of the hutong complex was originally the center of social and family life prior to the revolution. The repartitioning of private land after the revolution caused the physical structure of the hutong to dramatically change in order to accommodate several small private residences. These small private residences over time have seen further transformations. With changes in living standards and cultural values, many residents have built extensions of their homes into the hutong courtyard, pushing the central gathering spot for social and family life from the courtyard into the surrounding streets. hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmh

Several political and economic forces affect the population of hutong dwellers. As a result of China’s fast growing population, the government often chooses to demolish hutongs in order to build high-rise apartment complexes. The government can also choose to protect hutongs by deeming them historical landmarks and either restoring or rebuilding them. Economic forces also drive the culture of the hutongs. Many historic buildings are quickly disappearing because developers wish to redevelop the land into upscale shopping areas or modern high-rise apartments. These options usually result in displacement of the local population and a shift in the socio-economic qualities of the area.

Gentrification: We have seen several examples of the repurposing and restoration of hutongs with some results being more effective than others. The most common method of gentrification establishes the hutong as a shopping and restaurant promenade housed in modified and reconstructed buildings. A successful example of this redevelopment possibility is the Hou Hai area in Beijing.

Creation of these shopping centers has both benefits and drawbacks. A benefit is the increase in revenue for the government due to opening more shopping space to lease. However, with benefits come disadvantages which include displacement of people, loss of significant historical sites, and loss of the already altered traditional hutong culture.

Relocation: Another option for redeveloping hutong neighborhoods is relocating the hutong onto another site in order to make way for high-rise buildings. However, the hutong would be a replica and may deviate from the original architectural design as original construction materials and designs may not be available in the present day. This is a common practice of historic preservation in China and comes with its own set of benefits and drawbacks. Many relocated structures stray away from traditional building techniques and materials, and the building’s original function is greatly altered. The design is constructed to cater to businesses rather than residences, and thus the traditional courtyard form is lost.

Total Transformation: Perhaps the most drastic method of dealing with the site would be to build a completely new development in its place. If this were to happen to a hutong, it would most likely be replaced with high-rise residential buildings for maximum economic benefit.

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A collaboration between students, researchers, and the history of a place.

A place where the community can come together.

A communal living model that uses a modern approach to redevelop historic housing.

An innovative laboratory for historic preservation.

The preservation of a lifestyle.

CO-LAB: Preserving the past, creating the future.

CO-LAB is a communal housing project and research facility for historic preservation located in the Fayuan Temple Backstreet Hutong in Beijing, China. This choice of program on the site addresses China’s rapid urbanization which is putting many historical buildings, traditional Chinese hutongs (courtyard houses), and the traditional courtyard lifestyle in danger. Unlike the United States, many of the historic buildings in China are significantly older and are often poorly maintained. CO-LAB also addresses this issue by serving as a case study for different types of historic preservation while being a preservation research facility run by students. University students will live on site so they may immerse themselves with the community and study the many historic sites nearby. Previously on the site stood a decaying national relic, a monument to General Xie. This landmark will be completely rebuilt in its original form and will serve as a community center and a museum. A disadvantage to living in high-rise developments is the disintegration of the relationships between people and their family, community, and the outdoors. CO-LAB nurtures these important relationships by providing communal living 'families' in which six housing units each share a single kitchen, dining, and living space. This promotes a sense of family in a nation in which limitations are placed on childbirth and where true neighborhood communities are disappearing.

In our approach to the landscape design, we maintained the essence of a traditional Chinese Courtyard while applying a modern approach. The function of the design was to develop a circulation strategy that allowed the separation of the public and private space. The use of landscape elements such as plants and weathered rocks promotes the movement of people through the courtyard and gives the residents more privacy. The more spacious areas were designed for visitors to interact and learn about the lives of the residents of the hutong.

Hybrid 'courtyard-corridors' act as arteries of the site connecting the different programs to form a symbolic living organism. The courtyards also act as areas for community gathering and pedestrian circulation. Through the use of traditional Chinese garden elements, the landscape design also emphasizes the three components of CO-LAB: history, community, and research. The five elements of the Chinese garden that we used are water, plants, inscriptions, rocks, and architecture.

We analyzed both the transportation networks that connect our site to the rest of Beijing by rail or foot and also the intellectual networks that exist or could exist between our site and the city of Beijing. We think that because our site is a formal research facility for historic preservation, it would have valuable resources and important needs similar to the other historic sites in Beijing. CO-LAB can be the connector that forges an alliance between these sites, leading to a better understanding of historic preservation in Beijing and more protection and awareness of the sites.

Recognizing that circulation to, from, and through CO-LAB is essential to its success as a place, our design criteria included making CO-LAB as accessible to everyone as possible. Thus, public transportation played a significant role as an efficient method to provide access to all user groups. CO-LAB's proximity to regional transportation networks including the Second Ring Road, the Citywide Metro-Rail and the City Bus Lines, make it a prime location for residents, researchers, and visitors to experience the site as well as the rest of the city.

The Amenities Diagram demonstrates the overall livability of the site. With respect to walkability, the site provides proximity to local and regional transportation, banking, shopping, dining/entertainment, and public open space, all within a 10 minute walking radius as outlined by the blue circular overlay.

Based on the analysis of pedestrian pathways and public transportation access, north and south entrances were determined as most appropriate, convenient, and logical locations for access in and out of CO-LAB. We also decided that the hutong adjacent to CO-LAB is a strong group of users that should be acknowledged. Thus, we added an entrance on the east side of the site to accommodate for those walking to or from the neighboring hutong.

To achieve functional and efficient open spaces similar to the traditional hutong courtyard concept, CO-LAB provides communal living areas for gathering, socializing, and connecting with people or the surroundings. The open space on the site is shown in the above diagram in blue as the"internal circulation". Since the circulation corridors form courtyards wherever they widen, they serve as activated open space in the community.

Working together as interdisciplinary teams on such a dynamic and challenging project was an experience full of successes and fall backs, but ultimately was a rewarding learning experience. Our design also had its own set of successes and drawbacks. The focus of our design leaned more towards providing for the human element, and was designed to accommodate people residents with modern amenities while preserving the communal lifestyle that had developed within the Hutong. Historic preservation, enacted through the research facilities, architectural examples, and community preservation also reflected thoughtful consideration of the sites, Historic and Cultural background.

From our critiques we observed some of the issues that existed within our design proposal. One issue that was addressed by the Chinese professors was the idea of reconstructing the entire site without incorporating pieces of the existing buildings. Secondly the Chinese professors commented on how the landscape plan could connect more with the architectural plan. Despite these critiques the concept of preserving a communal lifestyle fueled by historical preservation research centers was considered a creative and innovative approach to the site.

Please post below and tell us what you think about our project. Can you think of any alternate solutions to this design problem in modern China?