Comments on: Disappearing vernacular architecture – Beijing Hutongs http://www.chinesevernaculararchitecture.com/disappearing-vernacular-architecture-beijing-hutongs/ A Blog about Ancient and Modern Vernacular Architecture in China Fri, 29 Oct 2010 21:54:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Margaret Walker http://www.chinesevernaculararchitecture.com/disappearing-vernacular-architecture-beijing-hutongs/comment-page-1/#comment-4007 Margaret Walker Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:12:55 +0000 http://www.chinesevernaculararchitecture.com/what-irony/#comment-4007 I'm very sorry to hear that, among many laudable changes the Olympics prompted in Beijing, the hutongs are fast disappearing. Cities in the US are also coping with the understanding that to combat global warming, increasing housing density must be factored in to preserve "green belts." I would love to see photos and architectural plans of REAL structures that have evolved in hutongs. I hear that they are based around courtyards. This reminds me of the Moorish influence in Spain, with interior courtyards of fruit trees, greenery, and a water feature to offer a spiritual "amelioration" in a hot, dry climate, and to produce "air conditioning" not dependent on electricity or fossil fuels. Is there any way to design the essential features, uniqueness, and ambiance provided by hutongs into residential structures that can accommodate a greater population density? Surely the optimum way to design for a population is to look carefully at the indigenous structures and communities that have arisen "organically" in prior decades and centuries to meet important human and cultural needs of the people dwelling there. I’m very sorry to hear that, among many laudable changes the Olympics prompted in Beijing, the hutongs are fast disappearing. Cities in the US are also coping with the understanding that to combat global warming, increasing housing density must be factored in to preserve “green belts.”

I would love to see photos and architectural plans of REAL structures that have evolved in hutongs. I hear that they are based around courtyards. This reminds me of the Moorish influence in Spain, with interior courtyards of fruit trees, greenery, and a water feature to offer a spiritual “amelioration” in a hot, dry climate, and to produce “air conditioning” not dependent on electricity or fossil fuels.

Is there any way to design the essential features, uniqueness, and ambiance provided by hutongs into residential structures that can accommodate a greater population density? Surely the optimum way to design for a population is to look carefully at the indigenous structures and communities that have arisen “organically” in prior decades and centuries to meet important human and cultural needs of the people dwelling there.

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