Prince Charles' Crusade for Beijing's Hutongs -Ancient Relics of Green Living

Great Britain's Prince Charles is working through his Foundation for Architecture and Urbanism to preserve Da Shi Lan, or Da Zha Lan, one of Beijing's famous remaining old-fashioned and resource-minimal courtyard-homes of hutong neighborhoods, located just south of Tiananmen Square. Charles's planners say that by renovating and rebuilding the courtyard homes that make up the hutong, whose alleys are Beijing's version of Venice's canal-crossed calli, Cairo's qasaba and Brazil's favelas: a lively, charming network of streets with Medieval roots, rich history and distinct character.

Beijing's courtyard homes (siheyuan), which date as far back as the ancient Western Zhou period, showcase green building that began centuries ago. South-facing rooms located under eaves around a central courtyard allows for ample ventilation, natural light and shade, and a patch of green space within the city. While their high walls keep nosy neighbors out, the density of the hutong also encourages rich social interaction. Though they once housed the elite, the courtyard homes were turned over to commoners during the Cultural Revolution, transforming one-family homes into houses for four families or more.

The hutong's are increasingly the target of Beijing's eager high-rise estate developers, aided by a government eager to rid the city of what it sees as slums.

"China is being sold the hi-tech model of development and we think there is a model which works with the local character of Chinese planning to achieve sustainability," Hank Dittmar, the chief executive of the prince's foundation, told the Guardian.

The courtyard homes are increasingly considered dilaphitated, dirty and backward when compared with the shiny apartment houses springing up outside the second ring road. Bathrooms are often communal, and sanitation can be rudimentary. Summers can be hot, winters very cold.

In proposing to upgrade the courtyard homes and thin out their tenant populations, the Prince's Foundation will be introducing Beijing to the tried and proven Western concept of gentrification.
making Da Shi Lan a model of modern eco-living.

Posted by Jason McManus.

Source link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jun/05/greenbuilding.ethicalliving

Comments

[DZ]

Prince Charles obviously enjoys causing controversy with his eco-crazy brilliant planet-saving schemes. And I must say he is a smart guy with good ideas.
But he also should try living in such places to see if it suits him. Being a Brazilian myself, I know for a fact how precarious the living conditions in such slums (as they are) really is.
It is very easy to go about fixing everyone's lives, isn't it? We should just make sure we are not doing it using our prejudiced and limited view of the world, looking out the window of our palaces.

[Morf]

Yes, I have walked (and biked) these hutongs on the margins of Beijing. There is a seething sense of history there. The few I've seen from the inside were cramped, stuffy and and hot (or freezing). Few of these hold electricity or plumbing - or windows.

They are essentially brick boxes. In the summer, the overwhelming sensation is of being slowly baked.

Yes, "green" they might be - but a practical - or even acceptable housing option?

Most of Beijing was covered by these, now they are essentially endangered. But who would want to live there?

[gus]

I think Prince Charles vision of returning the Hutong to their former splendour is an excellent one.. What would Beijing be without the Hutong? A ugly mass of metropolis with no heart and no history that isn't owned or controlled by the government? We've seen valuable culture and architecture that are there for people to enjoy, experience and live in, destroyed for a quick profit and replaced by buildings which will not last 20 years.. the problem with current hutongs which has clearly been identified above is they are no longer used according to original design.. when done so they are an incredibly functional and pleasant environment to live. Not only from an environmental view but culturally and socially too.. if Prince charles is willing to put his money towards such a cause and subsidise the cost of redevelopment and relocation for the people who currently crowd them great. This is complex issue but I would much rather see the hutong restored and looked after than bulldozed and replaced by vile apartment and office buildings in some stupid quest for modernization.