Zigzagging through : an architectural research project that examines how the proposed hutongism building complex could create an architectural link between past and present in a historic run down area

Abstract

The hutong1 is a significant structure in Beijing ancient city, and could be a positive prototype for building complexes as well. The whole context of Beijing ancient city follows the logic of the hutong, and most urban life happens in this kind of linear space. However, with the growth of the modern city, the time honoured hutong pattern is fast disappearing, so that local people feel the loss of street life and of community.

[1 Hutong is a type of traditional narrow street or alley in Beijing].

Commencing with an investigation that traces the evolution of the spatial, social and conceptual qualities of the historic hutong pattern, the key characteristics are possible to define further. Through in-depth analysis, a particular area, Dashila, has been identified as a place in which the essence of the hutong space can be clearly perceived. As a result, the potential relationships between a hutong space and a building complex can be explored, so that the strategies of hutongism can give guidance for certain building complexes. This architectural research project– Zigzagging Through, examines how a school building complex proposal might create an architectural link between past and present in a historic but run down area, and it uses hutongism2 as a valuable way to help reform the identity of Beijing’s ancient city.

[2 Hutongism is a proposed architectural strategy that takes advantages from the phenomenon of hutong]

In addition, the focus of this research project is also on designing a building that is particularly relevant to the context of Beijing’s ancient city. Based on the study of relevant architectural precedents, education theories, and historical background, the Peking Opera School has been chosen as an ideal programme for the project. The proposed school not only links the disrupted historical context programmatically, but also takes advantage of context to assist students in showing their skills and struggles to a wider audience. This project uses hutongism as a catalyst in the quest for new ways of approaching the design of a contemporary school complex for the Peking Opera department of the Central Academy of Drama, which contains hybrid programmes and functions as a working, living and learning environment. Analytical drawing and modeling techniques will be used to distil, reinterpret, and test the underlying spatial and conceptual strategies of selected precedents to see if they can be used to develop hutongism in the Peking Opera School complex.