Future courtyard 2050
Date
2020Citation:
Dai, S. Y. (2020). Future courtyard 2050. (Unpublished document submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional)). Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10652/5281Permanent link to Research Bank record:
https://hdl.handle.net/10652/5281Abstract
RESEARCH QUESTION:
How can the vernacular architectural typology of the courtyard be adapted in a way that makes a positive contribution to modern urban life in Beijing?
ABSTRACT:
Beijing has been the capital of China since the Yuan dynasty, over 850 years, and yet it is also a modern metropolis that is still growing rapidly and dynamically. However, the city is trying to expand without taking into consideration its existing context and urban fabric.
Lack of accessible land for development, the increase in population and real estate prices have led to the rise of mixed-use developments to solve the huge issues that are present in twenty-first century Beijing. The traditional courtyard compound housing design in architecture is not unfamiliar in Beijing; it has a history dating back to the beginning of the Yuan dynasty.
Courtyard architecture has been utilized within modernisation and renovations for residential purposes. It has also been employed in design solutions for modern business complexes and cultural projects.
How can the vernacular architectural typology of the courtyard be adapted in a way that makes a positive contribution to modern urban life in Beijing?
The focus of this project is not on individual forms shown in scattered courtyards. However, it is more about encouraging an exploration of the potential, and the opportunities that apply to the ancient typology of courtyard housing to developments can provide social and environmental benefits to the chosen context.
Therefore, this project will explore the process of typology analysis in the context of modern Beijing as the first principle for the production of courtyard urbanism.
Through the research of related pieces of literature and precedents, a defined methodology with a focus on analysis and integration will support the development of a series of mixed-use courtyard architecture that based on the current understanding of this traditional typology.
This project will accommodate the use of drawings and models as the methods that are bounded with the practice of architecture in the making of the proposed explorations. A portion of Beijing was selected as the site of this research project due to the project’s brevity.