hu yue studio examines the ever-expanding state of beijing’s hutongs

former BIAD (beijing institute of architectural design) architect hu yue, currently operating under his own architecture firm, unveils his latest transformation of a traditional beijing hutong with a contemporary touch. typically, beijing courtyards dwellings are designed with a peaceful inner yard, surrounded by rooms with good lighting and proper ventilation. however, these characteristics have been disappearing along due to the exceeding population expansion and additional construction in the city.

all images © yang chaoying and chen su

on the premise of satisfying residents’ basic daily needs, hu yue’s project aims to make the traditional layout of the courtyard recur in the extremely crowded circumstances. previously, hutong’s measured around 4 to 5 meters wide, but due to the city’s expansion, the scale is widening — as a result, human progression has been replaced by a vast non-human qualities. yue’s response is to install a 10 meter high inflatable figure to emphasize the concept of space. 

project info:

design company: hu yue studio design
time: 2015.5 – 2015.10
completion time: 2015.12
location: no.8 and no.19 ,4th caochanghutong, dongcheng district, beijing
building area: 435.4 sqm
height: 5 m
number of layers: two layers for some parts
design team: hu yue, tai fangqing, jiang ran, wu hancheng, zhao mochao
photographer: yang chaoying; chen su

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynn chaya | designboom

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