ZAO / Zhang Ke Architecture Office

The Yu’er Hutong is located to the north of the Forbidden City in Beijing and continues to be characterized until today by densely developed four-sided courtyards (Siheyuan). The hutong alleyways are arranged in strictly east-west and north-south directions. The buildings, which develop in each unit individually over several courtyards until deep inside the block, are situated in an organic structure in this grid.

The two renovated groups of courtyard houses are located respectively on the northern and southern side of the same alley. The northern group with fifteen units develops around a series of three courtyards, while the southern group with nine units is arranged around two courtyards.

In both cases, the renovation did not take place in the entire complex, but instead respectively for roughly two-thirds of the existing building development. The old residents continue to live in the unrenovated units. They benefit from the renovation thanks to the renewal of the semi-open paths and courtyards with reused materials and the removal of unusable materials that had accumulated over years. The exposing of the original materiality and the opening of the façades with extensive glazing has created a new identity that evokes the spirit of the historical atmosphere.

The infrastructural challenges of the courtyard house development have been resolved with modular sanitary blocks with a kitchen, bathroom, and toilet. An offer for both old residents and new tenants has been created here with units of various sizes. This mixture contrasts with the usual gentrification, which – frequently with commercial copies of old courtyard houses – ensures that the socio-cultural mixture is lost.