within a historic quarter of beijing, archstudio has completed the renovation of a small siheyuan and its adjoining three courtyards to create a living space that blends traditional architecture with contemporary design. the project has been appropriately named ?qishe? (?qi? and ?she? refers to ?seven? and ?house? in chinese respectively), as the development is number 7 on the hutong and it originally consisted of 7 pitched-roofed buildings.

central courtyard entrance, image © wang ning
 
 
before the renovation project by archstudio, the existing building was in disrepair. the basic timber beams and some arched door openings were relatively well preserved, yet most of the roofs, walls, doors and windows were badly damaged or missing. in the three courtyards, there were many temporary structures that had been inserted over the years. after demolishing these, the yards were filled with waste construction materials and overgrown with weeds ? presenting an overall bleak view.
central courtyard, image © wang ning
 
 
when approaching the project, the design team set two goals: renovating the old and inserting the new. on one hand, the designers neatened the houses, repaired all the building surfaces, and reinforced the structures, with a view to reproduce the appearance of the traditional siheyuan. on the other hand, they introduced new living facilities, such as bathroom, kitchen and garage, HVAC pipes and lines, as well as new veranda spaces. essentially, the old a...