Building Investment (Jan - Feb 2017)

Project Highlight
Transforming an ancient building into a
modern cafe in a ‘hutong’ district
Arch Studio’s design gives new lease on life to five old houses in Beijing’s traditional
hutong neighbourhood that pre-dates the Qing Dynasty.
10 Building & Investment | www.b-i.biz
One of the tea cum dining areas.
Corridors with glass showcase of the bamboo landscape.
HUTONGS ARE traditional courtyard residences scattered across
Beijing’s old districts. Arch Studio was given the task of tranforming an
L-shaped cluster of five houses measuring 450 sq metres into a modern
tea cafe. The old buildings were previously used to host business
meetings before they became dormant due to poor management.
With the installation of the tea cafe, the place is expected to come
alive again by attracting patrons to chill and dine at the venue. There
will be ample space for patrons to read and enjoy a uniquely Beijing
tradition—tea drinking.
The designer’s work started by analysing the old building’s history
and architectural records. From the structure of the wood and the size
of the grey bricks, it is found that the some of the building sections
predate the Qing Dynasty while other sections have been re-modelled
in the 1970s and 1980s.
In traditional Chinese architecture, space is divided partially
between outdoors and indoors. It is winding and dynamic, presenting
surprises for the visitor at every corner. In this project, that idea was
replicated by connecting the exterior of the building with the interior
like tree branches, at times blurring the boundaries between the
courtyard and the building interior.
There are three courtyards inside the building and each of the tea
rooms have their own views of the exterior scenery. Glass panels are
used to showcase the bamboo landscape and steel beam columns were
also used to replace some of the decaying wooden beams of the original
structure. The overall effect is a seamless blend of old architecture with
new installations for modern comfort. •
More information at www.archstudio.cn
Roof top of the revamped ancient building.