桃舍 PEACH HOUSE, Beijing – Rural housing construction owes little to the State and household savings even enable to build private ownership. By allowing the purchase of materials from local manufacturers and artisans, self-built housing construction is prevalent in rural areas. Private property goes back to the agricultural reform of the 1950s, which did not succeed in establishing collective habitations, but reaffirmed the notion of private property as the expression of the work of the family. They are the homes of peasants – inherited or built with domestic savings. The courtyard house in North China constitutes a form of housing which is the result of a long process of interaction between the built form and social, economic, and cultural needs and habits.
桃舍, 北京 – 农村住房建设对国家而言几乎没有任何影响，家庭储蓄甚至可以建立私人所有权。通过允许从当地制造商和工匠购买建筑材料，自建房屋建设在农村普遍存在。私有财产可以追溯到20世纪50年代的农业改革，没有成功地建立集体居住区，但重申了私人财产是家庭工作表达的概念。他们是农民的家园 - 由国内储蓄继承或建造。华北四合院是一种住房形式，是建筑形式与社会，经济，文化需求和习惯长期相互作用的结果。
The task of building a new courtyard house required to examine and engage with modes of life in rural areas of Beijing. An extended analysis of the specific building type, the built environment, the social and historical context and finally the requirements for the new use were absolutely essential prior to the design process. In a preliminary study, the site and its previous buildings were retraced and documented through a graphic reconstruction to understand its layout and function. A timeline starting from the 1950s reveals the different states and transformations the site and buildings underwent. One of the most important characteristics of the courtyard house is its flexibility in accommodating growth and change.
The objective was to build a new courtyard house, by lifting the courtyard and creating a space for a convenience store on the ground floor. The ground floor level was lowered and a new concrete slab poured inside the existing building for the upper floor. To follow traditional room layouts and build according to the principles of Feng Shui, the new floor plan was modeled on the typical courtyard house in North China. Special attention had to be paid to the angle and grate of the layout, the positioning of columns and openings to meet all requirements. The building is arranged on a North-South oriented lot, with the main pavilion facing South. The access gate is situated in the South-East corner according to traditional layouts. Ceiling heights and spacing had to follow a specific hierarchy. The layout of the elevated courtyard is introverted to ensure privacy in the courtyard and that of adjacent houses.
East wing and old main hall
South wing of the Courtyard House
The blue or grey brick is historically prevalent in Beijing and the northeastern region of China, but is less and less used for various reasons nowadays. Cheaper red bricks are mostly used in self-built housing today. The facade design with two different brick colors dissipates the contrast and creates a balance. Moreover, visible scorch marks on red bricks merge the two tones.
Staircase of the East wing
Old and New
Staircase and kitchen of the East wing
Bathroom of the East wing
East facade of the Courtyard House
Night view on the East wing
West facade of the Courtyard House
Beijing greater area
Transformations of the rural house | 1959-2017
The existing Courtyard
Isometry of the old Courtyard House
Layout of the old Courtyard House
Bird's eye view of the old Courtyard House
Isometry of the construction phases
Floor plans of the new Courtyard House
Bird's eye view of the new Courtyard House
Project portfolio (left) | Preliminary study (right)
Born 1986, Frédéric Schnee has a M.Sc. in architecture from the RWTH Aachen University. Schnee is currently an assistant professor at the Institute for Architecture, Construction and Theory at TH Cologne University. He has worked at BeL in Cologne, C-LAB, Columbia University and INABA Inc. in New York and OBRA Architects in Beijing. Contributions to VOLUME magazine, ARPA and THRESHOLDS Journal .
弗雷德里克·雪倪，1986年出生，于德国亚琛工业大学获建筑学理科硕士学位。雪倪现任科隆应用技术大学建筑理论与实践研究所助理教授。曾分别工作于科隆BeL公司、美国哥伦比亚大学C-LAB实验室、纽约INABA Inc.公司及北京OBRAArchitects等机构担任建筑师或科研人员等。在VOLUME杂志、ARPA和THRESHOLDS 期刊发表过文章。