(Ebook) Courtyard Housing in China: Chinese Quest for Harmony by Dr. Donia Zhang * Oxford Brookes University, UK E mail: [email protected]

(Ebook) Courtyard Housing in China: Chinese Quest for Harmony by Dr. Donia Zhang * Oxford Brookes University, UK E mail: [email protected]

The Chinese have lived in single-extended-family courtyard houses in many parts of
China for thousands of years. The earliest courtyard house found in China was
during the Middle Neolithic period (5000-3000 BCE). The courtyard form signifies
Chinese quest for harmony with nature and in social relationships. However, the 20th
century was a significant turning point in the evolution of Chinese courtyard houses;
this paper provides an overview of this transition. It starts by briefly introducing
traditional Chinese courtyard houses and their decline since 1949, it then examines
the emergence of new courtyard housing in Beijing and Suzhou since the 1990s, and
then it evaluates the new development of Chinese-style courtyard garden villas
in/around these two cities since the 2000s, such as Beijing Guantang and Suzhou
Fuyuan villa estates. They are explorations of a new way to honor Chinese
architectural history and philosophy, meanwhile, incorporating Western interior
design principles to meet modern living requirements. This architectural
acculturation represents Chinese sustained quest for harmony in their art of living.
The paper finally proposes four designs of new courtyard garden houses for future
practice.
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS (2017) 1(2), 38-56.
https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2017.3647