According to information from the China Research Center, Beijing’s inner city area of 62 sq m was a completely traditional courtyard city in 1949. In 2004, only 539 courtyard houses in relatively good condition were left in conservation areas – a result of China’s hurried quest for modernisation since the 1990s.
Fortunately, the authorities now preserve these structures and have set strict conservation guidelines that have to be adhered to. The greatly reduced numbers makes them highly sought-after properties so it was a rare opportunity that Singaporean architect Gwen Tan of Studio iF was tasked to restore and renovate one for a second-generation Chinese businessman.
“He was originally from southern China but moved to Beijing for work. This conserved siheyuan is not his main home. Rather, it’s his personal clubhouse that is a small getaway space for him and for hosting special guests,” shared Tan, who is also a co-founder of Formwerkz Architects.
Before they started working on the interiors, Tan and her design team had a lot of repair work and cleaning up to do. “When the client first bought the property, the existing structures were undergoing retrofitting and the style was not to our liking,” she said. Tan’s intention was not to replicate the old in a blind manner but highlight the beauty of the original architecture.