TextbyDongXiaoxia
Beijing鈥檚modernurbandevelopmenthasseenthebestoftimesandthestrangestoftimes.Foraperiodduringthethirteenthcentury,thecitywassomagnificentthatitawedthewell-traveledMarcoPolo.Severalcenturieslater,asthecitycontinuesitsroleasapowerhousedrivingAsia鈥檚largesteconomy,itisexperiencingrathercuriouschangesbewilderingeventhemostknowledgeableurbanscholars.
Whilemanymajorcitiesinthewesternhemispherehavebeenslashingbudgetsinrecentyears,Beijinghasmaintainedaprolongedconstructionspree.High-riseapart-ments,officecomplexes,sportsvenues,andartandperformancecentersaresproutingupacrossthecity.Thesheervolumeofnewbuildingsisunprecedentedinglobalhistoryofurbandevelopment.Evenmoreimpressivethanthequantity,thefrenzyhasshakenthecity鈥檚fundamentalbuildingphilosophyandprioritiestotheircore.Chineseculturecelebratesconformity,order,andconsistency.Thisbasicphilosophyisillustratedbysiheyuanresidences(quadranglecourtyards)lininghutongs(narrowalleys)inBeijing鈥檚olddistricts.Liketheblocksofaprintingpress,eachsiheyuanresemblesitsneighborsincolor,form,andscale,asiftheyvaluebeinginconspicuous.Thismonotonywasdisturbedtosomeextentbytherapiddevelopmentthatstartedintheearly1980s.Increasingdemandforresidential,commercial,andcivilspacespawnedmanymodernbuildingsandskyscrapers.However,eventhoughsomeofthesebuildingscontrastsingle-storysiheyuanhousesandlowrisesthatusedtodefinethecity鈥檚landscape,fewappearboldenoughtochallengeconventionalperceptionsaboutbuildingstyle.Muchliketheirpredecessors,theyweredesignedtofitintotheoverallschemeoftheexistingstructuralenvironment.