With the completion of Hutong Bubble 218, MAD Architects made one step forward with their Beijing 2050 proposal, which they introduced during the 2006 Venice Architecture Biennale. The latest Hutong Bubble project features metallic “bubbles” embedded on the rooftop of a 305-square-meter traditional hutong courtyard house that MAD restored and reconstructed. Located in Beijing's Qianmen East area, the home dates back to the Qing Dynasty and has dealt with degradation and demolition from the Chinese capital's rapid development.
Ten years after MAD's first hutong bubble popped up in Beibingmasi, Hutong Bubble 218 aims to demonstrate how small-scale interventions can create new spaces and programs for the local community, as well as form a dialogue between old and new.
Hutong Bubble 218 is located in the neighborhood off of Xidamochang alley. Built on a 469 square-meter site, the building was the city's first international hospital for over a century before being converted into a residence that housed over 20 families. As the courtyard was restructured multiple times and residents created their own makeshift additions, structural degradation started to occur, which eventually led to residents moving out.
Teetering over the edge of the rooftop into the front courtyard, one of the reflective bubbles functions as a meeting room and shared workspace, and connects the first and second floors with a staircase. Another bubble appears like it just “landed” on the rooftop.
The renovated building now features gray bricks, while glazing along the street front was replaced with single transparent glass to maximize the amount of natural light in the interior. The inner courtyard was restored based on the original layout of the space, with refurbished wood filigree panels. The wooden door and window frames were also retained.
“This is a micro-utopian ideal. I hope that these bubbles will serve as vital newborn cells, giving the traditional hutong new life, and revitalizing the community,” Ma Yansong said in a statement.
Find more photos and drawings in the gallery below.
11 Comments
The before and after restorations are quite compelling. Can they get rid of those silver bubble thingies?
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I love the bubbles, they dissolve in the reflection of the surrounding environment.
Why not just design something sympathetic with the surrounding environment, then? That would save you from having to polish the dirt off of metallic bubbles twice a week.
I feel that difference, depending on the intervention, can be respectful. In fact the bubbles seem to be only perceptible to the home owner, and don't impact others not in the compound.
the silver bubbles are awesome.
if you don't like it, you're a 'boomer'.
no dissent will be allowed.
fake news. deep state.
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Awesome bubbles
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