The Vicissitude of Courtyards in the Local Housing of Shanghai, China

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The Vicissitude of
Courtyards in the Local
Housing of Shanghai,
China
Fang Xu (University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign)
Abstract
Traditional courtyard housing in Shanghai experienced a
gradual fall manifested by the morphological changes of the
Lilong housing, a major local residential form introduced
between the 1860s and the 1940s. Although courtyards
remain rare in the central city today, the past decade
witnessed a trendy re-introduction of courtyards in several
developments in suburban Shanghai. These phenomenal
dwellings bear some vestigial traits of courtyard housing
and resemble certain subtypes of Lilong housing. Moreover,
courtyard living has been explicitly celebrated as a
residential ideal by the developers, which is an intricate
phenomenon considering the sweeping popularity of
western designs and ideals in contemporary Shanghai’s
housing market.
This paper ventures an exploration to the reasons behind
such a scene by integrating the cultural study perspective
and the Neo-Marxist perspective of housing research. It
first reviews the historical decline of courtyard housing in
Shanghai with reference to the sets of contributing factors.
Then, via the case studies of two seminal developments
espousing courtyard ideology: “Dongfang Tinyuan
(Oriental Garden)” and “Tian Di Yuan (Heaven-and-Earth
Courtyard)”, it surveys and assesses multiple internal and
contextual factors accounting for the re-emergence of
courtyards, proposing an integrated cultural-economic
explanation. It is argued that the selection of courtyard
to be repackaged and reinvented is prompted by a reorientalization process, which is not only a response to the
effect of global capital, but also a response to the complex
interplay of land economics, local and global markets and
even a possible cultural change redefining local housing
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ideals. Multiple forms of documents or artifacts, such as
news reports, advertisements, interview results, and site
photos are exploited in this study.
Introduction
Traditional courtyard housing ceased to be the
predominant urban housing type in Shanghai after the
late 19th century. Today, while courtyards remain rare
in the central city, suburban Shanghai has witnessed a
trendy reintroduction of courtyard. Certain physical traits
reminiscent of the local historical courtyard housing are
not only present, but courtyard living is also celebrated as a
residential ideal, an unprecedented phenomenon as modern
Shanghai’s suburbs have been largely built to Western
housing paradigms. This paper ventures an exploration of
the cultural, political and economic reasons behind such a
scene. Two seminal developments introducing courtyards
show the roles of global and local housing markets as
well as a probable cultural change shifting homebuyers’
understanding of suburban housing. I also hope to show
that economic and cultural explanations can be coordinated
to better understand a radically transforming housing
landscape.
Theoretical Framework and Research Settings
The theoretical framework of this paper relies upon
elements from two different models employed in housing
study. The enormity of housing literature reveals several
apparent divisions in methodological perspectives, which
sometimes cut across disciplinary boundaries (Duncan,
1981). The fragmentation often derives from different
assumptions of the nature of housing and its production.
For those seeking cultural explanations, the physical
configurations of residential settlements are greatly
influenced by the societies’ cultural dynamics. As Amos
Rapoport argues, housing as a cultural landscape is shaped
by the systematic choices made by a cultural group to reflect
some schema of an ideal landscape (1992; 2005). Hence,
housing form may change accordingly if ideals shift. In
contrast, Neo-Marxist housing researchers emphasize
the dominant role of capitals and the capitalist mode of
production. David Harvey observed the residential spatial
consequence of capital accumulation (1978). Henri Lefebvre
argued that urban space including housing is socially
configured to extend capitalism itself (1991). Despite their
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contrast, both the cultural and Neo-Marxist camps assume
an active external structure influencing human attitudes
and behaviors. Nancy Duncan sees this agreement as
evidence of a structualist stance that uncritically downplays
individual consciousness and action (1981). Extreme
structuralist models are often implausible as they suggest
a problematic unidirectional relation between social
structures and housing.
As long as we stay away from the pitfalls of radical
structuralism and determinism, both cultural and politicaleconomic perspectives can be exploited. To reconcile their
internal conflict, I have strived to avoid an oversimplified
vision that culture is either a discrete sphere, or a secondary
category vis-à-vis economics and politics (Worsley, 1999).
Also, I have given reasonable consideration to the agency
of individuals, the feedback of built environments on
regulating institutional structures, and the particular
historical and social realities of the neighborhoods under
study.
Three important contextual factors help to explain
the fall and return of courtyards. First, Shanghai had a
unique semi-colonial history between the mid-19th and
mid-20th century when it was a cultural mediator at
the intersection between China and the West; Shanghai
fostered a cosmopolitan culture that values hybridism
and commercialism (Dirlik, 2005; Lee, 1999). Second, the
continual privatization and commoditization of local
housing since the 1980s has bred an active real estate
capital market where suburban houses are promoted by
an upwardly mobile middle-class seeking to expand their
private properties (Zhang & Ong, 2008). Third, the recent
practices of transnational capitalism have significantly
accelerated the transformation of local housing economics
and ideology as well. With these facts in mind, we can
reconstruct the fluctuating fortune of courtyards in local
housing.
The Decline of Courtyards: Lilong Housing
Courtyards waned in Shanghai as was manifested by
the historical development of Lilong housing (or Linong,
alleyway house in some texts). It was a clustered urban
residential building form that had several major subtypes
and defined the homes of the majority of Shanghainese
from the early 1860s to the late 1940s (Lu, Rowe, & Zhang,
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2001). A morphological reading of its changing unit plan
will disclose three stages in the gradual falloff of courtyards.
The embryonic subtype of Lilong housing was the Early
Shi-ku-men house constructed before the 1910s. They
generally feature a row-house layout that resembled English
terraced houses (a housing form familiar to their British
developers) and a symmetrical unit plan inheriting many
elements of conventional courtyard housing (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Floor plans of Early Shi-ku-men House
(Hanchao, 1999, p.148)
Like many vernacular houses found in Southeast China at
that time, the Early Shi-ku-men houses have major rooms
arranged around a central or front courtyard guarded by
a tall house wall and front gate (Figure 2) (Zhao, 2004).
A later Lilong subtype was the Late Shi-ku-men house,
which builders introduced in response to rising land
values and shrinking family size. The Last Shi-Ku-men
houses typically provide compact units with a significantly
smaller courtyard in proportion to the house site (Figure 3).
Western building technology and ornamental patterns were
widely incorporated, showing a further departure from
their vernacular origin (Zhao, 2004). The last development
of Lilong Housing was marked by the New-style Lilong, a
subtype featuring a more functional unit plan with an open
or semi-open front garden (Figure 3). The house walls were
much shorter if they were still employed. Hence, courtyards
were gradually converted to walled front yards. After
the 1920s, the New-style Lilong houses were constructed
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in large scale developments, along with many Western-style
semi-detached or detached houses and apartment buildings (Lu
et al., 2001). By the 1940s, newly developed homes in Shanghai
incorporated no courtyards in general.
The Re-emergence of Courtyards in Shanghai Suburbs
Figure 2. Alleyway and Courtyard of Early Shi-ku-men House
(Lu, Rowe, & Zhang, 2001, p. 44)
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After a protracted dormancy of 60 years, courtyards are showing
signs of re-emergence. The reincarnation of courtyards is evident
in several recent suburban developments where house walls and
courtyards are both physically and symbolically highlighted.
Today we will look at two developments in particular. First, Dong
Fang Ting Yuan (meaning “Oriental Garden”), an upscale and
the first local development marketing courtyards; and second,
Tian Di Yuan (meaning “Heaven-and-Earth Courtyard”), a
development targeting upwardly mobile middle-class home
buyers.
Dong Fang Ting Yuan was first launched in 2005 and then
revised in 2008. It is located in a booming suburban town with
historical significance that is 23 miles away from downtown
Shanghai. Backed by a complete spectrum of amenities and living
facilities, homes there are being sold for 644 to 940 thousand
U.S. dollars per unit. The homebuyers range from domestic and
overseas Chinese to expatriate Westerners. The developers are
SPG Land (Holding) Ltd, a Hong Kong land development firm,
which raises funds globally. The lead designers are a U.S. design
firm, Wood+Zapata Architects in Boston, although Hong Kong
and Shanghai designers also contributed significantly.
Probably the defining architectural feature of the typical
detached houses is the 7-foot tall housing wall surrounding
the units, creating walled courtyards in between (Figure 4).
This design is rare in suburban Shanghai today but it echoes a
historical style: the so-called “Garden-style House” characterized
by walled private gardens that was actually a crossbreed of
the New-style Lilong houses and the Western-style detached
mansions (Figure 5). Such a hybridist solution is also visible
elsewhere. In Dong Fang Ting Yuan, International-style sleek
geometry and abundant use of natural textures in the façades
juxtapose the grey-and-white coloring that associates these estates
with the local traditional dwellings, some of which still stand in
proximity (Figure 6). The deliberate incorporation of Chineseness
is even more obvious at the neighborhood level, where a restored
courtyard house serves as the homeowners’ club (Figure 7). The
site planning and architectural design represent a sophisticated
amalgam of vernacular flavor reified by courtyards and a taste of
high architectural culture footnoted by European or American
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Figure 3. Floor plans of
Late Shi-ku-men House
(left) and New-style Lilong
(right)
(Hanchao, 1999, p.148)
standards. The marketing strategy also accentuates
vernacular elements. “Oriental Garden” is the official
development name for the overseas market; purchasing a
property here is advertised as a token of possessing Chinese
cultural capital.
If Dong Fang Ting Yuan only displays limited traits
of the courtyard, then Tian Di Yuan seems to embrace
more traditions and its unit design reveals unmistakable
nostalgia for the New-style Lilong. Developed by a Chinese
developer Greenland Group, Tian Di Yuan is part of a
grandiose 3213-acre (just over 5 sq. mi.) master-planned
development sited in a suburban town 25 miles away from
downtown Shanghai. Its architectural design was executed
by Peddle Thorp Consultants Ltd., an Australia-registered
architectural office boasting an international design team.
Launched in May 2008, Tian Di Yuan now has 230 units
of row houses for sale. The price tag is around 220 to 366
thousand U.S. dollars. So far, overseas homebuyers are
scarce for this development, and most purchased properties
are the homeowners’ second homes.
The unit plans of the attached homes in Tian Di Yuan look
inspired by the courtyard tradition: the spatial layout is
Figure 4. Floor plans of a
detached house in “Dong Fang
Ting Yuan”
Source: http://newhouse.
sh.soufun.com/photo/
list_900_1210068821_2.htm
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Figure 5. Street view of a semi-detached Garden-style house
Figure 6. Single family house and walled courtyard
built in 1914 (Lu, Rowe & Zhang, 2001, p. 86)
Source: shanghai.anjia.com/adhouse/view_985438439.html
Figure 7. Chuan Yi Tang the club house
Figure 8. Architectural model of the townhouses of Tian Di Yuan
Source: blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_5001f44901007pc7.html
Source: (Photograph by Fang Xu)
isomorphic to that of the 1920s’ New-style Lilong homes.
House walls are erected to enclose both front and back
yards (Figure 8, 9). In addition, the exterior is dominated
by white and gray colors; the tall partition walls separating
the units appear to be an abstraction of a traditional style
(Matouqiang), or Horse-Head-Walls (Figure 10). Gestures
to salute the local vernacular housing are palpable.
The celebration of the courtyard is also salient in the
development’s logo design and advertisement posters, where
life within a courtyard is presented as a residential ideal
(Figure 11).
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An Economic-Cultural Explanation
The reintroduction of courtyards in Shanghai’s suburban
housing takes place both on spatial and media dimensions.
Though the courtyard’s return only qualifies as “reemergence” rather than a full-blown “revival”, it deserves
scholarly research as it occurs when the mainstream
of Shanghai’s suburban development is still molded by
transplanting Western single-family housing, a process that
Anthony King has called “villafication” (2004).
To analyze the courtyard’s re-emergence, we can usefully
draw upon a political-economic analysis of the developing
capital and local politics on the supply side, as well as using
a cultural analysis of the homebuyers on the demand side.
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Figure 9. A comparison between Tian Di
Yuan units and a New-style Lilong house
Source: photography by author (left);
http://forestlife.info/Photo/126/25.jpg
(right)
At the macro-scale, the return of courtyards well reflects the
spatial effects of political economy.
First, impersonal land economics helps bring courtyards
back. Fervent land speculation and development in suburban
Shanghai have consumed numerous parcels of land in recent
years. Developers hence are driven to adjust their products to
cope with skyrocketing land prices. Homes are often planned
to be crowded to reduce unit land cost. Yet, density might
compromise the competitive advantage of suburban houses
over urban condominiums. Developers therefore introduce
walls and courtyards to enhance household privacy to dampen
the negative impact of crowding. The design of Dong Fang Ting
Yuan, a single-family development with a density close to that
of attached homes, well demonstrates this concept.
Second, recent real estate practices value the commoditization
of vernacular elements to solicit housing products. As Paul
Knox observes for American examples from the 1980s,
postmodern forms were marked by packaged urban landscapes
(1991), which often includes both premium amenities and
distinctive design based on vernacular styles. This capitalist
promotion of commodity aesthetics packages and manipulates
traditions to produce “distinctiveness” to attract the “new
bourgeoisie” who value style and individuality, a trend further
prompted by the global spread of capitalism and intensified
global-local interaction. Both Dong Fang Ting Yuan and Tian
Di Yuan exemplify this abstracted development model to
display a modified and sanitized tradition of the courtyard.
Third, in China, some local governments have encouraged
the architectural reinvention of traditional elements, including
Figure 10. Wall design and traditional
Matouqiang
Source: photography by author (left); blog.
bcchinese.net/.../2006/07/19/79982.aspx
(right)
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Figure 11. The advertisement of Tian Di Yuan
Source: photography by author
courtyards, as a part of an orchestrated place promotion. This
is especially relevant in the case of Dong Fang Ting Yuan where
it is located in a historical town whose government has actively
marketed the town’s historical and cultural capital for potential
investment and tourism (Wai, 2006).
This analysis of the suppliers’ behaviors, grounded by
morphological analysis and literature review, tells us a good
deal about the return of the courtyard. Nevertheless the
homebuyers’ values are also important. Political-economic
factors are often influential upon the large-scale patterns of
real estate development, but are not equally determinative to
the specific details. Tian Di Yuan does not target an overseas
market and the political incentives promoting vernacular
architecture are scant, but the spatial and symbolic celebration
of courtyards is even more conspicuous. Actually, there
are certain cultural reasons underpinning this seemingly
unique business strategy. Though direct empirical evidence is
unavailable for this study, my interviews with Tian Di Yuan’s
developers did imply some important cultural orientation of
the local homebuyers.
As the developer reckons, house walls and courtyards socially
reify the ownership of private land. Mr. Xuebing Zhu, the
marketing manager has told me that as rising land prices make
land costs a greater share of total property value, a physical
manifestation of land ownership is now collectively preferred.
According to Zhu, many cultural meanings historically
attributed to courtyards still survive today, and courtyards may
be appreciated as symbolic markers of land ownership, because
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for centuries, courtyards flourished as successful devices to
demarcate and symbolize private territories .
Moreover, the ideal image of suburban housing in prospective
homebuyers’ expectation and imagination might have been
changed, such that the designs incorporating courtyards, or
“modern Chinese houses” as the developer calls them, are also
associated with quality suburban living. Ms. Xingqin Song,
the design coordination principal of Tian Di Yuan stated
that there was a time when customers looking for suburban
houses unanimously went after villas of Western architecture
and rejected alternative designs, but now people are gradually
embracing housing products imbued with a Chinese flavor and
view them as a qualified suburban housing type. She also said,
“Chineseness is no longer viewed as an impurity, but rather as
a genuine ingredient of suburban lifestyle, which definitely has
a Western origin but has also undergone rapid localization”.
Individual actions of the local construction industry might also
play a role. As Song commented, “several successful pioneering
projects have advertised the concept of ‘modern Chinese
houses’ and thereby, helped to accelerate this process”.
Discussion: Self-orientalization or Re-orientalization
Observing hybridized urban landscapes emerge in China
where certain architectural traditions are recreated and
integrated into new structures, some scholars identify a
self-orientalization process, or a “localized orientalism” that
commodifies Chineseness to cater to a global market (Dirlik,
2005). Yet as projects such as Dong Fang Ting Yuan and Tian
Di Yuan reveal, the reintroduction of courtyards in housing
is not only a response to the single effect of global capital, but
also a response to the complex interaction of land economics,
local and global markets and even a possible cultural change
redefining housing ideals. Besides, individual projects
espousing the Chinese vernacular legacy act as catalysts to
induce additional, similar developments.
Clearly, the late-modern world is experiencing a global
spread of capitalism, such that local-global interaction is no
longer dominated by a one-way flow of economic and cultural
influence channeled by a fixed hierarchical model (Abel, 1994).
Hence, probably the term re-orientalization more accurately
captures the essence of this housing design trend: traditions are
retrofitted to be compatible with a global aesthetics conditioned
by capitalist modernization, representing not an imagined
Chineseness in the Western gaze but a local subject of an
alternative modernity.
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