Beijing, Bed, and Breakfast: Unpacking Transient Identities

by Shirley Shen

B.Sc. (Architecture)McGill University (2004)

SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTUREIN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE AT THEMASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

June 2008

© Shirley Shen. All rights reserved.

MASSACHUSE•.S INSOF TECHNOLOGY

JUN 2 0 2008

LIBRARIES

MWhtAA=

The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electroniccopies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created.

Au thor:

Department of ArchitectureMay 23, 2008

Certified by:

Accepted by:

I Yung Ho ChangDepartment Head, Professor of Architecture

Thesis Supervisor

Julian BeinartProfessor of Architecture

Chair of the Department, Committee for Graduate Students

Author:

Thesis Committee2 Yung Ho Chang

Professor and Head of Department, Architectural DesignThesis Supervisor

J. Meejin YoonAssociate Professor of ArchitectureThesis Reader

Shun KandaSenior LecturerThesis Reader

Beijing, Bed, and Breakfast: Unpacking Transient Identities

by Shirley Shen

Submitted to the Department of Architecture on May 23, 2008in partial fulfillment of the requirements forthe Degree of Master of Architecture

AbstractModernity requires people to appreciate cultural 5relativism, and to understand the contextuallegitimacy of other people's way of life and values.This thesis explores the nature and use of physicalspaces to increase the relativistic understanding ofculture.

Two notions of interior domesticity, representedby the bed and breakfast, serve as a narrative forthis new typology: Bed refers to the physical andrhetorical image of the private realm, the loci of theunseeable and unspeakable. Breakfast represents thesemi-private realm of domesticity: its interactions,negotiations, and rituals.

Exploring identity-making through interiorarchitecture, the proposed bed and breakfast inBeijing will bring together two private spaces: One oftransience (identity without consciousness of place)and one of domesticity (place without consciousnessof identity).

Thesis Supervisor: Yung Ho ChangTitle: Professor of Architecture

Acknowledgements My sincerest gratitude to:

Yung Ho Chang for your tremendous guidance and faith inmy thesis, and for reminding me of what it means to be anarchitect.

Meejin and Shun for your input.

Simon for your unending support and encouragement.

Matt for our years of friendship and for always being there.

Jenn, Garett, Stephanie, and Dickson for making my finalsemester the best I've ever had.

Matthew for the deskcrits and for helping me find my site.

Jimmy for taking site photos despite your busy schedule.

Kanda for helping out at the last minute.

The numerous faculty, administrators and students at MITwho have contributed in small but significant ways.

My family, whose unconditional support enabled me to goas far as I wanted, even if it was away from home.

I dedicate this thesis to the city that inspired my own 7search for identity.

.Onnta nts:w\ . .Iw · 'V8 5 abstract

6 acknowledgements

7 dedication

theory10 modern chinese identity13 space of politics, politics of space

context16 wudaokou

major surrounding institutions

site18 intersection for excange

siting within discourse20 intersections22 location24 strategies

concepts26 bed28 breakfast

analysisthe breakfast table

precedentsexisting hospitality typologiesbed & breakfast typologypre-existing buildings: the bar buildingbeijing breakfast

48 program

50 residents

52 interior relationships

analysisthe domestic surface

designroom configurationsfloor planssectional diagramselevational variationelevationpartial plan detailinterior sectional perspectiveexploded axonometricexterior

88 endnotes

90 bibliography

93 appendixdesign process

60 unpacking identity

62 furnitecture

Theory10

Modern Chinese IdentityIn Peter Rowe and Seng Kuan's ArchitecturalEncounters with Essence and Form in ModernChina, a conversation between three young Chinesearchitects is recounted. One argues for traditionalism,the second argues for modernism, and the thirdbelieves in striving to be both Chinese and modern'.This is essentially the core of cultural debate in Chinasince its opening up to Western powers in 1840;many architectural styles have since come and goneyet what remains is still the question of identity. Ifidentity is an equality that holds regardless of thevalues of its variables, then any rapidly evolvingcity will struggle to find a stationary datum bywhich to judge and reflect on itself. Add to this thehomogenizing influences of globalization, and Chinaquickly becomes the subject of cultural identity crisis.

But is this really so? In actuality, the aboveargument is flawed and rather misleading. Theproblem lies in the relative nature of the definitionsof "Chinese," "modern," and "identity," as wellas in common misconceptions of globalization'sinfluence on local identity. Being Chinese doesnot necessarily correspond with traditionalism;being modern does not necessarily signify Westernor anti-Chinese tendencies; and social, cultural,and individual identities are no longer consideredstationary values. In the modern world, identityis not fixed nor inherited; it is highly unstable,symbolically constructed, and constantly reinvented2

Furthermore, globalization may foster culturaldiversity by renewing interest in local distinctiveness3.

China's identity crisis is deeply involved with hersearch for modernity itself. The difficulties in thisquest originate from her long and continuoushistory. China developed relatively independently,and, immune from Western influences until the 19th

century, its basic patterns of life, cultural identityand state organization had continued almostuninterrupted since the archaic period. Because ofthis, the notion of self-identity and the desire to insiston this identity are hard to abandon, and culturalchanges are particularly sensitive and difficult4.

Ethnocentrism is deeply ingrained in every traditionalpeople, yet to enter into the modern world, oneinvariably has to relativize one's own culture.Ideally, modernity requires people to appreciatecultural relativism, and to understand the contextuallegitimacy of other people's way of life and values.The sense of one's own culture is only comparative,temporary and sectional5 . This understandingcan be facilitated in many ways; the scope of thismasters of architecture thesis explores the natureand use of physical spaces to increase the relativisticunderstanding of culture.

The discussion I henceforth engage in stems fromthe fundamental questions of what it means to bemodern and Chinese but it must be stressed thatI do not seek to divine what Chinese identity is orshould be, nor how architecture should embody this.Rather, the notions of identity-making, encounter,and negotiation are my primary interests, and thearchitectural modes by which these experiences canbe accentuated.

Space of Politics, Politics of SpaceChina's capital city, Beijing, displays many symptoms 13of identity crisis. Since the end of the 20th century,its policy makers have been preoccupied withimage- and identity- building in preparation for theinternational stage. The desire to impress the foreigngaze and to announce the nation's emergence intomodernity is felt by all its citizens, through variousways of which urban change is one of the strongestindicators.

However, this process has been less of a collectiveparticipatory engagement than a centralized stagingof essentialized cultural identity for underscoringthe government's power and for attracting foreigninvestment. Additionally, the gradual interiorizationof urban life to facilitate commercial activity bypowerful developers has created a new urbanexperience: one that promotes social and culturalhomogeneity by economically excluding those whocan not afford the new. 6 Contemporary Beijing isthe battlefield of the clash between two visions ofthe city: an abstract construct catered towards thesocial elite, and the lived space experienced on dailybasis by the masses. The former vision is referred toby Lefebvre as the rhetorical image of the city; thelatter corresponds to his definition of the physicalimage of city7. All cities to some extent suffer suchidentity crisis, with multiple urban identities existingsimultaneously.

In Beijing's central districts, the rhetorical imagedominates. If peoples' awareness of their positionin space and society is fundamental to their self-definition, then does an urban environment controlledby a small handful of policy makers and developersprovide enough space for personal expressions ofidentity?

I propose that it is not. In the past few decades,Beijing's visible (public and centralized) spacesfor everyday life have been systematically andforcibly eradicated for the sake of the "greatergood" - modernization and national image forthe international gaze8. Implicit in this process isthat the emerging city does not accommodate forrepresentation of individuals' identity. In fact, it can beargued that it purposefully excludes and marginalizescertain identities. As one's proximity to the ForbiddenCity (the rhetorical city center) increases, inequalitiesare further exasperated by projections of a unifyingChineseness. However, there are many indicatorsof a common will to counter the hegemony of stateimage-building. The tactic has been primarily one ofsubversion and resistance, witnessed in artists' work,organized protests, and by individuals' refusing to bedisplaced by developers9.

This thesis posits that public spaces in central Beijingdo not adequately provide for inclusive expressionof individuals' identities. Perhaps instead, new waysof accommodating encounter and exchange shouldbe explored in the private sector - to serve bothpermanent and transient residents in ways whichthe present city has failed. The goal is to exploremethods of reinserting the experience of identity-making into social consciousness through the designof a new type of (privately-owned) private space.To this end, I will focus on two notions of interiordomesticity, represented by bed, and breakfast.Bed refers to the physical and rhetorical image ofthe private realm, the loci of the unseeable andunspeakable. Breakfast represents the semi-privaterealm of domesticity: its interactions, negotiations,and rituals.

Context16

WudaokouThe site selected was determined by two conflictingforces: it has to be close enough to the city centerto be convenient and attractive for foreigners, yet faraway enough from the city center to be economicallyviable for Beijing residents. Wudaokou is around 10kilometers from the center of Beijing, between thefourth and fifth ring roads. It became a commercialcenter during the 1950's following the establishmentof schools including Peiking University and TsinghuaUniversity. Until as recently as 2001 the areaconsisted mainly of hutong neighborhoods and late1960's apartment blocks, but major development haserased many of these old structures, replacing themwith luxury apartments and science parks. Today itis known for its large student population, especiallylanguage students and foreign students from Korea.

major surrounding institutions

Intersection for Exchange

Decreasing Projections of aUnifying Chineseness

Proximity to University Center+

Proximity to Mobile Workforce

Opportunity for Emergent Identities

The chosen site is located literally and rhetorically atthe intersection of three major cultural institutions.

Tsinghua University, popularly known as the Chineseequivalent of MIT, has a more "modern" campusthan its Harvard-like counterpart, Peking University,which is known for its well-preserved traditional ar-chitecture.

The site is situated at the south-east corner of YuanMing Yuan, once the most magnificent imperial gar-den in China. It now lies in ruins, and is a reminderof China's past (good and bad) relationships with theWest.

Site18

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Site Location

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OBJECTIVES

"- Npo ilfity of future development

...... madol s. arte.e atsor adintge

i\mprove pedestrian experience

- _--creatlon of a new wel-treet-ecape

seaeonal nhihbitutlon of gardensvenue for specale events

-,aea from aistn historical ehe

--- prlominent acces from Interfction

- _elationship to the Tsinghua west gate

to : court.yar" Ji

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a ~++ . . . . -Sam "Olbw

Concepts26

BedThe domestic interior and individuals' identities areclosely related. However, the paradox is that in thedomestic sphere, identity often disappears whenthere is no mirror of the self in the other. While theinhabitant who shapes the interior gradually becomesblind to the space which he or she has just created,the onlooker can detect a multitude of signals aboutthe inhabitant's personality - in the arrangement offurniture and objects, color and lighting, personalaffects, and even perceived value of the property.These signals have been suggested by MalcolmGladwell to be more telling about a person'sattributes than a 15 minute interview with them'o. Thismay be because interactions in formal settings implycertain codes of behavior and spatial use, whereas inprivate, informal settings, normalizing rules are lessapplicable - enabling the true self to emerge.

On occasion, one is subjected to a gaze in one's ownpersonal space. However, if the gaze were constantor orchestrated, what are the psychological effectson the inhabitant? In Kate Ericson and Mel Ziegler'spiece for the 1988 Contemporary Arts Forum, theystripped the interior of a house of all its doors,creating an uncomfortable sense of voyeurism.

"Like the classic dream of appearing nude beforeclothed audience, life in spaces wide open to thegaze of non-intimates is fraught with frighteningvulnerability. Yet reality of self-exposure became onlymoderately unsettling. We were more stimulated thanembarrassed, more delighted than inconvenienced. ""

Thus, by undoing the habitual perception of space,the domestic interior becomes uncomfortably private(or public) again. After the initial discomfort, thegaze lends to a pleasant, even productive outcome:

identity becomes legible in the space to both theobserver and the observed. Indeed, as GeorgesTeysott claims, "If one were...without a room ofone's own, one could not belong to this world ofreflection." 12

Within the bedroom, the bed is the object most"blind" to self-reflection because it is where oneliterally sees nothing, while sleeping. Chinese bedsin the 19th century were rooms in themselves,separated visually from the rest of the bedroomby lattice screens and curtains. In some respects,the bed is the only truly private element within thedomestic realm, that the gaze can never penetrate.The (dis)integration of furniture and the room itselfis considered the central node of architecturalintervention in this thesis.

Breakfast28 The dining room or kitchen is often the heart of the

domicile, and in many ways this is where the identityof the family within coagulates. Family of course,is a culturally specific construct that continuallycontends with growth, fragmentation and decay,but for the purposes of this thesis, is defined as agroup of individuals that share a common breakfasttable. Around the physical and figurative breakfasttable, particular interactions occur. The first meal ofthe day is generally more informal than meals takentowards the end of the day. As the day progresses,the table's role as a boundary - demarcating socialstatus and identity - also evolves. The position offamily members around the table corresponds tosocial structures and hierarchies. The position offood and other objects on the surface of the table areproduced by different modes of occupying personalspace within a social context.

Thus the interior can be thought of as a "spatialized" 29table surface; a receptacle for objects, a demarcatorof modes of use, a surface for imprinting trace, andthe physical and rhetorical repository of identity. It isalso the inducer of the gaze, including the detectivelook and the voyeuristic look. The manipulation of thissurface can thus manipulate the gaze, this being oneof the primary design challenges of this thesis.

Analysis The Breakfast TableThe "spatialized" table surface is a receptacle forobjects, a demarcator of modes of use, a surfacefor imprinting trace, and the physical and rhetoricalrepository of identity.

In the following diagrams (pages 30-34), breakfasttables from different cultures including the tablewarenecessary to conduct the meal are drawn andanalyzed in plan. My reading of personal spaceconsumption in relation to social space consumptionis represented in the rightmost column.

It is interesting to note that many complex andnuanced relationships can be generated with onlya limited set of utensils or "components". Eachperson can not only personalize the method ofusing their own set of components, but start to readdifferences between self and other through differentconfigurations of the components.

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slverware confection jar cream carafe cheese boardmillk carton confection jar paper towel spool bread basketbutter tin tea cup plateteabox coffee mug meat plate

cup & saucer

soysauce dispenser appetizer dish tea cup dispensible chteapot appetizer dish rice bowl sauce dishhot water thermos appetizer dish appetizer dish eating dishdce bucket rie bowl dish presentation d

lateral space requirement determined bymode of service as defined by customs

implied (prescribed) divisionnegates need for negotiation except

at site of shared dishes

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pepper mill knife + fork plateuice glass coaster place matcoffee mug bread plate

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centerpiece (ornament, condiment, or void)

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undefined zones

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sauce dishsoup spoonchopstiksbamboo steam basket

glees chopetcks candleplate sauce dish tissue boxserving dsh dish

hotsue contaner (reused plastic bottle)sauce dishbon (oyk)bamboo stes rackchopstidcksnapkins

void space counterpoit to intimate space

shared utility zone by wall

zone overlap for intimate relationships

I. I

crosslegged - more lateral space required

shared zone

service access zone

odd number of participants leaves undefinedspace implied casual relationship

bodies oriented towards static focal point(object, artificial centerpiece or imaginary point)

superfluous space

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more contact points

voids counterpoint personal space

efficient use of voids for public usetighter space requirement >

more solid definition of personal space

physical negotiation zones

salt + pepper shakerjam jarcoffee nmgplateknife +forknapkinbutter container

pawer cUppaper plateknife + fork

Precedents38

Existing TypologiesHousing typologies previously considered as westernimports, are no longer inappropriate nor foreignto the Chinese populace any longer. A commonmisconception is that in Beijing, traditional homessuch as the siheyuan typology, are the predominanttype of housing. In fact most people live in high-risemodern housing blocks. Thus to assume that hostinga bed and breakfast in the most "traditional" type ofhousing creates the most authentic experience wouldbe again ascribing notions of "Chineseness" ontoarchitecture - a problematic and naifve mentality.

Temporary housing (hospitality) typologies in Chinablur their original western connotations. For example,the PKU Hostel is officially a hostel, but it is partlyowned by a university and hosts exchange studentsas well as regular travellers. The rates are determinedby whether the room has a window or not. Thusrooms by the building perimeter with windows canbe rented at higher rates for tourists whereas roomson the interior are kept inexpensive for longer termresidents (students).

*local' rost cuturd ex-change * unique experlence *socialife i availability andconditions dependant on host

b of I& I we il. r ast* local host cultural ex-change * unique experience *rrmeas induded

* located in an original court-yard compound * traditionalinterior furnishing * modernamenities * managed by fult-tme staff

* cLitural exchaýge * lan-guage exchange * domesticsetting meals indcludeddose relationship with locihosting family

Sbasic amenitis - convenientlocation * international com-munity * fexiben avedlability

Scommunal shared spacesinstitutional associatons *food variable ha•rogeneousdemographic

* relable quality * convenience* location advantage * corn-mercia! + recreational pro-

* iuxury accnmodation • de-signed experience * urnquefeatures + spaces

re it; ISquality domestic interiorsurique stock * disguisedunder homestay program .daplaces local residents

* hotel quality interor * uniquestock * dsguised as home-stays - displaces local resi-dents

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Bed & Breakfast40 Hotels are interesting spaces of identity because of

their simultaneous assertion and negation of it. Mostcommercial hotels systematically remove traces ofinhabitants' lives on a daily basis in order to maintaina constant false identity. International hotels provide"instant identity," recognizable to all globetrotters.Travelers (or anyone in transit) often have a displacedsense of place; without a sense of place, the senseof identity is also displaced. However, the bed &breakfast typology stands out because of its abilityto accommodate another entity within the compoundof a permanent residence. The notional bed andbreakfast mentioned previously are thus introducedinto the transient person's space, providing a meansto encounter identity of the self and other.

Bed and breakfasts have sprung up all over Chinaas tourism flourished. Incidences of medium-term hosting of foreigners in local homes arealso noted, such as the Chinese language-home-exchange program. Another precedence of acentrally-organized local hosting scheme is the"Incredible India Bed and Breakfast Scheme."The Delhi B&B is being introduced in anticipationof an accommodation shortage that would becaused by the large influx of tourists during the2010 Commonwealth games. Under the scheme,house owners can offer "up to 5 rooms or 10 bedswith good comfortable beds, working space, air-conditioning facilities as well as attached westerntoilets and.. .Indian/Continental breakfast to theguests."' 3 Unfortunately, this inventive and sensiblescheme would not work in Beijing for the 2008Olympics for several reasons related to governanceand existing migrant housing problems. However,the existing Chinese language-home-exchange

program has been implemented quite successfully atvarious levels of governance, especially in Shanghaiand Beijing. The scheme caters to visiting studentsor workers (not short term visitors or tourists), whosigns a contract with the homeowners promisingfree English-language tutoring in exchange for freelodging. It is this demand for medium-term hostingthat will be addressed with the Beijing Bed andBreakfast.

Pre-existing Buildings42 As bed and breakfasts in the traditional hutongs

already exist, it is appropriate to now consider otherhousing typologies as possible sites of hosting B&Bs.

The typology which I am adapting is the low-risebar building. This is appropriate for the site sincethere is a 9 meter height restriction in the historicallypreserved area. The existing long and monotonousperimeter wall invites a design which can break theboundary between street and site.

\Elevation_\North Facade

9.0m height cap

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43

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height cap

Beijing BreakfastBeijing has a nomadic entrepreneurial polulation that 45thrives off of the pedestrian consumption of smallfoodstuffs. These delicacies are unique to Beijingand are often prepared by the local vendor from theirvehicles. In effect, these modified ad hoc bicyclesbecome mobile restuarants. The Bed and Breakfastprovides the bed, but lets the vendors provide thebreakfast by allowing them to plug into the buildingon the ground level. This completes the fluidtransition from streetscape to interiorscape.

w

46

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S-----------------.. ..........-. .- -

48 Program The program is a new housing typology that functionsas bed & breakfast, dormitory, and hostel. Thisincludes space for commercial activity from the streetto plug into the building on the ground level, andsocial space and amenities in the interior.

The blurring of public-private is an opportunityfor negotiation and interaction to occur. Throughprogrammatic changes, this arrangement will bringtogether two private spaces: one of transience(identity without consciousness of place) and one ofdomesticity (place without consciousness of identity).

As an experimental prototype, the proposedbuilding's goal is to generate the maximum responseand discourse in the short term. The long-term goalis to render the prototype suitable for adaptation andreplication, elsewhere in China and the world.

Strategy: Overlapping Interfaces to Increase Negotiation

_Regular Clustered ModulesMinimal Interface

irregular Clustered ModulesVariable Interface

_Overlapping ModulesExpanded Interface

Strategy: Informal Separation of Space Allowing for Adaptability

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Program_-Space Allocation_

Resident50 The typical exchange student will stay for a few

weeks up to a semester or more - enough time tosettle into the city, more so than the average tourist.As there are defined breaks in these programs, theypeople are likely to travel before or after their stay inBeijing. Thus their lifestyle is one of domesticateditinerancy.

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52 Interior Relationships Despite being marketed at different rates, essentiallyall international standard hotel rooms share thesame interior layout. The relationship between thefurniture peices are predictable, resulting in thedessensitization of the inhabitant towards theirenvironment. By maintaining these functions yetallowing the relationships between the componentsof the interior to be restructured, the proposed bedand breakfast allows identity (or at least preference)to be read though spatial configuration.

basic relationships..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

bed _ side table

basin toilet bath

bed _ tv

44

5

6

chair _ desk

settee _ view

closet _ door

I sofa coffee table

S1

-- ----- --- ------------- -------- ----------- ----------- ------~ ~ ~- -------- -- ---- ----- ---- ---- ---- ----- ~ ~~------- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- --------- ---- ---- -- - ------ --- -- --------------------- -----

I -- ------------------ ---------------------------------------

I --- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --- -- -- --

.............

54

standard double standard single deluxe

closet storage

- bathtub

Ssink- hanging closet

king bed

king bed

sofa

- - arcnenerreoaru•s Kircneneue/iar

plasma sink + hairdryer - bath tubplasma bath tub deskarmchair coffee table

toilet cabine double sinkchair landing stripbedside table I chair chair

floor lamp toilettoilet

egnsbeth tu

fixed storage/tv/desk unit

desk

- single bed

shower stall breakfast stationIUside table

toilet

sinkking bed

curtains

bath tub

closet/storage

bar

sink

chair

tv

coffee table

armchair

chair

toilet

floor lamp

Al AL

computer station

lounge area

dining area

U-I

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Analysis56

The Domestic Surface

suf ace:socio-spatial Construcltion

* patial composltons reduced to their constituenturtace components., orm the beak cells of arch-

tatural montage; when reconstituted, dlfferent ce-nars for rsocial nteraclon ae activated.

* GRAPHICAL STANDARD Interor Designfutrated by Franc D.K. OChh & Corky Bhnggea demonstration of spatial tenelon. minimum dhen-slo for fctionalty are the predominant arganIz-tio• system:fiures nwe shown In preecred nteractive roles.

* SUITCASE HOUSE (EDGE Design InetiIte LUd.demonstratee the ubmerslon of the pogrammedpane below an rtificial ub plane, chellngingcowentional notons of served and srvlce space;ose programing allows latent potentaet to uLrp

pugmltlc hegemony of domeenlc aM .

S eptable for formal behavior and hlerachlcalrelationshC ; louder vokice vels wlh cdarerenunciation are requied for communlcaton

public zone

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, public zone

surfaceutty/staoragespeporthyscreenagotcultionprivate ihabitationnhtinate kIrhasitation

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60 Unpacking Identity Furniture allows us to utilize space in both pre-scribed and ambiguous ways. The act of un-packing personal belongings and laying them outon various domestic surfaces is a form of iden-tity-making. Furthermore, those staying at theBed and Breakfast will bring a piece of their ownfurniture: their luggage. The components thatmake up the room become active in the unpack-ing of identity by allowing personal artefacts tobe mapped out onto surfaces visible to those onthe inside and outside.

uutLe

stair dining table coffee tablepocket chair place mat couch

double bed floorsingle bed banister

Furnitecture62 FEach room consists of for movable partition walls

that slide on tracks imbedded in the ceiling andfloor. Each wall has an imbedded function. Thelonger partitions consist of a steel frame hold-ing 3 double hung window sashes. By using theready-made in unconventional ways, the inhabit-ant is encouraged to reasses her environmentand to interact with it.

rest work

other dress

J furniturearchitecture

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The question of exterior form is an obvious one sinceit gives identity to the project even though the projectis driven from the interior. Finding an alternative tothe ubiquitous high-rise apartment could help tominimize exterior projections of identity.

The focus on exterior expression and form inarchitecture is exemplified by all of the high profileprojects currently under construction in Beijing. TheNational Opera House, in its unmistakable curvilinearprofile has given it a variety of monikers, includingthe "egg" and "UFO." Similarly, Herzog and deMeuron's Beijing National Stadium has been donnedthe "bird's nest," to curry favor from the public. Boththese projects are still incomplete, but their identityhas been definitively etched into the city's memory.Chinese architectural history presents a strongargument against externalized architecture, insteadtending towards "introverted" architecture.

Beijing is filled with many such examples of facade-less, predominantly interior spaces, especially withinthe traditional fabric of hutong neighborhoods. TheBeijing Bed and Breakfast, being an interior-drivenproject, brings back to the city a critical commentaryon the nature and politics of image-building and thenarration of identity.

The Bed and Breakfast has a distinctive facade,but it is one that is designed through process andinteraction, rather than stipulation. In addition, theexisting trees on the site will be preserved, maskingthe facade and rendering the experience of thebuilding one of interiors and interactions.

Exterior84

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Endnotes88 1 Rowe, Peter and Kuan, Seng. Architectural

Encounters With Essence and Form in Modern China.Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyPress, 2002. p. 22 Broudehoux, Anne-Marie. The Making andSelling of Post-Mao Beijing. New York: Routledge,2004. p. 73 Bhabha, Homi K. "Life at the Border: HybridIdentities of the Present." New Perspectives Quar-terly, No. 14, pp. 30-314 He, Ping. China's Search for Modernity: Cul-tural Discourse in the Late 20th Century. St Antony'sSeries. Edited by Richard Clogg. New York: PalgraveMacmillan in association with St. Antony's College,2002. p. 6

5 He 896 Broudehoux7 Lefebvre, Henri. La Production de I'Espace.Paris: Editions Anthropos, 19868 Broudehoux9 Broudehoux, p. 20810 Gladwell, Malcolm, Blink: The Power of Think-ing without Thinking. New York: Little, Brown andCompany, 200511 Teysott, Georges. "Bedroom and Boredom."Assemblage, No. 30, p. 5812 Teysott, "Disease of the Domicile." Assemblage,No. 6 (Jun., 1988), pp. 72-913 "Equitybulls." http://www.equitybuills.com/ad-min/news2006/news_det.asp?id=3274

90 Berliner, Nancy. Yin Yu Tang: The Architecture andDaily Life of a Chinese House. Boston: TuttlePublishing, 2003

Broudehoux, Anne-Marie. The Making and Selling ofPost-Mao Beijing. New York: Routledge, 2004

Boym, Svetlana. Common Places: Mythologies ofEveryday Life in Russia. Cambridge: HarvardUniversity Press, 1994

Bhabha, Homi K. "Life at the Border: Hybrid Identitiesof the Present." New Perspectives Quarterly,No. 14

Colomina, Beatriz. Privacy and Publicity: ModernArchitecture as Mass Media. Cambridge: MITPress, 1996

Ecke, Gustav. Chinese Domestic Furniture inPhotographs and Measured Drawings. NewYork: Dover Publications, 1986

Evans, Robin. Translations from Drawing to Building andOther Essays. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1997

Gladwell, Malcolm. Blink: The Power of Thinking withoutThinking. New York: Little, Brown and Company,2005

He, Ping. China's Search for Modernity: CulturalDiscourse in the Late 20th Century. St. Antony'sSeries. Edited by Richard Clogg. New York:Palgrave Macmillan in association with St.Antony's College, 2002.

Rice, Charles. The Emergence of the Interior:Architecture, Modernity, Domesticity. Oxon:Routledge, 2007

Rowe, Peter and Kuan, Seng. Architectural EncountersWith Essence and Form in Modern China.Cambridge: MIT Press, 2002

Lefebvre, Henri. La Production de I'Espace. Paris:Editions Anthropos, 1986

Teysott, Georges. "Bedroom and Boredom."Assemblage, No. 30 (Aug., 1996), pp. 44-61

Teysott, Georges. "Disease of the Domicile."Assemblage, No. 6 (Jun., 1988), pp. 72-9

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