Chinese courtyard houses (四合院) are a traditional form of residential architecture, especially prominent in Beijing. For this project, I decided to further research and document courtyard houses because of the interesting contrast I found between a textbook description of one in comparison to the actual remnants of one exisiting today.
In the past, courtyard houses were living spaces for an entire extended family. Multiple generations could be raised in it, with living arrangements often ordered based on cardinal directions and cultural morals. However, as urbanization grew, these houses were often demolished to make way for more compact living quarters, or segmented into smaller living spaces for separate families. As such, not many courtyard houses still exist in their traditional form. However, they are experiencing a rise in popularity in moden times due to their aesthetic and traditional value, giving way to the use of courtyard houses as modern buildings or hotels.
The homepage of my site gives an overview of courtyard houses. From there, I added a menu to allow for navigation to other pages. These include a history of Chinese courtyard houses, an interactive map of a courtyard house, and an overview on these houses’ modern uses. I added the menu in with the overlay effect, then additionally added animations, drop shadows, and blur effects to create a shadow underneath the menu for more contrast.
For a more immersive experience, I also added an interactive map within the website. By clicking on a number on the map, you will be able to view an example of what the corresponding area would look like. From there, you will also be able to navigate into other areas of the house. I created this section by linking together multiple different pages, using photos of various courtyard houses throughout the map. With this, you can experience, while not an accurate account of all courtyard houses, a very general idea of a traditional 四合院.
Website:
Website Walkthrough”