Historic Preservation of Siheyuan in Beijing China for Continued Residential Use in Modern China

Siheyuan is a classical architecture style of residential housing of Beijing citizens dating from the Ming Dynasty. The people of China are very familiar with Siheyuan, considering its history of more than 700 years. It is a very important cultural and historical relic, which is now suffering from urban renovation. Since most of the buildings were built many years ago, present day residents have problems with accessing modern amenities such as convenient water access, light limitations, and lack of privacy. This study proposes solutions for these issues to help residents live in a more convenient and modern condition by rearranging Siheyuan's layout, designing plumbing system, and adding energy saving equipment.