Saving the courtyards
For over 30 years, Laurence Brahm, a 51-year-old American, has been protecting Beijing's old courtyard residences. He has bought several of them and restored them to their original form. Keeping one as a family home, he turned the others into hotels for people to enjoy original courtyard life.
"The courtyard is a unique representation of Chinese culture. The wall is gray, which gives it a serious look. It's very reclusive, people can't see what's inside, unlike the houses in the US which are all open," Brahm said.
Brahm has been captivated by Beijing courtyards and hutong since the day he arrived in China.
"When I came to China as a foreign student 30 years ago, I mainly learned Chinese in the hutong instead of at the university," Brahm was quoted as saying in the Southern Weekly.
He said he would cut classes to wander about in the hutong and to talk to the local residents.
After he started working, he rented a courtyard in Shijia Hutong, Dongcheng district.
For Brahm, the courtyards represent China's ancient culture and their architecture is very delicate. Living in one makes him feel peaceful and relaxed.
However, as time goes by, he has found that the other courtyards around his house are being renovated one by one. "Sometimes I climb up on the roof at night and see the courtyards around me disappearing, one after another," Brahm said.
Disappointed by the gradual disappearance of the courtyards, he decided to buy some and protect them himself.
The courtyard he bought to live in was said to be the house where the leaders of China made the decision to arrest the "Gang of Four" that terrorized China during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76).
"Just thinking that the courtyard I live in played such an important role in history makes me excited," Brahm said.
The courtyard was also damaged when he bought it. The winding corridor was pretty much gone, but he used the old blueprint to restore it.
The four-post gate at his front door was saved by him from another Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) courtyard when it was being demolished and then modified for his current home.
"The decoration material for the courtyard, such as the tiles, are all vintage. Some furniture in the rooms have decades of history," he said.
The similarities between modern buildings in the cities of different countries triggered Brahm to think about the significance of carrying forward a country's culture.
"To fulfill this, two things need to be preserved, one is language and the other is architecture," Brahm said.
In 2002, Brahm decided to take his preservation of old architecture to a new level. His hotels preserve the original courtyard look, with Western elements, for foreign and local guests to enjoy the harmonious combination of China and the West.
"Compared to how much profit the courtyard hotels bring me, I care more about using a commercial method to protect the ancient architecture in the city," Brahm said.
