Hongyu Dai


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Hutongism (public furniture)



This project examines the local context of the hutong in Beijing, focusing on its environmental conditions and everyday social dynamics. Through field observation and documentation, the research explores how the hutong functions as a transitional zone that blurs the line between domestic and public space.

Its spatial porosity and dense residency create a setting where informal social interactions and micro-community structures naturally emerge. The study identifies these behaviors and spatial practices to reveal triggers for meaningful contemporary design interventions. Flexible, mobile public furniture is highlighted as an effective strategy, offering residents a shared “public living room” that strengthens community ties and enhances the hutong’s lived environment.



Year: 2023


Background

In the historic core of Beijing, beyond its striking skyline of new towers, lie dense networks of ageing alleyways known as hutongs. Many residents here are elderly people who have lived in these small, timeworn homes for most of their lives. While the close quarters foster strong social bonds, the outdated infrastructure and cramped conditions also create daily inconveniences and significant safety challenges for older adults.Looking for Connection:
The Boundary Between Home and Street

Residents in Beijing’s hutongs are usually elderly people, they actively seek social presence in their daily routines.

Living in small, ageing homes, they often extend their personal space into the alley itself,
sitting at their doorways, gathering under trees, or engaging with neighbors in shared courtyards.

In doing so, they blur the boundary between home and street, transforming the public realm into an essential social infrastructure where connection, visibility, and a sense of belonging can naturally emerge.

Research


Public Furniture as a Social Medium

In the narrow spaces of Beijing’s hutongs, formal social areas are scarce. As a result, elderly residents move their own chairs and stools outdoors, sit on doorsteps, or occupy small edges along the street. Some even secure their furniture with chains when not in use, marking personal ownership within shared space. 

While this reflects the ingenuity of older people, it also exposes gaps in public infrastructure: these improvised, unplanned setups neither create true shared spaces nor address safety concerns.




Residents put old furniture that does not fit in their homes into hutongs. And then street furniture were created unconsciously by the local inhabitants. All of them are assembled from broken down old furniture and objects in hutongs.


Tree as a Gathering Center

In the limited spatial fabric of the hutongs, elderly residents often gather under trees to talk, rest, or exercise. The tree becomes an informal yet natural focal point, a spontaneous social hub for older adults.


The Solution: Modular Public Furniture


Centered around the tree as a natural gathering point, this modular public furniture system can be freely assembled according to site conditions and community needs. 

It consists of two platform heights: a lower module for sitting, and a higher module that functions either as a tabletop or a supportive backrest. Together, these elements create flexible configurations that accommodate the everyday activities of elderly Hutong residents. Providing space for socializing, resting, drinking tea, and reading. Transforming informal gathering spots into safe, intentional, and shared public environments.