comparisons between Eastern and Western approaches to architecture

Comparison between the Eastern and western approaches to design construction and layout of courtyard houses in history

Courtyard Houses - Definition and evolution

A courtyard house is usually a large house with private open spaces where the main part of the building is disposed around the central courtyard

Courtyard houses are prevalent in residential architecture across the world and across centuries . The early courtyard houses of the Chinese dates back to 3000 BC . Prior to courtyards the central part of homes usually had a fireplace with a small hole in the ceiling

to let the smoke out . Over time these small openings became larger and evolved to what we call today as courtyards . Prevalent in temperate climates where the weather is warm , the courtyards were conceived as a building feature to allow more lighting and ventilation . However they are found across many cultures and varying climatic countries of the world

Key features of courtyard houses

The courtyard houses usually had a central space that was open to sky and all the main rooms of the house opened into the courtyard . Most of the windows were facing the courtyard and the external walls had lesser or no openings

Chinese courtyard houses

The traditional Chinese courtyard houses are called the SIHEYUAN meaning a courtyard surrounded by four houses . The siheyuan or the courtyard composition forms the basic pattern or a template for residential architecture in China . This extends to their palaces temples , monasteries and other buildings as well . A spacious siheyuan was usually...