Developers destroy home of Chinese architects

Liang Sichen and his wife Lin Huiyin were two of China’s most prized architects, with their appreciation and dedication to preserving China’s ancient buildings highly renowned.

Much to the shock of heritage experts, the home where the two architects worked has been destroyed by the very type of development that the two felt would destroy many of China’s ancient streets and neighbourhoods.

The building was knocked down over the lunar New Year – a time that is usually a rest period for labourers – sparking conspiracy theories that the company responsible hoped to avoid publicity.

Liang is recognised as the father of modern Chinese architecture, and his wife Lin is said to be the first female architect in China. Most of their most important work was undertaken while they lived in the courtyard house in Beizongbu Hutong during the 1930s.

Heritage protection activist Zeng Yizhi alerted city officials of the demolition. Zeng told China Daily, "Liang and Lin made such a great contribution to the protection of Chinese ancient buildings. If their home can be torn down, then developers can do the same thing to hundreds of other ancient houses in the country."

Dongcheng officials have said that they ordered the developers to rebuild the house, but this has been dismissed as pointless by campaigners such as Chen Zhihua, a professor at Tsinghua University’s school of architecture.

Chen told China Daily ,"Building a replica only makes things worse. So I suggest that the government build a monument or a park on the original site in memory of Liang and Lin."

The early 20th century building represents the importance of the preservation of cultural relics, as well as the dangers posed by urban development in China.

Lin passed away in 1955 after an illness and Liang, who was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution, died in 1972.