Jianfu Palace Garden Renovation
Beijing, China
Client: China Heritage Fund
Parsons Brinckerhoff Role: mechanical, electrical, plumbing and drainage consulting services
The Jianfu Palace Garden, situated at the northwest corner of the Forbidden City, was built by Emperor Qianlong in 1740. In 1923, when the deposed emperor Puyi still lived in the Forbidden City, the Garden was destroyed by fire. In 2000, the Palace Museum and the China Heritage Fund began to reconstruct this exquisite garden. The reconstruction process lasted for five years, as great care was taken to restore the buildings using traditional methods while meeting modern statutory and fire safety requirements.
Parsons Brinckerhoff served as the mechanical, electrical, plumbing & drainage (MEP) consultant during the restoration of the 54,000-square-foot (5,000-square-meter) Jianfu Palace Garden, which involved reconstructing 13 Imperial Qing Dynasty structures using traditional materials, techniques and processes. One of the most challenging buildings was Yan Chun Ge, a four-story structure, exposed on all sides, in the center of the Garden. Parsons Brinckerhoff had to conceal all MEP systems with no allowance for ducts, panels, or trunking. The firm successfully designed safe and reliable systems that conformed to modern codes and standards and were installed without disturbing any of the pre-existing traditional Chinese architecture.