The Siheyuan Dwellings was a conventional residential  building type which was adopted in the north and subsequently spread throughout the country because of its climate responsiveness. It consisted of a square outline with a central courtyard opening enclosed by rooms. They were usually low-rise settlement and usually form alleys, which link together the interior of a city. Since alleys are usually  straight and run east-to-west, houses can face north and south. The structure had corridors and overhanging roofs as a solar shading device.  \cite{Sun_2013}
The courtyards is made up of pathways, trees, lawn, water pools which provides passive strategies to enhance the thermal comfort of the zone. The original Siheyuan consisted of four house enclosed as one model. The walls were made of brick, 370mm thick to serve as heat storage and the walls were also perforated for cross ventilation.