Heading west from Xizhimen, past the south gate of Zizhuyuan Park, a cluster of high-rises on the right is Renji Shanzhuang, a well-known upscale residential compound in western Beijing. Unlike other buildings in the compound, the rooftop of Building B, which is close to the road, has an additional two-story structure. The exterior is wrapped in a rock-textured shell with large trees planted on it, resembling a 'sky garden'.

　　Residents say the two-story structure was built over six years by Zhang Biqing, the owner of Room 2605 in Building B. The reporter verified that Zhang Biqing is the founder of 'Qijingtang', a chain of traditional Chinese medicine health product stores.

　　Yesterday afternoon, the reporter went to the 26th floor of Building B in Renji Shanzhuang. The door of Room 2605 was tightly closed, and no one answered after knocking and ringing the doorbell.

　　The reporter tried to reach the rooftop platform from the outside corridor. Going up, a door with a 'Safety Exit' sign was blocked by a large cabinet, and another corridor was piled with dry branches and other debris. Past the debris, the door to the platform was locked.

　　Several residents living in the building worry that the two-story addition on the roof will increase the load on the building structure, and even if the illegal construction is demolished, the overall structure may be damaged. Another resident said that residents had reported the issue to relevant departments, but it had not been resolved for years.

　　Urban Management Posts Rectification Notice

　　Yesterday afternoon, the Zizhuyuan Team of Haidian Urban Management posted a rectification notice on the door of Room 2605. The notice states that upon investigation, a construction project on the rooftop of Building 4 in Renji Shanzhuang, with a floor area of 800 square meters, has not obtained planning permission in accordance with the law and is therefore illegal construction.

　　Chen Yu, deputy head of the Zizhuyuan Team, said the deadline for rectification is 15 days, during which the owner of Room 2605 can either appeal to the urban management team or demolish the structure voluntarily. If no action is taken after 15 days, the urban management department will report to the Haidian District Government to initiate forced demolition procedures. 'Approval from the deputy district head in charge of Haidian District is required to start forced demolition.'

　　According to Chen Yu, the forced demolition notice must be delivered to the owner in person, but the owner of Room 2605, Zhang Biqing, has not been reachable. If forced demolition is initiated, he will need to be located. Based on past experience, it takes several months from the expiration of the rectification deadline to the execution of forced demolition, including time for district government approval and for the subdistrict office to coordinate with public security and other departments for preparations.

　　Clarification

　　How was the 800-square-meter illegal construction determined?

　　According to the rectification notice, the urban management department determined the area of the illegal two-story structure to be 800 square meters. According to the urban management department, team members had repeatedly visited the violator Zhang Biqing, but he refused to open the door for investigation. How was the area determined?

　　The urban management department stated that without the area of the illegal construction, a demolition notice cannot be issued, and the property management only has floor plans; the owner would not file the illegal construction area with the property management. In previous cases where doors were not opened, the urban management department used laser ranging to measure the area, which requires finding a high point next to the illegal structure and measuring its length, width, and height at a downward angle. Since the building has 26 floors, and with the addition it is equivalent to 28 floors, it is the tallest building in the area, making laser ranging impossible.

　　Subsequently, the Zizhuyuan Team collected relevant evidence and estimated the floor area based on the building's exterior outline and scale. The basic information was reported to the district urban management bureau, which then reported to the district planning commission for planning determination. Finally, the illegal construction area was determined to be 800 square meters.

　　Impact

　　Rooftop 'weight gain' affects building safety

　　According to a building safety expert, from an urban management perspective, after a building is completed and accepted, any addition or expansion must be approved by the planning department. The original design unit or a design unit with the same qualifications must be commissioned to produce a formal design and renovation plan. Additionally, for renovation projects over 300 square meters, construction can only begin after approval by the housing and construction department.

　　'Building a villa directly on the top floor will definitely affect the structural safety of the entire building,' the expert said. When a building is designed, its load is predetermined; adding an extra floor inevitably increases the weight, and the loads on the building's load-bearing components will differ. The impact on load-bearing components is twofold: first, the components of the added floor may collapse if the added weight exceeds the load capacity, potentially causing beams and columns to fail. Second, it may cause the entire building, i.e., the load-bearing components below the top floor, to be overloaded and develop problems. In addition, adding a villa on the top floor will also affect the seismic resistance of the entire building.

　　Related regulation

　　According to the 2011 'Provisions of Beijing Municipality on Prohibiting Illegal Construction', when the urban management comprehensive administrative law enforcement agency orders a stop to construction or discovers completed illegal urban construction, it shall order demolition within a time limit within 20 days. If demolition is not possible, the physical structure or illegal income shall be confiscated, and a fine of up to 10% of the total construction cost may be imposed.