Authorities in Beijing on Thursday ordered a property developer to restore a traditional courtyard in downtown Beijing - the former home of famous architect Liang Sicheng -- that it tore down two months ago.

The developer will also be fined 500,000 yuan (79,400 U.S. dollars) as the courtyard was considered a cultural heritage site and bulldozing it was illegal, said a statement issued Thursday by the city government's information office.

The late architect's "siheyuan," or traditional courtyard home, was demolished by Fuheng Real Estate, a subsidiary of China Resources in December. The company claimed that it tore down the dilapidated home due to safety reasons but has pledged to restore it.

Yet the company's explanation touched off a wave of criticism from the media and the public.

The government has asserted that the demolition was not approved by cultural heritage authorities, which is required by law for any redevelopment on cultural heritage sites.

The former rectangle brick structure in Beizongbu hutong was where Liang and his wife Lin Huiyin (Phyllis Lin), also an architect, resided and started the unprecedented profiling of ancient Chinese architecture during the 1930s.

Public criticism comes as this is viewed as the latest historical architecture to be lost in the capital city's rush to modernize.

Over the past two decades, high-rise office buildings, apartment complexes and sprawling shopping malls have mushroomed in the heart of Beijing, replacing the maze of "siheyuans" and "hutongs," the narrow alley lanes, which used to be the signature of the city.

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