DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY-DASMARINAS

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

T-ARCH225

History of Architecture 03

Enabling Assessment 03

Chinese and Japanese Architecture Research Assessment

SUBMITTED BY:

Carl

Laurence

A. Tabuzo

ARC 22
 The Building Technology of China is extremely varied and extensive. Beginning
with the influence of foreign styles and development since the start of 1912, Until the
mid-1920s, Chinese architectural commissions were primarily designed in an eclectic
European style, popularized by treaty ports like Guangzhou and Shanghai. Lü Yanzhi's
Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum in Nanjing in 1925 was one of the first significant
constructions by a Chinese architect in modern history. In 1925, a group of foreign-
trained Chinese architects, including Zhuang Jun and Fan Wenzhao, launched a
renaissance movement to study and revive traditional Chinese architecture. They
founded Zhongguo Yingzao Xueshe in 1930, with Liang Sicheng becoming the
dominant figure for the next 30 years. With China’s traditional values influencing their
building technology by focusing on the practical rational spirit and have the relevant
tool rationality of practicality and effectiveness, which has an emphasis on
practicality and neglect of experimentation. Their work was seen in new universities
and major government and municipal buildings in Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai
during the 1930s. After 1949, China's need for housing and industrial building led to
utilitarian architecture and major construction projects. Beijing and other cities were
transformed by planning projects, retaining symbolism in architecture. Precast
reinforced concrete structure, and due to political and economic factors, the
government directly drew on Soviet building technology experience. To save steel and
cement, industrial buildings widely promoted prestressed precast reinforced
concrete structure. Houses were still dominated by brick–concrete structure in the
same period. The 1950s saw the construction of the Soviet style, with large portions
of the Forbidden City restored and established as public museums.

A new thoroughfare, Chang'an Boulevard, was established, and a square for

public political activity was completed in 1959. These dignified structures were part
of the "Ten Grand Buildings" built from 1958 to 1959. Over the course of the Cultural
Revolution (1966–76), many magnificent older buildings and their exquisite
decorations were seriously damaged or destroyed, as the new regime regarded them
as emblems of decadence and moribundity. In 1976, Mao Zedong's death marked the
end of the Cultural Revolution of Architecture, with a grand mausoleum resembling
the Lincoln Memorial built in Tiananmen Square. Moving onward to the modern times
by the 21st Century, the Chinese building industry experienced a boom in the 1980s
due to China's economic development and the need for office towers, hotels,
shopping spaces, and urban housing. This led to the demolition of older structures
and displacement of millions of residents. Migrant construction workers flooded
cities, putting social and natural ecosystems under stress. Eastern capitals like
Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Tianjing modernized quickly, followed by inland
cities like Xi'an, Chongqing, Chengdu, and Wuhan.

Major commissions included the Beijing Xiang Shan Hotel, Shanghai Grand
Theater, and Shanghai Jin Mao Tower. The rapid expansion of Chinese cities led to
concerns about the loss of tradition, beauty, and humanity. Critics pointed out that
many tall structures were characterless, and the Chinese vernacular was often empty
postmodern gestures. The expansion also posed congestion and pollution issues,
especially in Beijing. Urban Chinese residents have shifted from small buildings to
massive apartment blocks and condominiums, with wealthy individuals moving into
retro-style gated communities in larger cities like Beijing and Shanghai. These
communities mimic Tudor-period English villages or German Bauhaus designs,
offering free-standing single-family homes with suburban European or American
amenities. And lastly, the wooden beam-column system is the foundation of
traditional buildings, combining carpentry and joinery work. Prefabricated buildings,
like those in Sichuan, are an extension and evolution of this system, integrating
structural systems from design to on-site construction. This approach not only
preserves traditional wood structures but also caters to modern technology
development, enhancing the overall efficiency of the construction process.

See figures below for Illustration, Timeline and Examples

Figure: 1.1: Timeline of Building Technologies in China

Figure 1.2: Application of green building materials in Green Building Evaluation
Standards

Figure 1.3: Map of Chinese Architecture

 Figure 1.4: Shanghai Grand Theater, People's Square, Huang Pu Qu, China,
Completed 1933

During the Meiji and Taisho eras (1868-1926), major progress was made on
construction methods and construction materials due to the earthquakes that
occurred, and the technology introduced during that time forms the foundation of
modern building technologies in Japan, Japan's architecture renowned for its regional
context and attention to detail, has been a global fascination. The country's unique
features, such as its closed-door policy in the medieval period and cherry blossom
season, have captivated visitors.

Traditional Japanese houses, originating from the Edo Period, were built with
imported tools and techniques from Korea and China. They were adapted to the
country's climate and disaster management measures. Japanese architecture is
largely influenced by Chinese but emphasizes harmony with nature. Unlike Chinese
architecture, Japanese homes are not painted, expressing appreciation for their
natural surroundings. Their minimalistic use of materials, such as wood, reflects their
mindset. Despite modern design challenges, Japanese architecture continues to
strive for sustainable and contemporary living. Different periods in the timeline
ushered in different elements from diverse architectural practices. In the Asuka
period (593- 710), Buddhism was introduced into Japan from China, and
consequently, Buddhist architecture had a profound influence on the architecture in
Japan. Then, in the Nara period (710- 794), many temples and palace buildings were
built in the Tang style of China. With the main inspiration of Japanese Architecture
being nature itself, it affects the way on how they build and use their materials in
constructing their buildings, with wood being chosen over stone due to its ability to
provide adequate ventilation, endure earthquakes and typhoons, and its strength and
durability, making it a preferred choice for construction. Furthermore, curved roofs
serve the purpose of maintaining structure and discerning criteria of building
hierarchy and to denote a heavy roof equips a more stable structure, with trusses
being used in rare circumstances. Adding to the structures and building materials
they use for their buildings, The brick construction proactively introduced by the Meiji
government (1867-1912) ultimately fell into decline because of the damage caused by
the Great Kanto Earthquake (in 1923). Japan has a traditional technique for joining
wood that does not use metal fittings, as metal was very precious in old Japan, so
nails were not an option, and the Islands are very earthquake prone, so structures
had to be flexible. They created a system of joinery that uses interlocking notches that
hold a structure but are flexible enough that the structure can sway in an earthquake
instead of collapsing. With the advancement to modern technology being solely
focused on the pace of steel frame construction in Japan accelerated along with steel
manufacturing technology, he development of steel frame construction that led to
strong, higher buildings, and ultimately ultra-high-rise buildings, using the case of the
Mitsui Main Building (in Tokyo, Japan) as an example.

See Figures below for illustrations and examples:

Figure 2.1: Bricks used from the Meiji to the Taisho eras (1868-1926)

Figure 2.2: [Kahn reinforcing bar], Taisho era (1912-1926) steel rebar for steel-
reinforced concrete.

\
 Figure 2.3: Joint examples for longitudinal connection and beam-to-column
connection

Figure 2.4: Mitsui Main Building

References:

Sullivan, Michael, Silbergeld, Jerome and Qiyi, Liu. "Chinese architecture".

Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Mar. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/art/Chinese-
architecture. Accessed 3 March 2024.

Wu J, Wei H, Peng L. Research on the Evolution of Building Technology Based on

Regional Revitalization. Buildings. 2019; 9(7):165.
https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings9070165

Zou, D.N.; Dai, L.; Zhang, X.W. The History of Modern Chinese Architecture, 1st ed.;
China Building Industry Press: Beijing, China, 2010. [Google Scholar]

institute of Technology, Shimizu Corporation Historical Gallery of Construction

Technology, https://www.shimz.co.jp/en/company/about/sit/showroom/exhibition/

Pragya Sharma; Japanese Architecture: Evolution, features, and examples, August

22 ,2023 https://parametric-architecture.com/japanese-architecture-evolution-
features-and-examples/

Mu, J.; Zhou, T.G.; Wang, L.; Wu, E.R.; Ma, J.; Yang, H. Best way is to improve local
construction study on Ma’anqiao village’s reconstruction after earthquake in
Liangshan of Sichuan. Archit. J. 2013, 12, 10–15. [Google Scholar]