Week 7: The Americas, China, and India

China has an architecture that is as old as Chinese civilization. The same system of construction is prevalent throughout much of their history. China has the world's longest continuous civilization of four thousand years and now has the world's largest population. 

Some of the Architecture and construction techniques used in Chinese architecture are: 

Stupas: Mound of dirt, such as a burial ground, where a more permanent structure is built over the mound. (Prototype birthed in India). The stupa came to China as Buddhism spread. It acknowledged important people in the Buddhist religion. 

The Great Wall of China is a fortification built of stone, brick, wood, mud, and earth. It is along the northern border of China and spans 5500-13000 miles long including its watch towers. \

Interiors of both residential and commercial buildings are based on a "courtyard" building style. it is very symmetrical in layout

Furniture replaced mats and was light, beautiful, and stable. There were folding chairs and yoke-back chairs. 

current folding chair

Huali wood, lacquer, ceramic, and bamboo were used to make chairs

Current application of Chinese bedrooms

Indian archiecture and construction techniques include stupa and acknowledgement of Buddhist religion. There wsa a great lack of furniture. People sat, ate and slept on the floor. 

current application of Indian interiors

In prehistoric times, the people of the Americas had no knowledge of Old World Europe. There were many varieties of Interior Architecture, including underground homes, cliff homes, and homes made of materials such as stone, bricks, or reeds. 

The Olmecs were the first major civilization in Mexico from 1500 to 400 BCE. They developed hieroglyphic writing and the first calendar in the Western Hemisphere. The elites lived in highly decorated homes and wore elegant jewelry and clothing. Commoners lived in "homes" made of stick and mud. Food sources were reliabel for the commoners. Shamans people who believed they had a direct contact to a deities, and gave advice about agriculture and periodic rain to leaders. 

Wang Shu is a chinese architect that reused materials salvaged from demolition sites and thoughtful approach to setting and Chinese tradition revealed his opposition to modern China's relentless urbanization. He uses an incredible blend of traditional and modern architecture to create very unique and clean designs. Wang Shu has often explained in lectures and interviews that “to me architecture is spontaneous for the simple reason that architecture is a matter of everyday life. When I say that I build a ‘house’ instead of a ‘building’, I am thinking of something that is closer to life, everyday life. When I named my studio ‘Amateur Architecture’, it was to emphasize the spontaneous and experimental aspects of my work, as opposed to being ‘official and monumental’." Wang Shu is Professor and Head of the Architecture School at China Academy of Art, Hangzhou. In 2011, he became the first Chinese Kenzo Tange Visiting Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He designed the Five Scattered houses.