A BRIEF RESEARCH ABOUT ASIAN COUNTRIES

FOR HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 3

PRESENTED BY: TOLENTINO, EDWIN I. BS ARCHITECTURE PRESENTED TO: ARCH. GREGORIA MERCADO

AFGHANISTAN

The Shrine of Hazrat Ali, also known as the Blue Mosque, is a mosque located in the heart of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. It is one of the reputed burial places of Ali ibn Abi Talib, cousin and son-in law of rophet Muhammad. The site includes a series of fi!e separate buildings, with the Shrine of "azrat Ali being in the center and the mosque at the western end so that Muslims can pra# towards the direction of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The site is further surrounded b# numerous gardens with places for people to sit or walk around. The mazar is the building which gi!es the cit# its name, $meaning %Tomb of the &'alted%(.)*+ According to Shia Muslim belief, Ali was originall# buried b# his two sons, "asan and "ussein in an undisclosed location, which was later made known b# the great, grandson of "usa#n and Si'th Shia Imam, ,a-far as-Sadiq - as the gra!e that is found within Imam Ali Mosque in .a/af, Iraq.

0"1TA.

0hutanese dzong architecture reached its zenith in the *2th centur# under the leadership of the great lama Shabdrung .gawang .amg#al. The Shabdrung relied on !isions and omens to site each of the dzongs. Modern militar# strategists would obser!e that the dzongs are wellsited with regard to their function as defensi!e fortresses. 3zongs were frequentl# built on a hilltop or mountain spur, or ad/acent to important streams.)4+)5+ 3zongs comprise hea!# masonr# curtain walls surrounding one or more court#ards. The rooms inside the dzong are t#picall# allocated half to administrati!e function $such as the office of the penlop or go!ernor(, and half to religious function, primaril# the temple and housing for monks. This di!ision between administrati!e and religious functions reflects the idealized dualit# of power between the religious and administrati!e branches of go!ernment. 6AM073IA

The *8th-centur# temple of Angkor 9at is the masterpiece of Angkorian architecture. 6onstructed under the direction of the :hmer king Sur#a!arman II, it was to ser!e as the monarch-s personal mausoleum and as a temple to the "indu god ;ishnu. 0ased on 3ra!idian architecture, it was designed as a p#ramid representing the structure of the uni!erse< the highest le!el at the center of the temple represented Mount Meru, the home of the "indu gods, with the fi!e towers on the highest le!el representing the fi!e peaks of the mountain. The broad

moat around the comple' represented the oceans that surround the world. "7.=:7.=

The Architecture of Hong Kong features great emphasis on 6ontemporar# architecture, especiall# Modernism, ostmodernism, >unctionalism, etc. 3ue to the lack of a!ailable land, few historical buildings remain in the urban areas of "ong :ong. "owe!er, "ong :ong has become a centre for modern architecture as older buildings are cleared awa# to make space for newer, larger buildings. It has more buildings abo!e ?5m $or *@@m( and more sk#scrapers abo!e *5@m than an# other cit#. "ong :ong-s sk#line is often considered to be the best in the world,)*+ with the surrounding mountains and ;ictoria "arbour complementing the sk#scrapers. IAA.

Iranian architecture or Persian architecture is the architecture of contemporar# Iran and the Iranian 6ultural 6ontinent. It has a continuous histor# from at least 5@@@ 06& to the present, with characteristic e'amples distributed o!er a !ast area from Turke# and Iraq to .orthern India and Ta/ikistan, and from the 6aucasus to Banzibar. ersian buildings !ar# from peasant huts to tea houses and garden, pa!ilions to %some of the most ma/estic structures the world has e!er seen%.

M7.=7CIA

The traditional Mongolian dwelling is known as #urt $Mongolian< , ger(. According to Mongolian artist and art critic .. 6hultem, #urts and tents were the basis for the de!elopment of traditional Mongolian architecture. In the *Dth and *2th centuries, lamaseries were built throughout the countr#. Man# of them started as #urt-temples. 9hen the# needed to be enlarged to accommodate the growing number of worshippers, the Mongolian architects used structures with D and *8 angles with p#ramidal roofs to appro'imate to the round shape of a #urt. >urther enlargement led to a quadratic shape of the temples. The roofs were made in the shape of marquees. 6"I.A

Chinese architecture refers to a st#le of architecture that has taken shape in &ast Asia o!er man# centuries. The structural principles of 6hinese architecture ha!e remained largel# unchanged, the main changes being onl# the decorati!e details. Since the Tang 3#nast#, 6hinese architecture has had a ma/or influence on the architectural st#les of :orea, ;ietnam, and ,apan. Throughout the 8@th 6entur#, 9estern-trained 6hinese architects ha!e attempted to combine traditional 6hinese designs into modern architecture $usuall# go!ernment(, with onl# limited success. Moreo!er, the pressure for urban de!elopment throughout contemporar# 6hina required higher speed of construction and higher floor area ratio, which means that in the great cities the demand for traditional 6hinese buildings, which are normall# less than ? le!els, has declined in fa!or of modern architecture. "owe!er, the traditional skills of 6hinese architecture, including ma/or and minor carpentr#, masonr#, and stonemasonr#, are still applied to the construction of !ernacular architecture in the !ast

rural area in 6hina.

T"AICA.3

Stilt "ouses As the moniker EThai stilt houseF suggests, one uni!ersal aspect of ThailandGs traditional architecture is the ele!ation of its buildings on stilts, most commonl# to around head height. The area beneath the house is consequentl# used for storage, crafts, lounging in the da#time, and sometimes for li!estock. The houses were raised as a result of hea!# flooding during certain parts of the #ear, and in more ancient times, predators. Thai building and li!ing habits are often based on superstitious and religious beliefs.

Kuti

A cluster arrangement of :uti around a central terrace. A :uti is a small structure, built on stilts, designed to house a monk. Its proper size is defined in the Sanghathisep, Aule D, to be *8 b# 2 :eub $or 4.@*? b# 8.?4? meters(. This tin# footprint is intended to aid the monk-s spiritual /ourne# b# discouraging the accumulation of material goods. T#picall# a monaster# consists of a number of these buildings grouped together on a shared terrace, either in an inward facing cluster or lined up in a row. 7ften these structures included a separate building, called a

"or Trai, which is used to store scriptures.

SI.=A 7A&

Modern architecture in Singapore began with the transitional Art 3eco st#le and the arri!al of reinforced concrete as a popular building material. International St#le modern architecture was popular from the *H5@s to the *H2@s, especiall# in the public housing apartment blocks. The 0rutalist st#le of architecture was also popular in the *H2@s. These st#les coincided with the great urban renewal and building boom periods in Singapore histor#, and consequentl# these are the most common architectural st#les seen on the island. Some of the more architecturall# significant works of this period include earl 0ank Apartments b# Tan 6heng Siong, and the eople-s ark 6omple' and =olden Mile 6omple' b# 3esign artnership. ost-modern architecture e'periments, in both the -historicist- and deconstructi!ist modes made an appearance in the *HI@s, though the st#le was relati!el# muted in its e'pression. Another architectural trend has been the redisco!er# of Singapore-s architectural heritage, leading to an acti!e conser!ation programme as well as a booming industr# in the restoration of historic buildings, often adapting them to new uses. A recent e'ample is the .ational Museum of Singapore. ,A A.

Japanese architecture $ Nihon kenchiku?( has traditionall# been t#pified b# wooden structures, ele!ated slightl# off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors $fusuma( were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space to be customized to different occasions. eople usuall# sat on cushions or otherwise on the floor, traditionall#J chairs and high tables were not widel# used until the 8@th centur#. Since the *Hth centur#,

howe!er, ,apan has incorporated much of 9estern, modern, and post-modern architecture into construction and design, and is toda# a leader in cutting-edge architectural design and technolog#. :7A&A

Ao#al architecture 1nited Silla architecture is defined as from the 2th centur# to the *@th centur#. After the unification of the :orean peninsula into the kingdom of 1nited Silla, :orean institutions were radicall# transformed. 1nited Silla absorbed the full# matured culture of the Tang d#nast# in 6hina, and at the same time de!eloped a unique cultural identit#. .ew 0uddhist sects were introduced from the T-ang and 0uddhist art flourished. It was a period of peace and cultural ad!ancement in all fields of the arts.

"ICI

I.&S

n *HD5, >ormer >irst Cad# Imelda Marcos ha!e re!ealed her desire to build a national theater for the countr#. The 6ultural 6enter of the hilippines is located on a reclaimed land along Ao'as 0oule!ard. The 6ultural 6enter of the hilippines was designed b# Ceandro ;. Cocsin and it is also considered as one of his most recognizable works.)*4+ Toda# the 66 Main theater in now situated in a II-hectare comple' called the 6ultural 6enter of the hilippines 6omple', the comple' will be di!ided into si' clusters. >irst, the romenade, it will be home to retail and other mi'ed-use facilities, as well as dock facilities. The second cluster will be the Arts Sanctuar#, which will ser!e as the comple'-s cultural core. The third cluster will be the =reen Bone, which

will contain a mi' of museums and parks with commercial and office spaces. >ourth, the 6reati!e "ub cluster, it will contain spaces for creati!e industries.

I.3IA

Indian architecture has e!ol!ed through !arious ages in different regions of the countr#.Apart from these natural and ob!ious e!olution from the pre-historic and historic periods,e!olution of Indian architecture was generall# affected b# the emergence and deca# of great empires and d#nasties in the sub-continent . 310AI

The Palm Islands in Dubai. New Dutch dredging technology was used to create these massive man made islands. They are the largest artificial islands in the world and can be seen from space. Three

of these Palms will be made with the last one being the largest of them all.

TAI9A.

0A.=CA3&S"

Tomb architecture of 0angladesh Tomb architecture is a t#pe of building erected o!er the gra!es. The e'tant tombs in 0engal are small in number but show significant !ariet# and interesting adaptation of the con!entional Islamic form to regional tastes and requirements. As in other Muslim countries, hadith in/unctions to practise taswi#at al-qubur, that is, to make the tomb le!el with the surrounding earth, did not pre!ent the raising of a gra!e abo!e the ground le!el, erection of brick or stone cenotaphs, or the building of monumental mausoleums in 0engal. Architectural and epigraphic remains of the pre-Mughal and Mughal periods point to the burial places of three groups of people- conquerors and nobilit#, saints, and ghazis $!ictors in religious wars(. The Arabic word qabr is used for a gra!eJ the 0engali word samadhi for a tombJ and the ersian term mazar is an honorific appellation for the tomb of a person of high rank. Tombs of saints and ghazis, when attached to dargah comple'es, are called b# the comprehensi!e term dargahJ the ersian term astana for a hol# tomb is not uncommon in 0engal. >unerar# inscriptions contain such terms as maqbara, turba, qabr, gunbad, rawza. Tombs in 0engal ma# be classified under two chronological periods< Sultanate or pre-Mughal, and Mughal.