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Residential Architecture, 1st prize

China's Antique Residential Buildings

Wang Yi(China)

	A culture is born on a piece of land with a unique geographic environment. On China's age-old territories, many superior ancient buildings, including officials' residences, bridges, ordinary people's dwellings, memorical archways and ancestral halls, are well preserved over history. The construction sites of these buildings were chosen in accordance with China's traditional philosophic principles of the Eight Diagrams (eight combinations of three whole or broken lines formerly used in divination), the five elements (mental, wood, water, fire and earth held by the ancients to compose the physical universe) and the theory of yin and yang. They provided dwellers with a comfortable living environment, which was of easy access to water supply and wind-and-flood proof. Chinese antique residential architecture features wooden stucture, of which wooden roof beams were mostly applied. This structure can construct multi-roomed and polygonal building shapes. Chinese antique residential buildings are an embodiment of the wisdom of Chinese ancient people, which reflect China's superb accomplishmentsin architecture and art at that time. They are invaluable architectural relics of the human beings.

	1. Leaning Against A Hill----Round Tower in the Fujian Province, standing by a green hill with streams running beside it.

	2. By Water----Zhou Zhuang, a region of rivers and lakes in southeast China, features a water traffic system, which connects every household.

	3. By Trees----tall trees can withstand winds and restore waters, and are believed by locals to restrain the outflow of fortunes.

	4. Crossing The Bridge----Feng Yu Qiao Bridge (the bridge of wind and rain) derives its name from the convenience it provides as a shelter from gales and rains. The Cheng Yang Bridge in San Jiang County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, looks graceful and is considered to be a state treasure.

	5. An Entrance to A Village----an entrance to a village is the conjunction of the vast country land with the farmers' living space.

	6. Verandas----the veranda compound is a complement to the main hall and living rooms, serving as a transition between the internal and external space.

	7. The Wu Fenglou Tower (five phoenixes tower) ----the tower was built on a hillside, low in the front and high in the rear. It consists of an upper, a middle and a lower hall on an axis.

	8. The Zhencheng Tower----the Zhencheng Tower in Yongding County, Fujian Province, was constructed in accordance with the design of the Eight Diagrams. Its pyramid shaped roof integrates Eastern and Western design.

	9. Rooms with A Small Yard at the Center----this unique building style in Mao Yuanyan County, Jiangxi Province, creates a space that is disconnected with the outside.

	10. Deep Compound in the Shanxi Province----during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there was many a parvenu in the Shanxi Province, who invested heavily in the expansion, fortification and decoration of their residences. These buildings abound with rich cultural and artistic contents.

	11. Exquisite Engraving of the Anhui School----engraved windows, common in China's Anhui Province, divide scenery outside the room into different pictures.

	12. An Ancestral Temple of Solemnity---- The stone-carved flag poles standing in the center of the square symbolize each branch of the family. Family members with official titles are worshipped with their merits being carved on a piece of stone placed in front of the temple.