Architectural Significance of the Seokguram Buddhist Grotto in Gyeongju (Korea)

The purpose of this article is to disclose the hidden architectural proportions and true nature of the Korean national treasure in Seokguram Grotto, Gyeongju. The authors compare its features with those of other ancient hypogeal or ashlar constructions with the intention of rediscovering its relevant configuration and latent structural properties in order to demonstrate its uniqueness. The methods employed in the research belong initially to architectural design and composition to advance in the later stages to the nuances of stone masonry, lighting effects and especially cohesive construction. In this discussion and thorough analysis diverse philosophical and scientific subtleties are brought to the surface. The results demonstrate significant potential thanks to recent architectural developments, such as Tadao Ando’s Buddha Hill in Hokkaido (2017) and the authors’ own proposal for a Buddhist monument.

Architectural Significance of Granite and Other Durable Rocks in the Context of India – An Analytical Study

Architectures created through the cutting of naturally occurred massive rocks include different structures, buildings, tombs, monuments, caves and sculptures. On account of hard and tough property, the granite is considered as strong construction stone in human history. Granite is very common in the continental crust of our mother earth. It is characterised as coarse grained plutonic intrusive igneous rock and is composed of quartz, alkali feldspar and plagioclase. Typical mineralogical character and textural varieties of granite facilitates to develop a wide range of colours, which include white, pink and grey etc. Granite rocks established itself as praiseworthy architecture stone since historical past because of its distinctive character like durability, appreciable finishing, fascinating polish nature and above all its magnificent colour diversities. As architectural stone, the granitic rocks demand attraction owing to the combination of style and elegance. The application of granitic rocks is witnessed in the ancient world through the mesmerising major architectures in India and around the world like Mount Rushmore, Washington Monument, Great Pyramid of Giza; Ajanta and Ellora caves, monolithic structure in the Zagwe-built Lalibela in Ethiopia along with in most of the long-lived old Indian temples, old forts and monuments etc. The monolithic free-standing architecture is generally rock-cut structures as depicted in the Ellora Kailasanathar Temple. The biggest monolithic statue in world, the Gommateshwara statue of Bahubali at Shravanabelagola present in the Indian state at Karnataka was carved in the 983 CE from a single block of granite rock. The radioactivity stuff in the granite is an important concern to the people in recent world. Even though the impact of radioactivity is proved mostly very less harmful to mankind, current research indicates that few granite products are showing radioactive substance index beyond permissible limit of the specified standard, which is responsible for environmental pollution during the use for long. Therefore, due attention is required towards the pertinent issue of radioactivity in the granite stones. Apart from granite, many of the architectures in India are created by the other rock types that include rocks like sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks.

Secondhand Architecture: Finding value in the existing

<p>Secondhand architecture explores the potential for significant high-density housing models to be revitalised and offered a second life. Much of the medium to high-density housing stock built in the mid to late twentieth century is tired, derelict and under threat of demolition. Buildings from this period, both here and internationally, are increasingly dismissed as outdated for not meeting a range of today’s housing needs. A combination of technical and functional obsolescence have contributed to their downfall along with numerous social and management issues, of which local authorities are failing to recognise and act on. Today the demand for housing is considerable. Governments and private developers seek ways to address this demand yet frequently overlook the upgrade potential that this current housing stock possesses. To some extent, this is due to failure by authorities and the public to value their intrinsic heritage and architectural significance. The impetuous decision to demolish risks compromising our living heritage and losing a portion of our significant built environment. In New Zealand and overseas, there is a general lack of recognition for the historical significance of our modern architecture. Amongst modern buildings, the post-war high-density public housing models is considered of lesser significance here due to the higher appreciation for detached suburban housing being entrenched as the desired norm. This thesis makes a case for adapting and reusing modern public housing to operate as living patrimony - exploring their inherent value through design and reviewing their potential to assist increasing density within our inner cities. The George Porter Tower, designed by prominent architect Ian Athfield in the 70s, faces demolition due to its perceived poor living conditions and susceptibility to earthquakes. Using the Tower as a case study, this thesis explores strategies to repair, improve and reform our significant public housing models. These strategies are explored through five layers, providing a methodology that identifies the successes and failures of the case study and guide the iterative design process. This thesis argues for the rehabilitation of a building to address the contemporary housing requirements. In acknowledging the value of these as a critical part of our built heritage, it demonstrates how history can exist within the present to maintain links to our past. In doing so, it celebrates the continual metamorphosis of the building, adding to its heritage values. Secondhand architecture considers that buildings should be constantly evolving, not something that is frozen as icons of the past.</p>

Secondhand Architecture: Finding value in the existing

<p>Secondhand architecture explores the potential for significant high-density housing models to be revitalised and offered a second life. Much of the medium to high-density housing stock built in the mid to late twentieth century is tired, derelict and under threat of demolition. Buildings from this period, both here and internationally, are increasingly dismissed as outdated for not meeting a range of today’s housing needs. A combination of technical and functional obsolescence have contributed to their downfall along with numerous social and management issues, of which local authorities are failing to recognise and act on. Today the demand for housing is considerable. Governments and private developers seek ways to address this demand yet frequently overlook the upgrade potential that this current housing stock possesses. To some extent, this is due to failure by authorities and the public to value their intrinsic heritage and architectural significance. The impetuous decision to demolish risks compromising our living heritage and losing a portion of our significant built environment. In New Zealand and overseas, there is a general lack of recognition for the historical significance of our modern architecture. Amongst modern buildings, the post-war high-density public housing models is considered of lesser significance here due to the higher appreciation for detached suburban housing being entrenched as the desired norm. This thesis makes a case for adapting and reusing modern public housing to operate as living patrimony - exploring their inherent value through design and reviewing their potential to assist increasing density within our inner cities. The George Porter Tower, designed by prominent architect Ian Athfield in the 70s, faces demolition due to its perceived poor living conditions and susceptibility to earthquakes. Using the Tower as a case study, this thesis explores strategies to repair, improve and reform our significant public housing models. These strategies are explored through five layers, providing a methodology that identifies the successes and failures of the case study and guide the iterative design process. This thesis argues for the rehabilitation of a building to address the contemporary housing requirements. In acknowledging the value of these as a critical part of our built heritage, it demonstrates how history can exist within the present to maintain links to our past. In doing so, it celebrates the continual metamorphosis of the building, adding to its heritage values. Secondhand architecture considers that buildings should be constantly evolving, not something that is frozen as icons of the past.</p>

Architectural Significance of the Seokguram Buddhist Grotto in Gyeongju (Korea)

The purpose of this article is to disclose the architectural proportions and nature of the Korean national treasure in Seokguram Grotto, Gyeongju. The authors compare its features with those of other ancient hypogeal or ashlar constructions and intend to rediscover its relevant hidden configuration and latent structural properties to show its uniqueness. The methods employed in the research belong initially to architectural design and composition to advance at a later stage, into the nuances of stone masonry, lighting effects or cohesive construction. In this discussion and thorough analysis, different philosophical and scientific subtleties come afloat. The results demonstrate a significant potential capable to be applied in part to recent architectural developments like Tadao Ando’s Buddha Hill in Hokkaido (2017) and the authors’ own project for a Buddhist monument.

Speculations from 1850: being some thoughts on Rangiātea and the House of Tāmihana Te Rauparaha

In March, 1852, the Wellington Independent reported its satisfaction at the sight of a drawing of the interior of Otaki Church, by Mr. C. D. Barraud. It declared the drawing a faithful representation of the church and its congregation that had been executed with "that taste and excellence we are led to expect from the pencil of so able an artist" ('[Untitled]" p 3). It concluded that the print would soon to be published - "in colours" – as it would make a beautiful, interesting and "novel" picture. This claim was added to a few days later in the New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian. Without irony they described the theologically themed depiction as being "spirited" as well as graphic. They go on to claim the "Native Church at Otaki" as one of the "lions" of the "settlement". Yet, for all that initial eagerness, Rangiātea would not go on to become a popular destination, and it has remained largely a picture of architecture. Indeed, even scholarly interest in it as an object of architecture does not appear in depth until the doctoral research of Sarah Treadwell, in the 1990s, who located the architectural significance of Rangiātea in a dialogue with the spatial and cultural patterns of the traditional Māori meeting house. In 2008 Treadwell reflected upon her PhD work with the admission that, in hindsight, her argument suffered the same kind of representational stability we can find in Barraud's rendition. The significance of Rangiātea as the singularly outstanding example of Māori building of the 1850s is uncontested, but Treadwell suggests that what we know and mean by historic "significance" – in his case history's preference for clear lines of origin and influence – are not to be depended upon as a stable discourse. I take that as an invitation to speculate on aspects of Rangiātea's influence and significance with a particular focus on a near neighbour in Ōtaki, the house of Tāmihana Te Rauparaha.

KARAKTER VISUAL GANG GAMBIRAN KAWASAN PECINAN, SEMARANG

: Chinese culture played a major role in forming the identity of the semarang city, which is seen by the Chinatown as both economic and Tionghoa cultural center in Semarang. As a result of growing economic activity, the building with Chinese architectural in Chinatown had physical changes that adjusted the needs of the region’s residents. This resulted a change in the visual quality of the Semarang Chinatown as a historic settlement in Semarang. However, observations have shown that there are still quite a few historical houses, especially in Gang Baru, Gang Gambiran, Gang Besen. The study aims to learn how houses in the Gang Gambiran as one of the corridors that still maintain traditional characteristics on the facade may affect the characteristics of space in the Semarang Chinatown. The study employed qualitative methods with the facade of buildings in Gang Gambiran as a component that affected the visual character of the region. That indicator became the guide in data collection and analysis. As a result, the visual character of the Chinatown in the Gang Gambiran as one of the corridors in Semarang Chinatown settlement was strongly influenced by a dwelling that still retained the architectural significance of China.Abstrak: Kebudayaan Tionghoa berperan besar dalam membentuk identitas kota Semarang, hal tersebut terlihat dengan adanya Kawasan Pecinan (Chinatown) sebagai kawasan sentra ekonomi yang padat dan juga pusat kebudayaan warga Tionghoa di Semarang. Akibat kegiatan ekonomi yang semakin bertumbuh, bangunan dengan ciri arsitektur Tionghoa di Pecinan mengalami perubahan fisik bangunan yang menyesuaikan dengan kebutuhan penghuni kawasan. Hal tersebut mengakibatkan perubahan kualitas karakter visual kawasan Pecinan Semarang sebagai permukiman bersejarah di Semarang. Namun, dari pengamatan yang dilakukan ditemukan masih cukup banyak bangunan, khususnya tipe hunian di dalam beberapa koridor yang masih mempertahankan bentuk fasad sesuai ciri khas arsitektur Tionghoa. Bangunan-bangunan tersebut khususnya berada di koridor Gang Baru, Gang Gambiran, Gang Besen. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana hunian di Gang Gambiran sebagai salah satu koridor yang masih terdapat ciri khas tradisional pada fasad bangunan dapat mempengaruhi karakteristik ruang di Kawasan Pecinan Semarang. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan fasad bangunan di Gang Gambiran sebagai komponen yang mempengaruhi karakter visual kawasan. Indikator tersebut menjadi patokan di dalam pengumpulan data dan analisa. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah karakter visual Kawasan Pecinan di Gang Gambiran sebagai salah satu koridor di Kawasan Pecinan Semarang cukup kuat dipengaruhi oleh hunian yang masih mempertahankan ciri khas arsitektur China.

Mughal Garden Wah: Architecture, Conservation Issues and Tourism Management

Mughal Garden Wah is one of the masterpieces built by Mughals on GT Road near the city of Hassan Abdal. It was private property that was later on taken by the government due to its historical and architectural significance. This site is not only a picnic point for the local community but has the potential to attract thousands of national and international tourists to enjoy its landscape and architecture. The current state of the garden is not praiseworthy, and if proper measures are not taken well in time, this masterpiece of art and architecture will vanish soon. The current study is an attempt to highlight the architectural significance of the garden, its conservation issues and managing it for sustainable tourism.

Motifs for emphasizing corners in the characterization of corner infill buildings

The subject of the paper is corner infills in the urban environment. The term "corner infill" means an architectural object (house or building) that completes the continuity of two sequences of architectural objects that meet at an angle. One of the most important elements in the articulation of a corner house is the contact zone between the two external facades. Under certain circumstances, the so-called "corner theme" can become their meeting point. The corner theme in architecture implies a place that is emphasized in relation to the adjacent facade planes or the volumetry of the building. Although the principle of corner accentuation in architecture is present in most corner houses, there are numerous examples of urban infills in which the corner is not emphasized. That gives the impression that there are certain motifs or circumstances due to which the corner is accented or unaccented. The focus of the paper is not on the formal aspects of the corner articulation, but on analyzing the causes of the appearance of the corner motif. In the paper, characteristic examples of corner houses are considered through scientific analysis, and then the regularities are explored. The motifs that influence the emphasis of the angle in the interpolated building's composition were ascertained by the method of generalization. The aim of the research was to re-examine the position according to which the corner theme in urban infills is justified in situations when the house fits into the immediate urban environment of culturalhistorical or architectural significance. On the other hand, if the house is connected to surrounding buildings of lower quality or significance, the theme of the corner loses its meaning, because the whole house becomes a new city reference point, therefore emphasizing that the corner is superfluous.