Traditions in Architecture : Africa, America, Asia, and Oceania

This book introduces students, professionals and the general public to the architectural achievements of diverse cultures outside the Euroamerican tradition. Rather than concentrating on geographic or chronological categories, however, the authors have arranged their subject matter thematically in order to focus on the basic needs common to all human communities.
The book is divided into five major sections, each of which deals with vernacular as well as momumental structures. These five topics are discussed in terms of particular architectural solutions, comparing and contrasting geographically separated buildings and construction traditions. For example, the issue of architectural meaning is studied through symbolic gardens in China, verbal ornament in the Islamic world, and the wall paintings of Ndebele women of southeast Africa. Theoretical issues related to particular building traditions are illuminated by these juxtapositions.

Traditions in Architecture begins with an investigation into the ways in which the continuity of traditional forms is maintained. Next, the authors explore practical issues such as housing and food structures, climate and ecology, building materials, and architectural forms and methods. Architectural goals and purposes, which determine what is built, vary from culture to culture and are given special attention. Planning and design -- ways in which space is used in patterns of organization -- constitute a discussion ranging from urban plans to landscaped settings. The text concludes with an examination of cultural values, investigating the interaction between architecture and social relations, traditional theories, decision-making, and the economics of building.

• Combines architectural theory with close examination of specific examples of building and ornament
• Extensive lists of suggested readings and full bibliography encourage furthers study
• Handsomely illustrated

Preface
Notes on the Text, Sources, and Appendix
Introduction

PART I. MULTIPLICITY AND CONTINUITY IN TRADITION
1. FORM AND CONTENT

Early Shrines, India
Caves: Lomas Rishi, Barabar Hills, and Chaitya Hall, Karli
The Stupa Form: Great Stupa, Sanchi
Hindu and Jain Shrines, India
Kandriya Mahadev Temple, Khajuraho
Dilwara Temples, Rajputana
Buddhist Shrines, Japan, and Burma
Horyu-ji Temple, Asuka, Japan
Ananda Temple, Pagan, Burma
Suggested Readings

2. TRANSFER OF TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURAL KNOWLEDGE

Person-to-Person Transfer
Community Case Studies
Professional Knowledge
Documented Knowledge
Chinese Construction Manuals
Suggested Readings

PART II. PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS
3. SURVIVAL: WATER, SHELTER, AND FOOD

Wateund Houses: Available to Everyone
Food Structures
Granaries at Mohenjo-Daro
Japanese Granaries
Floating Gardens of the Valley of Mexico
Suggested Readings

4. CLIMATE AND ECOLOGY

Cold and Dry
Houses of Snow and Skin--Inuit Iglus of Northern Canada
Summer and Winter Houses in Tibet
Hot and Dry: Solar Management in the Middle East
Hot and Humid: Big Roof in the New Guinea Rain Forest
Suggested Readings

5. MATERIALS, METHODS, AND ARCHITECTURAL FORM

Carved-Out Architecture
Ethiopian Rock-Cut Churches
Cosmic Mountain at Borobudur, Java
Assembled Pieces
Lashed Polynesian Houses
Interlocking Frameworks in Japan
One Culture, Two Building Traditions
Inka Stone Masonry
Inka Roads and Woven Suspension Bridges
Suggested Readings

PART III. PURPOSES OF TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE
6. SPACES FOR DAILY LIFE

Living in Tight Spaces
Houseboats of China
Houseboats in Kashmir
Use of the street and the Roof in Nepal
Access to Architecture--Social Rewards and the Use of Buildings
Social Rewards and the Use of Ceremonial Buildings in New Guinea
Space and Gender in Islamic Society: Kano Palace, Nigeria
Suggested Readings

7. RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE--A CONTINUUM OF MEANING

Space in the Home
Japanese Tokonoma
Mexican Altar of the Dead
Space on the Street
Bhaktapur's Street Shrines, Nepal
Temporary Temples for Processions in India
Spaces Set Apart
Special Buildings: North African Mosques
Ceremonial District: Teotihuacan, Mexico
Without Buildings: Mount Taylor, New Mexico
Suggested Readings

8. EXPRESSION OF POWER

Monumentality
Stone Architecture in the Caroline Islands
Great Zimbabwe in East Africa
Empire Building
The Great Wall of China
Saqsaywaman Fortress, Peru
Colonialism and Native Traditions
Inka and Spanish Changes at Cuzco
Mughals in India: Red Forts at Agra and Delhi
Suggested Readings

PART IV. PLANNING AND DESIGN
9. Land Use

Urban Planning
Formal or Organic: Mohenjo-Daro and Toledo
Symbolic Creation or Gradual Agglomeration?
Landscaped Settings
Form and Meaning: Taj Mahal, Agra, India
Continuity with Setting: Katsura Palace (Villa), Japan
Suggested Readings

10. BUILDING TYPES AND USES

Unique Types
Ballcourts of Central America
Islamic Educational Buildings
Pyramids, Platforms, and Altars
Pyramids in Mesoamerica: La Venta, Monte Alban, and Chicken-Itza
Oceania: The Tuamotu Archipelago
Housing Varieties
Town Houses, Nepal
Stilt Houses in Indonesia
Using Space
Japanese Floor-Level Living
Islamic Floor-Level Living
Suggested Readings

11. ORGANIZATION OF STRUCTURES

Hollow Centers: Courtyards
North Africa and the Middle East
China
American Southwest
Solid Center: Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Axial Arrangements
Beijing, China: Forbidden City
Teotihuacan, Mexico: Street of the Dead
Suggested Readings

PART V. CULTURAL VALUES
12. VERNACULAR AND MONUMENTAL COMBINATIONS

Water System: Sri Lanka
Durbar Square, Patan, Nepal
Early Historic Period (Licchavi Dynasty 300-879)
Transitional Period (879-1200) and Malla Period (1200-1482)
Independent Patan
The Seventeenth-Century Builder-Kings
The Eighteenth Century
Suggested Readings

13. SYMBOLISM AND ORNAMENTATION

Symbolic Gardens
Chinese Gardens
Calligraphy as Structural Ornamentation: Islamic Architecture
Other Forms of Structural Ornamentation
Painted Walls: The Ndebele of South Africa
Suggested Readings

14. ARCHITECTURE AND SOCIAL RELATIONS

Blank Walls for Privacy: Islamic and Chinese Neighborhoods
Overt Expressions of Status
Acoma Pueblo: United States
Great Plains Tipis: United States
Royal Buildings: Tikal, Guatemala
Suggested Readings

15. THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE

Theoretical Differences
Being and Nonbeing in Chinese Architecture
Anthropomorphic Architecture in West Africa
Writing Architectural History
Class, Gender, and Ethnicity
Case Study: Maya Historiography
Suggested Readings

16. ARCHITECTURAL DECISION-MAKING

Adaptation
Symbols and Concepts--A Review
Dome of Stone in Islamic Architecture
Use and Reuse of Architectural Forms
Porticoes of the Old and New Worlds--Traditional?
Stupas Become Pagodas
Originality: The Turkish Architect Sinan
Shezade (also Sehzade) Cami (1543-48), Istanbul
Suleymaniye (1550-57), Istanbul
Selimiye Cami (1569-75), Edirne
Suggested Readings

17. THE ECONOMICS OF BUILDING

Durabitlity: Rebuilding at the Ise Shrine, Japan
Construction Costs
Economics of Contruction
Modern Research on Costs
Analogies from Ancient Construction
Describing Costs of Taj Mahal Construction
New Analysis of Costs: Energetics in the Yucatan
Suggested Readings

Conclusion
Appendix I Maps of Major Areas of the World
Africa
North American
Central and northwest South America
Asia
Oceania
Expansion of Buddhism
Expansion of Islam
Appendix II Tables of Materials, for Wall Building, for Roofing
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
Credits
Index