Axial inversion: The transformaton of the spatial structure and tis ritual axis in Hong Kong's walled villages 香港新界圍村的空間結構及其祠廟軸線的轉化
Authors
Citation
Hong Kong Papers in Design and Development, v.1, 1998, pp. 26-33
Abstract
The walled villages and walled houses found in the New Territories of Hong Kong have distinctive features that differentiate them from similar building forms in China. This paper analyzes the basic elements and compositional principles shared by both and discusses the transformation of the spatial structure from the walled villages of the early Qing dynasty to walled houses of the late Qing. More importantly, it identifies a spatial form rarely found in traditional Chinese architecture: a central axis of religious significance converted from the negative space of the alleyway. Based on the phenomenon of the transformation of the negative space at the end of the central axis into a positive space, this paper proposes a possible explanation for the evolution from walled villages to walled houses, which may serve as a basis for further study on this subject.
(1) Introduction
(2) Background
(3) The development of settlement form
(a) Walled villages in the early Qing dynasty
(b) Walled houses after the mid-Qing period
(4) The spatial structure and transformation of walled villages and walled houses
(a) Perimeter walls with artillery towers
(b) Axial/centripetal living units
(c) An ancestral temple located at the end of the central axis
(d) A decrease in defense features
(e) An improvement in living conditions and facilities
(f) A decrease in the formality and symmetry of the layout
(g) The ancestral hall at the end of the central axis was transformed from one 'kaijian' into multiple 'kaijian'
(5) The conversion of negative into positive space along the central axis
(6) Possible hypotheses for the evolution from walled villages to walled houses
(a) The origin of the prototype for walled villages
(b) The origin of the prototype for walled-houses
Description
Building Name: Walled villages
Subject
Type
Article
Format
Date
1998
Language
en