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 Euro-American 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.

Table of Contents:
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 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 Water Municipal Water in Kathmandu, Nepal Irrigation Systems in Peru River Training in China Shelter Movalbe Dwellings Stationary Dwellings Underground 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 Construction 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

About the Author :
Dora P. Crouch is Professor Emeritus at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. June G. Johnson is Lecturer in the Department of Agriculture at El Camino Community College.

Review :
"An important book, and one which needed to be written."--Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review "The first comprehensive global architectural history text. The writing is clear and the illustrations are excellent. It's the text I've been waiting for!"--Sonia Sorrell, Pepperdine University "A great resource, informative and timely."--John Lucchesi, College of San Mateo "An excellent compact expansion to the traditional western world survey."--Thomas N. Howe, Southwestern University "An interesting and enlightened study that provides the reader with the importance of architecture beyond traditional Greco-Roman European model. The authors help to expand the definition of architecture beyond buildings."--Ellis L. Antunez, Truckee Meadows Community College