Brief,History,Wooden,Architect DIY A Brief History of Wooden Architecture
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Because of natural humaninquisitiveness, we have always sought to demand the most from ourenvironment. Our architecture tends to reflect this in many ways. Ifone were to look at any culture they would notice a common theme:that humans in every culture tries its hardest to create strongliving spaces that are weather resistant and keep to stabletemperatures. Trees are a decent material for this, but not everyculture has been able to use wood in architecture due to ecologicalnecessities. For example, in Egypt and the Middle East, civilizationbegan and trees are scarce, people have traditionally resorted tobuilding structures out of mud-bricks, a combination of straw (as abinding material) and clay from riverbanks.Japanese architecture is probably theexact opposite. Because of a relative lack of materials that aren'ttrees, the Japanese have historically made extensive use of wood inarchitecture. Today, over 85% of their archipelago is covered withforest, but wood has ceased to be used as a major architectural toolbecause imports have allowed other material like metal and brick tobe used. Nevertheless, Japan has historically made use of wood tobuild massive temple complexes such as those seen in Kyoto. One ofthe most famous of these is Kyumizu-Dera, which means clear waterdue to the waterfall that runs through the complex. This massivetemple was built in the 17th century on a mountainoverlooking Kyoto by Tokugawa Iemitsu, the shogun at the time. It wasbuilt without using a single nail. That is, the structure is madeentirely of wood.The Kizhi Churchesof Karelia are similarly constructed buildings made by a differentpeople in a different part of the world in a different architecturalstyle. They are a set of Russian Orthodox churches near the Finnishborder, but like Kiyumizu-Dera and other Japanese structures, theywere built entirely out of wood without a single nail. Thesestructures are quintessentially Russian, and they copiously featurethe domes that are so quintessentially Eastern. These churches arerenowned across Russia for their beauty specifically because they aremade of wood. The substance may be more perishable then othermaterials, but it goes to show that there will always be a place forwood in architecture.Despite the factthat large civilizations are best known for their edifices, manyhunter-gathering societies are also known for their use of wood inarchitecture. One of the examples best known to residents of theUnited States are the Iroquois, who lived in Northern New York andSouthern Canada. These people built large communal structurescommonly known as long houses in English. These massive structureswere characteristic of many of the Native American groups that livedin what would become the United States. The structures generallyserved to house massive family groups. The Iroquois recognized theimportance of such structures by naming themselves after them. Theirname for themselves was Haudenosaunee or people of the longhouse. While manycultures have used wood in architecture, the general trend is toreplace it with less perishable materials while still employing itfor for luxury because of its great appearance. Today wood isgenerally desired as a floor surface in middle and upper class homesbecause of its greater quality compared to wall-to-wall carpeting.
Brief,History,Wooden,Architect