A covered bridge is a wood truss bridge with a roof, deck, and siding, creating an almost complete shell on most covered Bridges. The purpose of the mulch is to protect the timber structural members from the weather. Due to the effects of rain and sun, a wooden bridge without a lid usually lasts only 20 years, but a covered bridge can last more than 100 years. Once common, only about one in 10 survived the 20th century. The relatively small number of Bridges that survive is due to the high cost of deliberate replacement, neglect, and repair (Ross, 2012).
This essay will compare and contrast the similarities and differences between Wenxing Bridge and the Kapellbrücke, as well as the vernacular architecture. It is important to discuss this question, due to which covered bridge is not just the meaning of the name, there is a lot of worth discussing behind it, by comparing the two Bridges, we can get a deep understanding into the covered wooden bridge, explore the vernacular architecture as well. This essay will compare and contrast two bridges in terms of history, location and characteristics.
The Covered Bridge has a long history. A comparison of Wenxing Bridge and the Kapellbrücke in terms of history. Wenxing Bridge was built in the seventh year of Xianfeng and rebuilt in the 19th year of the Republic of China. In 2016, Wenxing Bridge was destroyed by typhoon flooding. Wenxing Bridge is one of the most famous covered Bridges in Taishun. In China, covered Bridges are called Langqiao, including Taishun Covered Bridges, Huizhou covered Bridges, Shouning covered Bridges, and so on. In the history of Taishun, villages were scattered, and transportation was remote. People walk more than ten miles without seeing any human habitation. According to the "traffic planning" of Taishun ancestors, a wind and rain pavilion should be built on the side of the road separated by a certain distance. The eaves built on the bridge can not only protect the timber bridge from sunlight and rain but also play the role of a storm pavilion. Similarly, the Kapellbrücke has a similar history to the Wenxing Bridge, which has been built, rebuilt, and destroyed. Kapellbrücke was built in 1365 as part of the Fortifications of Lucerne. However, on August 18, 1993, the Kapellbrücke almost burned down, destroying two-thirds of its paintings. The bridge was rebuilt shortly thereafter and reopened to the public again on 14 April 1994. The Kapellbrücke is the oldest wooden bridge in Europe and the oldest surviving truss bridge in the world (Lay, 1999). The Kapellbrücke is called the "Chapel Bridge" because it ends at another lucerne landmark, the Jesuit Church. The cathedral, with its two green onion spires, is Switzerland's first large Baroque church with an ornate interior, built in the 17th century. Also known as the "Water Tower Flower Bridge", the 200-meter-long wooden bridge is not a straight line, but two small bends. One-third of the way across the bridge, there is an octagonal water tower. Through the comparison and contrast of the two Bridges, it can be found that vernacular architecture usually meets the immediate needs of the local area. Limited by materials available in a particular area and reflect local traditions and cultural customs.
As the name suggests, the bridge is built over the river, but the surrounding environment is different. A comparison of Wenxing Bridge and the Kapellbrücke in terms of location. Wenxing Bridge is located in Kengbian Village, Taishun County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, facing the Yuxi River. Wenxing Bridge is surrounded by many farmers, more local flavor. Taishun county has more than 900 covered Bridges, many of them hundreds of years old, and a museum of covered Bridges, the Wenxing Bridge being the most famous. First of all, trusses make the whole structure stronger, allowing the architect to build longer bridges. When an architect adds mulch, it strengthens the trusses, it strengthens the bridge. That's why there are nearly a thousand covered Bridges in Taishun. In contrast, the Kapellbrücke spans the Reussth river in Lucerne, central Switzerland, in the middle of a town full of town culture. Covered Bridges are rare here. The entire bridge is built of wood. These buildings are relics of antiquity and part of the social, cultural, and engineering heritage that deserves to be preserved. Many aspects of vernacular architecture are controlled by the local environment and the building materials it can provide. For example, areas rich in trees will develop wooden dialects, while areas without a lot of wood may use mud or stone. Almost as the name suggests, dialects are sustainable and do not deplete local resources. If it's not sustainable, it doesn't fit the local context, and it can't be a dialect.
Different regions must have their cultural characteristics that influence architecture. A comparison of Wenxing Bridge and the Kapellbrücke in terms of characteristics. The characteristics of Wenxing Bridge are unique. Corridor Bridges are mostly symmetrical, which means horizontal in the middle, while Wenxing Bridge is inclined in the middle. Therefore, it is known as the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" on the covered bridge, making it one of the strangest covered Bridges in Taishun. China's traditional building materials are wood and brick materials, which have thousands of years of development. Therefore, Wenxing Bridge is also made of wood, without too much decoration. The basic combination unit is six rods, four in the longitudinal direction and two in the horizontal direction, with a "well" shape in the plane. Using the friction generated by compression, the more pressure between the members of the tighter. This structure, without riveting, only with the same specifications of the rod, does not press interspersed, lap. Wood also has its advantages and disadvantages. Wood is lighter than stone and cheaper than steel, but still strong. However, wood also deteriorates more quickly. The surface of the Wenxing Bridge is red, first because red paint is cheap. Second, farmers need a way to protect their buildings. To solve this problem, they mixed three things they had a lot of -- skim milk, lime, and rust (iron oxide). This mixture forms a red paint-like coating that protects the wood (Bustamante Engineer Staff, 2020). Wenxing Bridge provides shelter from the sun and rain for people to have a rest, communicate, gather, and look at the scenery. Some covered Bridges also have rooms for people to live temporarily. There are many folk Bridges in Taishun with various types of structures. Recently Taishun corridor bridge slowly developed into a tourist attraction. Similarities, the Kapellbrücke and Wenxing Bridge have the same roof. It is the oldest existing truss bridge in the world, consisting of medium span trusses and triangular trusses supported by high pile supports; Therefore, it may be the evolution of the pillar bridge. The Kapellbrücke is unique in its painted internal triangular frame. No other wooden footbridge in Europe has this feature. Most of the panels used to house the paintings are made of spruce wood, with only a few made of sub-numbing and maple. Connected with the Kapellbrücke the water tower, rebellious but handsome, was built in front of the church, octagonal in shape, and very distinctive. It serves a variety of purposes, lookout posts, file depositories, safe havens, prisons, and so on. Today, along with the water tower, the Kapellbrücke is a landmark in the town and is held in equal esteem by tourists and residents alike. It can be seen that the use of traditional materials is beneficial for the region to find its characteristics and stimulate the sense of national identity. On the one hand, the use of local materials reduces the cost of building construction to a large extent, and on the other hand, it also protects the traditional folk culture, which is worth learning by every architect. Culture also has a strong influence on the appearance of vernacular architecture, as occupants often decorate buildings according to local customs and beliefs (Reline, 1953). Covered Bridges are found all over the world. There are similarities and differences between them, and each building is influenced by the local culture and carries the subjective ideas of the architect. The concept of indigenous includes environmental protection, cultural innovation and continuity, regionalism and sense of place, and other factors that affect the development of a region and the development of architecture. It is an architect's bounden duty to consider these factors comprehensively. we call buildings "vernacular" because they embody values alien to those cherished in the academy. When we called buildings "folk," the implication was that they countered in commonness and tradition the pretense and progress that dominate simple academic schemes. Folk buildings contained a different virtue. The study of vernacular architecture, through its urge toward the comprehensive, accommodates cultural diversity. It welcomes the neglected into the study to acknowledge the reality of difference and conflict (Glassie, 2001).
Since the 20th century, China has been building the formation mechanism, and is the status quo can be called the amazed. Globalization led to the rapid development of a large number of foreign construction cultural "invasion" This much-needed update of the regional architecture, modern architecture is colonial history and culture of cities precipitation, but also the city to continue to develop the source material and nutrients. We must be aware that modernization does not mean "Westernization", but "Westernization" is today the only way to national development, but also from the "Westernization" of the necessary precondition. The strong cultural face of foreign invasion, we cannot give up self to the overall receiver, we cannot take a narrow nationalist stubbornly resisted. We need to traditional heritage, but also for the contemporary, no matter how foreign and the local community cannot be neglected, they always exist, the development of fusion. Cultural integration in the global context, it is necessary to extend the geographical and local cultural heritage, but also for create a new regional contemporary (Junyan, 2008).
Reference
Bustamante Engineer Staff. (Jun 12, 2020). Why are Covered Bridges Covered? ‘Why Paint a Bridge Red Like a Barn?’.
Glassie, H. (2001). Vernacular Architecture. pp. 20.
Junyan, D. (2008). Local Architecture and the Impact of Foreign Culture.
Lay, M. G. (1999). Ways of the World: A History of the World's Roads and of the Vehicles That Used Them. Rutgers University Press. pp. 266.
Reline, A. (1953). Die Stadt Luzern, Teil 1 (in German).
Ross, Robert J.; et al. (August 2012).Use of Laser Scanning Technology to Obtain As-Built Records of Historic Covered Bridges. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Research Paper FPL-RP-669. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
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