THE IMPACT OF ARCHITECTURAL TECHNOLOGY ON

ARCHITECTURAL ART THROUGH DETAIL DESIGN

— WITH SHANGHAI CITY AFTER THE CHINESE ECONOMIC REFORM

AS EXAMPLE

A DARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF ARCHITECTURE

OCTOBER 2016

By

YINAN HOU

DArch Committee:

PU MIAO
JUAN CHEN
WILLIAN CHAPMAN

Keywords: architectural technology, architectural art, detail

design
 Table of contents

1. Introduction............................................................................................. 1

1.1 Objectives ..................................................................................... 1

1.2 Spatial and Temporal Scope of the Research ............................... 7

1.2.1 Temporal Scope ................................................................. 8

1.2.2 Spatial Scope ................................................................... 10

1.3 Concept analysis ......................................................................... 13

1.3.1 Architectural detail .......................................................... 13

1.3.2 Architectural technology ................................................. 15

1.4 Research explanation .................................................................. 17

2. The Restriction of Architectural Technology to Rationalism ............... 19

2.1 Impact of architectural technology on material authenticity ...... 20

2.1.1 Forbidding Using Solid Clay Brick ................................. 22

2.1.2 Disappearance of brick decorations on parapets ............. 34

2.2 Impact of architectural technology on structure logicality......... 39

2.2.1 Forbidding Using Brick Arch Lintel ............................... 42

2.2.2 The disappearance of the brick vault ............................... 46

3. The Influence of Energy Efficiency Design Standard on Architectural

Surface Design .......................................................................................... 51

3.1 The development history of Chinese Energy Efficiency Design

I
 Standard of buildings ........................................................................ 51

3.2 Effect of energy efficiency design standards .............................. 57

3.3 Effect of Building Shape Coefficient ......................................... 65

3.4 Architectural “Surface-tendency” Design .................................. 68

4. Impetus of Architectural Technology on Minimalist Architecture....... 74

4.1 Vanishing details ......................................................................... 75

4.1.1 Plinth Wall ....................................................................... 76

4.1.2 “Tiao Mei Zhuan” ............................................................ 78

4.2 Pursuit of Purity .......................................................................... 79

4.2.1 Semi-tempered Glass ....................................................... 80

4.2.2 Coated Glass .................................................................... 89

5. Summary ............................................................................................... 96

II
 List of Figures

Figure 1-1 The comparison of Lujiazui, Shanghai in 1990 and in 2015

.......................................................................................................13

Figure 2-1 GRC prefabricated column ..................................................24

Figure 2-2 Wood-like bracket set made by brick ..................................25

Figure 2-3 Brick orientation ..................................................................27

Figure 2-4 Bond patterns .......................................................................27

Figure 2-5 Variety of brick color and texture ........................................29

Figure 2-6 “Rouge brick” ......................................................................29

Figure 2-7 Construction of thin brick tiles detail ..................................36

Figure 2-8 Ruijin Hotel..........................................................................37

Figure 2-9 Broadway Mansions ............................................................37

Figure 2-10 Antique imitation tiles........................................................38

Figure 2-11 Brick tiles at the corner ......................................................38

Figure 2-12 Thin brick tiles falling off ..................................................40

Figure 2-13 Faux-brick paint .................................................................41

Figure 2-14 Thin brick tile's fault ..........................................................43

Figure 2-15 Brick mold .........................................................................46

Figure 2-16 First National Congress of the Communist Party of China

memorial ........................................................................................47

III
Figure 2-17 Wu Cangshuo Memorial Hall ............................................47

Figure 2-18 Facing masonry ..................................................................48

Figure 2-19 North Building in Tongji University..................................48

Figure 2-20 The crack in parapet ...........................................................49

Figure 2-21 Small Sports Palace, Rome ................................................55

Figure 2-22 Y-shaped strut.....................................................................56

Figure 2-23 Flat arch lintels...................................................................59

Figure 2-24 Relieving arch lintels .........................................................59

Figure 2-25 The 1977 edition of “Earthquake Intensity Zoning Map of

China” ............................................................................................61

Figure 2-26 The 1990 edition of “Earthquake Intensity Zoning Map of

China” ............................................................................................62

Figure 2-27 Brick barrel vault ...............................................................65

Figure 2-28 Brick dome .........................................................................65

Figure 2-29 Tongji gymnasium .............................................................66

Figure 2-30 Brick vault is often closer to semicircle or hemisphere ....68

Figure 2-31 The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, designed by

Louis I. Kahn .................................................................................69

Figure 3-1 The amount of building energy consumption and its

proportion in total social energy consumption in China by year ..71

Figure 3-2 Insulation material needs to have enough thickness to play the
IV
 role .................................................................................................81

Figure 3-3 The window casing with the insulation ...............................82

Figure 3-4 EPS insulation boards ..........................................................84

Figure 3-5 EPS decoration member was damaged ................................85

Figure 3-6 GRC decorative components ...............................................88

Figure 3-7 The surface architecture in Shanghai World Expo 2010 .....96

Figure 4-1 The brick building with plinth wall ...................................102

Figure 4-2 “Tiao Mei Zhuan” ..............................................................104

Figure 4-3 The “Tiao Mei Zhuan” as an architectural detail...............104

Figure 4-4 The groove to fix the waterproofing membrane ................106

Figure 4-5 The metal plate to fix the waterproofing membrane .........106

Figure 4-6 The Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton ................109

Figure 4-7 Apple Store Glass Cube, New York City ...........................109

Figure 4-8 The broken tempered glass ................................................ 111

Figure 4-9 The broken semi-tempered glass ....................................... 111

Figure 4-10 The reflected image in tempered glass ............................ 113

Figure 4-11 The Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois ............................121

Figure 4-12 John Hancock Tower, Boston ..........................................124

Figure 4-13 The coated glass curtain wall ...........................................127

NOTE: Unless otherwise specified, all figures are from Google Images

(https://images.google.com/) or Baidu Images (http://image.baidu.com/).

V
 List of Tables

Table 3-1 The limits of the thermal performance parameters of building

envelope in Severe Cold Zone (A) ................................................75

Table 3-2 The limit value of heat transfer coefficient (K) and the heat

inertia index (D) of each part of building envelope ......................89

VI
 Abstract

Architecture is not only an art, but also a technology. Architectural technology

involves many aspects of building construction such as construction crafts,

structural design and materials applications. Since the Chinese economic

reform, new materials, technique, structure and standards are continuously

emerging within China, and undoubtedly have a significant impact on the

development of architecture we see today. These impacts not only affect the

construction process but, also subtly influence architecture as an art,

specifically in detail design. As the relationship between architectural art and

technology, the details are often the first to be shaped by the changes in

architectural technology.

Accordingly, this dissertation will introduce the impact of architectural

technology on detail design:

First, the changes of architectural technology affecting traditional materials

and craft indeed creates restriction on architectural detail in terms of material

authenticity and structure logicality. This results in the rationalism that

architects gradually feel a lack of control in detail design. Secondly, although

the development of architectural technology has brought forth new ways to

demonstrate architecture as an art, architectural detail design tends to be more

VII
homogeneous as the result of stricter laws and regulations, higher labor cost,

and construction industrialization to name a few. The improvement of

architectural technology has negatively affected the diversity of detail in

architecture to certain degrees. Meantime, the facades of buildings tend to be

flat as a result of the enactment of building energy-saving regulations. Thus,

the surface design is gradually prevailing. Finally, the development of

architectural technology creates an increasing number of traditional details

with practical functions that are no longer needed. This causes there to be

gradually less expression of detail on buildings, and encourages a minimalist

design that fits the trend of homogenization and surface design in architecture.

Accordingly, three conclusions below of this dissertation are drawn:

1. Based on rationalism, there is less opportunity for architectural detail

design, due to restrictions that arise in the pursuit of architectural

authenticity.

2. Contemporary architects are paying more attention to the aesthetic

expression of surface design. The link between the building’s internal

construction and external form is being disrupted.

3. Surface design and minimalism will become more popular building styles.

VIII
 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Objectives

In the 'Seven Arts', which indicates the traditional subdivision of the Arts that

is universally acknowledged, architecture is included. However, architecture

is very different from the other types of art. For instance, the creator of the

artwork such as canvas to painting, scenery or costumes to drama is somewhat,

if not completely, a decisive influence on the expression. However, for

architecture, the situation becomes different. In architecture, the construction

of the carrier is what the artwork wants to present. In other terms, the material

and technology used in buildings construction have a decisive significance for

architecture. Kenneth Frampton once wrote, “the built is first and foremost a

construction and only later an abstract discourse based on surface, volume,

and plan.”1

In the document, Aesthetics and Technology in Building, an Italian engineer

and architect, Pier Luigi Nervi, explains that all the world-famous, excellent

architecture buildings, in which architectural technology and art are perfectly

1 Kenneth Frampton, Studies in Tectonic Culture: The Poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth

Century Architecture (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1995), 2.

1
combined, are a form of "correct building", and they all have the

characteristics of “correctness”. Nervi defines correctness as, “good

technology”, or the rational use of the architectural technology, as the

foundation for the building to achieve the desired artistic effect. For example,

a gothic church's internal space often gives people a towering and magnificent

feeling, however, this feeling doesn't appear out of thin air. Its appearance is

often accompanied by the emergence of the user's awareness of the building

material - in this case, stone is fully utilized to ensure the maximum stability

of the building. Since stone is a kind of building material that people often

come into contact with, this awareness is often subconscious, however, can

generate the sense of security. Under the premise of this sense of security,

people can further enjoy the beauty from the building. Accordingly, the author

argues that the importance in “building correctly” should “be understood in

relation to the technical process and materials used in a given time and

place.”1 For further understanding, utilizing reasonable technology is a base

of the “correct building”.

However, reasonable technology cannot be the only factor regarded as to how

the outstanding buildings in history became so. In fact, from a long historical

1 Pier Luigi Nervi, Aesthetics and Technology in Building (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1965), 8.

2
perspective, compared with architectural style, structural technology

developed slower. The impressions of outstanding buildings in different

historical periods, even in the same period, can be hugely different. The

significance of this is that in addition to the factor of architectural technology,

architectural art, which depends more on the subjective factors such as the

ability, experience and aesthetic standard of the architect, plays an important

role in what Pier Luigi Nervi described as, “correctness”. For example, in the

ancient Greek temple, its beam-column structure is the result of a simple

mechanical principle, far from scientific and economic. Based on these

primitive construction techniques, the ancient craftsmen devoted their passion

for beauty on the pediment, frieze, chapiter, and plinth to names a few, which

allowed primitive architectural technology show endless aesthetics. Therefore,

what Nervi called “building correctly” is composed of the “correct”

architectural technology and art, which is created by the architect relying on

his own superb artistic accomplishments. In short, in one building,

architectural technology and architectural art can be interdependent,

complementary and inseparable to each other.

However, is the relationship between architectural technology and art

established only at the level of an entire building? Nervi, who believed that

technology is the base of architecture, claims that “only for very small
3
dimensions does one have practically complete freedom.”1 If there are any

so-called restrictions, it is nothing but out of consideration for the aesthetics.

He wrote, “it would be ridiculous, for instance, to worry about shaping a

window frame according to static concept.”2 Nervi further conveys the point

that architectural technology need only be correct on the building structure

level or higher. On the lower level, such as architectural detail, architects are

free to design. Unfortunately, plenty people agree with this view. For example,

in many architectural books involving the relationship between architectural

technology and art, architectural technology mentioned actually refers only to

structure technique. It seems to also be a common problem among many

junior architects. When doing the design, these architects always pay much

attention to the structural technology, which relates to the shape of the

building. But for the details, they are only concerned with aesthetic factors,

not technical ones. Therefore, the question is posed, is the reality really what

Nervi said, that architects can freely design architectural details without

consideration of architectural technology?

“What is ‘architectural details design’? In my opinion, it is the operation of

1 Nervi, Aesthetics and Technology in Building, 187.

2 Ibid.

4
morphology and technology by the practice of craft in the construction

process.”1 As Professor Mo Tianwei at Tongji University in China wrote, he

argues that architectural detail is partly derived from architectural technology.

In the article, Studies in Tectonic Culture: The Poetics of Construction in

Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Architecture, Kenneth Frampton wrote:

“Detailing should never be regarded as an insignificant technical means by

which the work happens to be realized. The full tectonic potential of any

building stems from its capacity to articulate both the poetic and the cognitive

aspects of its substance.”2 This means that the tectonic, or to say the “correct”

architectural technology should be the predominate formation of architectural

details. Thus, the design of architectural details has to be restricted by

architectural technology. The evolution of windows is a clear example. In

early medieval European castles, partly because glass had been rarely used for

windows and partly because the weight of the building was entirely held by

the stone walls, window openings were rather narrow to avoid reduction in

load-bearing capacity of walls and to prevent rainwater from falling into

rooms. Along with the advent of the glass window, the interior space of the

1 Chen Juan 陈镌, Jianzhu Xibu Sheji 建筑细部设计 [Architectural Detail Design] (Shanghai: Tongji University

Press, 2008), ii.

2 Frampton, Studies in Tectonic Culture: The Poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century

Architecture, 26.

5
building was entirely closed without a reduction in natural lighting. Thereafter,

given technological advancement, the size of the glass window gradually

became larger. Up to modern times, the appearance of the reinforced concrete

frame structure system makes windows in replacement of walls possible. Even

with curtain wall technology, windows can replace walls and provide users

with a maximum outdoor view. As described above, there is no detail that

could not be restricted by architectural technology. Architectural technology

is like a canvas, in that whatever its size, the architects have to paint “details”

on this canvas without going beyond the edge. Therefore, it may not be as

Nervi wrote in that except the consideration for the aesthetics, the architects

“have practically complete freedom” to design architectural details.

Architectural details are passively restricted by technology, but can actively

express style. In fact, detail in architecture is one of the main sources of

architectural style. For instance, when it comes to classical style, what we

often think of is a typical classical detail such as, a chapiter, colonnade, and

pediment. When it comes to Chinese traditional style, we may think of a

bracket, big roof, lattice window and so on. Even today under the rule of

modernist architecture, which follows Adolf Loos’ creed, that “ornament is a

crime,” the content of many books of Architectural history is mainly about

details. Actually, architectural style originated in the design details. Every

6
building component was initially a response to a functional requirement. Then,

because of the necessity for beauty, people continued to modify this

component, until it was slowly changed from its original appearance. When

these components with new appearances come together, a new architectural

style was created. Tadao Ando once wrote, “Thus to me, the detail is an

element which achieves the physical composition of the architecture, but at

the same time, it is a generator of an image of architecture.” 1 Thus,

architectural detail embodies a style in architecture, and is where the

expression of architectural art was formed.

If details in architecture are restricted by architectural technology, and are the

main sources of architectural art, it can be concluded that architectural

technology is bound to have an impact on architectural art through the design

details. This is a theoretical conclusion, which is seldom mentioned in practice.

Because the details are rarely the entry point for a building design, technology

is often seen as a precondition for which detail in design has to comply with.

Hence this dissertation aims to concretely study how architectural technology

impacts detail design, and how this impact is embodied in architectural art.

1 Kenneth Frampton, Modern Architecture: A Critical History, 3th ed. (New York: Thames and Hudson), 325.

7
1.2 Spatial and Temporal Scope of the Research

In the history of building by humans, in different periods and regions

architectural technology has undergone numerous changes. Each adaptation

had different effects on the evolution of architectural art. Due to the length

limitation, the research of this doctoral dissertation analysis for history of the

change of architectural technology is based on one period and one location.

The author's study focus on the city of Shanghai after the Chinese economic

reform.

1.2.1 Temporal Scope

Before the Chinese economic reform1, due to the long-term domestic unrest

and the blockade of foreign technology, the development of architectural

technology in China had appeared to be stopped, or maintained at a relatively

backward state. In the article, The significant development of China's building

construction technology in 60 Years since the Foundation of People's

Republic of China, the author Yang Sixin wrote: “From the beginning of the

1 The Chinese Economic Reform refers to the program of economic reforms termed "Socialism with Chinese

characteristics" in the People's Republic of China (PRC) that was started in December 1978 by reformists within the

Communist Party of China, led by Deng Xiaoping. (Source: “Chinese Economic Reform,” Wikipedia,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_economic_reform.)

8
1950s until the mid-1970s, except in the ‘ten big constructions’ for the 10th

National Day celebration, the pace of development of the construction

industry in our country was not ideal, especially during the 1960s to the

1970s.” He recalled that before the Chinese economic reform, there was a

usual, relatively “primitive” scene on the construction sites. Materials

handling was still managed by trolley, sometimes even by the shoulder pole.

The construction was so backward, the architectural technology was difficult

to develop as a matter of course. Take glass clad technology as an example,

in 1910 the glass curtain wall was already being used in the Bauhaus building

designed by Walter Gropius. In 1958, the outer envelope of the Seagram

Building was totally composed of glass curtain walls. However, in China the

earliest appearance of glass clad technology was in the Canton Trade Fair

complex which is completed in 1981, and the glass curtain wall was not used

until the Great wall Sheraton Beijing Hotel completed in 1984.

Since the Chinese economic reform, China’s construction industry has

developed rapidly. In 2014, China’s total amount of construction area was

10.46 billion square meters, accounting for more than half of the world’s total

building area. The amount of cement used in one year’s time in China, is three

times more than that in the United States. The rapid development of the

construction industry will inevitably promote the progress of architectural

9
technology. Today, China has become a test field of advanced construction

technology. For example, in China’s National Swimming Center, the design

of the outer walls is based on the Weaire–Phelan structure, which as an

innovative structural form that was used for the first time in the world. Its

exterior cladding made of 4,000 ETFE bubbles is the world’s largest and most

complicated membrane system in one single building project. Without

question, China remains in a leading position in architectural technology.

After the Chinese economic reform, since the late 1980s, China’s architectural

technology experienced a rapid development process from the primitive, to

the advanced. The period from the Chinese economic reform until today, will

be used as the temporal scope of this study.

1.2.2 Spatial Scope

Before the port opening in 1843, Shanghai was a small town near the Huangpu

River. Due to its convenient water transport location, its economy became

well developed, and therefore the construction activities were more far more

active than in surrounding provinces or cities. After 1842, the year of the

Shanghai port-opening, Britain, the United States and France established

concessions in the north of Shanghai, respectively. After that, a large number

of Western-style buildings were built in these concessions, and introduced

10
western architectural technology to China. For example, the western-style red

brick and masonry-timber structures were built in Shanghai, whereas the

traditional Chinese brick and timber beam-column structure was the local

style of building. Because of jurisdiction, western colonists also established

building regulations in their respective concessions. At first, most of these

building regulations were modeled after the relevant codes promulgated and

implemented in Europe. According to the implementation over the years and

differences between Chinese and Western lifestyles, as well as architectural

styles, these regulations were revised many times to adapted to the local

elements in Shanghai. In some cases, the regulations were more reasonable

than the ones in Europe.

In the early period of the Republic of China, because of the First World War,

China's national capital industry developed rapidly. Shanghai soon became the

largest city in the Far East. The construction industry had unprecedented

prosperity and thus, the gap between Shanghai and the western developed

countries narrowed considerably in terms of architectural technology. As for

the Broadway Mansions and Park Hotel, which were both built in 1934, “their

completion marks that Shanghai’s modern architectural structure had reached

11
the highest level of the Far East at that time.”1 From 1929 to 1938, thirty-one

high-rise buildings with more than ten floors were built. By comparison, the

first high-rise building built in Beijing in 1951, the Peace Hotel, had only eight

floors.

It can be said that due to the introduction of advanced western technology,

Shanghai has been a leader in the construction industry within China. In the

decades after the founding of the P.R. China, due to social unrest, Shanghai's

construction industry steadily slowed, “Municipal construction had lingered

at the stage like building new worker houses, replacing water pipe network,

etc.” 2 After the Chinese economic reform, the development of urban

construction in Shanghai began to restart. In 1992, the 14th National Congress

of the Communist Party of China was held. China proposed guidelines to,

“concentrate on the development and opening of the Pudong District of

Shanghai……build Shanghai into an international economic, financial and

trade center as soon as possible.” Since then, Shanghai's urban construction

has developed rapidly. The Pudong District has become one of the biggest

construction sites in China. Located in Pudong, Lujiazui financial trade zone

1 Wu Jiang 伍江, Shanghai bainian jianzhushi: 1840-1949 上海百年建筑史:1840-1949 [The Centennial

History of Architecture in Shanghai: 1840-1949] (Shanghai: Tongji University Press, 1997), 109.
2 “上海市,” Wikipedia, https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/上海市.

12
is only 1.7 square kilometers. However, in Lujiazui area, nearly fifty high-rise

buildings over 100 meters high were built in just twenty years (Figure 1-1). In

the center of Luijiazui there are three famous skyscrapers - Jinmao Tower,

Shanghai World Financial Center, and Shanghai Tower. Of this trio, each

building has qualified as the tallest building in China in succession. Moreover,

in the Shanghai Expo in 2010, Shanghai demonstrated many of the latest

architectural technologies to the world. The significant evolutions in building,

allowed Shanghai's architectural technology to undoubtly take the lead in

China.

Figure 1-1 The comparison of Lujiazui, Shanghai in 1990 and in 2015

13
Due to the research presented, it can be said that since the founding of the P.R.

China, the major period of introduction and development of new architectural

technology in China happen after the Chinese economic reform. Specifically,

from the early 1990s to now China's economic development experienced a

long period of rapid growth. The impact of architectural technology on the

architectural detail within China, is bound to be impacted significantly by this

era. Except during periods wars and the Cultural Revolution, Shanghai's

construction activity has been flourishing since the beginning of the modern

age. With an open city culture, Shanghai has become center stage of Chinese

architectural technology developments. Moreover, thanks to well-directed

preservation within the city, numerous old and new architectural technologies

are displayed simultaneously throughout Shanghai. As such, this city provides

sufficient elements of analysis to be used as an example for the research of

this dissertation. Due to the above reasoning, Shanghai and the period after

the Chinese economic reform will be the spatial and temporal scope of this

research.

14
1.3 Concept analysis

1.3.1 Architectural detail

In the context of art, detail is opposite to whole, however, in architecture, they

are hard to distinguish. There is no scale standard to define architectural detail,

which means that the one larger than a certain scale should be categorized as

architecture entirety, or details of smaller scale should be categorized as

architectural detail. For example, a window, the pane, the frame, and the size

and material are the architectural details of the window. As a whole however,

the facade of the building, the dimension or style of the windows, and the

other elements such as the parapet or the surface of the wall, relates to the

concept of architectural detail, but contributes more to the facade as a whole.

Furthermore, in a wider perspective, the facade, and structure system, interior

decoration and others alike are the building's details. Hence, architectural

detail is a very broad concept, and is almost all-encompassing. It doesn't make

sense to say that, "architectural details constitute the building.", because

architectural detail does not adequately equate to an entire building

component. Consequently, we need to determine the delimitation of

architectural detail at the beginning of the research.

In the book, Architectural Detail Design, the author Chen Juan points out that
15
in the context of architecture, the concept of architectural detail entails two

attributes; the low-level one is the physical attribute, such as material,

structure system and tectonic method. The high-level one is the aesthetic

attribute, such as style, color, texture. His implication is that architectural

detail needs to meet two kinds of requirements simultaneously - functional

and aesthetic. For example, the exterior brick wall is partially buried in the

earth to set on the brick foundation. Although the part buried in the soil still

belongs to the whole building wall, it is not referred to as architectural detail

being that its aesthetic property is not visible, and is more or less unnecessary.

Similarly, for the unified visual effect, some sun louvers are set on the

building's north facade to correspond with southern ones. Although the

louvers are physically the same, unlike the southern ones, the north sun

louvers have no functional properties. As a result of this, the sun louvers on

the north facade are not considered architectural detail either. On the contrary,

the sun louvers on the south facade have both properties of physical function

and aesthetic art, and therefore, are referred to as architectural detail.

Above all, in the context of architecture, architectural detail should refer to

the building's components which simultaneously have the attributes of

physical function and aesthetic art. This is the definition of architectural detail,

and also the selection criteria for the objects discussed in this dissertation.
16
1.3.2 Architectural technology

It is difficult to exactly define “architectural technology” as the result of its

broad meaning. In the book “Architecture ABC”, the definition given is, a

comprehensive technical means and design method which is related to

architectural lighting, heating, facilities and environment, and architectural

construction, building energy saving, earthquake prevention, etcetera. This

definition is summarized by the various fields of architectural expertise

involved and although many fields were mentioned in this definition, they are

still a part of the repertoire. Accordingly, modern architectural technology has

become a largely encompassing system, in which there are three main aspects:

material, design and construction techniques. These techniques are mutually

influenced and evolve respectively. From a construction point of view, the

content of architectural technology is divided into three areas: material

selection, structure design, and construction technique. Undoubtedly, science

and technology are the reasons for the development of these areas. The

development of one area will lead to the change in other areas, and ultimately

promote the evolution of architectural technology.

However, science and technology are not the only influences on the evolution
17
of architectural technology, as some changes are not necessarily progressive.

New laws and regulations, disappearance of traditional craft, economic

fluctuations, as well as trends and the other factors can cause hindering short-

term or long-term impacts. These impacts can be seen through the changes of

material, structure design and construction technique on architectural

technology. Arguably, material, structure, and technique are the outward

appearance of the architectural technology. In comparison, the advancements

in science and technology with the accompanying changes in laws and

regulations, traditional craft, and the economy are the intrinsic influences of

the evolution of architectural technology. As such, architectural technology

impacts architectural art, both on its outward appearance, as well as

intrinsically.

1.4 Research explanation

From a performance point of view, there are two modes of the impact caused

by the change of architectural technology on architectural art – “rapid” and

“gradual”. The cause of “rapid” impacts are often due to the enactment of new

laws and regulations. These laws and regulations are often widely and

immediately enforced after the promulgation, so their effect on the

architecture emerges quickly. While in most cases, the impact is a “gradual”

18
one, its effect gradually becomes more apparent. As mentioned above, the

intrinsic reasons of evolution in architectural technology are craft transition

and economic development. The popularity of new architectural technology

is often gradual and a long-term process. During this time, the old and new

architectural technologies are coexisting. Because of the inertia of the public's

aesthetic taste, though the new architectural technology has been applied, the

old architectural art will still be dominant for a certain period. For example,

Turbinenhalle der AEG in Berlin, designed by Peter Behrens and built in 1909,

is well known as the first real “modern architecture”. It was built with a steel

structure system, which was the most advanced architectural technology in

that time. The corners of the buildings facades were still designed as masonry

bearing walls, and do not perform the features of the new structure.

Undoubtedly, change in architectural technology will affect architectural art.

As discussed above, changes in architectural technology has influenced the

performance of architectural art to some extent. However, many of these

technologies are still not mainstream in the current construction market, and

their impact on architectural art are often misunderstood through what is

actually the architect's personal style. Nevertheless, these impact trends are

really essentially related to popularization. This dissertation will continue to

discuss research on how architectural technology impacts architectural art,

19
specifically in architectural detail design. It will also look at how these

impacts will lead and affect architectural art in the future.

20
 CHAPTER 2. The Restriction of Architectural Technology to

Rationalism

In the Chinese architecture textbook, “Foreign History of Modern

Architecture”, “rationalism” is regarded as an ideological design trend, which

was formed in an interwar period. Rationalism in architecture is described as

a derivative of modern architecture. However, according to architectural

philosophy, rationalism ideology has been present in the Western history of

architecture since classic architecture. More specifically, Classical rationalism

and Gothic rationalism, which were popular in Europe in the 19th century,

played a catalytic role in the birth of the "Modern architecture". In the book,

Changing Ideals in Modern Architecture, 1750-1950, Peter Collins considers

Rationalism “as the belief that architectural forms not only required rational

justification, but could only be so justified if they derived their laws from

science.” 1 Furthermore, he believes that “Rationalism is still, and must

always be, the backbone of any valid architectural theory,”2 because, as he

argues, “however deeply the alliance between architecture and sentiment may

be explored, between architecture and science must always be its ultimate

1 Collins, Changing Ideals in Modern Architecture, 198.

2 Ibid., 199.

21
basis of existence.”1 Peter Collins is essentially saying that Rationalism is the

pursuit of the science of architectural technology. The science of architectural

technology can be seen in the building's construction; the structure system is

in conformity with the mechanical logic, and the characteristic of the material

is authentically shown. In other words, the science of architectural technology

refers to the authenticity and logicality of the tectonic process. In the 19th

century, classic rationalism architects and gothic rationalism architects

debated over whether the flat arch is reasonable in structural terms. Moreover,

in his speech at the School of Fine Arts in Paris in 1853, Eugene Emmanuel

Viollet-le-Duc, a famous French architectural theoretician, said that applying

the architectural materials in accordance with their quality and characteristics

was one of his own principles of architectural art. This theory shows that

structure logicality and material authenticity are the two main aspects of

science in architectural technology, and are therefore two of the

manifestations of Rationalism within buildings. Thus, the changes of

architectural technology can undoubtedly have an effect on both the structure

and material, and by extension, make the impact on the performance of

Rationalism.

1 Collins, Changing Ideals in Modern Architecture, 199.

22
2.1 Impact of architectural technology on material authenticity

Material authenticity wasn't considered an issue of architectural ethics until

modern times. In the classical age, because of the limitations of craftsmanship

and technique, the masonry was the bearing material as well as the surface

material for one building. Thus material authenticity was essentially not a

matter. Since early modern times, due to the advances in science and

technology, as well as the popularization of industrialization, a large number

of new architectural materials emerged and were widely used. This greatly

enriched the architects' design choices. Nevertheless, the social mainstream

values tended to consist of a long-term acceptance period from the old

architectural form, which had been "classical", in a period of time where the

mainstream social aesthetics lagged behind the development stage of

architectural technology. Accordingly, there were the cases that architects

simulated the traditional architectural detail with the new material (Figure 2-1).

Therefore, material authenticity was gradually taken seriously. For example,

after the invention of the reinforced concrete, western rationalism scholars

strongly criticized construction made by a new materials with the classical

form, because the form was a stone masonry derivative. Those rationalism

scholars insisted that the form shall follow the material characteristics, and the

characteristics shall be expressed by the tectonic. With the help of the long-

23
term social development, lagged social aesthetics will catch up with the

material authenticity that the rationalists have consistently adhered to. But,

because the characteristics of traditional material aren't compatible with

higher standards brought by advancements, architectural technology

evolution may have a negative effect on the realization of material authenticity.

Figure 2-1 GRC prefabricated column

2.1.1 Forbidding Using Solid Clay Brick

Clay brick is an architectural material that has a long history in China.

Although traditional Chinese buildings were mainly built by timber, clay

bricks were widely used for city walls, houses, tombs and the other kinds of

construction. In ancient China, there were imitation wood components made

with bricks (Figure 2-2). After the Opium War of 1840, and since the

introduction of advanced machinery by the West, the industrialized

24
manufacturing of burnt clay bricks began in China. Until the use of new

masonry materials such as concrete blocks, and fly ash bricks, clay bricks,

especially solid clay bricks, was one of the main building materials in China.

Figure 2-2 Wood-like bracket set made by brick

The clay brick is an old architectural material that comes from nature. The

surface texture of this material will naturally give people a sense of intimacy

and warmth. Because of its natural attributes, the pristine beauty of this

material continues to become more impressionable as the years pass and the

wind and rain cause erosion. The "father" of modern Chinese architecture

Liang Sicheng, and his wife Lin Huiyin who is also a noted Chinese architect,

revealed the source of the brick’s timeless beauty in the article, 平郊建筑杂

录 (A miscellany of buildings in suburban Beijing). They wrote: “The little

bricks give the building the expression of the earth, the vicissitudes of the

history, the vitality of life and the warmth of humanity. This is unattainable for

25
 1
many modern technology and materials.” Therefore, although new

architectural materials emerge endlessly today, brick, especially simple brick,

is still a favorite with architects. Simple brick buildings often create

architectural beauty just by the brick bonds, without than any additional

adornment elements. For the architects that advocate rationalism, because the

surface texture is faithfully demonstrated in the brickwork, simple brick

building achieves a coherence of form and structure, and therefore achieves

“material authenticity”.

In general, one standard brick can be used for three different sizes on a surface

of a wall (Figure 2-3). Because of this, brick bond pattern is the main artistic

technique of brick walls. In ancient China, the conventional brick bond was

the running bond, and sometimes, the course and header bond. With the

introduction of modern western architecture technology and style, brick bonds,

such as English cross bond, Flemish Bond, became more commonly used in

China. The common brick bonds are presented below (Figure 2-4).

1 Liang, Sicheng 梁思成, and Lin Huiyin 林徽因, Pingjiao jianzhu zalu 平郊建筑杂录 [A Miscellany of

Buildings in Suburban Beijing], 佛教文化 [The Culture of Buddhism], 0(1).

26
 Figure 2-3 Brick orientation
Source: “Brickwork,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick, (June 12, 2015).

Figure 2-4 Bond patterns

Due to different production processes, clay bricks can present different surface
27
colors and textures (Figure 2-5). The most common classification, according

to cooling methods, is by the color, typically resulting in gray and red bricks.

The gray brick and the red brick have almost the same hardness and resistance,

however the gray brick is superior in the resistance of oxidation, hydration

and weathering. In China, the ancient architecture that has been preserved to

present day are almost all gray brick buildings. In the early modern era in

Shanghai, the buildings were mostly constructed of gray bricks. However, this

change when the influx of western colonizers began. Due to the British

colonists' love of British-style buildings, red brick became the building

material used in Shanghai during this time. Furthermore, because minerals

contained in the soil vary, the color of the brick in different regions is not same.

For instance, in the southeast part of China, because the soil is rich in iron, the

local sintered brick has the bright red appearance. It can also be seen with

black stripes on the surface as a result of the brick stacking method used in

the kiln, creating what is referred to as the unique "Rouge brick" (Figure 2-6).

28
Figure 2-5 Variety of brick color and texture

Figure 2-6 “Rouge brick”

29
There are various brick bond patterns, colors, and textures, and therefore even

if the size of the brick is uniform, each piece used in the building can show

unique artistic characteristics.

(1). Laws and regulations for banning solid clay bricks

Although being throughout Chinese history of architecture, using clay bricks

can cause the huge soil and energy wastes, which has received unprecedented

attention in modern society. As early as 1991, accelerating the innovation of

wall materials was proposed in the outline of China's Eighth Five-Year Plan.

In next year the Chinese government issued, “Circular on Accelerating the

Reform of Wall Materials and Promoting Energy-saving Buildings.” In this

circular it states, “At present, 95 percent of wall materials are solid clay bricks

in our country. Annual energy consumption of wall material production and

building heating is nearly 1.5 tons Tce (ton of standard coal equivalent), which

accounts for about 15% of the national total annual energy consumption.

Over the country all the brick-tile factories cover an area of about 4,500,000

acres, coal-based power enterprises emit more than 2 tons of fly ash and coal

gangue every year. This causes the problem that not only a lot amount of

30
arable land is occupied, but also the environment is polluted.”1 Thus, though

clay brick has been a well-liked wall material, restricting the use of clay brick,

especially solid clay brick, has become an imperative task for China's

construction industry.

In the document, “Circular on Several Opinions on Promoting Housing

Industry Modernization and Improving Housing Quality”, issued by the State

Council in 1999, the Chinese government put forward the ban on using clay

bricks for the first time. It was written that, “coastal cities and the other cities

with the scarcity of land resources shall prohibit the use of solid clay brick,

and limit the use of other clay products.”2 The following June, the National

Building Materials Bureau, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Agriculture

and Ministry of Land and Natural Resources jointly released the “Circular on

the Publication of the List of Large and Medium Sized Cities Designated to

Gradually Ban the Use of Solid Clay Brick in Designated Time.” This is also

commonly known as “1st city list of banning”. It required that by the end of

1 Guanyu Jiakuai Qiangti Cailiao Gexin He Tuiguang Jieneng Jianzhu Yijian De Tongzhi 关于加快墙体材料革

新和推广节能建筑意见的通知, The State Council The People’s Republic of China,

http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/xxgkzl.htm, (1992).
2 Guanyu Tuijin Zhuzhai Chanye Xiandaihua Tigao Zhuzhai Zhiliang Ruogan Yijian De Tongzhi 关于推进住宅

产业现代化提高住宅质量若干意见的通知, The State Council The People’s Republic of China,

http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/xxgkzl.htm, (1999).

31
June 2003, 160 large and medium cities, adjusted to 170 cities in 2001, shall

prohibit the use of solid clay bricks. Since then, China had formally taken

substantial steps in banning building with solid clay brick. Furthermore, in

2004, the five ministries of China have jointly issued, the “Circular on

Further Improving the Work of Banning Solid Clay Brick”. It further stated

that the ban on solid clay brick will gradually be extended to on the other clay

products, such as porous clay bricks and hollow clay bricks.

However, compared with new masonry materials, the clay brick still has better

performance in fire and moisture proofing, as well as insulation. Moreover,

the clay brick has been a favorite material among people for a very long time

and therefore, banning the use of clay bricks would be long-term task. In 2005,

five years after launching the banning pronouncements, in the “Circular of the

General Office of the State Council on Further promoting the wall materials

innovation and extending energy-saving buildings”, it was pointed out that

“the situation that clay bricks and non-energy-saving buildings prevail

predominantly in our country has not changed fundamentally. …… 70% of

construction material is wall material, in which clay brick dominates. For the

production of clay brick, the annual consumption of clay resources is more

than one billion cubic meters, equivalent to about 500,000 acres of farmland

damage. Meantime, the annual production clay brick consumes about

32
70,000,000 tons Tce.” 1 In this circular, the State Council put forward a

broader and more specific requirement, “The 170 cities which have banned

the production and the using of clay bricks should gradually advance the

elimination of clay products, and extend it to the suburb towns. ……The aim

is by the end of 2006, to decrease the national annual production of solid clay

bricks by 80 billion, and by the end of 2010, to realize that all the cities ban

the use of clay bricks.”2 After, in 2005 and 2009, China also unveiled the

second and third list of cities which were designated to follow the prohibition

on use of solid clay bricks By the end of 2010, “except for some cities that

don’t have the ability and conditions to prohibit solid clay bricks due to small-

scale construction and backward economy, more than 600 cities nationwide

have basically prohibited the use of solid clay bricks in the urban area.”3

Porous clay or hollow clay bricks are thought to be a substitute for solid clay

bricks. However, because the firing degree is difficult to control, their final

size varies greatly and the quality is poor. Therefore, the structure of a simple

1 Guowuyuan Bangongting Guanyu Jinyibu Tuijin Qiangti Cailiao Gexin Hetuiguang Jieneng Jianzhu De Tongzhi

国务院办公厅关于进一步推进墙体材料革新和推广节能建筑的通知, The State Council The People’s Republic of

China, http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/xxgkzl.htm, (2005).

2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.

33
brick building, made by porous clay or hollow clay bricks, is significantly

inferior to a building made by solid clay bricks, and thus they are seldom used

for constructing decorative exterior walls. Moreover, although porous or

hollow clay bricks could reduce the amount of soil resources used compared

to the concrete block and other new wall materials, soil is still unavoidably

wasted. Since 2011, China’s policies that required banning solid clay bricks

turned into limiting and prohibiting clay products. “Guidance on Wall

Material Innovation during Twelfth Five-year”, was issued from China’s

National Development and Reform Commission. It put forward the goal, that

“by 2015, clay products are limited in more than 30% cities, solid clay bricks

are banned in more than 50% counties.”1 A specific list of related cities this

applied to was issued in 2012. However, Shanghai took a leading role within

China to restrict the use of clay brick early on. As early as October 2000, four

months after, the “1st city list of banning” was released, the Shanghai

Municipal Government issued, the “Interim Measures on the Restriction and

Prohibition of Clay Bricks in Shanghai.” It stipulated that all the clay bricks,

solid or not, cannot be used in the non-bearing and enclosure walls of

construction located within Shanghai's urban area beginning January 1, 2001.

1 “Shierwu” Qiangti Cailiao Gexin Zhidao Yijian “十二五”墙体材料革新指导意见, The State Council The

People’s Republic of China, http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/xxgkzl.htm.

34
From the series of laws and regulations mentioned above, it can be seen that

clay bricks were completely replaced by other wall materials as a trend of

development and under direction of the government. There will be no stage

for the simple buildings to show themselves in China.

(2). Advent of faux brick technique

Due to the laws and regulations previously mentioned, solid clay brick is still

being phased out in the construction market. However, people still prefer its

appearance. Therefore, a decorative material used on an exposed wall – such

as a thin brick tile, or a kind of veneer tile, is being widely used to achieve the

same visual affect. Thin brick tile is not only in favor of resource conservation,

but also meet people’s emotional and aesthetic needs for traditional clay brick

walls. Although the tile-like material is still clay, it differs from solid clay

brick, in that it is a thin brick used for modern decorative material, rather than

for load bearing and adornment functions. By adhering to the exposed wall, it

provides a decorative feature, without performing the load-bearing role. Its

thickness is only 5 ~ 10mm to demonstrate brick texture (Figure 2-7). The thin

brick tiles not only saves soil resources but it also achieves an appearance

35
similar to traditional Chinese brick buildings.

Figure 2-7 Construction of thin brick tiles detail

As early as the 1930s, veneer tiles were used in Shanghai, China. For example,

the Ruijin Hotel (formerly the Morris’ villa, Figure 2-8) built in 1924, and the

Broadway Mansions (Figure 2-9) built in 1930, both used the veneer tiles

manufactured by China’s first brickyard – No.1 Plant of Taishan Brick and

Tile Co. Ltd. Since the 1980s, veneer tiles have been widely used in China,

and their styles have gradually enriched to imitate the various appearances of

brick. After the thin brick tile was developed out of the Chinese factory, a wall

with veneer tiles could simulate even an age-old, weathered brick wall of the

ancient building (Figure 2-10). Entering into the 21st century, because of the

laws and regulations of banning solid clay bricks, constructing a new building

by clay bricks was impossible. Thus, using thin bricks to simulate brick walls,
36
especially for a sense of history in the buildings aesthetics, was the main, if

not the only, way for architects to achieve this at the time. Although in some

details such as the convex corner (Figure 2-11), the thin brick tiles could not

be identical with the clay brick, but it could still reproduce the artistic effect

of old brick building to the maximum extent.

Figure 2-8 Ruijin Hotel

Figure 2-9 Broadway Mansions

37
 Figure 2-10 Antique imitation tiles

Figure 2-11 Brick tiles at the corner

However, the disadvantages of thin brick tiles were gradually revealed as time

passed. Used as the outermost decorative material along walls, the veneer tile

was often bonded to the insulation material. Due to its larger density, it was

vulnerable to weathering and erosion, and as a result it would fall off from the
38
exterior wall. Furthermore, the construction quality was often not stable. In

June 2015, there was an accident in Xi’an where the veneer tiles that fell from

a high-rise caused the death of a boy (Figure 2-12).1 From then on, many

cities in China have restricted and even prohibited the use of veneer tiles. As

early as 2000, Shanghai issued, the “Circular on the Popularization and

Application of Exterior Architectural Paint to the Construction Works in

Shanghai”. It says that “the use of exterior architectural paint should be

promoted, the design and the use of veneer tiles should be restricted, and the

design and the use of exterior porcelain veneer materials such as mosaic

should be prohibited except using in the walls of the bottom floor or the
2
podium.” Therefore, the faux-brick paint, which has an appearance

comparable with thin brick tiles, gradually became favored.

1 “Gaoceng Waiqiang Cizhuan Tuoluo Nanhai Shangxue Lushang Beiza Shenwang 高层外墙瓷砖脱落 男孩上

学路上被砸身亡,” [The Tiles From Falling Off The Outer Walls Killed A Boy On The Way To The School] People's

Daily Online, http://edu.people.com.cn/n/2015/0611/c1053-27139598.html, (June 11, 2015).

2 Guanyu Zai Benshi Jianshe Gongchengzhong Tuiguang Yingyong Jianzhu Waiqiang Tuliao De Tongzhi 关于在

本市建设工程中推广应用建筑外墙涂料的通知, Shanghaishi Zhufang He Chengxiang Jianshe Guanli Weiyuanhui

上海市住房和城乡建设管理委员会, http://www.shjjw.gov.cn/gb/node2/.

39
 Figure 2-12 Thin brick tiles falling off

The faux-brick paint is a kind of architectural paint to imitate the color and

texture of brick as the outermost coating of the wall. By being divided into

grids after coating, the faux-brick paint presents the effect of brickwork

(Figure 2-13). The scientific name of the faux-brick paint is “sand slurry

synthetic emulsion architectural coatings”, which have been used on building

in China since the 1970s. In 1988, China issued a national standard called the

“Sand Slurry Synthetic Emulsion Architectural Coatings” (GB9153-1988).

However, the early synthetic emulsion coating had some weaknesses in aspect

40
such as storage, water-tolerance, and anti-fouling, so it was seldom applied.

After more than 40 years of improvement in the mixture, presently faux-brick

paints have better performance and can completely replace thin brick tiles. In

addition, the ban of clay bricks and the restriction of veneer tiles also promotes

the wide application of faux-brick paints.

Figure 2-13 Faux-brick paint

Compared to thin brick tiles, faux-brick paint has many advantages. First, the

paint’s weight is only a tenth of the tiles. This makes it more suitable for the

exterior insulation system. Also, the paint’s safety is superior, in that it won’t

41
cause debris to fall from buildings. Additionally, it is more environmentally

friendly. Faux-brick paints are better than thin brick tiles in the aspect of

details performance as well:

1) Faux-brick paints have various colors that can be mixed in according to

the design of the architect and can be reproduced without a color

difference. In the renovation process of an outer wall, the new and old

coating’s color can be matched exactly. This is would not be achievable

using brick tiles. The repair of tiles and retained tiles are hard to match

identically. Even between the tiles produced at the same time, there could

be the color difference resulting from aging and weathering.

2) In corners of interior spaces, the tiles on one wall are exposed on the side

surface. It not only destroys the beauty of details but it also is unlike the

authentic effect of brickwork. Even if two tiles with a 45-degree corner

cut are spliced together, there will be a gap that is inconsistent with the

authentic brickwork appearance (Figure 2-14). Delightfully, faux-brick

paints don’t have the same drawbacks, and therefore can create more

realistic appearances of brick walls.

42
 Figure 2-14 Thin brick tile's fault

3) According to the design, faux-brick paints can make the aesthetic

appearance of brick decoration, such as brick-curving, very easily. In

comparison, cutting the tiles directly is more difficult, and makes it prone

to edge failure, and therefore, causes a waste in materials.

Because of the source of raw material for brick no longer adheres to current

environmental protection, Chinese traditional clay bricks are being gradually

and completely eliminated. With the options of thin brick tiles and faux-brick

paints, as well as other modern architectural materials and technology, the

aesthetic of brick masonry has proved to still be widely desired by the public.
43
The cultural, regional and emotional connotations represented by brick

buildings are still one of kind and evoke an emotional experience for the

public. The use of modern technology, which is consistent with the

contemporary background, has helped “regenerate” the brick building.

Consequentially, under the opposition between ideal and reality, rationalism

architectures have to compromise with the emotional needs of the public over

their own pursuit of material authenticity.

2.1.2 Disappearance of brick decorations on parapets

Although new architectural materials, such as concrete blocks and lightweight

partition board, are gradually popularized, the type of material currently used

for building walls in China is still dominated by bricks. Compared to the

stone’s hard processing and timber’s easy corrosion, bricks have better

comprehensive performance comparatively. Brick’s shape can be changed

through cutting, grinding and carving. Traditional Chinese architecture

commonly consists of a timber frame for structure, and therefore, the walls

only play a decorative role. Thus, the brick walls are liberated from having to

providing support for the structure, and can provide decoration multiple ways

– creating patterns with brick is one of them. Usually, brick decoration is not

a kind of attached adornment, but an “intrinsic adornment”, which utilizes its

44
own artistic performance to decorate the building whilst is still an integral part

of the wall.

The brick decoration is often used on parapets because the parapet is an

important architectural detail. From the joint of exterior wall and roof to the

end of the wall, “it can mostly reflect the structural characteristics of

architectural form, and then become the remarkable part of the whole

building.”1 Moreover, a parapet prevents object from falling from the roof, as

well as guides drainage, but it does not play the role in building structure. This

allows parapets to be freer in form and stronger in decorative effect. In brick

parapets, the mold and outer facing masonry are the commonly used for

decoration. Brick mold is the decorative brick detail that utilizes the patterns

of the bond and shaping to form the multi-level convex surfaces with various

texture and lighting effects (Figure 2-15). Brick molds are often be used at the

top and bottom of parapets. In the exterior walls of First National Congress of

the Communist Party of China Memorial Building, a brick mold was used on

the parapet capping (Figure 2-16). At the entrance of Wu Cangshuo Memorial

Hall, located in Pudong, Shanghai, the tops of the parapets are ornamented by

1 Tongji Daxue Jianzhuxi Jianzhu Sheji Jichu Jiaoyanshi 同济大学建筑系建筑设计基础教研室. “Jianzhu

xingtai sheji jichu 建筑形态设计基础” (Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press, 1991), 27.

45
the brick molds with different colors used as a highlight (Figure 2-17). Facing

masonry is one way of adding decoration with brickwork, which uses

processed bricks to create a variety of decorative patterns on the parapet, or

special brick bonds to form a perforation effect (Figure 2-18). Parapets usually

are not incorporated into the function of a buildings envelope, and therefore,

the perforated facing masonry is very common. For example, the North

Building and South Building in Tongji University have perforated facing

masonry on the parapets (Figure 2-19).

Figure 2-15 Brick mold

46
Figure 2-16 First National Congress of the Communist Party of China memorial

Figure 2-17 Wu Cangshuo Memorial Hall

47
 Figure 2-18 Facing masonry

Figure 2-19 North Building in Tongji University

48
However, as the concrete structure is becoming commonplace in China,

disadvantages of brick parapet have gradually emerged. In the systems of

masonry-concrete structure and reinforced concrete frame structure, the brick

parapet is generally built on reinforced concrete ring beams, frame beams or

roof boarding. Brick linear expansion coefficient is about 0.5×10-5, and

concrete linear expansion coefficient is about 1×10-5, twice that of brick. As

there is a big difference between the expansion coefficients of two, it results

in thermal expansion. In the summer the expansive deformation of the beam,

or roof boarding, is much larger than that of the brick parapet. This results in

a shear force at the joint of the brick and the concrete. When the parapet is

unable to withstand this force, it causes horizontal cracks in the bottom of the

parapet. These cracks run intermittently along the parapet, and in severe cases

they run through the whole parapet (Figure 2-20). This not only disfigure the

facades but it also makes rainwater penetrate inside roofing and disables the

effectiveness of the insulation material, to even cause interior seepage.

Figure 2-20 The crack in parapet

49
The prevention measures for cracks include setting a reinforced concrete

structural column in the parapet. This protects the structure in that the

structural columns divide the one long parapet into several short parapets, so

that what would be, one large crack is transformed to many negligible cracks.

In, “Code for design of masonry structures” (GB50003-2001) issued in 2001,

compared with the older version (GBJ3-88) from 1988, included new content

about preventing cracks in brick parapet. In the section 6.3.2 (9), it states, “The

parapet wall shall be designed with the structural column. The spacing of the

structural column should not be greater than 4m and the structural column

shall project up to the top of the parapet wall and monolithically cast with the

on-site cast reinforced concrete top.”1 It is the first time the requirement was

made that a structural column should be built in the parapet. This requirement

is still retained in the latest version of the code (GB50003-2011). This means

that with the popularization of the concrete structure, preventing horizontal

cracks on the parapet has become very important. However, in modern

architecture, the structural column always has the same or bigger width than

the parapet. The structural column breaks up the brick texture’s continuity on

1 Code for design of masonry structures (GB 50003-2001) (Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press, 2002),

42.

50
the parapet, and furthermore, as “the structural column shall project up to the

top of the parapet wall”, the brickwork has to be separated by the structural

column. This makes real horizontal bricks unusable in modern architecture.

Moreover, as the result of the development of the construction industry in

China, Chinese architecture codes have become stricter. Concrete products

have gradually replaced many architectural details that were originally built

with bricks. Meanwhile, with the rapid increase of China's building material

production capacity in recent years, the cost of the materials, such as steel and

concrete, have become a progressively smaller percentage of the total

construction cost. This also creates a favorable condition for replacing bricks

with concrete. The latest “Code for seismic design of buildings” (GB50011-

2010) sets the requirement for the height of parapets for the first time. In the

section 13.3.5 (9), it is written that, “The height of masonry parapet wall

should not exceed 1m, the measures shall also be taken to prevent collapse

during the earthquake.”1 The “National Technical Measures for Design of

Civil Construction: Planning Architecture Landscape” issued in 2009 also

stated that “the parapet wall is given priority to on-site cast reinforced

1 Code for seismic design of buildings (GB 50011-2010) (Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press, 2010),

165.

51
concrete.” 1 In addition, according to the Chinese code, when the height

exceeds 500mm, the parapet wall should take anchoring measures on the

seismic fortification zone. This results in most construction companies’

regulations requiring that on-site reinforced concrete should cast the parapet

higher than 500mm.

Due to the brick parapet being subject to growing restrictions and gradually

crowded out by concrete, insisting on using authentic brick material to

decorate a parapet is becoming more difficult. Because of this the architectural

details carelessly designed on parapets, and other monotonous machine-made

adornment, such as the GRC decoration components, can be commonly seen

now. With the development of architectural technology, the use of authentic

material is being faced with increasingly strict codes, and the desire for this

authentic use makes the rapid technological advances in material seem

helpless. Architects have to give up material authenticity to pursue alternative

artificial decorations.

1 National Technical Measures for Design of Civil Construction: Planning Architecture Landscape (Beijing:

China Planning Press, 2009), 98.

52
2.2 Impact of architectural technology on structure logicality

Although rationalism may originate from a classical age, the maturity of

rationalism, especially structural rationalism, didn’t arise until the second half

of the 17th century. At the time, it was thought by Peter Collins that civil

engineering and architectural design, two occupations or two disciplines,

could be clearly defined. Structural rationalism became a mainstream idea and

common school of thought that was widespread among Gothicism, Classicism,

and Eclecticism eras. In the 20th century, the frame structure systems made

of steel and reinforced concrete became well developed, allowing the

supporting members and the enclosure walls can be separated. As the result,

the structure members can be visable and used as an aspect of architectural art.

During this time period, structural rationalism metamorphoses from technical-

centric into an aesthetic form. As Mies said, “Wherever technology reaches

its real fulfillment, it transcends into architecture.”1

Structural rationalism architects believe that the form of the building is

essentially its structure. They claim that architectural beauty should be

1 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe mentioned in celebration of the addition of the Institute of Design to Illinois Institute

of Technology at the Blackstone Hotel on April 17. “ID Merger Speech,” Mies van der Rohe Society,

http://www.miessociety.org/speeches/id-merger-speech/, (accessed September 21).

53
embodied from the form of the building’s structure, being that the structure

logicality is the main aesthetic basis of architectural design. “Structure

logicality” means that each component follows the structure mechanics to

connect with each other in an efficient way, which is to form a unified and

organic whole. This connection should not only meet the needs of the structure,

but it also becomes a form of architectural art, or as Peter Collins writes, “it

simply meant limiting aesthetic effects to those which logically followed from

the nature of the structural components, and designing those components in

accordance with rational criteria.” 1 The Small Sports Palace, located in

Rome and designed by Pier Luigi Nervi, is the perfect embodiment of using

structure logicality to express architectural aesthetics (Figure 2-21). The

reinforced concrete dome with 59M diameter transfers the load through a

lattice beam into a 48M Y-shaped strut support. The Y-shaped struts lean along

the tangential direction of the roof edge, to most efficiently relay the roof load

to the ground. In building the Small Sports Palace, Nervi realized the

importance of unity in structure and art design through a clear structural logic.

Moreover, structure logicality is not only reflected in the large-scale structure,

buy also in the architectural details. In the case of the Small Sports Palace, all

three branches of each Y-shaped struts taper from the joint to the end. This

1 Peter Collins, Changing Ideals in Modern Architecture, 2nd. (Montreal: McGill University Press, 1965), 200.

54
detailed design is conducive to the stability of the pressure bar, and has the

characteristics of the one-way force member (Figure 2-22). In “Architectural

Detail Design”, Chen Juan believes that the detail of structural joint “is not

only the structural part which should be addressed rationally in the design,

but also the main part of the variation in architectural form design.”1

Figure 2-21 Small Sports Palace, Rome

1 Chen Juan 陈镌, Jianzhu Xibu Sheji 建筑细部设计, 66.

55
 Figure 2-22 Y-shaped strut

There is no doubt that the rationale behind structure logicality is based on

science and technology. Peter Collins defined structural rationalism by saying,

“more specifically as the belief that architectural forms not only required

rational justification, but could only be so justified if they derived their laws

from science,”1 and quoted Cesar Daly by saying he thought that “the self-

imposed task of the Rationalist School was to reconcile modern architecture

1 Collins, Changing Ideals in Modern Architecture, 198.

56
with modern science and industry.”1 It can be concluded that the progress of

science and technology is bound to have an impact on the expression of

structure logicality. This impact not only takes effect in macro-level of

architecture but also in the architectural detail design. The development of

science and technology has provided architects more new materials and

techniques, as well as more ways to exhibit the creative design of structure

logicality. However, this also means that some of the old design is unable

adapt to the new science and technology, and eventually can be eliminated by

the times.

2.2.1 Forbidding Using Brick Arch Lintel

In “Code for construction and acceptance of masonry” (GB50203-98), which

was issued in 1998, it is stipulated that when the width of the door or window

opening is more than 300mm on a masonry wall, the lintel shall be set. For

masonry construction, the lintel is a common architectural component. It is

used to bear the various loads above the opening, and also transfers the loads

to the wall on both sides. In order for the joint of the masonry wall and the

opening to be correct, the lintel is emphatically designed in the view of

1 Collins, Changing Ideals in Modern Architecture, 198.

57
rationalist architects. Therefore, the brick lintel is often used in the brick

building as the result of its practicality and decorative effect.

In traditional Chinese brick buildings, the common types of brick lintels are

flat arch (or named Jack arch), and arch (or named relieving discharging arch).

The flat arch lintel, as in its name, has a flat profile. It is often composed of

only brick soldiers and rowlock course, and is formed into a wedge shape that

efficiently uses the compressive strength of the masonry (Figure 2-23). A

relieving arch lintel is a curved structure, and its span is commonly longer

than the flat arch. Relieving arch lintels have many forms, as such round,

segmental and lancet arch (Figure 2-24). Generally speaking, an opening in

the brick wall structure may undermine its stability. However, brick arch

lintels can span a large area by resolving forces into compressive stresses and,

in turn eliminating tensile stresses. It makes for a clever use of the mechanical

properties of bricks, and clearly shows its own structural logic. Additionally,

the presence of brick lintels breaks the monotony created by bricks neatly

arranged in the wall. As Louis Kahn said, “Brick says to you, ‘I like an Arch.’”.

It is no doubt that brick lintels are important architectural details that turn

structural logic into architectural art.

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 Figure 2-23 Flat arch lintels

Figure 2-24 Relieving arch lintels

However, with the increasing demand for the stability of the structure, the use

of brick lintel is decreasing in China. In “Seismic Design Code for Industrial

and Civil Buildings” (TJ11-78) issued in 1978, Article 41 required, “When the

design intensity is 8, unreinforced brick lintel shall not be used. When the
59
design intensity is 9, reinforced concrete lintel shall be used.”1 According to

“Earthquake Intensity Zoning Map of China” issued in 1977 (Figure 2-25),

the design intensity of the most regions of China was 7 and below. It means

that at that time brick lintel can still be used. However, the situation began to

change in 1989. In the article 5.3.11 of “Code of Aseismic Design of Buildings”

(GBJ 11-89), which was issued in that year, it required that “unreinforced

brick lintel shall not be used on door or window openings.” This indicates that

in the aseismic fortified areas of China, the only form option for the brick

lintel is reinforced brick lintel. The reinforced brick lintel is different from the

brick lintel mentioned above. It is built the same as the surrounding wall but

with steel bars. The reinforced brick lintel often looks no different from

normal walls, thus, it is difficult to become an intended architectural

decoration. From the 1990 edition of “Earthquake Intensity Zoning Map of

China” (Figure 2-26), it can be seen that more than half of China are aseismic

fortified areas. This greatly limits the usage scope of the brick lintel. Although

the 2001 edition of “Code of Aseismic Design of Buildings” also prohibited

the unreinforced brick lintel used on doors or window openings, new guidance

was released that was called “Seismic ground motion parameter zonation map

1 Gongye Yu Minyong Jianzhu Kangzhen Sheji Guifan 工业与民用建筑抗震设计规范 (TJ 11-78), (Beijing:

China Architecture & Building Press, 1979), 19.

60
of China”, which replaced “Earthquake Intensity Zoning Map of China”. In it,

most areas of China became aseismic fortified areas, with the exception of

several sparsely populated areas. Therefore, it further shrank the usage scope

of brick lintel. Then in the newest edition of “Code for Seismic Design of

Buildings” (GB 50011-2010), the article 7.3.10 required that neither

reinforced nor unreinforced brick lintel shall not be used on door or window

openings, and its corresponding explanation goes so far as to say that the

masonry lintel in shall be made of reinforced concrete. Since then, the use of

brick lintel has been prohibited in most areas in China.

Figure 2-25 The 1977 edition of “Earthquake Intensity Zoning Map of China”
61
 Figure 2-26 The 1990 edition of “Earthquake Intensity Zoning Map of China”

In addition, even in the area where the brick lintel can be used, the usage

requirements have become more stringent. In 1973, China issued the first

design code for masonry structure called “Design Code for Brick Masonry

Structures” (GBJS-73). Article 30 set the requirement that the span of

reinforced brick lintel should not be more than 2m, the span of brick flat arch

lintel should not be more than 1.8m. This requirement was continued in the

1988 edition of “Design Code for Brick Masonry Structures” (GBJ 3-88).

However, in the 2001 edition (GB 50003-2001), the maximum allowable

spans of brick lintel were reduced. Article 7.2.1 requires that “the span of brick

62
lintel shall not exceed the following specifications: reinforced brick lintel is

1.5m; brick flat arch lintel is 1.2m.”1 Compared to the previous requirement,

the maximum allowable spans of reinforced brick and brick flat arch lintels

were both reduced to 0.5m. Although in the newest edition - (GB 50003-2011),

these maximum allowable spans were not reduced again, but the following

explanation of the code emphasizes that the reinforced concrete lintel should

be used preferentially for masonry structures. The brick arch lintel it is not

mentioned in the design codes for brick masonry structures over the years.

Given the more stringent requirements on the flat brick arch lintel and the

reinforced brick lintel, and considering the strong preference of the reinforced

concrete lintel, it is believed that the brick arch lintel will be used less as well.

Overall, the use of the brick lintel is decreasing in China. Today, the

appearance of brick lintel can be imitated by the concrete lintel with the faux

brick technique. However, in the masonry wall, the structure behind the brick

lintel will have to be completely abandoned or transformed into an imitation-

style decoration.

1 Code for design of masonry structures (GB 50003-2001 )( Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press), 45.

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2.2.2 The disappearance of the brick vault

In the history of architecture, the brick vault is a kind of roof structure, which

is created by humans to pursue a larger construction span than the beam-and-

column structure. The most common types of brick vaults are barrel vault and

dome. The brick barrel vault is the simplest form of a brick vault. The bricks

of the brick barrel are installed vertically and lean at an angle. The form shapes

as a barrel or tunnel and is cut lengthwise in half, as represented in its name

(Figure 2-27). The brick dome, which resembles the hollow upper half of a

sphere, was the favored choice for large-space masonry coverings before the

Industrial Age. In China, the brick barrel vault and brick dome had been used

as early as in the catacombs of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A.C.), and

had been gradually built above ground after the Wei Jin and Southern &

Northern Dynasties (220 A.D. – 589 A.D.). Today there are still many

examples of the brick vault in the preserved modern buildings in China, and

it has become a distinct roof form unlike the traditional Chinese roof style

(Figure 2-28). For examples, Tongji gymnasium, a former machinery

workshop located in Tongji University in Shanghai City, was built in 1955 and

designed by 吴景祥(Wu Jingxiang). Its mosaic tiled roof is composed of three

brick barrel vaults parallel to each other. The architect used the curved surface

as the transition between the vaults, creating a wave-form brick roof (Figure

64
2-29). The Holy Trinity Church in Shanghai, built in 1869, is a simple red

brick building, and is also known as the “Red Chapel”. Standing on its porch

it can be seen that the ceiling is actually semicircular. Although the outside

the roof of the porch cannot be seen as the result of the tall parapet, supposedly

it is constructed as a brick dome.

Figure 2-27 Brick barrel vault

Figure 2-28 Brick dome

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 Figure 2-29 Tongji gymnasium

In recent years, except for in a few new experimental buildings, brick vaults

have faded away from Chinese people’s view. Since the development of

architectural technology and the increasing requirement of building

performance, the brick vault structure cannot be adapted with the advancing

changes. In the first edition of “Code for Design of Masonry Structures” (GBJ

3-88) issued in 1988, there was detailed content and general information about

the brick vault in Section 6, Chapter 3. However, in the 2001 edition - (GB

50003-2011), the introduction says that the brick vault is canceled according

to the code. The result of this was that even if the architect wanted to design

a brick vault there would be no relevant codes to use for guidance.

Additionally, there were provisions of the brick vault such as “ring-beams

shall be installed at the buildings with brick vault for intensity 6-8” in “Code

66
for Seismic Design of Buildings” (GBJ 11-89), which was issued in 1989.

However, in the 2001 edition code there were no provisions of brick vaults.

This meant that the brick vault was not adapted to the future development of

Chinese society and not be further advocated to build anymore. Although the

brick vault takes advantage of brick’s compression resistance capability,

compared to the concrete vault, the stability of the brick vault is inferior. A

set of experiments on damage has found that the brick arch lintel performs

worse than the wooden lintel when testing seismic conditions. Moreover,

today with the wide use of reinforced concrete, and the increase of labor cost,

in-situ cast reinforced concrete vault has become more economical than brick

vault. Hence, although there is no ban on the use of the brick vault, nowadays

they are not commonly used due to the increasingly stringent requirements of

the building’s seismic performance.

When the material is changed from brick to reinforced concrete, the vault

tends to be designed with a small curvature. In many old buildings, it can be

seen that the curve of the brick arch or brick vault is often similar to a

semicircular (Figure 2-30). In contrast, in the concrete roof, the curve tends to

be flat. The roof of the Kimbell Art Museum, for instance, is composed of six

concrete barrel vaults set alongside on another, presenting the same cycloidal

form (Figure 2-31). The main reason for this difference is the varying
67
structural bearing capacity of the brick and concrete vault. The load on the

vault is divided into horizontal and vertical loads. The smaller rise in arch

height results in a better bearing capacity of the vault. This also causes a larger

span of the bending member, which could cause structural deformation on the

vault. Due to the strong ability to resist deformation, the concrete vault is

usually designed to be flat, better for large bearing capacity. For the brick vault,

because of its poor ability to resist deformation, it is often shaped like a

semicircular to reduce the possibility of deformation in order to satisfy the

structural requirements.

Figure 2-30 Brick vault is often closer to semicircle or hemisphere

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 Figure 2-31 The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, designed by Louis I.
Kahn

As an architect of Rationalism, Louis Kahn believes that being designed into

an arch or vault is an honor for brick. However, today the brick vault is

gradually disappearing, and architects may lose the opportunity to create this

roof form due to a combination of evolving art and technology.

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 CHAPTER 3. The Influence of Energy Efficiency Design Standard on

Architectural Surface Design

3.1 The development history of Chinese Energy Efficiency Design Standard of

buildings

As buildings are home to many human activities, the construction industry

accounts for much of the total energy consumption. In China, this proportion

has exceeded 30% (Figure 3-1). In the 1970s the oil crisis in western countries

led the world to recognize the importance of saving energy due to the

importance of economic development within a nation. As a result, the concept

of “Energy Efficiency in Buildings” has been developed. The goal is to reduce

the amount of energy required to ensure the comfort, health, and safety of the

building occupants. The effectiveness of these aspects often depends on the

utilization of architectural technology.

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 Figure 3-1 The amount of building energy consumption and its proportion in total
social energy consumption in China by year
Source: “2015 Jianzhu Baowen Cailiao Hangye Fazhan Xianzhuang Lichen Ji Qushi Fenxi
2015 建筑保温材料行业发展现状历程及趋势分析” [The development status and trend
analysis of the building insulation material industry in 2015], Xinlang Dichan 新浪地产,
http://news.dichan.sina.com.cn/2016/01/07/1158230.html, (June 30, 2016)

Formulating relevant laws and regulation is an important measure to promote

building energy efficiency. Specifically, creating the building energy

efficiency design standards that can effectively reduce building energy

consumption from the source, preventing another generation of non-energy-

efficient buildings. The establishment of China’s energy efficiency design

standard system began in the 1980s. Back in January 1986, China's State

Council promulgated the “Interim Regulations on the Management of Energy-

saving”, which puts preliminary requirements on building energy-saving

71
design. In the sixth chapter it said, “In the premise of ensuring the reasonable

living environment, the building design shall take proper comprehensive

measures, such as optimizing building’s shape and orientation, improving

building envelopes, selecting low power consumption equipment and making

full use of natural light, to reduce the energy consumption of lighting, heating,

and cooling.”1 In that July, China’s ministry of construction promulgated the

“Regulation of Civil Building Thermal Design” (JGJ24-86). For the first time,

it provided descriptions and explanations on the related concept, data, and

calculation methods of building thermal design. It offered a theoretical

foundation for China’s first building energy efficiency design standard issued

a month later. On January 1st, 1986, China’s ministry of construction

published, “Energy conservation design standard for new heating residential

buildings” (JGJ 26-86). It was China’s first building energy efficiency design

standard in China, and thus marks the beginning of China’s energy efficiency

design standard system. For this reason, the standard has low requirements,

and its effect on building energy saving was limited. In addition, due to

various reasons, this standard had not been fully implemented.

1 “Jieyue Nengyuan Guanli Zanxing Tiaoli 节约能源管理暂行条例,” The State Council The People’s Republic

of China, http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/xxgkzl.htm.

72
In 1992, China’s ministry of construction and the other departments jointly

issued the “Opinions on accelerating the reform of wall materials and

popularizing energy-saving buildings”. It put forward a higher goal for and a

preliminary work schedule to achieve building energy savings. In April of the

next year, China’s first energy efficiency design standard for public buildings,

“Energy conservation design standard on building envelope and air

conditioning for tourist hotels” (GB 50189-93), was published. In the

following October, the new code for building thermal design, “Thermal design

code for civil buildings” (GB 50176-93) was introduced. It rezoned China’s

building thermal design areas. In 1994, the Ministry of Construction

established a coordinating group and a dedicated office that specialized in

developing the policies of building energy efficiency and promoting the

relevant work. In 1995, “China’s Ninth Five-Year Plan and 2010 Project of

Building Energy Conservation” was issued. It proposed a formal plan that

outlined building energy saving work in China, dividing it into three stages:

“Compared to the energy consumption level of common design in the locality

during 1980 to 1981, the new heating residential buildings decreases the

energy consumption by 30% by 1996, it is the first stage; then since 1996,

decreases by 30% again relative to the baseline of the first stage, as the second

stage; since 2005, decreases by 30% again relative to the baseline of the

second stage, as the third stage.” To achieve the target of the second stage,
73
from 1996 China’s Ministry of Construction promulgated a series of design

standards for building energy efficiency targeting 50% energy saving. Firstly,

“Energy conservation design standard for new heating residential buildings”

was improved by changing its energy efficiency from the original 30% to 50%.

The existing standards were only applied to the north of China, and therefore,

in 2001 and 2003 Ministry of Construction respectively promulgated the

“Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings in Hot

Summer and Cold Winter Zone” (JGJ 134-2001), which was applied to the

middle of China, and “Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Residential

Buildings in Hot Summer and Warm Winter Zone” (JGJ 75-2003) for the south

of China. Except for some areas in the southwest, the coverage of the design

standards extended to most of China. In addition, aiming for 50% energy

savings in public buildings, the “Design standard for energy efficiency of

public buildings” was also issued in April 2005. However, the series of

standards released in 2005, which also was the completion date of the second

stage tasks in the original plan, were ineffective in their implementation.

China’s Ministry of Construction investigated more than 3,000 constructions

in process all nationwide in 2005. It was found that of all the construction in

the north, only 50% was completed by the standards. In the areas of hot-

summer and cold-winter weather, there was less than 20%, and in the hot-

summer and warm-winter area it was less than 10%. From 2006 onwards, the
74
Chinese government scaled up efforts to promote the work of building energy

efficiency. In August 2008, the “Civil Building Energy Efficiency Regulations”

was released. It required the energy-saving design of new buildings was vetted

by local urban and rural planning departments. It also stated that the

description of the building’s energy efficiency should be included in the

construction documents, which are valid only after passing inspection. From

then on architects and developers in China began to attach an importance to

building energy efficiency. In the nationwide special inspection of building

energy savings, conducted in 2010, revealed that the proportion of new

construction conducted under the standards was 99.5% at the design stage and

95.4% in the construction stage. Hence, the targeting of 50% energy saving

wasn’t met until 2010.

In March 2010, China’s Ministry of Construction published “Design Standard

for Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings in Severe Cold and Cold Zones”

(JGJ 26-2010) and a new edition of “Design standard for Energy Efficiency

of Residential Buildings in hot summer and cold winter zone.” (JGJ 134-2010).

These new standards raised the energy saving target from 50% to 65%,

allowing China’s building energy savings to enter into its third progressive

stage. In April 2013, the new edition of “Design Standard for Energy

Efficiency of Residential Buildings in Hot Summer and Warm Winter Zone”

75
(JGJ 75-2012) was issued. In February 2015, the new edition of “Design

standard for energy efficiency of public buildings” (GB 50189-2015) was

issued. Moreover, for the areas without applicable design standards, the

“Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings in Temperate

Zone” was compiled, and are expected to be approved in 2017. Then Chinese

energy efficiency design standards will apply to all of China.

For better realization of the energy conservation strategy in China, some areas

that experience severe cold weather, such as Beijing City, Tianjin City,

Shandong Province, Hebei Province, and Xinjiang Province, began to develop

and implement local design standards for 75% energy saving after achieving

the target of 65%. Shanghai City has also developed its building energy

efficiency design standards. In development of residential buildings, Shanghai

municipality promulgated “Energy Conservation Design Standard for

Residential Buildings in Shanghai” (DG TJ08-205-2000) in 2000, and its

replacement (DGJ08-205-2011) in 2011. In looking at public buildings,

Shanghai municipality promulgated “the standard of energy efficient design

for public buildings” (DGJ 08-107-2004) and its replacements (DGJ 08-107-

2012) in 2004 and 2012 respectively. As one of the most important

international cities in China, Shanghai’s design standards are slightly stricter

than the related national design standards. This is mostly due to the fact that
76
Shanghai is located in a hot-summer and cold-winter zone. The buildings in

this area utilize more cooling energy consumption in summer, than the heating

energy in winter. Different from the buildings in northern China that can

improve energy efficiency by utilizing insulation techniques and advanced

heating systems, the buildings in Shanghai show little improvement in energy

efficiency through increasing building insulation. Because of this the

buildings in Shanghai, have stricter design standards comparatively.

3.2 Effect of energy efficiency design standards

Building energy consumption is mainly produced by heat transfer of building

envelopes, except for a small portion through air heat exchange. In all Chinese

energy efficiency design standards, there are the limits on the heat transfer

coefficient of the building envelopes such as door and window, exterior walls,

and roof (Table 3-1). However, the heat transfer coefficient of the common

masonry materials, such as hollow bricks and lightweight block, are not able

to meet the requirements of the energy saving design standards for energy

efficiency in China. Since the Chinese design standard of building energy

efficiency was implemented, the wall insulation system has become an

essential architectural technology in the construction of new buildings in

China. Wall insulation is a system consisting of fitting high-performance

77
insulation into walls that are in contact with the outside air. The common

forms of wall insulations are exterior and interior wall insulation. External

wall insulation mainly involves adding insulation boards into the external

walls of the building and then rendering on top of the insulation to finish;

internal wall insulation mainly involves attaching insulation to the interior

walls of the building. In the early development stage of wall insulation

technology in China, interior wall insulation was used more widely than

exterior. However, since the beginning of the century, as the result of the

development of external wall insulation and the prompting from the

government, external wall insulation has generally replaced interior wall

insulation, and become the mainstream type of wall insulation technology in

China.

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Table 3-1 The limits of the thermal performance parameters of building envelope in
Severe Cold Zone (A)
Source: Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings in Severe Cold and
Cold Zones (JGJ 26-2010) (Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press, 2010), 6.

The most common wall insulation materials in current China are mineral wool,

EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) and XPS (Extruded Polystyrene), as well as

insulating mortar that can also be used. Regardless of the material, it can be

used as insulation as long as it has the proper thickness (Figure 3-2). At the

request of 65% energy saving in China, the insulation thickness of high-rise

79
building in Shanghai has to be more than 100mm. For buildings, the insulation

consists of a thick coat which wraps along the entire wall. Additionally, due

to the masonry wall being hidden behind the insulation, its characteristics,

such as color, texture, and the bond patterns, cannot be used as the decoration

of the building. The decorative technique directly on the brick or block, such

as brick carving, will also be hidden and therefore, not play the role of wall

decoration. Moreover, the decorative details, such as brick molds, are also

difficult to use for a desirable effect. In order to prevent the thermal bridge,

the insulation material must cover the components made by brick or concrete,

which are attached to the exterior wall. With the thickness of the insulation

with the plasterwork and finishes, the final size of these details often result

larger than size generated only by masonry material. As Figure 3-3 shows, the

window casing is generated from the concrete component. With the insulation

covering, the component is as thick as, or even thicker than the initial casing.

In the masonry building with external wall insulation, the decorative details

always have a heavy look, and may result in the aesthetic imbalance. However,

if the thickness of the insulation is taken into account early in the detail design

stage, the size of the decorative detail components without the insulation can

be made smaller. To avoid the situation that the components are too detailed

to be constructed by brick or concrete, the architect often has to put the

decorative detail in a simple shape design, and this results the decorative detail
80
losing delicateness. In addition, the design of building energy efficiency in

many cases must adopt the comparative judgment method in order for the

thickness of the insulation to be accurate. However, this method cannot be

used until the building design is finalized. This brings many uncertainties to

the detail design. In order to prevent the decorative detail from being enlarged

by the insulation, the architect cannot create details, such as mold and window

casing, through masonry materials used for constructing walls. However, the

architects tend to install the insulation on the flat masonry wall first, then set

the decoration members as architectural detail atop the insulation. Therefore,

the decorative detail is separated from the masonry wall, no longer a part of

it. As a result of this, the material of the detail is gradually transformed into

lightweight as opposed to heavy masonry material. Today in China, the more

common materials of decoration members are EPS and GRC (Glass fiber

Reinforced Concrete).

Figure 3-2 Insulation material needs to have enough thickness to play the role
81
 Figure 3-3 The window casing with the insulation
Source: Guojia Jianzhu Biaozhun Sheji Tuji: 02J121-1 Waiqiang Waibaowen Jianzhu
Gouzao (Yi) 国家建筑标准设计图集: 02J121-1 外墙外保温建筑构造(一) [National
Building Standard Design Atlas: 02J121-1 The Construction Of External Wall Insulation
System (Ⅰ)] (Beijing: China Institute Of Building Standard Design & Research, 2002), B8.

82
In terms of architectural art, using insulation materials and masonry materials

are similar. They are both the tectonic, an activity that utilizes the requisite

material of building construction in an artistic way. The biggest benefit of

using insulation material to create decorative detail is that it not only solves

the problem of thermal bridge, but also allows the architect to accurately

control the final sizes of the decorative details early in the design stage.

Compare to EPS, the cohesiveness of XPS is poor. Without the mechanical

fastener, the XPS insulation is prone to failure, falling off the wall.

Furthermore, XPS material is relatively brittle, thus its surface is easily

cracked, causing finishing materials to cast off outer coatings. XPS is used

more as the insulation in the roof, and EPS is more preferable for the

insulation of the wall. Since the EPS material is easily cut, simply shaped

detail can be created with EPS material by cutting and spliced at the

construction site. In addition, the details with complex shapes can also be

prefabricated with EPS material in the factory. Moreover, because EPS is a

light material, the details made with it can be affixed to the insulation or

masonry wall without a mechanical fastener. As there are many advantages to

using EPS, the techniques to make decorative details for the wall has grown

into many different applications in China. However, it has also raised public

doubts and discussion regarding the quality of housing.

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 Figure 3-4 EPS insulation boards

EPS is a kind of soft plastic foam and is often used for decoration detail on

the exterior year round. Unfortunely, the soft material makes it easy to destroy

through accidental collision with hard objects in the process of construction

process or daily use (Figure 3-5). For example, in October 2013, workers

accidentally stepped on EPS made objects that fell off from the exterior wall

during the renovation. This happened during the EPS insulation of Red Star

International Plaza, which is located in Kunming city Yunnan province. This

caused the owners to challenge and question the quality of construction, and

subjectively accusing that it was of faulty construction. Despite the

Construction Quality Surveillance and Inspection Center of Yunnan Province

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stating that the external wall construction quality of Red Star International

Plaza was up to the national and Yunnan province construction quality

standards, this incident still caused controversial disturbances among the

building design community. In fact, similar kinds of falling accidents, which

included EPS insulation and subsequent public questions, occurred many

times in China. Moreover, due to the affixing connection methods, the EPS

decoration members in the low-quality construction very easily fall off.

Furthermore, because of its poor refractory performance, the EPS decoration

members that are exposed to outdoor elements pose real fire risks. Hence, out

of concern for the shortcomings of EPS material above, in China architects

and developers are increasingly avoiding using EPS to make decorative detail

on exterior walls.

Figure 3-5 EPS decoration member was damaged

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Glass fiber reinforced concrete, also known as GRC, is also a common

material for decorative detail on the exterior wall. GRC was originally

developed in the 1940’s in Russia, but it wasn’t until the 1970’s that the current

form came to widespread use in western countries. In China the research and

development work of GRC material started in the mid-70s, and early 80s.

Concurrently, the trend of wall reform and of building energy efficiency

popularized the GRC use. However, before 2000, China's GRC products were

mainly composite wall panels. In the first ten years of 21st century, the

European style was very popular in Chinese building market, specifically in

the residential building market. Therefore, many decorative details, such as

pilasters, and embossed embellishments, were made in Western classical style,

and widely used on the façade design of buildings. In the factory the main

production technique of prefabricated EPS decoration members is pipelining

cutting, which is not suitable for decoration members with a complex shape.

However, GRC decoration members benefit from the manufacturing process

of casting, changing the proportion of raw materials and adding pigments to

create complex shapes and diverse texture. Therefore, in recent years GRC

material has become widely used for decorative details in the western classical

style (Figure 3-6). Compare to EPS members, GRC members have higher

strength and thereby withstand the failures EPS made detail experience.
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Moreover, in China’s evaluation (graduated) system of burning behavior in

building materials, GRC is a Level A incombustible material, meaning that it

has good fire performance. However, because the raw material is cement,

GRC members are often too heavy to be affixed on insulation or masonry

walls like EPS members. Thus, GRC made additions are commonly fixed on

the wall by mechanical-linkage; Firstly, the embedded parts or the keels on

the masonry walls are installed during the wall construction, then after

installation of the insulation, the GRC decoration members are fixed to the

embedded parts or the keels with expansion bolts or welding. Although GRC

decorative details perform better in stability and security, and have many

advantages over EPS decorative details, for the rational architect, EPS

decorative details are more likely to be desired. Due to the design standards

of building energy efficiency, the insulation becomes a requisite component

of the exterior wall. As the EPS decorative detail is made by insulation

material, it could be regarded as a kind of artistic construction of insulation,

or the result of tectonic. Thus the “legitimacy” of EPS decoration members is

justified. GRC decorative details can only be considered as a kind of

additional or dispensable component to the exterior wall, both because its raw

material not essential to the wall and it has no other function except decoration.

Thus, the argument could be made that GRC decoration members may be

considered a violation of Rationalism. Furthermore, the expensive cost of

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GRC decoration members and the economic interests of developers in China

sometimes cause conflict. Consequently, many architects in the pursuit of

design quality are not willing to use GRC decoration members as the

architectural detail on the external wall in China.

Figure 3-6 GRC decorative components

In the exterior wall insulation system, using masonry material, EPS or GRC

to build decorative details can create some undesirable effects in the

architectural design. In recent years, a large number of new buildings, except

for the ones that target western classical style, have fewer traditional

decorative details like molding in the exterior walls. In China today, the

architects’ main focus in the architectural detail aspect, has gradually shifted

from creating the details with unique art and shape to the selection and visual
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presentation of façades materials. Consequently, the flattening of façades has

become a tendency in the design of the new buildings in China.

3.3 Effect of Building Shape Coefficient

Except for being a guidance recommendation in the first standard titled

“Energy conservation design standard for new heating residential buildings”

(JGJ 26-86), in all the other buildings-energy-efficiency design standards

promulgated in China, the limit of building shape coefficient was a

compulsory requirement. This meant that architects needed to pay attention to

the building shape coefficient as early as the phase of architectural form

conception. The definition of “Building Shape Coefficient” has been made in

several Chinese buildings-energy-efficiency design standards. Although the

specific interpretations are expressed differently, the contents are identical;

building shape coefficient is the ratio that the area of the surface which is in

contact with the outside air to the volume enclosed by these surface. Building

shape coefficient is an important factor for a building’s energy-efficiency

because the consumption is mainly generated by heat transport through

building envelope; the smaller this surface area, the less the heat gain or loss

will through it. A small building shape coefficient implies minimum heat gain

or loss, which is very beneficial to building energy conservation. Moreover,

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having a small building shape coefficient in the schematic design phase can

give the architects greater leeway to design a real energy-saving building in

the following phases, allowing for more choices of the building products, such

as doors and windows etc. As shown in Tables 3-2, the limit value of heat

transfer coefficient of building envelope is cited from “Design standard for

energy efficiency of residential buildings in hot summer and cold winter zone”

(JGJ 134-2010). It reflects that buildings whose shape coefficient is less than

or equal to 0.40 can have a building envelope with higher heat transfer

coefficient than the ones whose shape coefficient is more than 0.40. The

higher limit value of the heat transfer coefficient can expand the selection

range of applicable building products. The small building shape coefficient

can bring benefits both in buildings energy efficiency and building product

selection, thus the implementation and idea is welcomed by developers.

However, pursuing low shape coefficient can make the building look

characterless, due to few shape changes.

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 Table 3-2 The limit value of heat transfer coefficient (K) and the heat inertia index
(D) of each part of building envelope
Source: Design standard for energy efficiency of residential buildings in hot summer and
cold winter zone (JGJ 134-2010) (Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press, 2010), 4-
5.

Generally speaking, to lessen building shape coefficient, which is the surface

area to volume ratio, essentially means to reduce the surface area of the

building. Today in China’s major cities, a large part of the new constructions

are high-rise buildings. For example, in 2003 Shanghai municipal government

promulgated “Technical Regulations of Urban Planning and Management in

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Shanghai”, which encouraged the new residential construction only to be

high-rise buildings in the area circled by the inner ring freeway. For high-rise

buildings, the area of the elevation accounts for more than 95% of the area of

the building surface. It essentially determines the building’s shape coefficient.

Moreover, for high-rise buildings, the area of the elevations is approximately

equal to the building height and the floor plan perimeter. The height of the

building is determined by many factors such as architectural function,

structure form, and electromechanical equipment, and thereby has to be

decided in the very beginning stages of design. Trying to address these factors

in the later stages will result in many difficulties. The floor plan design is the

main way to adjust the building shape coefficient for architects. Considering

the principle of a constant area, when the floor plan shape is more regular and

closer to a geometric figure, its perimeter is smaller. In order to reduce the

area of building elevations, the architects often reduce or avoid the

irregularities shape and changes in the floor plan design. For example, the bay

window was a kind of decorative element that was often previously used in

high-rise residential buildings in China. The bay window actually increases

the perimeter of the floor plan. In addition, many design standards show the

limit value of heat transfer coefficient of bay window is less that of normal

window, about 10%~15%. Hence, architects gradually have become more

conservative in the use of bay windows in design. In facing a problem such as

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this, architects tend to design the floor plan profile into a geometric figure and

restrict the shape changes within the building. This again ultimately leads to

flat façade design.

3.4 Architectural “Surface-tendency” Design

Currently in China, as mentioned above, due to the mandatory requirements

by the building energy-efficiency design standards, the existence of the

exterior wall insulation and building shape coefficient gradually have a far-

reaching impacts on the façade design. In Chinese traditional buildings, the

texture, color, and pattern of masonry walls often act as the decorative details.

However, in the new buildings, the exterior insulation hides these elements

because they are fixed to the masonry walls. Furthermore, the requirement of

the building shape coefficient greatly limits the shape of building, forcing the

façade to be confined in a two-dimensional space. As a result, the form of a

building created only by the basic components of the building’s envelope is

almost impossible create with satisfactory architectural aesthetics. Thus, to

improve the appearance of the building, the architect can focus on using a

building skin, which is attached, and acts more independent from the main

body of building. Due to continued innovation, architectural skins are

becoming more commonly used to create aesthetically pleasing building

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facades and express architectural art. It can be said that aside from digital

design, new material, and other new architectural technologies, the design

standards of building energy efficiency has also promoted the building design

towards the direction of surface architecture.

Surface architecture means that the building’s surface is the dominant

expression of architectural design in the building. In this case, the surface has

displaced the volume and space as the main body status of architecture. In the

context of contemporary architecture, the architectural surface is often

referred to as the outer layer of the building envelope, which mainly serves a

decorative function. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, due to the development

of architectural technology, the faces of the load-bearing components or

masonry walls in the building were usually exposed. The architectural surface

was not an isolated concept. From the Industrial Revolution of the 19th

century, due to the emergence of new materials such as steel and reinforced

concrete, a huge change in the form of building structure was created. The

building envelope is separated from the building structure system, thereby

eliminating the restrictions of the load-bearing role and becoming an

independent part of the building. Under the guidance of modern architecture,

“Form Follows Function”, volume and space as the architectural elements

hold the balance of the design system, however the architectural surface exists
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more as an outgrowth of them, with no independent status. In the

contemporary, the building skin has gradually developed its own supporting

structure system, and becomes less closely related to the building structure.

The architectural surface as the entity of “Form” is no longer necessarily a

reflection of the interior space or volume as the entity of “Function” in the

building. With the emergence of a large number of new decorative materials,

the performance of architectural surface has become increasingly diverse, and

the supporting technology, more complex. The architectural surface gradually

becomes a building component with a complex system. The architectural

surface has an equally important position due to space and volume having a

dedicated element for expressing architectural art in the building. Therefore,

we can see that because of the constant innovations in architectural technology,

today architectural surface has finally gained an independent status and

significance in building. These innovations include not only those from the

interior of the building, such as the evolution of structure and application of

new materials, but also from the exterior of the building, such as

popularization of new technology. In fact, the process of architectural

technology becoming increasingly complex and specialized is also one of

deconstructing building as well. As the most intuitive element to artistic

expression in the building, an architectural surface with independent status

makes it easy to replace space and structure to become the dominant factor in
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building design. It essentially could be regarded as architectural “surface-

tendency” design. Thus, under the impetus of factors, like building energy

efficiency design standards, the building design is very apt to head in the

direction of “surface-tendency”. For example, the buildings in the Shanghai

World Expo in 2010 contained a large number of pavilions that were

spontaneously designed in the way of surface architecture (Figure 3-5).

Figure 3-7 The surface architecture in Shanghai World Expo 2010

From a macro view of architectural history, the surface-tendency in

contemporary architectural design may be inevitable way of architecture, and

the representation of historical reincarnation. Baroque is an architecture style

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popular in the 17th and 18th century in Europe. It partly abandoned the strict

architectural order of classical architecture from ancient Greece and Rome,

and used a large number of elaborate carvings and rich embellishments to

characterize the façades. In addition, the exterior walls were constructed as

curved shapes full of dynamic rhythm. In the Baroque architecture, the

decorative exterior walls overtake the interior space and structure, create the

character of the building. Thus, to a certain extent, Baroque architecture and

Surface architecture are similar because they both put the façades, or to say

architectural surface, in the dominant position of architectural art. In other

words, if evaluating a building based on what Vitruvius had asserted in his

book, Ten Books on Architecture, then a structure must exhibit the three

qualities of “Solid”, “Useful” and “Beautiful”, for Baroque architecture and

for Surface architecture it can be said that “Beautiful” is important beyond

“Solid” and “Useful”, and becomes the first element of the building. There is

a good explanation for this “coincidence” in the architectural history. In the

development of architectural surface, the competition between the surface and

the volume is a major contradiction. When the new architecture system is

under developing, the surface is subordinate to the volume. When the

architecture system has reached a plateau, the surface is going to be the center

of attention in architectural design and will show a strong trend toward

breaking free from the shackles of the volume. Accordingly, the architectural
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surface-tendency design today becomes more common. An inflection point

may be closing, and the current main structure used and the resulting space

forms are already mature and begin to become stagnant. Architects have to

push the surface to the center of the architectural design stage. Then, maybe

only when a great change takes place in structural forms and the resulting

space, can rationalism return back in the relationship between architectural

surface, volume, and structure. However, this great change is unlikely to

happen in the foreseeable future, and therefore, the current main structure

forms may remain unchanged. Hence, with the help of architects, which want

to breach the doctrine and standards of modernism, surface architecture is still

in the initial stage and can be further developed to spread in the future.

However, because the building’s skin becomes an independent component in

surface architecture, the relationship of architectural surface and the main

body of building behind it turns out to have a weak correlation. Therefore, the

details on an architectural surface will have to separate itself from the main

body of the building and only serve as the skin of building. At this point, the

architectural details are only a kind of decorative symbol for the whole

building. As a result, the architectural detail is no longer a necessity of the

building and could easily be replaced or removed. This has created conditions

for the popularity of minimalist architecture to some extent.

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 CHAPTER 4. Impetus of Architectural Technology on Minimalist

Architecture

From the beginning of the 1990s, a designing tendency call Minimalism is

gradually rising in the architectural field. Minimalism is an artistic style that

began in post–World War II Western art. It is most strongly associated with

American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Minimalism is an art genre,

“where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a

subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts.”1

In the architectural field, “the concept of minimalist architecture is to strip

everything down to its essential quality and achieve simplicity. The idea is not

completely without ornamentation, but that all parts, details and joinery are

considered as reduced to a stage where no one can remove anything further

to improve the design.”2 Minimalism derives from the reductive aspects of

Modernism. Minimalist architecture is often regarded as the revival of

modernist architecture in contemporary times. However, due to different

influence of the times and developmental levels of architectural technology,

1 “Minimalism (visual arts),” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimalism_(visual_arts), (last modified

on 5 February 2016, at 15:02).

2 “Minimalism,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimalism, (last modified on 26 September 2016, at

16:24).

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modernist and minimalist architecture have different origins in the pursuit of

"simplicity". Modernist architecture was born in Europe at the turn of the 20th

century. At that time, because of the rapid technological advancement and the

modernization of society brought by Second Industrial Revolution, the

urbanization in Europe developed very rapidly. It created a new form of

architecture, which was adapted to the low construction cost that was urgently

needed for large-scale production. “Simplicity” became the response of

modernist architecture to meet this demand. Compared to a century ago,

today's society has completely different demands for architectural design.

Minimalist architecture’s pursuit of “simplicity” is more like the

demonstration of technological aesthetics. Although, from a formal point of

view, minimalist architecture has a very plain and simple appearance without

ornamentation, hidden by this appearance is the high-cost construction and

well-conceived design. It can be said that minimalist architecture, which

seems to be built easily is often supported by technology and precise

construction. Thus this also indicates that the wave of minimalist architecture

emerging today is largely the result of the progress of architectural technology.

4.1 Vanishing details

The contemporary minimalist architecture usually has a simple form in its

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façade. It follows the principle of “less, less and less” to pursue an “almost

nothing” state. Therefore, in many minimalist buildings, the architects not

only remove all the ornamentation but also try to eliminate the architectural

details that are irrelevant to the topic of design. Although architectural details

can serve as ornamentation, their existence should be based on physical

function. In other words, the striking dissimilarity of architectural details to

decoration members lies in the practical assistance in the use of the building.

However, due to the progress of architectural technology, many physical

functions of the old architectural details are no longer necessary for the new

buildings. As such, this lead to the loss of the architectural detail’s existing

foundation, resulting in a gradual disappearance of them, and thus, it also

promotes the development of Minimalist architecture.

4.1.1 Plinth Wall

Plinth wall has traditionally been seen as an important architectural detail in

China. It is explained in detail in almost all Chinese textbooks of building

structure. The Plinth wall is the lowest part of the building’s exterior wall,

which is thicker in appearance than the wall above. On the surface of the

common masonry material such as brick and block, there are usually many

small holes allowing the rainwater to infiltrate into these holes and cause
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corrosion damage. Extra protection provided by a layer of cement mortar,

stone or other materials is needed. This protection layer is coated on the lowest

part of the exterior wall thereby forming the plinth wall. It provides extra

protection to the exterior wall against rain splash and penetrating dampness

(Figure 4-1). Because of the extra layer, the plinth wall often looks different

with the other parts of exterior wall above. This allows it to become an

important decorative element of the building in China.

Figure 4-1 The brick building with plinth wall

After the promulgation of energy-saving building design standards in China,

the insulation material is always attached to the external wall. However, in the

performance of polystyrene insulation, which is most commonly used, it will

be greatly weakened when it comes into contact with water. A cement mortar
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layer is used as a protection, plastered on the insulation, while the decorative

material like a coating or veneer tiles is rendered on the cement mortar as the

finish. Due to the protection of cement mortar, the plinth wall is no longer

needed for the exterior wall. Additionally, the curtain wall technology has

been more widely used, so the masonry walls are often hidden behind the

architectural surface, no longer directly exposed to the outside. This makes

use of the plinth wall seem too redundant. Thus today in China, the plinth

walls, which work as the architectural detail, are gradually disappearing from

the façade.

4.1.2 “Tiao Mei Zhuan”

“Tiao Mei Zhuan” was a common winding up treatment of waterproofing

membrane in China’s early roof waterproofing construction. The literal

translation of “Tiao Mei Zhuan” is “eyebrow brick”, which as metaphor that

refers to the brick projecting out at least 60mm from the interior surface of the

parapet. This brick is used for the fixation of the waterproofing membrane

(Figure 4-2). “Tiao Mei Zhuan” was very popular in China as the result of its

simple construction – only making the bricks 250mm above the roof project

the parapet. In “Code for construction and acceptance of roofing engineering”

(GB207-83) issued in 1983, “Tiao Mei Zhuan” was classified as one of the
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standard methods of waterproofing roof construction. In one building the

bricks of “Tiao Mei Zhuan” are combined together as a line running through

the whole parapet, causing the “Tiao Mei Zhuan” to form a visual dividing

line between the two materials, brick and membrane, thereby enriching the

appearance of the parapet. Therefore, “Tiao Mei Zhuan” became an

architectural detail (Figure 4-3).

Figure 4-2 “Tiao Mei Zhuan”

Source: Liu, Zhaoru 刘昭如, Jianzhu Gouzao Sheji Jichu 建筑构造设计基础 [The
Basis of Building Constitution Design] (Beijing: Science Press, 2000).

Figure 4-3 The “Tiao Mei Zhuan” as an architectural detail

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However, in “Technical Codes for Roof Engineering” (GB50207-94) issued

in 1994, the method of “Tiao Mei Zhuan” was removed. The reason written

in the explanation of the code was that because construction quality is

difficult guarantee, “Tiao Mei Zhuan” can easily causes the cracks in the

parapet and furthermore the rain infiltration, it can greatly degrade the

performance of insulation on the roof. The alternative method is to create a

horizontal indentation in the parapet and fix the waterproofing membrane in

the groove (Figure 4-4). In recent years, due to the fact that parapets have

gradually changed to be constructed by concrete, it has become more difficult

to set a groove in the parapet. Therefore, instead of the groove, the 2012

edition of “Technical Codes for Roof Engineering” recommends using a metal

plate to fix the waterproofing membrane, as Figure 4-5. As such, “Tiao Mei

Zhuan”, as a former architectural detail, has become obsolete.

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 Figure 4-4 The groove to fix the waterproofing membrane
Source: Yan, Hongliang 颜宏亮, Jianzhu Gouzao 建筑构造 [Building Constitution]
(Shanghai: Tongji University Press, 2010).

Figure 4-5 The metal plate to fix the waterproofing membrane

Source: Yan, Hongliang 颜宏亮, Jianzhu Gouzao 建筑构造 [Building Constitution]
(Shanghai: Tongji University Press, 2010).

4.2 Pursuit of Purity

The pursuit of “simplicity” trends aims to promote a simple form of

minimalist architecture. This means that the material appearance becomes the

essential factor of architectural design. The minimalist architects frequently

106
use only one material for the building appearance on the major part of the

façade, and even whole façade in some cases. Therefore simplicity and

translucency have become two common and important characteristics of

architectural materials in minimalist buildings. Simplicity of the material can

provide a pure and uniform appearance for minimalist architecture.

Translucency, by its implicit and ambiguous expression, can enrich the

architectural experience. Glass is an unusual architectural material that can

have the appearance of both purity and uniformity. In the early stage of

modern architecture, the glass was often used as an important element in the

façade of the building with simple design tendencies. In many world-famous

buildings he designed, Mies used transparent glass as the external wall,

thereby creating a very simple building form. With the development of

architectural technology, architectural glass in appearance has also undergone

great changes. Today the glass used on the façade not only retains its pure

appearance but it also presents different transparencies through coating

technology. As one of the common architectural materials, glass through the

related technological advances promotes the prevalence of minimalist

architecture.

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4.2.1 Semi-tempered Glass

The glass curtain wall seems to be a natural fit with minimalist architecture.

As early as the mid-18th century in Europe, the improvement of smelting

technology promoted iron as the material for building structures. Some

engineers, without the architects’ participation, used glass to create the

compact architectural form, which didn’t contain traditional decorative

features (Figure 4-6). After entering the 20th century, as the frame structure

of steel or concrete gradually matured, and became possible that the glass

walls could replace the masonry wall to work for the building envelope. As a

milestone in modern architecture, Fagus Factory built in 1911, first adopted a

true glass curtain wall, thereby creating a kind of light and transparent

building wall form. The glass curtain wall dissolves the traditional facade style,

and transforms the appearance of the building into the simplest form by

presenting only one major material. Whether it is from the high-rise designed

by Mies in 1950s or Apple retail stores today (Figure 4-7), the use of the visual

purity from the glass curtain wall to create simple building forms has become

an important design technique for architects.

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Figure 4-6 The Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton

Figure 4-7 Apple Store Glass Cube, New York City

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In 1981, the Canton Trade Fair complex located in Guangzhou City was

designed with a glass curtain wall on the part of its façade. It was the first time

the glass curtain wall technology was used in China. In the early development

of China's glass curtain wall technology, according to the foreign experience,

the types of the glass used in the curtain wall wewre mainly tempered glass

and semi-tempered glass. Tempered glass and semi-tempered glass are both a

kind of strengthened glass. The production process of tempered glass is that

heat is applied to the normal glass evenly up to a certain temperature first, and

then it’s cool down rapidly by cold air. This tempering puts the outer surfaces

into compression and inner surfaces through the body of the glass into tension,

thereby greatly increasing the strength of the glass. The production process of

semi-tempered glass is similar to that of tempered glass, except for the cooling

process. The strength of tempered glass is usually more than four times that

of normal glass. Semi-tempered glass is not as strong as tempered glass, but

its strength is more than twice of the normal one. In addition, the biggest

difference between tempered glass and semi-tempered glass is the state of the

glass when it is broken. Tempered glass crumbles into small granular chunks

without sharp corners, which is less likely to cause injury (Figure 4-8).

However, in semi-tempered glass, like normal glass, it splinters into jagged

shards. These shards could cling together in the frame and will not easily fall

off, but if falling, they can cause severe injury (Figure 4-9).
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 Figure 4-8 The broken tempered glass

Figure 4-9 The broken semi-tempered glass

In looking at both materials as a curtain wall, tempered glass has a big flaw

on its appearance, which is called “Optical Distortion”. The phenomenon of

optical distortion is that the reflected image in tempered glass appears

obviously distorted (Figure 4-10). In serious cases, the distortion is almost

unacceptable and may cause dizziness and giddiness. The reason of this

optical distortion in tempered glass is mainly the variations in glass thickness

111
and flatness. “During the process of heat treatment, the glass is heated to a

point where it begins to move towards a liquid state. The surface undergoes

physical changes which can include bends at the trailing edge of the glass

(end kink), small (.008”) rises and falls of the surface (roll wave), or even

overall bowing of the glass. These shape changes, of course, contribute to

creating convex and concave conditions on the glass surface that will distort

reflected images. They are intrinsic to the heat treatment process and cannot

be eliminated.” 1 Thus, even though refined construction and exquisite

technique, the glass curtain wall with tempered glass may create a sense of

chaos due to the optical distortion, and therefore, it is hard to demonstrate a

highly pure and uniform appearance. However, because of the different

technological process, the shape and surface of semi-tempered glass are more

even and flat than those of tempered glass. In semi-tempered glass, the optical

distortion is restricted to the lowest level and the reflected image looks very

real. Thus, adopting semi-tempered glass for the curtain wall can provide good

performance in glass purity, and avoid the attention of people disturbed by the

optical distortion.

1 “Reflected Image Distortion in Architectural Glass,” Vitrum Industries LTD. http://www.vitrum.ca/cms/wp-

content/uploads/2013/05/Vitrum-techbulletin_distortion_v-tb-1-a.pdf, (October 3, 2016).

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 Figure 4-10 The reflected image in tempered glass

However, because of potential safety risks from the sharp fragments cause by

breakage, in China the semi-tempered glass is not considered as a type of

safety glass. In China, Shanghai City took the lead in banning the use of semi-

tempered glass in the curtain wall construction. As early as October 1996, the

Shanghai municipal government promulgated “Provision on the use and

installation of safety glass for buildings in Shanghai City”. In it, Article 5

requires that the glass that is used as architectural material in all components

of buildings, such as dropped ceiling or balustrade panels, must be safety glass.

In Article 2, the scope of “safety glass” is limited to “semi-tempered glass,

laminated glass, wire glass, and insulating glass composed of the above glass.”

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Therefore, semi-tempered glass is excluded from the “safety glass”

classification, and thereby can’t be used in buildings. In comparison, before

1999 semi-tempered was not defined as “non-safety glass” at the national

level, and could be used in building components throughout China except for

Shanghai. Even China’s national standards “Tempered and heat-strengthened

glass used in curtain walls” (GB 17841-1999), for instance, provided the

performance requirements of the semi-tempered glass used in the curtain wall.

Typically in China, the regulations enacted by Shanghai Municipality usually

have a demonstrative effect and signified a development trend. The

classification of semi-tempered glass as a “non-safety glass” was soon

extended to the whole country. In the year 2003 in China, the National

Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Construction, the

General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine

and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce jointly issued

“Regulation for building safety glass management”. In Article 2, the safety

glass is specified as “tempered and laminated glass, as well as the other glass

products made of tempered glass or laminated glass in line with current

national standards, such as insulating glass.”1 This made it official that semi-

1 Guanyu Jiakuai Qiangti Cailiao Gexin He Tuiguang Jieneng Jianzhu Yijian De Tongzhi 关于加快墙体材料革

新和推广节能建筑意见的通知, The State Council The People’s Republic of China,

http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/xxgkzl.htm.

114
tempered glass was not classified as safcety glass. Article 6 is similar to the

previous Shanghai’s provision stating that the curtain wall is listed as one of

the building components that must use safety glass when adopting the glass

material. Although the semi-tempered glass has been widely used in the

curtain wall, previously there was no report that semi-tempered glass shards

fall and wound. Because of “Regulation for building safety glass

management”, the semi-tempered glass could no longer be used in the curtain

wall anymore. This happened in the beginning period of the large-scale

construction of high-rise buildings in China. Since the limitation of

architectural technology, the curtain wall is the only choice for the building

envelope of many new high-rises. In a short time, countless curtain walls with

distorted, reflected images appeared in China’s cities. Because these high-rise

buildings are often the visual focus of the located area, the distortion of the

reflected images not only destroy the purity typically shown by glass curtain

walls but it also has a negative impact on the city’s appearance.

Events do not happen as one wishes. Although the construction of the curtain

wall in China began to abandon the semi-tempered glass and largely used the

semi-tempered glass as safety glass since 2003, the accidents from tempered

glass falling and causing injury due to spontaneous glass breakage have

happened frequently. Spontaneous glass breakage is a phenomenon that

115
tempered glass may break without any obvious cause. The cause of the

spontaneous breakage can be attributed to the fact that it is four to five times

stronger than normal glass, and is highly tightened by the pre-stress on itself.

Any minor damage on tempered glass can cause the tension to snap, creating

what is referred to as spontaneous breakage. The damage finally causing the

spontaneous breakage may be caused by high winds, or building and framing

system movement. The weakness can be attributed to the handling and glazing

process that then weakens the glass. However, the most common cause is from

the nickel sulfide stones within the tempered glass. Because of the use of

stainless-steel machinery in the glassmaking and handling process, the nickel

sulfide stones are created from the small shavings of stainless steel containing

nickel changing structure. Over time the stones grow, and end up in the center

tension zone of the tempered glass. “When that piece of tempered glass is later

exposed to varying temperatures in its final installed position, this tiny stone

– which can measure from 0,003 to 0.015 of an inch in diameter – may grow

in size, and cause the glass to shatter for no apparent reason.”1 The biggest

problem, however, is that there is no technology which can completely

eliminate the possible formation of nickel sulfide stone in the tempered glass.

1 “Spontaneous Breakage of Glass,” Glass Education Center,

http://educationcenter.ppg.com/glasstopics/spontaneous_breakage.aspx, (October 3, 2016).

116
Furthermore, since the nickel sulfide stones are very small, it is impossible to

detect whether they exist in the glass or not. Although the heat-soaking

procedure can reduce the spontaneous breakage incidences, it can’t ensure 100

percent elimination of nickel sulfide inclusion and increases cost, cycle time,

and scrap rate. Although the tempered glass breaks into small granular chunks

without sharp edges and corners, the idea that they won’t cause injury has

been rejected by a large number of statistics. Falling from the high-rise tens

of meters or even hundreds of meters high, when the chunks near the ground

they are travelling as fast as a bullet leaving a gun. Therefore, the amount of

damage that would be produced by the numerous falling chunks after

spontaneous breakage is needless to say. Currently, the spontaneous breakage

probability of tempered glass is about 5 in 1,000. However, for the large cities

in China with glass curtain walls spread around, such as Shanghai, this

probability would not be low due to the fact that a glass curtain wall on one

high-rise can include hundreds or even thousands of glass panels. The frequent

occurrence of tempered glass spontaneous breakage in recent years has

become a major threat to the citizens’ safety. Additionally, even an injury does

not result after spontaneous breakage, the replacement of the glass panel in

the curtain wall for the high-rise is a very expensive and laborious, which is

less affordable for some owners.

117
Compared to tempered glass, semi-tempered glass has smaller pre-stress, so

it rarely spontaneously breaks. Additionally, semi-tempered glass, which

won’t distort reflected images could ensure the pure and beautiful appearance

of a glass curtain wall. Semi-tempered glass is about two times stronger than

normal glass. Though not as good as tempered glass, it is adequate for the

safety of the building envelope. As one another city full of high-rise buildings,

Hong Kong has its own building code system, which is very different from

the one in mainland China. In Hong Kong, the glass curtain wall is constantly

inclined to adopt semi-tempered glass. Thus, there was a groundswell of

support for the re-permission of semi-tempered glass used in glass curtain wall

in previous years in China. Faced with this, Shanghai City, once again was at

the forefront of China, releasing a semi-tempered glass outline in 2012.

According to the 2012 edition of the “Provision on the use and installation of

safety glass for buildings in Shanghai City”, in Article 5, the curtain wall no

longer has to adopt safety glass. This reduces the threat posed by spontaneous

glass breakage in Shanghai City. More importantly, as the return of semi-

tempered glass, the performances of purity from the minimalist building style

in adopting glass curtain wall will no longer be influenced by the optical

distortion.

118
4.2.2 Coated Glass

Truly demonstrating the construction of the building is one basic concept of

modern architecture. For the maximum effect, the use of transparent glass in

the large area of façade is one of the typical characteristics of the modern

architecture. However, through the revival of modernist architecture in

contemporary times, minimalist architecture pursues concise and simple

architectural form. It is essentially always trying to hide the building’s

information shown by the façade as much as possible. Therefore, minimalist

architecture rarely uses highly transparent glass in a large area of, or around

the whole building envelope. The high transparency is almost like concealing

the presence of the exterior walls and exposing the interior building materials

and structure to the outside. This is contrary to the essence of “minimal”.

Nevertheless, the glass is still one of the minimalist architects’ favorite

materials, because “the movement of natural light in buildings reveals simple

and clean spaces,”1 almost all of the minimalist architects identify with the

importance of natural light. Thus compared to modernist architects who pay

more attention to the transparency of glass, minimalist architects tend to only

focus on light transmittance.

1 Bertoni, Franco, Minimalist Architecture, edited by Franco Cantini, translated from the Italian by Lucinda Byatt

and from the Spanish by Paul Hammond. Basel (Boston, and Berlin: Birkhäuser, 2002), 15-16.

119
In the early period of modern architecture, the glass adopted in the curtain

wall was only highly transparent glass, such as in Fagus Factory or Bauhaus

Building. These buildings laid the foundation of modern architecture styles.

Mies first raised the concept of combining window and wall into one, which

is entirely generated from the standpoint of architectural art. Because

transparent glass doesn’t have the strong shadow, it can help the building

facade have the most concise form. However, this could no doubt reduce the

practicality of the building. The best example is The Farnsworth House

designed by Mies. Although a private residence project is typically focused

privacy protection, for achieving the idea of “crystal building” Mies insisted

on the use of transparent glass as the exterior wall (Figure 4-11). Unfortunately,

this resulted in the lawsuit of Edith Farnsworth, the house owner. The major

allegation, except the high cost of $74,000 including the cost overrun of

$15,600, was the poor energy efficiency of the building as the result of all-

glass exterior walls. However, Mies’ further creations didn’t seem to be

affected by this lawsuit. He still used all-glass walls in the design of Crown

Hall at Illinois Institute of Technology. However, the barely shaded

transparent walls cause the interior to be very hot from the direct sunlight in

summer and very cold in winter. This causes the usage of the building to be

very low, as the students are not willing to stay in an uncomfortable indoor
120
environment.

Figure 4-11 The Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois

It is certain that Mies should have predicted these results when he decided to

use glass wall as the building envelope. It is well known that the thermal

insulation performance of transparent glass is very poor. For example, the heat

transfer coefficient of the common 12mm thick flat glass is about 5.5

W/(m2·K), and of one-brick-thick wall is only about 1.72 W/(m2·K), less than

one-third of the former. The issue of how to improve the thermal performance

of the glass wall has been an important task for early modernist architects. In

1958, the Seagram Building designed by Mies and Philip Johnson at New
121
York City was completed. In its curtain wall, Mies used the tinted glass,

specifically the bronze and dark ones, which was just invented soon at the

time. Tinted glass is produced by a small addition (typically less than 1%) of

other metal oxides. These small additions do not affect the basic physical

properties of the glass, only the color and further solar energy transmittance.

Although the tinted glass has the same thermal conductivity as normal glass,

the advantage of using tinted glass is to minimize infrared transmission with

minimum reduction in the visible light spectrum, which means to avoid the

indoor high temperature caused by direct sunlight. This technique

undoubtedly improved the comfortableness of the building. A greater

improvement to glass came in completion of the Bell Labs Holmdel Complex

designed by Eero Saarinen in 1962. In its six-story-high glass wall, it was the

first time that the coated glass was used in the large-area of the curtain wall.

Coated glass, also known as reflective glass, has been treated with a metallic

coating commonly on one side to allow it to reflect heat and thereby enhancing

the thermal insulation performance. Coated glass is usually combined with

normal glass into the insulating glass whose heat transfer coefficient is only

about 1.5 W/(m2·K). This enables the glass curtain wall to have good energy

savings performance. Additionally, another important feature of coated glass

is it works as a one-way mirror. As the metallic coating is applied to only one

side of the glass, the coated glass is partially reflective and partially
122
transparent. When one side of the coated glass is brightly lit and the other is

dark, people can only see through the glass from the darkened side but not

vice versa. Thus in the daytime, the coated glass in a curtain wall is like a huge

mirror, the people outside can't see the interior of the building, instead, the

people behind the glass can see out. Consequently, the glass curtain wall with

coated glass is an ideal wall form for minimalist architects. This type of glass

does not focus on the transparency but rather light transmittance. Besides

being able to provide purity to the façade, coated glass can hide the

information within the building to the outside, and at the same time create a

natural interior light environment. The John Hancock Tower, which is located

in Boston and designed by I. M. Pei, is also a building in minimalist

skyscraper design. It was by far the largest possible use of coated glass. The

appearance of the building is like a huge mirror that presents an extremely

pure effect (Figure 4-12), thereby causing a sensation throughout the

American architecture industry at the time.

123
 Figure 4-12 John Hancock Tower, Boston

China's research and production of coated glass began in the 1970s. However,

due to limited market demand, the coated glass output was very small by the

early 1980s. In March 1985, China’s State Council issued the policy that made

the processed flat glass products, such as tempered glass and coated glass, as

an important development direction of the future architectural technology in

China. From the middle of the 1980s, China began to introduce production

facilities and technologies of coated glass from abroad, while concurrently

increasing the related research. By the early 1990s, thanks to the rapid
124
development of China's economy, the Chinese domestic demand for coated

glass had been improved and domestic coated glass also began to come on the

market. China's coated glass industry has since experienced an upward supply

and demand, but frustration followed. Due to the technology content of the

domestic coated glass being low, in many big cities in China, the problem of

light pollution caused by the glass curtain wall appeared. This resulted in

many policies restricting use of coated glass and curtain walls. For example,

in “Notice on the Use of Curtain Wall Glass in Construction Projects”, which

was promulgated in 1998 and abolished in 2012 by Shanghai municipal

government, it was written to “prohibit the design and use of glass curtain

wall in the construction projects in the area circled by the inner ring viaduct,

except for on the podium” 1 and “the area of glass curtain wall shall not

exceed 40% of the external walls (including windows) in the construction

projects in the area circled by the outer ring viaduct.”2 In the same year,

Guangzhou municipal government also introduced the relevant provision,

which made a series of requirements for the production and use of coated glass

used as the curtain wall. These policies had a negative effect on Chinese

1 Guanyu Zai Jianshe Gongchengzhong Shiyong Muqiang Boli Youguan Guiding De Tongzhi 关于在建设工程中

使用幕墙玻璃有关规定的通知, Shanghaishi Zhufang He Chengxiang Jianshe Guanli Weiyuanhui 上海市住房和城

乡建设管理委员会, http://www.shjjw.gov.cn/gb/node2/, (October 20, 2016).

2 Ibid.

125
coated glass market, which was booming at that time, but it also promoted its

industrial upgrading. China’s tenth five-year plans for the building materials

industry and for the glass industry, which were published in 2001 and 2002

respectively, both mentioned that the country should persist in the

development of the coated glass industry.

Entering the 21st century, the promulgation of building energy efficiency

design standards for 50% energy saving, especially in the public buildings

energy efficiency design standards, had given a huge boost to the widespread

use of coated glass. Except for the heat transfer coefficient, the 2005 edition

of “Design standard for energy efficiency of public buildings” also put

forward the requirement to limit the value of the external window's shading

coefficient. In a building located in Shanghai, for instance, the general shading

coefficient of the glass curtain wall shall be lower than 0.40. In the 2015

edition of this standard, the requirement of the shading coefficient was

changed to solar heat gain coefficient, but by conversion factors between these

two coefficients, it can be found that the limit value of the shading coefficient

on the glass curtain wall is even less than 0.25. Thus, for the glass curtain wall

without an external shading member, which is most common in China, the

coated glass and its composition of insulating glass are the only viable options

for the glass material selection. As the result, the coated glass obtained fast
126
popularization and application in recent years in China (Figure 4-13).

Therefore, because the glass curtain wall with coated glass is involved in a

large number of the new high-rises, and tends to present the effect of purity,

the minimalism style continues to be very popular in the curtain wall buildings

in China.

Figure 4-13 The coated glass curtain wall

127
 CHAPTER 5. Summary

It is generally accepted that in the process of designing a building facade,

architects will always follow the order of "style first, then details", which

means the architects firstly decides the architectural style, then designs the

architectural details accordingly. But as described in the first chapter of this

dissertation, architectural technology has led to the formation of architectural

detail, and architectural style has emerged from the detail. Therefore,

architectural technology will inevitably affect the generation and

dissemination of architectural styles through architectural details. This effect

may play a positive role, but also has its draw backs. Nevertheless, as the

decision maker to the building design, architects often do not notice the impact

of this effect on their design. It is because this effect is rarely critical, and more

commonly is produced by tendency, a predisposition of the architects to create

a certain architectural style. Conversely, architects always believe that the

selection of architectural style is determined by their own subjective

consciousness. However, architectural technology is the foundation of the

realization of architectural art. Architectural history has repeatedly shown that

the emergence of landmark architectural styles or forms is dependent on the

change of architectural technology. Without the support from architectural

technology, new architectural style won't have a long-term vitality, becoming

128
more of a temporary trend only relying on the subjective wishes of the

architects.

After the reform and opening up in 1979, China ended its “closed door” state,

and began to keep pace with the world’s economy. The architects in China

also began to follow the trends around the world, to learn or imitate foreign

architectural design. China’s architectural technology has made significant

developments in the past thirty years. Due to its rapid development, the role

of architectural technology and the evolution of architectural art in China can

be more clearly reflected.

For rationalist architects, displaying the science of the architectural

technology is the most important of the design principles. Structure logicality

and material authenticity are the main two aspects of the science of

architectural technology. Early in China’s reform and opening up, due to the

social and economic development level, the governmental determined limits

on the building envelope and structural system were generous at that time. As

a result, many styles of architectural details and components could be

constructed and presented as architectural art in building. However, the

development of architectural technology has increased complexity, and

thereby more restrictions were added on to the building’s constituent system.

129
Many architectural details, which could be exhibited authentically before,

were eliminated or hidden as they were determined to be no longer suitable to

be shown. For rationalist architects, in ensuring architectural authenticity, it

makes it increasingly difficult to design an ideal work. The rationalist

architecture has become more restricted by architectural technology

development.

Because in recent years, the construction of buildings in China is astonishing,

Chinese architects have been too busy to look for the new design methods of

rationalism which can adapt to the new architectural technologies. Under the

restriction of the negative factors above, Chinese architects turn to a more

effective way to expression architectural art. In the mid-1980s, China began

to establish its own design standard system of building energy efficiency, and

has promulgated a number of relevant design standards. As an essential

element of building energy efficiency, wall insulation technology has been

developed from the interior wall insulation system in early time, to the exterior

wall insulation system that almost monopolizes the Chinese building market

today. For a new way of building, the modern insulation separated the

decorative elements from the main body of the building. It allowed the

decorative elements, which previously composed the building skin, to form a

separate part. Because of this it is very difficult to have the masonry wall
130
participate in the design of the building façade. Additionally, because of the

requirement of the building shape coefficient in building energy efficiency

design standards, the changes in building shape have also been greatly

restricted. With the emergence and development of the other new architectural

technologies such as the parametric design and 3D printing, the architects’

modeling ability of architectural surfaces have achieved unprecedented

progress. Architects have gradually put more attention on creating new and

novel building skins, allowing surface architecture to become popular.

Furthermore, the popularity of surface architecture also contributed to

architects’ tendency towards minimalism. In order to reduce the amount of the

decorative elements to the minimum, minimalist architects often adopt the

similar design method of surface architecture. It includes hiding the masonry

wall, which can reflect much building information, and constructing an

architectural surface with a simple and pure form as the building façade.

However, the realization of simplicity and purity in architectural surface often

needs support from significant architectural technology. With the rapid

development of architectural technology in the recent ten years in China,

many formerly common architectural details, such as the plinth wall and “Tiao

Mei Zhuan”, gradually have disappeared due to lack of necessity. New

architectural technologies, for example coated glass curtain walls, can create

a more concise effect on the building skin. As a result, the design and
131
construction difficulty of minimalist architecture has gradually been reduced.

With the development of architectural technology in China and the emergence

of international architectural minimalism wave, it is certain that the buildings

with minimalist style will become increasingly commonplace in China.

As the end of this dissertation, the author wants to reemphasize that in only

thirty years China's architectural technology has had swift and forceful

development, but unless by the laws or regulations are in place, for example,

those with national coercive power, the influence of architectural technology

on architectural art is always a gradual process, and the trends of architectural

style take time to become apparent. In the time after the emergence of new

technology, old and new construction technology always coexist. The

architectural art begins to show diversity, despite the law of historical

development being that that the new things always replace the old ones.

Although new architectural technology has not become mainstream, its

resulting change in architectural art may not have yet been popularized, but

the trend it generates is real and pointed in a positive direction. Thus the

content discussed in this dissertation, which is about the impact of

architectural technology on architectural art from the reform and opening up

to the present, can be considered as part of the discussion about the trends in

China's current architecture field. Furthermore, the prediction of Chinese

132
architectural art perspectives made are also based on the developments of

these trends.

133
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