Dougong is a timber frame structure which is commonly constructed in traditional Chinese architecture because the walls of the buildings aren’t load bearing types. The concept of the dougong is the interlocking of brackets. By placing the a large wooden block on a column to provide a solid base for the bow shaped brackets that support the beam above it. Besides that, the function is to give extra support to the increased weight of horizontal beams that span the vertical column by transferring weight on horizontal beams over a larger area to the vertical columns. The interlocking process can also be repeated many times. Multiple dougong also let structures to be more elastic.
Owing to hierarchical restrictions in feudal society, the dougong structure can be found only in the prominent buildings such as palace and temple halls. To identify the importance of the buildings, it can be determined by the number of layers of these bracket stucture.
In addition, the dougong structure is highly resistant to earthquakes. It could hold the wood structure together even though brick walls would collapse in the same earthquake. This helped so many ancient buildings to stand intact for hundreds of years.
No comments:
Post a Comment