Case studypaper

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Asian Architecture [ARC 2213/2234]

PROJECT 1: CASE STUDY

The effective application of traditional materials and construction technique as a cultural conservation

adapted by the Ningbo History Museum

NAME: CHUA CHANG YEONG

STUDENT ID: 0314044

LECTURER: KOH JING HAO

SUBMISSION DATE: 24th NOV 2015

Asian Architecture (ARC 2234 /ARC60403)

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The effective application of traditional materials and construction technique as a cultural conservation adapted by the Ningbo History Museum

Table of Contents Page

Abstract..........................................................................................................................3

1. Introduction.....................................................................................................4

2. Design Concept towards Culture Value2.1 Culture Value of Ningbo..............................................................................62.2 Design Concept and Intension...................................................................8

3. Application of Materials3.1 Material Selection......................................................................................103.2 Material Arrangment......................................1Error! Bookmark not defined.

4. Sustainability of Materials.............................................................................13

5. Technology Integration................................................................................14

6. Conclusion....................................................................................................17

7. Plagiarism Check..........................................................................................18

8. References.....................................................................................................19


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AbstractThe design of Ningbo History Museum show the cultural importance to its local context

against the rapid modernization. The aim of this research is to investigate the cultural

conservation in Ningbo, China through construction of Ningbo History Museum in term of

its vernacular building strategies.

The analysis on local cultural heritage is carried out as a comprehensive information to

facilitate that Ningbo History Museum has some of the remarkable features as a cultural

conservation. In order to support the conservation elements, this research paper will

emphasizes the materiality and construction technique of local traditional practice that

applied in the building.

The facade of Ningbo History Museum employs the local traditional Wapan tiling- a

construction practice that evolved as a method for building walls rapidly using available

materials in a region subject to frequent typhoons. Materials used of the wapan wall

were taken directly from the ruins of the villages that once occupied the site. This not

only reflects a desire to reinstate traditional materials in their architecture, but also has

the additional benefit of making the structure inherently sustainable for its use of

recycled materials.

The museum built by local artisans and craftsmen as a way of honouring and preserving

traditional construction methods. Taking into consideration of the structural mechanics

requirement for the 24meters height, modern construction technologies are applied. By

combining the tradition with modern industry, it enables the urban vernacular to grow

and still keep the area's traditions.


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1. INTRODUCTION

Figure 1.0 Ningbo History Museum Exterior Perspective (Edward Denison, 2012)

Ningbo History Museum designed by Wang Shu, Chinese architecture and founder of

Amateur Architecture Studio who won the 2012 Pritzker Prize. This museum was

completed in 2007 and located in Yinzhou central plaza, a district in Ningbo city with

5000-year history which recently been developed as a new and modern but sparsely

occupied city (Brendan M., 2012) .

This museum has an area of 30,000 m2 and height of 24 m2. It consists of four-storey

rectangular building divided vertically into various angular volumes, with raking walls

reaching dynamically upwards in all directions. The entrance to the museum is via a

public route that cuts through the ground floor of the building.

The Museum is the symbol of the culture of Ningbo. It is a comprehensive museum with

geographic, showing the history and the arts.


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This paper will investigate the design solution of cultural conservation applied in Ningbo

History Museum in term of its application of materials and construction methods by

responding to the following questions:

1. What is the design concept and intention taken towards the current cultural

values of Ningbo History Museum?

2. What are the effective application of materials used in Ningbo History Museum to

achieve its design intention?

3. What are the sustainability features of the materials used in Ningbo History

Museum?

4. How modern technologies assist the traditional construction technique?


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2. Design Concept towards Cultural Values

2.1 Cultural values of Ningbo

Figure 2.0 Site Context of Ningbo History Museum (Brendan M., 2012)

Yinzhou, a district in the city of Ningbo which the Ningbo History Museum located, was a

farmland which has a great history with age of 5,000 years (Brendan M., 2009). Yinzhou

was established about two thousand years ago, during the dynasty of Qin. It

administrated the port city of Ningbo which began to run the foreign trading in 7th century

until today. The deep-water port city is considered an important engine of economy on

the east coast of China (Till Wöhler, 2010).

Ningbo, as the heart of the old city, contains many culturally significant residential,

religious, and institutional buildings as well as historic landscapes. Ningbo's rich cultural

properties, from the Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, give the importance of

historic and cultural value to the city. With its value, Ningbo city was recognized by the


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Government of China as one and the first cities to be declared a Cultural Heritage;

Protected City, of national level importance (Katrinka E., Donald H., 1999, p.3).

However, the expansion of city is still going and completely changed the landscape of

Ningbo. Due to the urbanization city planning, immense population growth bring about

the housing shortage which result the old buildings have to be demolished in order to

build more high-rise residential blocks. Besides, many houses of the old village on the

field of crop were demolished and razed to ground in favour of the two government

administration buildings. Such rapid modernization of the city have undermined its

importance of history and cultural inheritance.


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2.2 Design concept and Intention

Figure 2.1 Contrast of Ningbo History Museum and Contemporary Surroundings (Amateur Architecture, 2012)

As a cultural landmark, set in the modern commercial buildings, the museum is designed

considering the historical references and stand in contrast to its nearby contemporary

environment. The museum creates awareness of cultural conservation and show its

statement against the city’s rapid modernization.

Figure 2.2 Analytic diagram- Design concept of Ningbo History Museum (Arch-phenomenology, 2014)

Face with this ‘no memory zone’ devoid of context, Wang Shu was inspired by the

Chinese traditional inspiration and decided to combine the hard mountain landscape and

softness of water. (Garth C. 2013)


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The entrance of the building is on second floor which has the shape of mountain and

also boat. The mountain refers to the existing landform of Ningbo while the boat

represent the importance of maritime trade throughout the history of the place, making

the museum a symbol of history and culture of Ningbo

Figure 2.3 Section through the wapan masonry façade. (Source: Amateur Architecture, 2009)

Wang Shu then married his concepts to the local traditional Chinese building technique

called Wapan.

Wapan wall is a traditional construction method allowing quick reconstruction with

fragments of building debris. This construction technique was developed and practiced

by the local farmers to cope with deconstruction caused by frequent typhoons

(Guiseppina S.2004)


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3. Application of materials

3.1 Material Selection

Ningbo History Museum employs the materials in radically different way. Here, the

Wapan wall is a key element in the design which successfully anchors the building to its

context and show the truth-to-materials.

Figure 3.0 Façade Materials Analysis (Khim P., 2014)


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The museum is built using rubble materials such as brick, stone, tiles and concrete that

left over from the ruins of old building in order to not waste anything, much like the

customs in villages. Each piece comes with a fragment of history and unrepeatable form,

giving an elasticity to its use.

The revival of wapan construction using reclaimed materials from demolished building

shows the architect’s desire to reinstate the traditional materials in the museum as well

as making the structure inherently sustainable. It states a clear statement against the

phenomenon of deconstruction and massive construction in the urbanization process in

Ningbo, while at the same time, it contributes one of the modern examples of viable

architecture with recyclable materials.


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3.2 Materials arrangement

Figure 3.1 Free Arrangement of Materials on Façade. (Source: Evan C., 2012)

The wapan wall of Ningbo History Museum was impressively executed by the local

craftsmen as an approach of honouring and preserving traditional construction methods.

Wang Shu used photos and drawings to help the craftsmen to recall the technique and

guide them to apply the technique.

In creating the board wall of the museum, handmade nature of construction was difficult

to control the portions of materials in perfectly straight line as the exact execution of the

architect’s design. Finally, Wang Shu decided to let the nature take its course and gave

the masons a large degree of freedom in laying the dissimilar blocks (Brendan

McGetrick, 2009). This imperfection reveal the beauty in handmade nature in contrast

with its surrounding context which is an alien world of technological perfection.


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4. Sustainability of Materials

The entire wapan masonry façade of Ningbo History Museum was constructed using

large amount of reclaimed materials from local village demolition, which reflect the

sustainable advanced culture tendency and the theme of ecology and culture

amalgamation.

Figure 4.0 Rubble of Demolished Site (Source: Reuter, 2014)

In term of culture conservation, the recycling and reuse of materials which saved directly

from demolished site successfully sustain the local culture in form of memory through

the wapan masonry façade. Therefore, the wall itself also acts as part of the gallery

showing the history of local tradition.

In term of ecology, although the collection of materials require labours however it greatly

reduced the material cost as the materials are free. The use of renewable building

materials also show the respect to environment.

Wapan, once considered a lowly material of the poor, is reinforced in a manner that

permits it to function on a scale demanded by contemporary Chinese standards.


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5. Technology Integration

Typically, the strength of the wapan wall using traditional construction technique is weak

which a single monolithic wapan wall is not suitable to be built exceed the height of four

meters. However, the façade of Ningbo History Museum required a surface up to 24

meters high, which the height is so much higher than the wapan wall that constructed in

traditional dwellings.

Besides, to apply wapan wall as building façade, the thickness should be at least 240

millimetres. Yet, the compression strength of the wapan wall materials is poor, the bond

strength between each other is low as well as differ in thickness and length. The overall

stability and compression of the wall is poor.

To find out the best solution, the architect has been exploring the gap between

traditional building methods and contemporary construction practices. After many

experimental processes with the materials, the architect have come out with an

innovative techniques to adapt and transform the traditional materials for this

contemporary project which is to construct the wapan wall structure which is to divide the

total height of Ningbo History Museum (24 meters) into independent wall block of 3

meters to carry the loads, at the same time not destroying the overall strength of the

wall.

Under close consultation between the architect and craftsmen, many wall testing were

carried out on site with the final prototypes producing a façade system from the wapan

masonry and mortar, combined with a concrete linear panel.


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Figure 5.0 Section through the wapan masonry façade.

(Source: Elizabeth, 2012, p. 69)

Basically, this final wapan masonry façade consist of four components that are the

wapan wall masonry, concrete linear panel, mortal and reinforced concrete structure.

Due to the low compressive strength of the masonry, it required the periodic support of

invisible concrete ledgers integrated horizontally into the panel every 3 meters (Elizabeth

G, 2012). The entire masonry facade system is then tied back to the concrete linear

panel, joined tightly together using tie bars to form one whole unit. This help to improve

the structural safety of the wall. The 15 centimetres reinforced concrete linear panel is

the main load carrying structure which also the water proving system.


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The museum facades transform a waste material into an environment permeated with

meaning, serving as a reminder of village demolition while simultaneously presenting a

contemporary translation of traditional masonry construction. Wapan, once considered a

lowly material of the poor, is reinforced in a manner that permits it to function on a scale

demanded by contemporary Chinese standards. Since opening in 2008, the museum

has received much media attention, public acceptance, and admiration.


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6. Conclusion

Wang Shu’s architecture is devoted to tradition, history, a sense of place, sustainable

use of materials, and the people who will inhabit it. In his design of Ningbo History

Museum, he is reviving a tradition that was lost, and state that importance of recovering

the traditional technique is pragmatic, historic and cultural.

As he said “China can civilize modernity by its culture. The architect must solve the

problem of how to make traditional materials…compatible with modern architectural

technology” (Elizabeth G., (2012) Here, Wang Shu means that by the combination of

tradition with modern industry, it enables the urban vernacular to grow and still keep the

area’s traditions.


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7. Plagiarism Check

*Unable to check the second time, the 4% Taylor’s Education Group should be the module code on the footer [Asian Architecture (ARC 2234 /ARC60403)] which I was not removed during checking.


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8. References

Till W. (2010). Ningbo Museum. Architectural Review 227, 1357(58), 50-60.

Elizabeth G., (2012) Traditional Materials Optimized for the Twenty-Past Century. 2012

ACSA International Conference, University of Washington.

Brendan M., (March 2012). Ningbo History Museum. Domus 922, 66, 2-3.

Katrinka E., Donald H., 1999, Case Study: Ningbo, China, Culture Heritage

Conservation in Urban Upgrading, 3-4.

Guiseppina S. (2015). Wang Shu: Façade as Material and Tactile Stratifications.

Screencity Lab. Pp. 2-5

Garth C. (2013). Architecture-Wang Shu’s Ningbo Museum. Retrieved 3 Nov, 2015 from:

https://cfileonline.org/architecture-wang-shus-ningbo-museum/

Evan C. (2013).Delirious Shanghai .Retrieved 3 Nov, 2015 from:

http://archinect.com/delirious-shanghai/place-holder-ningbo-historic-museum

JiaXin H. (2013). Wang Shu’s Ningbo Museum: a Critical View. Retrieved 3 Nov, 2015

from: http://www.masterplanningthefuture.org/?p=1229

Till W.(2010). Ningbo Museum by Pritzker prize winner Wang Shu. Retrieved 3 Nov,

2015 from: http://www.architectural-review.com/ningbo-museum-by-pritzker-prize-

winner-wang-shu/5218020.article


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ARC 2213/2234 ASIAN ARCHITECTUREPROJECT 1 LITERATURE REVIEWFINAL ESSAY MARKING SHEET (20%)

Name : Chua Chang YeongLecturer : Koh Jing Hao

CRITERIA 1 2 3 4 5 TOTALUnsatisfactory Developing Satisfactory Proficient Excellent (100%)

Content (40%)

No evidence of thesis statement

Has written a thesis statement (at least inferable), using appropriate language (although not necessarily with the best choice of words); may use passive voice verb(s)

Has written a thesis statement (at least inferable), using appropriate language (although not necessarily with the best word choice); at least one active verb

Has an understandable thesis statement, using some strong language, active verb(s), and appropriate descriptive words and / or phrases

Has a clear thesis statement, using strong language, active verb(s), and appropriate descriptive words and / or phrases

Consequences of the issue are absent

Consequences of issue are vague or confusing

At least one consequences of the issue is presented

Short and long term implications of this issue are presented

Short and long terms implications of issue are clearly outlined and linked together

Discussions and/or recommendations are absent or confusing

Discussions and/or recommendations are absent or inappropriate

One general discussion and/or recommendation is presented

One or two appropriate discussions and/or recommendations are presented

Two or more thoughtful discussions and/or recommendations are convincingly presented

Organization (20%)

Arrangement of details and ideas is confusing

Arrangement of details and ideas is unclear

Details and ideas are roughly arranged in a workable order

Details and ideas are well organized with a beginning, middle and end

Details and ideas are carefully arranged to add interest and clarity

Ideas are aimless and unconnected

Writing is very disorganized and few ideas are connected

Writing is sometimes off topic

Ideas generally relate to the discussions and recommendations being presented

Ideas and details build towards a convincing argument for the discussion and recommendations

Many run-ons, fragments and awkward

Sentences are often awkward and/or contain

Sentences are generally well constructed but

Sentences are complete and well-constructed.

Sentences are clear, complete and of varying


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phrasings making it hard to read the paper

run-ons and fragments

there may be one or two run-on, fragments or awkward sentences

There are attempts at making the writing interesting

lengths. Writing is interesting and convincing

Writing Conventions (20%)

Communication is unclear due to many errors

Communication is occasionally interrupted by the errors made

Communication is generally clear despite some errors

There are a couple of spelling, punctuation and/or grammatical errors

Correct spelling, punctuation and grammar

No evidence of sources

Uses at least 2 sources evenly in the paper




APA Citations (20%)

Paper has more than 4 parenthetical errors

Paper has no more than 4 parenthetical errors



Paper has no more than 1 parenthetical error

Paper has more than 8 cited page error according to APA guidelines

Paper has no more than 8 cited page errors according to APA guidelines




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