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Time · Space · Architecture


QI Kang
Research Institute of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
(email: qikang@seu.edu.cn)

In the 20th century a Swiss writer wrote a book titled or later, faster or slower. Another time sequence is the
Time, Space and Architecture, in which he discussed the technology system based on productivity. Comrade
relationship between architecture and the times. Fifty Deng Xiaoping said that science and technology is a
years after that, this paper adopts the same title, hoping primal productive force. Its application in architecture is
to deepen the understanding of the space-time structure the integration of structures, materials and construction
in architecture and contribute to the new exploration of technology. The beam-column system existent from an-
architectural forms. cient Egypt to ancient Greece is just the beam-column
structure. Through practice people gradually knew how
1 Differentiating architecture in historic to best harmonize structure and beauty. The best exam-
age and architecture in technological age ple is Parthenon in Greece with its proper column and
span, its pediment and the foundation of the temple,
The space-time development of architecture is mostly
solemn and elegant. As an epoch-making masterpiece
described according to dynasties. In the case of China,
combining architectural technology and art, it will last
we count from the ancient, Xia, Shang, Zhou, Spring
for ever. The temple freely combines its entrance group,
and Autumn, Warring States, Qin, Han, Jin, Five Dynas-
Nike Temple in front of it, devious steps, and Erech-
ties and Ten Kingdoms Period, to Tang, Song, Yuan,
theum caryatid cloister. The spatial balance between
Ming, Qing, and to the foundation of the People’s Re-
Parthenon and Athena can be seen from the porch. When
public of China on October 1st, 1949. In order to clas-
analyzed carefully, this combination is also a group
sify architecture in terms of time and space we usually
paradigm. Group size, spatial location, asymmetrical
rely on its characteristics of a certain era. For instance,
balance, as well as mountain nature, are all to be re-
Nanshan Temple Palace in Wutaishan, which is regarded
searched. Roman technology adopts arch, which is a
as the earliest, completely preserved architecture in an-
great technological progress. The typical application of
cient China, was built in Tang Dynasty. Similarly, west-
arch piled up by enormous stones is aqueduct, e.g. the
ern architecture can be described as buildings of ancient
Gehe Aqueduct. Romans knew how to transport water,
Egypt, Rome, Byzantium, Western Rome, or of Middle
then they developed the technology into two or three
Ages, of Renaissance, or of Gothic, Baroque, Rococo,
stories and even subsequently to above-ground trans-
Eclecticism, Reactionism, or Neoclassicism, or as new
portation. Roman baths were luxurious entertainment
buildings of the early 20th century. The architectural
sites for slaveholders based on the living habits of the
styles and patterns represent and reflect the ages. How-
time. This scene can be illustrated by Rubens’s paintings
ever, the ages can be overstepped. For instance, Tibet
about the demise of the Romans. The arch, however, did
jumped into socialism directly from the serf age. Time
can overlap or coincide, and the history of architecture Received February 8, 2009; accepted March 29, 2009
doi: 10.1007/s11431-009-0284-0
can be ontological. For example, the development in the Supported by the Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China
same country may take various forms; it may be earlier (Grant No. 50878042)

Citation: Qi K. Time · Space · Architecture. Sci China Ser E-Tech Sci, 2009, 52(9): 2481―2485, doi: 10.1007/s11431-009-0284-0
not stop developing. Instead, it developed into in me- 2 Migration of population brings about
dieval churches’ arch. Then flying buttress was devel- cultural transformation and innovation
oped, which was used to support large-span cathedrals.
Religious beliefs promoted the idea of ambition, so Architecture exists, develops, disappears, and even per-
buildings grew much larger and higher. France, England ishes for mankind’s surviving, producing and living.
and Germany set up cathedrals’ models according to Several situations occurred in history. One of them was
their own locations, and there were some differences in the macro-ecological damage resulting in population
the convergence. If there is a term called “regionalism” migration from the Yellow River valley in the north to
today, it can well be said that regional architecture has the Yangtze valley. Small-scaled population migration,
existed since the ancient; just nobody cared about ide- e.g. the population migration to Dalian, was initially due
ology. In West Asia arches were made of bricks instead to poverty. “Braving the journey to the Northeast” and
of stones. Pantheon, a representative work in Rome, ap- “Going to the West Gate” were for the same reason.
Mostly people moved from highly or relatively highly
plied the arch structure perfectly. With ceiling lighting
civilized places to less or relatively less civilized places,
on the top, the temple boasts its amazingly large size.
with the purpose to exploit the soil or explore the terri-
The transformation from triangle pediments into circular
tory. China’s population was not so large in history, so
ones, the transparency of the ceiling, and the force
sometimes migration was a kind of administration, and
transferring from the arch to the dome were a progress.
sometimes could be seen as a consequence of the war.
Then unilateral forces developed to be multidimensional,
Annexation, looting, encroachment led to disappearance
e.g. circular, such as pyramids of the ancient Egypt
of culture, leaving not a bit trace. Nothing else is now to
based on land surveying geometry. Greek temples with
be seen except several graveyards, which show us the
the beam-column structure were the second milestone;
rise and fall of Western Xia Dynasty. So was the
the building of Pantheon the third. Beam column, arch
Goguryeo culture of Jilin. The largest population migra-
and dome have existed constantly for thousands of years,
tion was mostly for occupying land and plundering. En-
which could also be proved by Chinese burial arch. The
closure wars, for example, were all aimed at grabbing
stone arch of Zhaozhou Bridge and the stone board
the rights and interests. Sometimes the violence of war
bridge of Quanzhou which has a building stone about
even led to the population or ethnic extinction. Wars
8m long, demonstrate that they continue to exist. But were an important reason for large-scaled population
that time period is usually commended by historians for migration. Population and wealth were vital resources.
its column art manifestation. Architectural style played Population migration usually brought out the original
an important role in history. Therefore, Greece’s pen- culture which included architectural culture. Crusade of
tastyle, Rome’s pentastyle, and Renaissance’s pentastyle, Europe and Kublai Khan’s invading Europe in Yuan
Baroque, Rococo, neoclassicism, modern architectural Dynasty both resulted in population migration and
pluralism, regional style and its transformation and in- mandatory diversion of culture. Construction of reser-
novation appeared. Genre of style also forms a time se- voirs and dams may also force the local population to
quence, a separate system which does or does not de- migrate. The construction of the great dam of Yangtze
pend on the content, or technology. Hence, there are River compelled two million people in Chongqing to
three threads in the time sequence: move. Such large-scaled move was a passive one and
(1) Thread of history and culture; required a great deal of residence construction in and out
(2) Thread of science and technology; of this area, which changed the local life and those peo-
(3) Thread of form and ecology. ple’s original life. Population migration may also be
These threads may be parallel, interleaving, inter- caused by natural disasters, such as debris flows in the
secting, coincident, or overlapping. With the wheel of western mountainous areas and earthquakes. People
history rolling ahead, the development of mankind is suffered from these disasters, so they moved to other
always forward. It is necessary for us to comment on places where they could build safer houses on better
time, space, and architecture after analyzing them from foundations. Population movement leads to the changes
different aspects and considering various functions. of natives’ culture, including the change of architectural

2482 Qi K Sci China Ser E-Tech Sci | Sep. 2009 | vol. 52 | no. 9 | 2481-2485
culture, although cultural development is mainly based veloped. Transition from the age of carriages to the age
on the development of local economy. of cars was a great development. Transportation with
Meanwhile, blending of architecture and culture, and subway, light rail, and bullet trains made the connection
regional independent innovation are equally remarkable. between regions easier, faster and more convenient, al-
They frequently occur in architectural culture. For in- tering the relation between time and spatial distance.
stance, besides dome and arch, there are highly-sloped Rapid transportation and high-speed roads greatly re-
crest and spire in European architecture, especially in duced the space and time distance between cities and
churches. The spire has become a symbol due to reli- between regions. New construction technology induced
gious dominancy in history. So it is quite natural and great changes in materials and structures, especially the
understandable that many European buildings adopt reinforced concrete, which greatly enhanced the plastic-
both dome and spire as an emblem or symbol. ity of structure and architectural configuration. The al-
In traditional European architecture, the part from the teration of architectural configuration and the emergence
dome to the spire is generally taken as a stylistic feature, of steel structure and high-rise buildings helped save
while the oriental architecture, which takes the compara- land. Then underground parking lots and large garages
tively stable Chinese culture as the main body, considers were put into use.
two slopes, four slopes, gable and hip roof as the main While the line shape of traditional architecture is
structure. Slightly tilted roof has become an important geometrical, i.e. the combination of square, rectangular,
feature of Chinese architecture. Chinese and oriental ar- cone and circular, modern architecture may assume plas-
chitecture, such as in-room flat, pillars enclosed by thick tic forms, parabola, and nonlinearity. The transition from
soil or brick walls, are simple beam column system, with linear to nonlinear and the organic splicing changing
one beam and another on top of column. Chinese glazed from plane function to attractive appearance are a huge
tile is a creative application. Later it was even graded. leap. In the second half of the 20th century, the results of
Yellow, blue, and green ones used in important buildings pliability and flexibility features could be obtained from
express an oriental spirit, while black and white ones used computer-aided design, so as to implement novel de-
in civilian houses form a simple local style. signs. The development of art, especially of painting,
The phenomenon of urbanization is also population expresses individual ideas and feelings. A canvas can
movement, that is, a large number of peasants swarm into manifest not only history of ancient times or Middle
cities in developed areas. At the beginning, peasants move Ages, but certainly also wishes of an individual. Early
from south to north, like migrant birds, and go back in and late impressionists jumped out of detention of gal-
winter. In Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta, a lery and pursued light and color, brightness and darkness.
considerable number of migrant workers stay in the city. Certainly painting art can also influence architecture.
First they lived in areas connecting the city and the coun- People understand architecture from six sides to no
tryside, or “villages within the city”. Now under the boundary, and understand it as bionic, ecological, and
guidance of the government policy, primary schools are integrated into nature. On the one hand, architecture has
set up there, so that their children have education oppor- become a larger mechanism like hangar and boatyard.
tunity. However, due to the financial crisis, a considerable Liberation of people’s concept promotes liberation of
number of migrant workers have to go back to their architectural art. On the other hand, for the purpose of
homes and get reemployed. This migration phenomenon scientific research, architecture can be precise, sound-
is due to the acceleration of urbanization. At the same proof, quakeproof and anti abrasion. Visional technology
time, city culture is also brought to the countryside. turns a whole “still” wall into an “animation”—a mov-
ing and 3-dimensional image. Artificial light provides
3 The rapid development of cities and new effects, and the application of glass adds to the
urbanization in the west and developed splendor of modern architecture. However, light reflec-
countries in the 20th century considerably tion brings about light pollution. Artificial light is an
changed the morphology of architecture essential element in modern cities’ architectural con-
figuration. It reflects the clear sky and the mirage-like
and cities
city. The development of modern architecture has
First of all, transportation tools were improved and de- changed the traditional architectural scale, proportion,

Qi K Sci China Ser E-Tech Sci | Sep. 2009 | vol. 52 | no. 9 | 2481-2485 2483
foil, color and shape, as well as the interface of the city. needs memory, inheriting, transformation and innovation.
Modern architecture is the demand of modern society; A variety of tools and techniques make architectural de-
it is affected by modern technology, i.e. new materials sign possible. I have been to Frank Gehry’s office,
and construction skills, and directly or indirectly by where I saw young people using a rolling machine to
modern art. New buildings indicate the arrival of a new collect data of the camber and uploading them to the
architectural world. They not only make an epoch, but computer which then would calculate the tensional loads.
also record the historical architectural culture, which In his office, we could also find plans of normal school
reflects the history and foreshows the future. buildings. However, architects make designs mainly by
Modern transportation is a result of the rapid gather- using their brains, concepts and various architecture en-
ing and concentration of population. The rapid accumu- gineering knowledge, as well as the national standards
lation and dispersion of transport requires space between and regulations, and by considering the local reality. Af-
public vehicles. Since high-speed vehicles must be able ter all, designs reflect concepts and ideology. Rapid in-
to reach all the connection points in or out of the city, formation exchanges create culture collision, exchange
viaducts or underground passages become inevitable. and integration. Ideas are ahead of or behind the devel-
Therefore, circular viaducts in Shanghai and Guangzhou, opment of technology. “Copycat” for a certain period of
which go through the populous areas of the cities, are time is acceptable, but a building can exist for a much
quite necessary. Meanwhile, pedestrians need flyover, longer period than people’s lives. Clothing styles can be
which means the city blocks have to be divided. Tradi- copied; fashion drifts with the tide of time and leaves
tional pedestrian overpass and commercial streets are only an impression. But some public and memorial ar-
transformed from outside ones to inside ones. After the chitecture continues existing to be appreciated and stud-
blocks have been divided, community life, welfare and ied, impressing people with memory and emotion.
education of the city have to be reorganized. Special Sometimes the meaning of a building can be converted,
attention should be paid to the safety of nurseries and but the image is persistent. Architectural creation is par-
primary schools. allel with globalization and localization, and it is multi-
variate and multilevel.
4 Global information and network have Information has the characteristics of fashion and
changed people’s lives and have also af- time. The space continues to exist or disappears when
fected architecture and architectural cul- the time is definitely gone. The new space, the new his-
ture tory, and the new time and space emerge constantly,
which is a kind of metabolism. History does not have
Internet, computers and digital technology have acceler- emotion while people do. But people can only memorize,
ated information transmission. People use computers in recall, summarize and conclude the history, face the re-
their offices; through television people in rural areas ality and look forward to the future. They have a hope
know various lives and states of people in cities. Both and an ideal for the future. Modern time, space and ar-
cities and rural areas are affected in architecture, cloth- chitecture information are the most important elements.
ing, and all kinds of fashion. Efficient transportation and People strive for the initiative in time. But architecture is
information significantly enhance the relation of the a hysteretic development form. Time can be mastered,
time, space and architecture. Space and time of archi- created, and innovated in our knowledge fields. Seizing
tecture can change from 3-dimensional to 4-dimensional, every creative opportunity to study is the foundation of
space can change from real to virtual, and time and architectural design.
space can be stepped over. The height and span of
buildings can be greatly increased. Knowledge accumu- 5 Dialectic reflection of the space-time
lation is accelerating to the extent of so-called knowl-
operation
edge explosion. Multidisciplinary study is gaining
popularity. Italian artist Leonardo Da Vinci was not only The above discussion reveals that analyzing architecture
a painter but also a sculptor and an engineer; today peo- requires relative time-space concepts.
ple with average intelligence can step into several disci- (1) All researches on architecture are considered from
plines too. Mankind is making progress, but history the moving process of space-time, from dynamic, from

2484 Qi K Sci China Ser E-Tech Sci | Sep. 2009 | vol. 52 | no. 9 | 2481-2485
relative relation, and from the meaning and the relations ern architecture.
of existence. That gives us the theory and the method of The purpose of architecture is to serve people. Since
dialectical thinking of historical materialism. ancient times, there have been rulers and the ruled, the
(2) Analyzed from the time sequence, the researches rich and the poor, the strong and the weak. What we
are considered from the time sequence of architectural consider are the common people, the working class and
technology, from history development, political society the intelligentsia. In fact, architecture provides service to
and the changes of economic technology; the ages of people of all ranks, and to abstract “people” with be-
architectural technology development in west are the havioral and emotional requirements. When studying the
ages of beam column, fornix, reinforced concrete, relative static in urban and rural areas, we should take
steel structure, as well as inflatable constructions. The account of the stable population and the flowing crowd,
transformation from geometric to non-geometric, and and consider the service for the majority of regional
from linear to non-linear, greatly exceeds the span of people, that is, activities in all levels and of all types.
different historical times. Oriental quadrangle dwell- Cities and towns are patterns of population concentra-
ings, with wood structure as their main frameworks, tion, which are influenced by a variety of environmental
take flat as a unit. There are regular ones with three to factors, such as nationality, states, customs and personal
five, seven, nine flats, such as official buildings, and relations. Integration is an overall analysis, and also a
irregular ones called “grass shelf”, which are a free converging study, but differences are a research of cate-
combination of structures and a construction group with gory and typology. Discussion of people’s wisdom and
local features on a slope or near water. From the aspect emotion should take meanings, symbols, and sites into
of architectural style, Western Europe is typical for the consideration. Anthropological concepts and the synthe-
combination of “column” and “arch”, balanced and sis of local people’s activities help to make judgment.
unbalanced architecture configurations. Architectural Modernity should be taken as an access point, including
styles are influenced by fashion and their own structure. modern people’s feelings and wisdom, intelligence,
The development of decoration and devices is based on knowledge and scientific methods. Actions should be
fashion change, such as the external decoration of west- taken to suit the times and local circumstances. What we
ern architecture, and ornamental-pattern of the base of study are the contemporary groups.
Chinese constructions. This relative independence indi- The time endows us with modern cities, behavior and
cates that the contents are constant while the forms are psychology of modern people, transportation and com-
alterable. It can also be concluded that the functional munication of modern cities. It is an age of modern
contents are essential while forms are principal. During transportation and corresponding establishments, an age
the whole process we can make analysis longitudinally of information.
or transversely, i.e. analysis on the nodes, so as to ac- We should value scientific methods and use them to
quire a relatively scientific method. We have to make a set up ideals based on history, the present and the future,
dialectical reflection due to the complicated changes of and to establish a comprehensive science of morphol-
history and huge differences between eastern and west- ogy.

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