Reading Response # 8

FACINATION WITH CHINA
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"This interest in things Chinese lasted from about 1715 through the end of the century and manifested itself in country house interiors ans garden ornaments(Roth 456)." This interest in all things Chinese created a temporary design style that is most prevalently shown in Frederick the Great's summer Palace. 

- Western designers started using wood instead of stone in palaces
- Chinese style of ornamentation of columns
- Western use of blue and white tile roofs like at the Pagoda at Nanjing in China which was adapted and later used in the western design at the Trianon De Porcelan

Chinese Teahouse at Sans Souci Palace in Potsdam  (1757),  is one of the most famous adaptations of the chinese architectural style.  This is evident in the ornimentation as well as the choice of using wood over stone in material choice.





 "The gilt columns, which support the roof, are in the form of palm trunks opening out in luxuriant sprays of shoots as they meet the entablature. Life size gilt Chinese figures sit at the base of the columns, playing musical instruments and engaging in animated conversation (Ching,580)."



This shows the Traditional style used in Chinese architecture. The layers of roofs add to the overall emotion of the temple making both the inside and out seem grand and more consuming of the tall landscape.

The Gardens in Sans Souci reflect the temple roof design used in Chinese design and how the layers take control of the landscape.

[sources]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/2731358138/
http://wanderlust-omnibus.blogspot.com/2009/10/potsdam-school-orientation-berlin.html
http://www.planetarium-berlin.de/pages/sundials/Potsdam-e.html
http://chestofbooks.com/travel/china/John-Stoddard-Lectures/China.html