Research On The Origin Of Lingnan Architectural

Lingnan culture includes Lingnan architectural culture, which has been considered respecting for tradition and keeping a spirit of enterprise in its development meanwhile. This research focuses on the history of Lingnan architecture school. By exploring our knowledge about the development of Lingnan architecture school, one the one hand, architects nowadays can obtain more typical references for the modern creation of Lingnan architecture, and of Chinese architecture also. On the other hand, it can help us make a rational thinking about the future development of Lingnan architecture.ChapterⅠintroduces the background of this research including the development of Lingnan architecture and the formation of Lingnan architecture school, the waiting problems and the methodology concerning.ChapterⅡfocuses on the initial influence of western culture to Lingnan architectural culture at the period of early Qing Dynasty. The typical constructions occurred in the Thirteen Hongs of Canton at that time, can be seems as an intersection of western architectural culture and Chinese traditional architectural culture. Lingnan architecture school began to form and show the characteristic of absorption. and process of modernization happened in Lingnan urban and rural areas. Factors from western architectural culture appeared not only in the urban form of Canton city, but also in the architecture and landscape design in Lingnan rural areas.Chapter III concerns the transformation and evolution of Lingnan architecture in modern times. In this period, western modern architectural culture, which had just finished its own baptism, brought a new and much more strong impact to the Chinese traditional architectural culture. Not only by absorbing western advanced technologies and concepts, but also on considering its own economic development and social reality at different periods of modern times, Lingnan architecture finished its modern promotion and formed its own modern styles and characteristics.Chapter IV concerns the process of formation of Lingnan architecture school. General speaking, it experiences three major periods of development. From 1920 to the liberation of China, modern architectural forms and concepts appeared in Lingnan area. Professor LIN Ke Ming is one of the important founders of Lingnan architecture school. He and his colleagues had done a lot of practices about modern Lingnan architecture’s education and creations in Xiangqin university, which has been considered as the birthplace of Lingnan architecture school. After the liberation of China, under the strict political atmosphere at that period, an other professor XIA Chang Shi still kept on exploring the modern Lingnan architecture. By his research, lots of experiences about modern Lingnan architecture became theories. These theories, with his viewpoints of architectural design and architectural education, enrich the contents of Lingnan architecture school. In the late 1980s, two famous architects YU Jun Nan and Mo Bo Zhi gained their reputation in Lingnan architecture school. Because of their efforts in architectural creative practice and theoretical exploration, Lingnan architecture school is well known through the nation and became a successful example about how to inherit local traditional architecture. In particular, MO Bo Zhi’s application of Chinese garden in hotel’s design can be regarded as a new kind of design style promoted by Lingnan architecture school. After the successful creation in the design of White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, a large number of buildings that have the characteristics of Lingnan architecture school appeared in Lingnan area. The practices in this period made Lingnan architecture school a breakthrough, from theoretical summary to human training. Depend on these achievements, the formation of Lingnan architecture school received academic recognition.ChapterⅤconcerns the new developments of Lingnan architecture school nowadays. After 1990, Lingnan architecture school grows more and more steady. Especially in the past ten years, the development of Lingnan architecture school evolves from the exploitation of special styles to form a whole theoretical system. Nowadays, more and more successful buildings inherited from Lingnan architecture school emerge all over the country. The Institute of Architectural Design of South China University of Technology leads continuous efforts to develop Lingnan architecture school.Chapter VI concerns the author’s own experience in the practice of Lingnan architecture over twenty years. From the design of Zhudao Hotel to the design of Songyuan Hotel,the author keeps on searching new ways of design which can combine the new modern architectural forms with Chinese traditional architectural patterns and the characteristics of Lingnan architecture. Some personal experiences had gained at last, in the design of Maofeng Qinyuan Hotel, the author used the "Hall" and "Pavilion", which can be combined flexiblely in Lingnan architecture, to bring out a wonderful feeling of Zen. In the design of Sanya Nantian Hotsprint Hotel, the author revived the dynamic space in traditional Lingnan architecture and applied it in that project outside of Canton. This successful attempt shows that Lingnan’s traditional architectural pattern can break through the limitation of region and can be transformed to suit the new environment. In a design project concerning the Asian Games, one the one hand, the author used the factors of Lingnan crafts and Lingnan gardening to make the athletes feel relax in their living space. On the other hand, he represented an traditional food street in the site planning to reflect the vivid living atmosphere of Canton to the foreigners. These award-winning projects show the support attitude of our government and the recognition of the experts.Chapter VII is the conclusion of this research. Through the process of formation of Lingnan architecture school, people can find out why it can have a persistent vitality from being superseded nearly to be an architecture school. By this research, people can know more clearly the thinking pattern and the practical ways of Lingnan architecture school. Within the wave of globalization nowadays, regional cultures ought to learn to respect and study from each other. That’s the spirit of Lingnan architectural culture.