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2
CONTENT INTRODUCTION
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DRAWINGS
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CONSTRUCTION METHOD
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- SOLID CONSTRUCTION - SKELETAL CONSTRUCTION - LOAD JOINTS
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- LOAD DISTRIBUTION
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MATERIALS
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MODELLING PROCESS, TRIAL AND ERROR
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FINAL MODEL
37
CONCLUSION
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REFERENCES
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TULOU
ZHEN CHENG LOU INTRODUCTION
Zhenchenglou (振成樓), nicknamed “the prince of tulou”, belongs to Hongkeng Tulou cluster. It is located in Hongkeng village, Hukeng township of Yongding County. A tulou is usually a large, enclosed and fortified earth building, most commonly rectangular or circular in configuration, with very thick load-bearing rammed earth walls between three and five stories high and housing up to 80 families.
Smaller interior buildings are often enclosed by huge peripheral walls which can contain halls, storehouses, wells and living areas, the whole structure resembling a small fortified city. These fortress-like buildings allowed the villagers to protect and defend themselves against onslaughts. The design of the traditional Fujian tulou facilitate environment sustainability and also endow the inhabitants with material, social and spiritual sustainability.
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002 ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS
1
FLOOR PLAN (N.T.S)
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002 ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS
2
3
EAST ELEVATION
(N.T.S)
LONGITUDINAL SECTION (N.T.S)
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002 ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS
5
EAST WING RESIDENTIAL SECTION
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EAST WING STAIRWAY SECTION
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002 ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS
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002 ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS
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002 ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS
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002 ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS
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002 ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS
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002 ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS
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003 CONSTRUCTION METHOD SOLID CONSTRUCTION
The tamping or pounding of clay soil of other materials into a
solid walls – called the “hangtu”. This method of construction has been used for much of Chinese history raising the walls of houses and other buildings, enclosing compounds and open areas, fortifying villages and cities. Tampered earth walls are especially well documented in the less humid areas of northern China, where timber nor bamboo are readily available for building. The drier climate helps preserve earthen walls from possible surface erosion from rain splash.
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003 CONSTRUCTION METHOD SOLID CONSTRUCTION
Rammed earth construction generally involves piling
various sorts of freshly dug earth into a battered caisson. In order to increase the bearing strength of this earthen composition filling, it is pounded or tamped with a stone or wooden rammer until it is uniformly compacted with all air pockets eliminated. A typical rammer is made of heavy stone head that is rounded on the bottom and attached to a projecting wooden rod.
The soil is compacted until it is sufficiently dense to support the tamping of other layers above it. Before the movable shutters of the frame are raised, levelled, clamped into place, a thin layer of bamboo strips or stone rubber will be laid to encourage drying of the earthen core. The sequence is repeated until the desired height is reached.
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003 CONSTRUCTION METHOD SOLID CONSTRUCTION
The large tulou require about a year per floor to build. After three or four years the top floor is reached and the roof construction can begin. It takes a year to complete with a slightly downward-curving cladding of grey locally fired tile.
The remaining interior construction is of wood and takes a further year to build. Wooden window and door frames may be set into the wall and once the wall is completed, openings are carved out of the compacted soil. Openings were constructed on the upper floors because the wall is weakened by the opening of such voids, measures were taken to limit the size and number of openings. Once the frame is removed, the wall is left with a rough, even corrugated, surface from the impression of the timber framework or mouldboards.
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003 CONSTRUCTION METHOD SKELETAL CONSTRUCTION
Chuandou Framework consist of greater number of columns,
varying in height, are used, with taller columns closer to the roof ridge. Purlins are placed directly on the columns, with transverse beams tying the columns together. Each component of the Chuandou skeletal upright panels stands alone yet is linked to others by longitudinal timber members in order to maintain a common depth, width and height. The number of pillars increases to match the number of purlins, as the depth of the dwelling increase according to the formula. The skeletal framework of Fujian tulou consist of 3 pillars, 6 purlins, 2 beams and attached veranda (roofed platform along the outside of a house).
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003 CONSTRUCTION METHOD SKELETAL CONSTRUCTION
Chuandou wooden frameworks are usually
found within Fujian Tulou with wooden panel infilling used between the columns. No attempt is made to conceal the wooden framework. White plaster walls of brick between the wooden parts of the chuandou frame. Horizontally mortised chuanfang in Fujian tulou are seated completely within the walls.
Wooden roof rafters are laid crosswise be-
tween the purlins to serve as the base for layers of roof tiles. Supported by the wooden framework, the mass of the heavy roof helps anchor the structure even before the wall infilling is put into place.
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003 CONSTRUCTION METHOD CONNECTION BETWEEN SOLID CONSTRUCTION AND SKELETAL CONSTRUCTION
To counteract the lateral thrust of the battered wall and to transform the edifice from mere fortification to inhabitable dwelling, a complex wooden structure is built into the “hangtu” (rammed earth wall). At an appropriate level representing a “floor”, the ends of timber beams are laid atop the wall with the other ends set on a post-and-bean structure that is concentric with the encircling outer wall. Once these beams are all in place, an additional layer of tamped earth is added to the wall that effectively secures the timber structures within it. As each new floor level is reached, another set of wooden timbers is set on top of the wall and linked to the rising wooden framework. This process continues until the desired height of the structure is reached.
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003 CONSTRUCTION METHOD LOAD JOINTS
Mortised, tenoned and notched joinery
is apparent in the Chuandou rely heavily on precisely chiselled mortise and tenon. It also allow the framework to stabilize the upright panel, which is linked to a matching panel with threaded longitudinal timbers. Joints were achieved by carefully measuring each of the longitudinal timber elements with a rule, cutting exact notches into each of the ends.
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003 CONSTRUCTION METHOD LOAD DISTRIBUTION - ROOF
A cross section diagram of the roof truss shows
Compression Tension
multilevel of struting beam and vertical strut that imitate the fundamental transfer of load in a post and beam support system. The repetition of the post and beam structure distribute the tension and compression forces exerted by the positive loading above it. The gravity load and positive wind pressure is dispersed into fragmented and bearable magnitude before transferring to the sheer wall and vertical post. The repetition of strong mortis and tenon wood joints also allow the roof truss to withstand negative loading which include the negative wind pressure and internal air pressure.
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003 CONSTRUCTION METHOD LOAD DISTRIBUTION - CIRCULAR SHEER WALL STRUCTURE
The circular structure of the Tulou can be seen
from the horizontal cross section of the load bearing rammed earth wall. The curved structure is proven to be able to withstand tremendous lateral force due to it’s efficiency in dispersing and countering external forces exerted on the external wall during strong wind and earthquake. The structure distribute the force to two direction along the curve structure. The two converged force will meet at the opposite end of the circular structure and create reaction forces that cancel each other out. The shape also have low wind resistance due to the curves and aerodynamic nature.
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003 CONSTRUCTION METHOD LOAD DISTRIBUTION - LOAD BEARING WALL
GRAVITY LOADING
In the vertical sectional diagram of the Tulou, the load bearing wall plays the redirecting of gravity load of the roof structure, wooden beam and post structure to the ground. Convergence of the bigger base of the load bearing rammed earth wall provide stronger strength to the entire structure as it disperse the downward compression force and shear force diagonally to the bigger surface base area, allowing transfer of gravitational force to the ground efficiently.
Compression
Lateral Force
Rotation
LATERAL LOADING
The large-based rammed earth wall acts as a
Tension Compression
lateral force resisting system (LFRS) provide greater stiffness of the structure to bear external force acting on it. Deflection and inter-storey drift of the building can be lowered due to the positive pressure on front wall and suction on the internal rear wall can be resisted, allowing the building to handle centuries of harsh environmental factors.
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003 CONSTRUCTION METHOD LOAD DISTRIBUTION - TIMBER FLOORING
Tension force
The timber flooring in the elevated floors are
made of one-way joist floor system. The wooden planks are arranged side by side supported by two timber beam at both end. One way joist system are able to have longer spans to handle heavy loads as well as reduces dead load and life load due to the number to voids. It also have high resistant to vibration especially China is a earthquake active zone. The high elasticity tensile strength of wood also allows the flooring to withstand long period of wear and tear.
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004 MATERIALS RAMMED EARTH
Sanhetu mixture - Mixture of earth and +/-
other raw materials like find sand, lime and soil in different ratios, and this mixture is called “Sanhetu Mixture� which may be tamped dry or moistened with addition of water.
Egg whites and 500 grams of both brown
sugar and cooked glutinous rice are used per cubic meter of rising wall in some areas to increase its overall durability.
Bamboo slips are also used and placed
TIMBER
in between pounded levels to bond the tamped layers. Small diameter of bamboo rods are laid between tamped layers to connect the horizontally abutting units in a chainlike fashion..
Timber was widely use in skeletal struc-
ture of Tulou. Besides, most of the fixtures such as window, doors, railings and stairs were made out of raw timber harvested from the jungle.
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005 MODELLING PROCESS, TRIAL AND ERROR
A mock up massing model is made with brown
board and processed bamboo stick to analyze how both the load bearing wall structure and skeletal structure co-exist in the Tulou structure. We decided to do a small segment of the entire structure to fo-
The end product of the mock up model shows how the entire structure is a repetition of similar components therefore, only a small section is needed to illustrate the entire structure.
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005 MODELLING PROCESS, TRIAL AND ERROR
We spent countless hours on research in the
internet as well as books we borrowed from the library to ensure our construction details we have is as accurate as possible.
Bamboo stick is used to roll the paper clay into desired thickness and a paper cylinder is then used to unsure the clay Is flat and have uniform thickness.
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005 MODELLING PROCESS, TRIAL AND ERROR
A tiny study model is made to show the sec-
tion of the load bearing wall before proceeding to the final model.
Research shows that the rammed earth wall
are made layer by layer and stomped with man power to compact the mixture. . The strips of clay are then cut into individual “bricks� for the load bearing wall.
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005 MODELLING PROCESS, TRIAL AND ERROR
The clay is cut into longitudinal strips and dried with a hair drier.
Due to the soft nature of the paper clay, the cut
bricks are sanded to ensure it is in acceptable dimension and cleaned edge so that it will be able to be arranged and stacked easily later.
An A3 size plan of the segment is printed to guide the model making process.
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005 MODELLING PROCESS, TRIAL AND ERROR
A rectangular strip of paper clay is laid on the first
half of the curved exterior wall to indicate the complete portion of the model. A hair drier and a cutting mat is used to dry the paper clay into the shape we desire.
After the load bearing wall is slightly dried, open-
ings for the windows are drew with a pencil and cut out. Due to the soft condition, the openings are being touchup with a bamboo stick to ensure they are roght-angled and tidy.
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005 MODELLING PROCESS, TRIAL AND ERROR
The “bricks� are laid in a uniform manner vertically
and horizontally as well as leaving gap for the beam to run through it.
A curved segment is cut out from balsa wood for the timber flooring for the ground, first and second floor. They are cut in a manner that it fades offs at the other end to showcase the post and beam underneath it.
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005 MODELLING PROCESS, TRIAL AND ERROR
A base is made with paper clay for the foundation
of the structure. Rocks are laid to indicate stones were used to ensure the foundation is strong enough to handle the massive downward force of the load bearing wall.
The wooden pieces are laid on the foundation to in-
dicate the floor system of the ground floor which consist of one-way floor joist system.
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005 MODELLING PROCESS, TRIAL AND ERROR
The pebbles are carefully stick on the first level of the
external wall. Those pebbles illustrate the crashed rock used as a extra protective layer of the Tulou.
Gaps are cut out on the top of the wall to allow the
roof truss to be installed later. They are carefully done to ensure the roof segments are accurate to the circular structure.
A thinner strip of paper clay is laid side by side the
existing strip to indicate the incomplete portion of the model. It is thinner to showcase the internal formation of rammed earth using the “brick�.
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005 MODELLING PROCESS, TRIAL AND ERROR
vertical strut of the roof are placed on the gap on
top of the load bearing wall and fine-tuned to the angle and position desired. The roof structure of “post and beam� are made individually before installed to the model.
The vertical column that support the roof is installed followed by the horizontal beam and lastly the wall panels.
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005 MODELLING PROCESS, TRIAL AND ERROR
The roof tiles are made with strips cut out from a bal-
sa wood with grid drawn on it. The strips are then stick in a overlapping manner to indicate overlapping of the tiles before installed on the rafter.
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005 MODELLING PROCESS, TRIAL AND ERROR
The roof tiles are made with strips cut out from a bal-
sa wood with grid drawn on it. The strips are then stick in a overlapping manner to indicate overlapping of the tiles before installed on the rafter.
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006 FINAL MODEL
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007 CONCLUSION
Without the dedication and commitment from Through the wise advice and guidance from our lecevery single group member, this assignment wouldn’t be carried out as planned. Through this practical-based assignment we get to learn about skeletal structure and load bearing structure in a real life simulated scenario that can’t be understood or imagined through a one-way learning condition in the lecture hall. Our choice of the centuries old mega structure which is still standing strong today allow us to analyse the factor and importance of durable and strong structure as future architects.
turers during the inter-submission presentation week and tutorial before the submission, truly give us more space to improve on our design and structure. We also get to learn from the extra research we did from the Internet as well as other precedent studies of building in the similar era.
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008 REFERENCES
Ai-ping, L. I. N. “The Tourism Development of Fujian Tulou from the Perspective of Community Participation [J].” Journal of Minjiang University 6 (2009): 019.
HAN, Zhen-hua, and Juan ZHAO. “Form reference, heritage protection and spiritual sustenance: the current value and protection of Fujian earth building [J].” Journal of Shandong Jianzhu University 1 (2009): 011.
Li, Qindi, et al. “Characterizing the household energy consumption in heritage Nanjing Tulou buildings, China: A comparative field survey study.” Energy and Buildings 49 (2012): 317-326.
MingCHEN Li, GUAN Rui. “Study of Analogical-design Pattern about Fujian Tulou [J].” Fujian Architecture & Construction 2 (2003): 010.
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