Old-style Japanese tea house architecture's mostly dependency on wood as a building material. Raised floors and open spaces favoured adequate ventilation to combat the growth of toxic mold. The construction with wooden posts and beams is also beneficial to design structures resistant to typhoons and earthquakes. Most of Japan has ideal conditions for mould growth and other types of fungi. But more importantly, humidity can hover around 70% for weeks, especially in the humid summer months. When the rainy season comes around, mold can be destructive. Women worry that their hair could get mouldy if they don't dry it properly, and countless pairs of shoes have been ripped apart by mold inside closets. Traditional wooden constructions fought mold by raising the building above the ground and leaving the walls practically open so that air could circulate freely under, around and through the entire interior space. Buildings over 300 years old that maintain their original appearance are often "lightly inhabited", with tiny furniture and few accessories. Temples, shrines, palaces, and tea house of the traditional upper classes fall into this category. Japanese tea room were typically built with heavy logs and excellent natural ventilation. Since there can be a high level of relative humidity even in winter, these homes have ample ventilation even when closed to the outside elements — through gaps between shutters and sliding paper doors, between walls and roof, and frequently through fully open fireplaces. Wood Vs Metal The guilds, protectionism, and political decisions of the Tokugawa shogunate restricted metal fasteners in construction during the Edo period. This was one of the significant factors that led to the development of typical Japanese room wood-only joinery even after steel became a widely available material. Metal fasteners, however, are no match for the longevity of woodwork unless they are installed in well-cured wood protected from contact with air. In imperfectly cured wood, these fasteners can loosen as the surrounding material contracts and expands with the changing of the seasons. When exposed to air is subject to rapid oxidation due to Japan's humid climate. In contrast, all-wood joinery becomes more robust as the wood ages and the individual parts take hold. Calculations show that woodwork can be more structurally secure centuries after its initial construction. In general, wood becomes stronger about 200 to 300 years after being cut. The strength gradually reduces after that point, but the robustness of an adequately cured beam will only decrease to the level of the time it was cut after about a thousand years. An abundance of wood |
AuthorSophia Johnson is a writer, blogger, self-published author of Architectures Style.She has an excellent visual awareness and a great aesthetic eye, which made her well known for many of her contributions to architecture industry. Now she is more focused on blogging and she loves to provide and share best of the architecture knowledge tips. ArchivesCategories |