Austere construction methods, lightweight materials and porous boundaries between inside and outside are all hallmarks of traditional Japanese architecture. Pritzker-prize-winning Japanese architect Ryue Nishikawa told AP, “If you see Japanese temples made of wood, you can see how the architecture is made up. They have a clear construction and transparency and they are quite simple.” "While Western architects would battle the elements," historian Daniel Boorstin wrote in The Creators, "the Japanese, admiring their power, have sought ways to exploit their charms." Western architects over the centuries have traditionally chosen strong, resistant stone to overpower nature to produce monumental and towering structures while Japanese architects aimed to be more in harmony with nature and chose wood as their predominate building material. Even today most of Japan's oldest surviving buildings and most famous shrines and temples are made of wood. Also, while Western architecture has often featured spires and other vertical features that intended to show the power of God and man over nature, Japan temples and shrines usually stressed the horizontal and were often relatively small and hidden by trees and other natural objects. Japan is credited with inventing minimalist design. Unlike Western architects who have traditionally tried to make to make their buildings interesting to look at by adding unnecessary decorations and arranging modules of differing heights, Japanese architects focused on making their structures sublime and mysterious on a horizontal level. It has been said that with traditional Japanese architecture you start with one room and take a great effort to get that right before moving on to the next room. Courtesy of: JW Roofing: We are the best Miami Roofer covering South Florida with your tile and metal roofing needs.
Now off to back to England to see a traditional Lead Roof