Series: My Favorite Architects of All Time: Part 3

There are many Architects and many more buildings that I have visited, learned about, or otherwise admire, so it is hard to choose favorites. I am fascinated by the Architectural ideas and accomplishments of Ictinus, Vitruvius, Mimar Sinan, Andrea Palladio, Michelangelo Simoni, Louis Le Vau, Francois Mansart, Fredrick Der Grosse, Louis Sullivan, Henri Labrouste, Camillo Sitte, Antoni Gaudi, Frank Lloyd Wright, and many others. It is utterly humbling to be a student in a profession that has such an amazing heritage and tradition.

When considering architects to choose as my favorites, I decided to choose some of the less well known yet perhaps most influential Architects of all time. In no particular order, here are my third favorites in this series:

Kuai Xiang, Lu Xiang, and Yang Qing

and Imperial Chinese Architecture

Ming Emperor Zhu Di commissioned the 15th century Architects Kuai Xiang, Lu Xiang, and Yang Qing to design and build the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. I feel tremendously grateful to have visited this massive and famous palace complex several times – most recently in 2012. The most striking element of the design is the use of space:

• As I walked over bridges and through the Tainanmen Gate, the Tuan Gate, the Wu Men Gate, I was struck by how Kuai Xiang had developed truly breathtaking paths and transitional spaces that integrate all the buildings and different areas in the complex together gracefully.
• In a way, these bridges, motes, and gates are both practical details used for defense and aesthetic details that accent the massive complex of buildings.
• Once inside each space, I was intrigued by the interesting abutments of roof and eave lines between the buildings.
• I also enjoyed the dynamic created by the variation in compression and expansion of physical space between the residential courts and the more grand portions of the palace complex.
• Lastly, I found that the most peculiar details of all were the giant lake stones on display in several places around the complex. These natural stone elements stand as natural sculptures, maybe as a relief to the rigid consistency of the built complex.

Overall, I have learned a great deal about how architectural space works on a grand scale from Kuai Xiang through my visits to the Forbidden City.

Further Reading:

Anderson, Janice. World Architecture. Chartwell Books Inc., 2007.

French, Hilary. Architecture A Crash Course. Watson-Guptill Publications, 1998.

Norwich, John J, editor. Great Architecture of the World. Bonanza Books, 1978.