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MULAN MOUNTAIN
YEAR 3, SEMESTER 1, 2019
BRIEF GIVEN : To carry out a precedent study in groups of four on a historic or contemporary building during a chosen study trip (Wuhan). While visiting the building, photographs, sketches and notes will be taken and used to complete drawings on return home, as well as analysis and underlying history.
PRECEDENT STUDY : Mountains have a sacred meaning in Taoism, they represent the utmost of ‘highest’ of spiritual traditions and often contain sacred temples. On Mulan Mountain, this can be seen clearly with multiple temples placed along the journey to the top. It is one of the most sacred Taoist mountains in Hubei, our study is on temples on another peak of the mountain. Taoist temples are traditionally multi-tiered in China, meaning stairways become crucial elements. They create almost a ‘pilgrimage’ for visitors and worshippers alike, another connotation is that they are almost a stairway to heaven. Each area or temple of the complex has at least one elaborately decorated gateway to pass through, this creates a threshold, and helps divide the large complex into more manageable segments. It also signifies the importance of each area and reminds the visitors that they are in a sacred space.
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The complex consists of three pavilions, some viewpoints and a vegetable patch. The contours indicate slopes off the mountain, while on all other borders there are sheer cliffs. The spaces in between create assembly areas for visitors surrounded by mountain shrubs. While the steps look randomly placed, they create three ascending layers. Each step onto the next level symbolises your next step to the peace of the next shrine.
The section is taken to show all three temples in relation to the mountain, but also to show the vast amount of steps, reiterating the journey one must climb to reach the temples. The steps are as close to the shape of the mountain as possible, this gives the feeling of still having to climb the mountain but makes it most accessible to people. The first temple built on this area was the Yuhuang Pavillion, the subsequent temples were built as time went on explaining why no two look the same. The original temple is still the tallest, the others have not tried to overtake it showing the respect and hierarchy of it as the original temple.
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Zooming in on the plan, you can see it is made purely from 1m stone, this drastically reduces to inside space and feels small compared to how it looks on the outside. This also results in keeping the inside space cooler in summer and warmer in winter. It is also the only temple which you can walk all the way around, the other two you can’t get to the back off as it’s blocked off by gates, further highlighting its importance as the main temple. The only source of natural light coming into the temple is through the open door, this is the only opening to the outside, the air is trapped most of the time allowing the incense to spread inside.
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