|
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
|
Mansion’s Architecture Design Philosophy & Motifs Though the lavish doors to the venerable Blue Mansion were first thrown open in as early as the 19th Century, the tradition of architecture and craftsmanship applied to the building’s construction dates much further back - a precipitous 3000 years to the Su Chow dynasty, to be exact. Built in the Hakka – Teochew style on sturdy foundations of Southern Chinese building typologies and materials, the Blue Mansion commissioned by Cheong Fatt Tze in the face of a trend in the construction of modern Anglo-indian abodes – stands today as a model of the traditional paradigm Chinese courtyard house. Clan of Craftsmen Details of the Mansion's master-builder and his team of artisans (shipped in with tools in hand from Southern China) are sketchy - but their proudly standing work is testament to their collective architectural genius. As for the man who commissioned their work: the Mansion served to demonstrate both Cheong Fatt Tze's fascination with Western artisanship and his rising stature as a Chinese official. The house is indeed cosmopolitan in design, bearing an eclectic architecture which exemplified the times at the end of the 19th Century, when the myths and magic of the Chinese Kingdom attempted to embrace the glory of the British Empire within the Malay world. The Brick Canvas The Mansion, which has its own sense of scale, proportion and space, can be divided into two main components: the main house - distinguished by the gables of the main roof; and two elegant, side wings. Adorned with materials which constitute the basic, 'must-have' feng shui elements of metal, timber, water, fire and earth, the main hall forms the structure's 'centre' - a motif common to Chinese residential buildings, from great palaces to humble country dwellings. The mansion's mélange of disparate influences and motifs may appear incongruous at first glance - but a closer look reveals an arresting architectural mosaic: Scottish cast-iron balusters contrasted with Cantonese timber lattices; English Art Nouveau stained glass with Hokkien 'Chien Nien' works; Chinese calligraphy against trompe l'oeil timber beams. |
    |
   |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
