Chinese Gateway project builds 12th century replica and cultural ties

A replica 12th century Chinese gateway has been built by Masters students of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne and was opened at its home at the Malvern Primary School recently.

It is the first full-size installation of a timber gateway from 12th century Zhejiang province, China, to be built by students of the annual ‘Craft in Traditional Asian Architecture’ subject  led by Hamish Hill and Professor Qinghua Guo of the University’s Melbourne School of Design.

Part of the subject involves finding a suitable home for the finished structures.

The completed gateway has been given to the Malvern Primary School, which has introduced a Mandarin language program and has a sister school relationship with Youfu West Street Primary School in Nanjing China.

Malvern Primary is also the primary school of 2nd year Masters of Architecture student William Cassell who was one of the 12 students who participated in building the structure.

Of seeing it in its new home, Mr Cassell says “It’s really positive to see the gateway as something that the community can engage with, as something more than just an assessment task.

“The school has an ongoing connection to China through cultural exchanges and a Mandarin language program, so I hope it will be a structure for shade, conversation and play where students can experience a little slice of Chinese architectural space,” he says.

Of building the structure he says “It was a valuable learning experience both architecturally, in terms of understanding the construction process of something assembled from so many parts, and of making, such as the craft knowledge passed down from a master through to students with different skill levels.” 

He was drawn to the subject having travelled to both Japan and China and by an interest in timber construction and woodworking in general.

Malvern Primary School Principal, Richard Bennetts says the school community was proud to be the home for the new gateway.

“The whole school community has supported this project which reflects our commitment to learning and celebrating Chinese culture and language.”

Grade six student Tanya Rowlands who recently visited China with the school says of the gateway, that it “was like having a little bit of China at school”.

Professor Tom Kvan, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning said the gateway was a meaningful architectural and design project that engaged with the community and introduced students to traditional Asian techniques.

“Through important community projects such as this, we work with our students to bring to a wider community the culture and craftsmanship of Asia and China for the community to enjoy,” he says.

Professor Qinghua Guo, who co-ordinated the subject says the gateway is a traditional building. “It welcomes visitors as an entrance to an important place and typically provides a sense of pride of place for anyone who enters through it,” she says.

She says the subject, which has been running for more than 10 years had played a role in conservation of not only tangible structures but also intangible building skills. 

“This includes knowledge about design, material, tools, craftsmanship for the overall benefit of protecting heritage.”

Studio co-ordinator Hamish Hill says the subject in more recent years has given students a unique chance to build at a large scale.

“It is a chance to move away from working at a model scale to learn about full-sized construction, with all the complexities of working with timber to build a traditional design.”

The workshop team included Ross Berryman a carpenter and graduate of the Masters of Architecture who oversaw the documentation and construction of the gateway along with engineer Kamiran Abdouka of Ishtar NetWorks, who volunteered his time providing technical advice on footings and engineering certification for the building permit.

This project is one in an annual sequence for the Melbourne School of Design in which other large structures will be donated for community use.