Presence of Water in Architecture

Presence of Water in Architecture
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Presence of Water in Architecture
Water has been used as an essential element in architectural design in diverse means. The relationship between water and design of buildings can generally be linked to various purposes, including religious purposes, security purposes, aesthetic purposes, a symbol of wealth, and so on. Based on the differences in geographical location and cultural backgrounds, how water has been used in different architectural designs vary. For this assignment, I have selected five symbolic architecture designs, each representing a style of use of water in architecture.
Taj Mahal is one of the most iconic architectures in the world and a masterpiece of the Indian Muslim artistic expertise. It is built in an Indian city of Agra between 1632 – 1643 AD. Ustad Ahmed Lahori is the architect of Taj Mahal. According to the traditional belief of Muslim, on the Day of Judgement, people will be thirsty, and Muhammad will be the one who gets the privilege of God to offer them drink to quench their thirst from the channel as known as the pond of abundance. Thus, the purpose of a water tank in the Muslim tradition is to represent their religious belief.[Symmes, Marilyn F., 1998. Fountains. 3rd ed. New York: Thames and Hudson in association with Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum]
Taj Mahal is the largest and the earliest tomb, but its architectural design and shape make it be one of the most beautiful structure in a romantic and a serene environment. The water pond is made of milk marble skin, which gives the aesthetic design that it posses. Also, the floral shaped walls on the water pond add to its beauty. Apart from the aesthetic value of the floral shaped design of the walls of the Taj Mahal pond, this architectural design helps to strengthen the walls of the water pond. These waterways were originally built in the Persian gardens so that they can provide irrigation to the garden. They also have a spiritual significance as they a representative of the four rivers of paradise found in the Qulan.[Alihodzic, Rifat, Vera Murgul, and Nikolay Latin. 2014. "A Relation Between Function And Architectural Form In The Observers Perception." Applied Mechanics And Materials680: 494-498. doi:10.4028//amm.680.494.]
The Forbidden City was constructed from 1406 to 1420 as a Chinese imperial palace during the Ming dynasty. A representation of the traditional Chinese Architecture, The Forbidden City, is located in central Beijing and Kuai Xiang designed the expansive complex. There is the Golden Water River, a man-made river that runs through the Forbidden City. Water has two vital uses in the Forbidden City. First, water was used to add beauty to the city while the second importance was to act as a water reservoir in case of a fire outbreak. That follows that the architectural structure was protected from the threat of destruction by fire through the use of water from the golden water river.[Symmes, Marilyn F., 1998. Fountains. 3rd ed. New York: Thames and Hudson in association with Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.] [Gao, Jie. "Symbolism in the Forbidden City." Education About ASIA 21, no. 3, (2016). Retrieved from: http://aas2.asian...