The dragon is an ancient mythological figure, transversal to all cultures but rich in antithetical meanings depending on the context. In the West the dragon, a large flame-spitting winged reptile with ferocious jaws and predatory claws, tends to represent evil: with the exception of a few attempts at rehabilitation – the fireman Grisou, the cuddly Fùcur, the dragoness of Eragon, the invisible Elliott – the dragon releases, in addition to the flames that incinerate armies and threaten maidens, an aura of evil that heroes fight with alacrity, from the sauroctonic saints of Christianity to the paladins of Norse mythology, from Tolkien to Disney. In Eastern culture, on the contrary, the dragon is considered a symbol of good luck and prosperity and is widely venerated and respected: its wingless body, agile and serpentine, floats through the air bringing with its beneficial breath – the ‘Chi’, the life energy of the Universe – peace, balance, health. Although, like the weather and the rain of which it is the guardian, it is sometimes capricious. From the origins of time to the present day, the dragon “flies” through the centuries and countries and is a current element in the history of architecture becoming, depending on the case, a horrific or sacred figure, a warning or a propitiatory one, but enriched in all cases with an intriguing charm. We propose below a brief excursus of the iconography of this famous blazing creature in architecture: from Asian ancestral temples (Jinci Temple) and Gothic cathedrals (York Minster), to the modern age (Gaudi’s Figueras House and Casa della Vittoria) and contemporary, when dragons casually pass through huge gaps in buildings (Dragon Holes in Hong Kong) and wrap temples in their coils (Wat Samphran Dragon temple), or more quietly merely serve as a source of design and creative inspiration (NEXT architects, Studio Libeskind, Zhou Yang, Cheng-Tsung Feng Design Studio).
The ambiguous iconography of the dragon in architecture, from East to West
Benevolent, conciliatory creature or terrifying monster, the dragon “flies” across cultures and countries. Celebrating the Year of the Dragon with 10 architectures steeped in its ancestral charm.
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Photo by Julien Lanoo
Photo by Julien Lanoo
Photo by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Flickr
Courtesy of 3A Composites (China) Ltd.
Courtesy of 3A Composites (China) Ltd.
Photo by Yi-Hsien LEE (YHLAA)
Photo by Yi-Hsien LEE (YHLAA)
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- Chiara Testoni
- 09 February 2024
More than a temple, the complex - consisting of a hundred or so buildings - is a model of the perfect fusion of ancestral architecture and natural landscape. Among the many 'wonders' it contains, there are the eight columns of the Hall of the Holy Mother, around which wood-carved dragons twine, dating back to 1087 A.D. and the first examples in China.
More than a temple, the complex - consisting of a hundred or so buildings - is a model of the perfect fusion of ancestral architecture and natural landscape. Among the many 'wonders' it contains, there are the eight columns of the Hall of the Holy Mother, around which wood-carved dragons twine, dating back to 1087 A.D. and the first examples in China.
In the largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe, and certainly one of the most spectacular and best-preserved, a gilded wooden dragon's head emerges from the triforium of the north aisle. Its original function is unknown but it is believed to have been part of the lifting mechanism of a lid of the baptismal font below. The head is a 19th century reconstruction, following damage to the nave vault in the 1840 fire.
Located on the slopes of the Collserola Natural Park, this house that Gaudí designed on the traces of a 15th-century tower combines Catalan modernism with neo-Gothic style. The austere façade in local stone of different shades with elongated windows suggests the idea of a medieval fortress: from a particular perspective of the terrace, the geometry of the roof of the central structure evokes the face of a dragon with a somewhat threatening look.
The building, considered one of the most interesting examples of a civil residence in eclectic style with neo-Gothic tendencies in the city, is characterised on the main façades by a rich decorative display of allegorical and zoomorphic figures in lithocement, such as the pair of large dragons flanking the wooden entrance portal.
This unusual building, a 17-storey pink tower, 80 metres high and completely enveloped by a huge red and green dragon, was a now abandoned Buddhist temple. The dragon, made of iron and fibreglass, is completely hollow on the inside and can be walked up to its head.
In the dense and vertical landscape of Hong Kong it is not difficult to come across strange holes in the body of buildings. Not a formal quirk of the architects but a way of conveying 'Chi', the vital energy that flows in every being and is blown into the inhabited space by the breath of dragons. In their flight from the mountains to the ocean, however, the dragons run into obstacles caused by urban constructions and, so as not to interrupt their flow as the rules of Feng Shui dictate, the tallest buildings house large openings through which the dragons can pass, thus bringing wealth and prosperity to those who inhabit those places.
This 185m long and 24m high steel bridge, located in the megacity of Changsha, connects the banks of the Dragon King Harbor River, the street and the park with several levels at different heights. The sinuous shape of the structure is inspired by traditions of Chinese culture, such as the ancient art of knotting, and evokes the coils of a dragon's agile body.
Vanke China's corporate pavilion, designed by Studio Libeskind for Expo Milano 2015 'Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life', incorporates three values of Chinese culture related to food: the shi-tang, the traditional Chinese dining room; the landscape, a fundamental element of life; the dragon, metaphorically linked to agriculture and sustenance. The sinuous design and the metallic red tile covering in iridescent tones create an expressive pattern reminiscent of a dragon's skin.
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