Beamless Hall of Linggu: an 11 m brick barrel vault
Sala sin vigas de Linggu: bóveda de cañón de ladrillo de 11 m de luz
- Date
- 1381 · confidence high
- Place
- Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
- Credited to
- Ming dynasty builders
- Field
- Tools
What it is
A three-bay building covered by brick barrel vaults about 11 m wide and 22 m high, with no timber beams or posts. It replaces the traditional timber structure with brick vaulting to resist fire.
Built in 1381 by order of the Hongwu Emperor at Linggu Temple. Its construction answered a wish for a fireproof building.
What it led to
- brick-vaulted halls of Ming temples
- brick vaulting in imperial towers and mausolea
- a fireproof alternative to Chinese timber frames