The Fujian Tulou are large, circular earthen buildings located in China that housed hundreds of families. They were built by the Hakka people who migrated to the Fujian mountains to escape wars in central China. The round design used materials like clay and wood efficiently and provided more interior space than square structures. Each family within the building owned one vertical living space. The buildings featured ancestral altars and sustainable designs, keeping interiors cool in summer and warm in winter through door and airwell placements.

1. A very good morning to Ms Persis and my fellow classmates.
Today I will be talking about a traditional dwelling located in China, named:

2. The Fujian Tulou, the earthen buildings of the Fujian district.
These buildings are huge, and they house hundreds of families at once.
But first of all, why is it called an earthen building?

3. In Mandarin, TU means Earth and LOU means building. Thus, we arrive at the
term
Earthen Buildings

4. Thorughout the history of china, numerous wars broke out and cause chaos
among the society.
These two event, namely the disaster of yongjia, which occured in the tang
dynasty, and jin song wars, which took plce in the song dynasty
play a major role in the history of the earthen buildings

5. These two events, caused the migration of the hakka people, from the central
plains to the mountain ranges of southwestern fujian.
But why did they build the earthen buildings?

6. First of all, the Hakka people were known for their cohesiveness as a clan. They
worked together as a clan to achieve great success, one of them, is the earthen
building.
Next, is peace. The condition in the mountains was relatively peaceful compared
to the central plains. This gives the Hakka people ample time to build such huge
structures.
Lastly, as the mountains were unexplored, they have a lot of natural resources oto
their expense.

7. Now lets go to the external structure of the earthen buildings.
Earthen buildings can be found in 3 shapes, oval, circle, and square.
Out of 3 of these, circle buildings appear to be the most abundant.
But why?

8. First of all, even though the Hakka people had a lot of resources, some materials
are scarce. For instance, wood.
This diagram shows the wall of the earthen building, Part A is clay, and Part B is
wood. By buildings a round-shaped wall, ledd wood will be used compared to clay.
This is very logical as wood is far more costly to transport and ot be worked with.
Next, given the same amount of materials, a round building gives more internal
spaces compared to a square building, and thus reources are used more
efficiently.

9. Stability of the building and ease of construction also comes into play.
A round buildings is proven to be more stable compared to a square building.
This picture shown here is the YuChangLou. This particular building has survived
for more than 700 years. It was built in 1308.
Also, a round building eliminated the complex corners of the wall and the roof, thus
making construction easier.

10. The two main elements of the internal structure are the Ancestral altar, add the
living quarters.
The ancestral altar functions as the grand hall of the erathen buildings. All the
important ceremonies were held here, and sometimes it also serves as a place to
welcome guests.
The living quarters is perhaps the most unique feature of the earthen buildings.
As you can see from this diagram, the rooms in a building are divided into vertical
sets.
Each family, regardless of status, will only own one vertical set, while a bigger
family may own two. This is very different from what we know today.

11. These are the materials used to build an earthen building.
Riverstones form the base of the building. These are huge rocks that are used
solely to bear the weight of the building.
The walls of the the earthen building is formed with a type of concrete known as
sanhetu.
Almost all the internal structures are built with wood.

12. Lastly, I would like to talk about the sustainability of the earthen buildings
Fujian district is a region that has 4 seasons. This means that the place
experineces hot summers and cold winters.
However, the earthen buildings are so brilliantly designed that the inhabitants can
feel cool suring the summer and warm during the winter.
Referring to the first diagram. During the summer, the main door is opened,
allowing air to flow in. The air then evaporates through the airwell, drastically
improving ventillation and reducing the overall temperature.
During winter, the door is closed, and the cold winter breeze is diverted on top of
the building, leaving the warm air underneath. This maintains the temperature
inside the building.

13. I hope this presentation opened your mind to this amazing structure.