QIONG TIAN YU YU
2023-2026年Digital documentation & intangible architectural knowledge
My role: the project leader，design proposal, the visual design, the animation in TD.
Zaojing are intricate wooden ceiling systems found in temples, palaces, and theaters throughout ancient China.
These structures symbolize celestial harmony, social hierarchy, and ritualistic importance, while showcasing
exceptional craftsmanship in wooden joinery. Despite their cultural significance, Zaojing ceilings remain
under-documented in architectural heritage studies. This project presents Houses of Heaven, an immersive digital
art installation that reconstructs and reinterprets Zaojing through high-fidelity 3D scanning, photogrammetry, and
CGI-enhanced storytelling. Hosted in a CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment), the multi-screen projection
space envelops the audience in a cinematic journey through the historical development of Zaojing structures, their
changing design principles, and the cultural narratives reflected by them. The immersive experience integrates
historical imagery, computationally reconstructed 3D models, and symbolic visual storytelling to depict Zaojing
craftsmanship, the cosmological significance of these structures, and their role in architectural heritage.
中国古代寺庙、宫殿和戏台中常见的木结构天花板，被称为“藻井”。这些结构象征着天地和谐、社会等级和宗教仪式的重要性，同时也展现了精湛的木工技艺。尽管藻井具有重要的文化意义，但在建筑遗产研究中，其相关记载却相对匮乏。本项目呈现的沉浸式数字艺术装置“藻井”运用高保真三维扫描、摄影测量和计算机生成的图像增强技术，对藻井进行重构和重新诠释。该装置位于一个“洞穴式自动虚拟环境”（CAVE）中，多屏投影空间将观众带入一场电影般的旅程，带领他们探索藻井结构的历史发展、其不断变化的设计原则以及所反映的文化叙事。沉浸式体验融合了历史图像、计算机重建的3D模型和象征性的视觉叙事，展现了造京工艺、这些建筑的宇宙学意义及其在建筑史上的作用。中国藻井（藻井）是古代中国寺庙、宫殿及剧院中常见的精巧雕塑天花系统。这些结构象征着天人和谐、社会等级与仪式，同时开展了木工榫卯工艺的非凡技能。虽然具有未来的文化意，藻井在建筑研究中仍缺乏系统性记录。本次呈现项目的《穹天宇宇》沉浸数字艺术装置，通过三维扫描、摄影测量与CGI增强叙事。该装置运用于CAVE（洞穴式自动虚拟环境）多屏投影空间，引导观众踏上穿越藻井结构历史转型的电影式旅程，见证其设计理念的演进与所融合的文化影像叙事。沉浸式体验历史、计算重建的3D模型及象征性视觉再现，引导观众巡视藻井工艺的精髓、宇宙论以及在建筑遗产中的独特价值。
Chinese Caisson Ceiling (Zao Jing) | 3D Digital Documentation | Architectural Heritage
中国藻井| 3D数字文档|建筑遗产
—Beijing Culture and Arts Foundation
—Top Ten Ultra-HD Audio-Visual Innovation Application Scenarios in Beijing
Zaojing (Ceiling) is an important decorative element in ancient Chinese architecture, located at the center of dome structures. As an integral component of architectural rituals, it emphasizes the significance of the interior space, making it a key feature in ancient buildings.
Ancient people created building vents in the shape of a water well, carved with algae patterns – believing that water and fire would restrain each other to ensure safety. At the same time, the structure of the Zaojing – which includes circles and squares – corresponds to the cosmological concept of "round heaven and square earth". Therefore, the Zaojing symbolizes "heaven".
Our long-term objective is to establish a comprehensive database cataloguing Zaojing art to preserve this invaluable cultural heritage for future generations. The completion of this database will not only raise public awareness and appreciation of ancient architectural culture but also provide easily accessible information for academic research.
The craftsmanship of the zaojing is very complex, without the use of nails, using mortise and tenon and arch stacking.
First of all, it is common to use a number of square and bow-shaped arches to build a well. arches are both decorative and indicators of architectural hierarchy, and the more noble the building, the more complex the arch structure is.The combination of mortise and tenon is the key to earthquake resistance. Ancient craftsmen precisely calculated where the centre of gravity was located and distributed the gravity through mortise and tenon to prolong the life of the zaojing.
The intricate Song-style Zaojing (Ceiling) described in the Yingzao Fashi营造法式(Treatise on Architectural Methods).
