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Monu Mental Buildings: American Sculpture.—Sculpture, recognized as art, did not exist in colonial America due to the prejudice of militant Protestantism against the making of idols. In the 18th century, however, there were anonymous carvers who made ship figureheads, weather vanes, and other objects which are now cherished as examples of folk art. With the birth of the new republic coinciding with a more broadminded concept of religion, there developed a real need for sculpture to commemorate heroism and to embellish monu mental buildingsmental buildings. This need was first met by foreigners and self-trained artists.
In most of the towns and on many of the country roads of China are found monu mental buildingsmental archways called p'ai-lou. Although the p'ai-lou is considered a purely Chinese architectural concept, one cannot fail to notice an analogy between this form and the gateways of the railings surrounding certain Indian stupas, such as those of Sanchi. In south China stone p'ai-lou are common; in northern cities the street scene is often enlivened by gaily painted timber ones.
With the expansion, however, come region-specific challenges.
In particular, China has stringent restrictions on shading of adjacent housing.
'Sunlight is considered critical to mental and physical well-being so buildings can't cast more than two hours of shadow a day on neighboring buildings,' says Francis Bulbulian, PDI project manager.
To expand daylight, the project will also make use of extensive skylights.
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