Architecture · Research · Drawing
In dialogue withJian 間
Architecture, read through its thresholds.
I’m Yanzhi Yang, a PhD researcher in architecture at KU Leuven. I study how transitional spaces shape movement, sight and pauses between one space and the next.
Enter the research ↓Column section · width × depth: 0.57 × 0.06 u
Passage · Enfilade 齊廊
Enfilade aligns a sequence of openings so that the eye can travel across several spaces. Here, four openings and three equal intervals establish a continuous line of sight. The route follows this alignment, linking seeing with moving forward.
©︎ yanzhiyang, 2026
u is a relative model unit. These designed proportions describe this drawing; they are not metres or measurements of a historical building.
| State | Portals | Opening | Column width × depth | Overall portal width | Plane spacing | Max. span |
|---|
All columns share a 0.57 × 0.06 u section (width × depth, rounded). Overall portal width equals the clear opening plus two column widths. In Pause, the rear two whole portals shift sideways without changing their column sections.
Enfilade: V&A, Inside the Baroque palace
Classical reference
「山水有可行者、有可望者、有可遊者、有可居者。」
Guo Xi, compiled by Guo Si, Linquan Gaozhi Ji, ‘Shanshui xun’ (Song dynasty). Read the source
This passage discusses landscape painting. It is introduced here as a reference for moving, looking and dwelling.
「深奧曲折，通前達後，全在斯半間中，生出幻境也。」
Ji Cheng, Yuanye, vol. 1, ‘Liji’ (Laying out foundations), ‘Tingtang ji’ (Hall foundations), Ming dynasty. Read the source
In his discussion of hall foundations, Ji Cheng describes how a half-bay can connect front and back through depth and turns. The passage offers a way to consider the scale, routes and connections of transitional spaces.
Passage, Pause and Room are the contemporary model’s three labels. Their sequence and numerical proportions are designed for this drawing and are not taken from either classical text.
Yipu, Suzhou · 1:5 spacing and paired views
通过丈量刘敦桢测绘图发现，清初乳鱼亭与亭北侧至爱莲窝的空间间距比约为1:5(图4)，亭面向爱莲窝处未植花木，与爱莲窝构成通畅相对视域，形成对景关系[5]，说明1:5间距比可以构成良好视域，无须在两景之间添花木。
云嘉燕、陈徵羽，〈基于乳鱼亭尺寸框格分析的苏州艺圃植物造景理法演变〉，《中国园林》38卷12期（2022）：127–132，引用见第128页，2.1节“乳鱼亭区域”；对应图4见第129页。 DOI: 10.19775/j.cla.2022.12.0127
Chinese original. Emphasis added; [5] retains the article’s reference numbering.
01 · Current research
My research examines thresholds through spatial analysis and architectural phenomenology. Through writing and drawing, I read European and Chinese architectural cases together, focusing on human experience to study the connections between spaces.
A doorway, a change in level, a covered edge: each can shape the experience of moving between spaces. The doctoral project asks how these transitions are organised and understood.
Read the threshold typology →The classical Chinese spatial concept jian opens another line of enquiry. How can a spatial concept travel between languages? The research examines its relationship with threshold, while attending to differences in meaning and use.
Read thresholds in Chinese classical architecture →Drawing makes spatial relationships available for comparison. Alongside writing, it offers a way to follow openings, routes, enclosures and the intervals between them.
Explore Sanfen Sunyi & Proportion →A sourced index of seven Suzhou gardens in Liu Dunzhen’s survey, with measured-drawing references and a geographic locator.
Explore Suzhou gardens →