Light House Cyclopedia

Question 9 ：Building materials of lighthouses

A:There are six building materials such as stone, brick, wood lumber, cast iron (pig iron), iron framed and reinforced concrete materials. In early times, lighthouses are made of bricks and stones. Due to technical limitation, the tower is not tall. So most lighthouse sites are located at highlands like cliffs and hilltops where there is a wide view. It is helpful to extend the illuminating distance in that way. Afterwards, cast iron (pig iron), iron framed and reinforced concrete materials are more commonly used because those materials are easily stacked up to be high buildings to fit either high or low places.
1. Stone-made lighthouse
(1) Building material: Stone lighthouses are made of stone blocks which are gathered locally. The construction type is the mostly common way to build lighthouses in early years. The buildings are wind resistant and erosion resistant.
(2) Representative works: Yuwongdau Lighthouse was built in the Chianlong Emperor period in the Ching Dynasty and used as a stone-made light tower by burning fuel oil. The present western-style stone lighthouses are Dongjyu Island Lighthouse and Ockseu Island Lighthouse (Wuchiu Isle).
(3) Building characteristics: Take Dongjyu Island Lighthouse for example, the measurement ratio of the lighthouse top part and its body is 2:3. The lighthouse is shaped as a cylinder with a Chinese arch-like entrance. The maintenance platform is installed by cantilever stones on eave, and then decorated by lime liquid. The lighthouse is regard ed as the most featured stone lighthouse, and ranked as the national second-class historical site.

2. Brick-made lighthouse
(1) Building material: Bricks are lighter materials than others, and are easily laid. The brick is one of the major building materials, and can be designed in streamlined shapes. The brick lighthouses can stand up to the weather.
(2) Representative works: The existing six octagonal (eight-sided) brick lighthouses, made in the Ching Dynasty and Japanese Colonial Period, are Chamuyu and Kaohsiung Lighthouses. The cylinder brick lighthouses are Baishajia, Keelung, Pengjia Islet, Dongyong, Dongding and Beiding Lighthouses.
(3) Building characteristics: In the early Japanese Colonial Period, lighthouses are mostly made of bricks from kilns. The lighthouses are mostly shaped as octagon or cylinder . The measurement ratio of the lighthouse top part and its body is 1:2, 1:3 or 1:4. Its maintenance platform is installed by cantilever bricks, and then decorated by lime liquid, or stacked bricks, sawtoothed or corbel shapes.

3. Cast iron lighthouse
(1) Building material: The material is called pig iron or cast iron that is erosion resistant, easy to carry, and easy to solder. Because the material is heavy, the iron is usually cast individually and then put together in the construction site to. It cost high to build lighthouses in this way, so few people build lighthouses with cast iron.
(2) Representative works: Yuwongdao and Eluanbi Lighthouses are built in the Ching Dynasty. Mudouyu Lighthouse is built in the Japanese Colonial Period.
(3) Building characteristics: The tower is shaped like sort of a cone. Like Yuwongdao Lighthouse, the measurement ratio of the lighthouse top part and its body is 1:2. Like Eluanbi and Mudouyu Lighthouses, the measurement ratio of the lighthouse top part and its body is 1: 5. The observatory platform is made of cast iron plates fixed by screw nuts, not extended from the tower body. The platform is supported by cast-iron corbels or tripods. The decoration is quite an interesting design.

4. Iron framed lighthouse
(1) Building material: The lighthouses are built with iron frames. This type of tower features wind resistant, smaller base, shorter construction time and lower cost. However, the iron material is easily eroded by salt, and hard to maintain. Therefore, the iron material is gradually replaced by more superior zinc-plated and stainless steels.
(2) Representative works: The iron-frame lighthouses, rebuilt by the Taiwan Customs, consist of Hualien Port, Guosheng Port, Tamshui Port, Waisanding Islet and Anping Lighthouses.
(3) Building characteristics: The lighthouses feature ventilation to reduce air pressure. But there is no space for the lantern. This kind of lighthouse is mostly built in the place with bad environmental conditions.

5. Reinforced concrete lighthouse
(1) Building material: The lighthouse is made of reinforced concrete, which features high plasticity to form various shapes. The material is advantageous over natural materials with the feature above.
(2) Representative works: The material is highly used in the late Japanese Colonial Period. The representative buildings made by Japanese are Dongjiyu, Su-ao, Siouliouciou, Cilaibi, San Diego , Huayu, Cimei and Green Island lighthouses. After the Recovery of Taiwan, the Taiwan Customs renovated or built new 16 lighthouses including Bitou Cape, Fuguei Cape Lighthouse, Ciouzihshan, Gaomei, Yeliu, Keelung Islet, Orchid Island and Fangyuan Lighthouses. Those 16 lighthouses are all made of reinforced concrete, taking up almost half of the total lighthouses in Taiwan.
(3) Building characteristics: Through the material, lighthouses can be formed into various shapes like square, tetragon, pentagon, octagon and cylinder.

6. Wooden lighthouse
(1) Building material: This kind of lighthouse is made of wood lumber that is a more fragile building material. The lighthouse could easily collapse in the long term.
(2) Representative works: Eddystone Lighthouse, off the port of Plymouth in the United Kingdom, is the most famous wooden lighthouse. There is not any wooden lighthouse in Taiwan so far.

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