Shake, Rattle And Roll -- Why So Few Japanese Pagodas Have Ever Fallen Down

From The Economist:


YOUR correspondent is indebted to readers for their interesting comments about last week’s column on timber-framed buildings. He is especially grateful to Anjin-san, whose observations about Japanese pagodas reminded him of a day spent a dozen years ago with Shuzo Ishida, a structural engineer at Kyoto Institute of Technology. Mr Ishida, known to his students as “Professor Pagoda”, has a passion for the building’s unique dynamics.

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