世界上最美的10個天花板

喬納森·格蘭西（Jonathan Glancey） （转自：BBC中文网）

意大利萊星博美廷城堡（Castello di Sammezzano, Leccio）

在佛羅倫薩附近一座被遺棄的意大利式宮殿裏，孔雀廳（Peacock Room ）的天花板、拱頂和裝飾的魅力卻絲毫沒有褪色。這座夢幻般的建築彷彿有無窮無盡的房間，隨處可見孔雀和其它異域主題的裝潢。費迪南多·潘恰蒂基·希梅內斯·德·阿拉貢（ Ferdinando Panciatichi Ximenes d'Aragona）對一座年代久遠的城堡重新進行了翻修，新的摩爾風格裝飾是他的畢生心血。儘管這位身兼建築師、工程師、生物學家、哲學家和政治家的意大利貴族從未到過勒凡特（ Levant ）或者東方，但是他從1843至1889年，將想像中的精緻而充滿異域情調的圖案和色彩的世界在萊星這裏變為現實。二十世紀這裏成為一個酒店，如今這座宮殿與那多姿多彩的孔雀廳已被遺忘在角落。

The mesmerising ceiling, vaults and decor of the Peacock Room in this abandoned Italian palazzo near Florence speak for themselves. Peacocks, and other exotica, were the source of the inspired decoration to be found throughout the seemingly endless empty rooms of this daydream building. The Moorish-style makeover of what was a much older palace was the life work of Ferdinando Panciatichi Ximenes d’Aragona. Although the aristocratic Italian architect, engineer, botanist, philosopher and politician never visited the Levant or the Orient, he imagined a world of exquisite and highly exotic forms and colours that he brought to life in Leccio between 1843 and 1889. A hotel in the 20th Century, the palazzo and its polychromatic Peacock Room are in limbo today. (Credit: Antonio Cinotti/Flickr cc by 2.0)

劍橋郡伊利大教堂（Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire）

伊利大教堂中央八角塔的精美穹頂天窗是中世紀結構工程與設計的偉大傑作之一，它於1334年由皇家木匠威廉·赫利（William Hurley）建造完成。從教堂的地面向上看去，天窗就像一個巨大的八角星形的中心，光芒的正中雕刻著基督像。這座30英尺高天窗的基礎是八顆英國橡木，並由明顯可見的木製扇形拱頂與一個隱藏的帳篷形橡木材質的格柵支撐。天窗四周，安裝著能夠木製面板，面板上有十九世紀繪製天使形像。唱詩班透過教堂的穹頂，將天堂的禮讚散播到沼澤的周邊。

Completed in 1334 by the royal carpenter William Hurley, the exquisite timber lantern over the central octagonal tower of Ely Cathedral is one of the greatest feats of medieval structural engineering and design. From the cathedral floor, the lantern appears like the centre of a great, eight-pointed star, with a carving of Christ in Glory at its centre. Constructed primarily from eight English oak trees, the 30ft-high lantern is supported by highly visible timber fan vaulting and by a hidden tent-like lattice of oak beams. Wooden panels – decorated with painted angels in the 19th Century – can be opened around the lantern. Choristers, serving as a heavenly choir, sang through these from the roof of the fenland cathedral. (Credit: Steve Vidler / Alamy Stock Photo)

斯德哥爾摩索爾納中心地鐵站（Solna Centrum Metro Station, Stockholm）

到目前為止，斯德哥爾摩索爾納購物中心（Solna Centrum shopping mall ）最吸引人的部分是其藍線地鐵站（Blue Line Metro station），該地鐵站開通於1975年。藝術家安德斯·阿貝格（Anders Åberg）和卡爾·奧羅夫·比約克（Karl Olov Björk）為地下大廳的裸露岩牀塗上令人激動的鮮艷紅色。在這裏乘坐自動扶梯就像被吸進或逃離某個神秘的巫師洞穴。自1957年，遠超一節地鐵車廂額定人數的藝術家們已經將100座地鐵站中的95座變為了難忘的公共藝術品，因此也印證了那句將70英里長的斯德哥爾摩地鐵描述成「世界上最長的藝術畫廊」的話。也許只有莫斯科地鐵（大多建成於更早的年代）能夠與這一卓著成就比肩。

By far the most alluring attraction of Stockholm's Solna Centrum shopping mall is the Blue Line Metro station that has served it since 1975. Artists Anders Åberg and Karl-Olov Björk painted the exposed bedrock of the underground concourse a thrilling and beautifully lit night-time red. Riding the escalators here is like being drawn into, or escaping from, some mythical sorcerer's cave. Since 1957 more artists than it would take to fill the carriage of a Metro train have conjured 94 of the network's 100 stations into memorable public artworks, justifying the widely quoted description of the 70-mile Stockholm Metro as "the world's longest art gallery". Perhaps only the Moscow Metro, mostly of an earlier era, rates alongside this remarkable achievement. (Credit: David Bertho / Alamy Stock Photo)

紐約中央車站（Grand Central Station, New York）

幾十年來，繪有黃道十二星座圖案的壯觀而備受喜愛的中央車站大廳的天花板在大部分時間是隱形的。過往旅客抽過的無數煙草給屋頂覆蓋了厚厚的尼古丁焦油，多年來旅客們匆匆穿過這座壯觀的學院派建築（Beaux-Arts style building）的大廳前往下層的67座站台。車站是由沃倫和韋特莫爾事務所，與里德與斯特恩事務所（Warren and Wetmore, and Reed and Stern）設計，穹頂畫作由法國藝術家保羅·凱撒·埃盧（Paul César Helleu ）與紐約的查爾斯·貝興（ Charles Basing）及其助手團隊基於中世紀的星圖繪製。黃道十二宮的形像在藍綠色的背景下由金箔勾勒而成，讓人想起希臘和意大利南部的秋冬季的夜空。經過清洗和復原的天花板於1998年重新亮相。

For decades the zodiac ceiling of the imposing and much loved concourse of Grand Central was largely invisible. It was covered in thick layers of nicotine tar, the result of countless cigarettes smoked by generations of commuters making their way to the station's 67 platforms set below the imposing Beaux-Arts style building designed by Warren and Wetmore, and Reed and Stern. Based on medieval astronomical maps, it was painted by the French artist Paul César Helleu and New York's Charles Basing with a team of assistants. The signs of the zodiac were outlined in gold leaf on a blue-green backdrop evoking autumn and winter night skies of Greece and Southern Italy. The cleaned and restored ceiling was unveiled in 1998. (Credit: Patrick Shyu / Alamy Stock Photo)

伊斯法罕，國王清真寺（Shah Mosque, Isfahan）

1598年，阿巴斯國王（Shah Abbas）將波斯的首都遷到了伊斯法罕。他下令在這裏建造了一系列雄偉而華美的宗教和民用建築。但是，由於伊斯法罕唯一可用的建築材料是燒制的泥磚，有人擔心無論多麼宏偉，新的建築物將顯得相當沉悶。然而燒制馬賽克彩色瓷磚的新技術，使得國王的建築師們陶醉在奇妙的裝飾技巧中，並且使得這座國王清真寺（1612-38年建造）美輪美奐。由書法與細密畫大師禮薩·阿巴西（Rezza Abbasi）設計的這座國王清真寺，其藍、黃、綠松石色、粉紅和綠色的瓷磚捕捉並反射著這座明媚而炎熱的城市的光影，令其藍色穹頂下的陰涼空間變得鮮活。

In 1598, Shah Abbas moved the Persian capital to Isfahan. Here, he commissioned a remarkable sequence of ambitious and beautiful religious and civic buildings. But, because the only readily available building material in Isfahan was baked mud brick, there was a fear that, however grand, the new buildings would look rather dull. New techniques in firing coloured mosaic tiles, however, allowed the Shah's architects to revel in wondrous displays of decoration, brought to perfection here in the Shah Mosque (1612-38). Designed by the master calligrapher and miniaturist Rezza Abbasi, the blue, yellow, turquoise, pink and green tiles catch and reflect the light of this bright and hot city, animating cool spaces under the great blue dome of Abbas's mosque. (Credit: Hossein Lohinejadian / Alamy Stock Photo)

韓國驪州郡赫斯利九橋高爾夫俱樂部（Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Club House, Yeoju-gun）

這座於2010年開放的鄉村俱樂部，由日本著名的新一代紙質和紙板建築設計師阪茂（Shigeru Ban）設計，以優雅的中庭大廳為特色。膠合板制的格架構成的天花板和屋頂由三層高同樣材質的輕型柱子所支撐。由於採用計算機切割，柱體和木製網格盡可能耗費了最少的材料。採用中空設計的防火柱體使得空氣能夠在中庭自由流動，其設計靈感來自「竹夫人」，一種傳統的格狀竹枕。在炎熱潮濕的天氣裏，睡在上面比睡在牀單枕頭上更清涼。輕巧的屋頂格架映照在池塘中，有意營造了一種詩意的氛圍。 Designed by Shigeru Ban, the Japanese architect famous for a new generation of paper and cardboard buildings, this country club opened in 2010 features a notably elegant atrium lobby. A laminated timber grid shell supported seamlessly by lightweight, three-storey-high columns of the same material forms its ceiling and roof. Computer cut, columns and grid shell employ as little material as possible. The filigree, fireproof columns allow the free flow of air through the atrium, their design inspired by ‘bamboo wives’ [zhúfūrén], traditional lattice-framed bamboo bolsters. In hot and humid weather, these are cooler to sleep on than sheets and pillows. The lightweight form of the ceiling grid shell is reflected in a pool creating an intentionally poetic effect. (Credit: Kyeong Sik Yoon/KACI International) and Shigeru Ban/SBA Architects)

阿塞拜疆蓋達爾·巴庫阿利耶夫中心（Heydar Aliyev Centre, Baku, Azerbaijan）

這座精美的文化中心於2012年建成開放，其曲線風格禮堂的地板、牆壁和天花板構成了一個完整的整體。其效果神奇而引人注目，好像其設計師扎哈·哈迪德（Zaha Hadid ）打碎了正常的建築規則，而重新發明了自己的一套。實際上，禮堂複雜幾何形狀的層壓白橡木質外殼，安裝在鋼結構框架上。這既賦予了建築結構所必要的硬度，同時也營造了禮堂本身在自由空間中的漂浮感。扎哈·哈迪德早就想建造這樣一個有流動感的建築。利用最新的計算機巫術，她在巴庫實現了這個願望。你再也不會以同樣的方式看待天花板。

The floor, walls and ceilings of the curvaceous auditorium of this bravura cultural centre, opened in 2012, form a seamless whole. The effect is magical and truly remarkable, as if the architect, Zaha Hadid has dissolved the normal rules of construction and reinvented their own. In fact, the geometrically complex laminated white-oak shell of the auditorium is set within a steel frame. This gives the necessary rigidity to the structure while allowing and the auditorium to feel as if it is floating in free space. Zaha Hadid had long wanted to shape such a fluid architecture. With the latest computer wizardry, she has achieved this in Baku. You will never look at a ceiling in quite the same way again. (Credit: VIEW Pictures Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo)

威尼斯多爾索杜羅區聖龐大良教堂（San Pantalon, Dorsoduro, Venice）

這座尚未完成的巴洛克教區教堂的天花板美得熠熠生輝。443平方米（4768平方英尺）的天頂空間繪製著一幅十七世紀晚期的令人眼花繚亂的油畫，營造出一種幻覺：教堂的建築在越過明暗相間的柱廊和長著靈動翅膀的天使組成的唱詩班後繼續向上攀升，並越過金色的天空抵達天堂的光輝。這幅幻想的作品及其神奇的壓縮透視法，是吉安·安東尼奧·傅米亞尼（Gian Antonio Fumiani）的作品（1645-1710）。十九世紀英國有影響力的評論家約翰·拉斯金（John Ruskin）將這幅《聖龐大良的殉教和神化》描述為「歐洲繪畫庸俗戲劇效果的最奇特例子」。

For a few awe-inspiring moments, a 50-cent euro coin lights up the ceiling of this unfinished Baroque parish church. A dazzling late 17th Century oil painting covering 443 sq m (4768 sq ft) gives the illusion of continuing the architecture of the church up through chiaroscuro colonnades and a choir of highly animated winged angels through golden skies to the white light of heaven itself. This illusionistic painting, with its thrillingly foreshortened perspectives, is the work of Gian Antonio Fumiani (1645-1710). The influential 19th Century English critic, John Ruskin, described The Martyrdom and Apotheosis of St Pantalon as "the most curious example in Europe of the vulgar dramatic effects of painting." He was quite wrong: dig in your pocket for another 50 cents. (Credit: Sylvain Sonnet/Corbis)

北京天壇祈年殿（Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, Temple of Heaven, Beijing）

天壇是明代永樂皇帝（朱棣）統治時期建造的龐大宗教建築群。其建成於1420年，三層式的祈年殿以其嚴整的幾何結構與絢麗的彩繪木質構件搭建的宏偉穹頂代表了時、天、月和一年中的四季。125英尺（38米）高的大殿沒用一根釘子，柱子和椽子隼接在一起，就像一組巨大的建築工具。鮮明的顏色代表不同的祈願：好運、快樂、帝國統治繁榮與榮耀。天壇於1889年被燒燬並被重建，大殿內部為2008北京奧運會展現全新面貌而進行了重新裝飾。

Temple of Heaven is a vast complex of religious buildings built during the reign of the Ming Dynasty Yongle emperor (born Zhu Di). Completed in 1420, the three-tiered Hall of Prayer evoked and represented the hours, days, months and seasons of the years in an architecture of precise geometry and gloriously colourful timber components culminating in an imperious dome. The 125ft (38m) high temple was constructed without a single nail, the timber columns and rafters slotting together like a giant building kit. The distinctive colours represent various evocations of good fortune, joy, prosperity and the glory of imperial rule. Burned down in 1889 and rebuilt, the temple interior was repainted to look brand new for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. (Credit: John Slater/CORBIS)

倫敦聖斯蒂芬·沃爾布魯克教堂（St Stephen Walbrook, City of London）

從車裏望去，聖斯蒂芬·沃爾布魯克教堂似乎非常低調。然而進入內部，克里斯托弗·雷恩（Christopher Wren）設計的這座教堂卻被證明是十七世紀末歐洲的建築奇蹟之一。八根科林斯式的柱子與八個帶明窗的拱頂支撐著一座宏偉的裝飾著鑲板的穹頂。這個穹頂是克里斯托弗·雷恩為聖保羅大教堂（St Paul's Cathedral）所做設計的縮小版，然而聖保羅教堂的執事們卻否絶了這個設計，因而我們能夠在這座安靜的教堂中看到雷恩原本的想法。雖然很寬敞，這座63英尺（19.3米）由木材、石膏、銅建造的穹頂卻不像聖保羅的那個，明亮而安靜地矗立在聖斯蒂芬教堂。

Viewed from the confine of City lanes, St Stephen Walbrook appears to be a very modest structure. Inside, however, this church designed by Christopher Wren proves to be one of the architectural wonders of late 17th Century Europe. Carried on eight Corinthian columns and eight arches punctuated by clear windows, is a magnificent coffered dome. This is a scale-model of the dome Christopher Wren had hoped to build over his original design for St Paul's Cathedral. The Church Commissioners turned this down, and yet we can see what Wren had intended inside this quiet church . Although capacious, the 63ft (19.3m) dome - made of timber, plaster and copper - is, unlike that of St Paul's, light, resting gently on St Stephen's. (Credit: Graham Prentice / Alamy Stock Photo)