The roof, up close

The Ottawa Chinatown Royal Arch is a royal arch because it has nine roofs, symbolizing eternal life and eternal reign of the emperor. The roofs are made of glazed roof tiles, as are the many figurative elements. These will not be visible in any detail from the ground, except with a telephoto lens.

It is now one month to official unveiling of the Arch, the long building process is drawing towards its culmination.

dragon motifs along the roof peak

the detailed story lines are intriguing, complex like the medieval cathedral stuatuary in Europe

The tiles are cemented together with red mortar. Double click to enlarge any picture to see more detail.

With a human in the picture, the scale of the pieces becomes more apparent

End of a "wooden" beam is capped with a glazed figure

Silhouetted against the sky, figures journey forever

Tile roofs installed

July 5, 2010

The first view of the arch with some of the roof tiles installed.

Chinese artisan preparing a corner of roof to receive tiles.

The complexity of the underside of the roofs is now revealled. Double click to enlarge photo.

These artisans were working on the shaded side of the arch during some of the hottest days in the year, with temperatures +30 C.

Detail of the tiles installed on the roofs.