Abstract
This report presents a study on the effect of snowfall on the form of SANGENDO temple, which is a kind of Buddhist Temple with a square plan having three bays on each side. The following factors are examined in the relation of snowfall:
1. roof materials
2. roof inclination
3. the ratio of the length of eaves to the building width
4. the extension ratio of veranda
5. the ratio of column size to the building width
6. the opening ratio of the building
Among these factors, it was found out that the selection of roof materials and the size of opening of building are related to the amout of snowfall. Specifically, in heavy snow regions, the roofing tiles (KAWARA, in Japanese) and Japanese cypress bark (HIWADA) have been rarely used for the roofing materials, and the window of building is small comparing that in the other regions. As for the other factors, no such strong relation with snowfall was found.
