Climate adaptation in traditional dwelling typologies: the case of Southern Anhui, China

ABSTRACT

This study focused on the climate adaptation of traditional dwellings in Southern Anhui to identify the architectural features that influence thermal comfort conditions and uncover the mechanisms behind climate adaptation from a typological perspective. To elucidate the relationship between architectural forms and bioclimatic strategies, this study categorizes climatically responsive solutions in traditional dwellings into three levels: built shape type, space gradients, and interface adaptation. This research was conducted through a field study in Southern Anhui, and the data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively and a simulation of the environmental performance was conducted. The research findings demonstrate that the architectural forms and construction logic prevalent in traditional dwellings in Southern Anhui are well suited to the local climate. There was an explicit mathematical and morphological correspondence between the three types of architectural forms and climatic comfort. Overall, the results of this study can contribute significantly to contemporary residential architecture in Southern Anhui by shedding light on the inherent value of bioclimatic strategies in traditional dwellings, thereby facilitating the critical transmission to modern architectural practices in the region.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate adaptation
• typology
• traditional dwellings
• Southern Anhui
• thermal comfort
• architectural form

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Prof. Zhang Tong, Prof. Gong kai (Professors at School of Architecture, Southeast University), and Chen Haifeng, Wang Xuan, Yao Yuanhang et al. (local people working in Southern Anhui) for their help and support in smoothly conducting the field surveys. We also express our special thanks to Liu Qiao, Ma Chi and Pan Yongjie at the Fengtu Design Lab for their advice and assistance in the writing and architectural performance simulations.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data is contained within the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the [National Natural Science Foundation of China #1] under grant [No. 52278011]: Research on the Tectonic System of Jiangnan Vernacular Architecture based on the Regulation of the Water Environment and by the [Nanjing Olympic Sports Technological Cooperation Foundation of Jiangsu #2] Grant [No. H202320474]: Research on High-Performance Composite-Surface Design of Urban Communities Based on Carbon-Efficiency Collaborative Optimization.