Page 111 - JCAU-6-2

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Development protection of ethnic villages

consultations, we formulated a targeted classification the Baodian Temple. These newer constructions exhibited
and renovation scheme for the first batch of renovated chaotic architectural features and adhered to different
buildings. Our study also involved devising strategies construction standards, making it difficult to reflect the
conducive to cultural inheritance, heritage preservation, living habits and cultural customs of the local residents. The
and village regeneration in the area. Throughout the construction of resettlement houses prioritized the rapid
renovation design process, we ensured the feasibility of resettlement of residents, leading to an original planning
renovation projects during the renovation design process. approach that failed to reflect the features of the Tibetan
The research framework is demonstrated in Figure 14. residential style. At present, most residential buildings
The research framework is detailed as follows: consist of 2 – 3-storey brick-concrete structure with poor
(i) Cultural background research: This includes an construction quality, with only a small portion featuring
examination of the historical development of Guantian certain ethnic elements. The feature evaluation centered
Village, the evolution of settlements, and an analysis of around Baodian Temple as the core area within the existing
Jiarong Tibetan residential architecture skills. village, extending to the surrounding area. This assessment
(ii) Fieldwork: This includes field visits to buildings, utilized the features of Baodian Temple as a reference point
villages, and elements of the historic environment, to coordinate the surrounding residential buildings and
which includes taking photographs, mapping and public spaces. Historical environmental elements in the
simulating important environmental elements, vicinity were identified and cataloged to inform protection
conducting surveys, and creating village spaces and efforts. A total of 65 typical residential buildings in Guantian
buildings. Village, assigned to Group 1 and Group 2, were selected and
(iii) Oral interviews: Interviews were conducted with uniformly numbered (Figure 15).
villagers and local scholars to complement historical The buildings were evaluated with reference to the
research and explore the preservation and inheritance indexes of building integrity, application of traditional
of historical development, spatial patterns, and building elements, spatial patterns, building materials,
architectural design language. and construction difficulty. The current architectural
(iv) Comparative study: This aims to construct a village evaluation mainly divided existing buildings into one
protection and development system based on to four categories according to factors such as elevation
architectural heritage, environment, and community, integrity, incorporation of national cultural elements, and
providing reference strategies for rural revitalization tonal unity (Figure 16). The overall dilemma lies in several
and traditional culture protection. aspects: the discordant colors and styles of the building,
significant disparities in elevation decoration, and the
4. Fieldwork and data processing widespread practice of unauthorized additions such as
4.1. Building quality and feature evaluation color steel sheds.
The current residential houses in Guantian Village were After investigating 65 typical residential houses in
relocated following the Wenchuan earthquake (2008). Guantian Village, it was found that the overall structure
Although some of these buildings were considered to present and style of the buildings appeared overly modern. Among
ethnic elements to a certain extent, they markedly differed these, 29 residential houses featured whitewashed concrete
from the existing historical buildings in the village, such as exterior walls, while 28 had simple side wall decorations,

Figure 14. Research framework. Source: Drawing by the authors

Volume 6 Issue 2 (2024) 8 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.2043