Page 111 - JCAU-6-3

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Sustainability of courtyard building

2. Literature review since been paid off. Studies on materials, light, and thermal
comfort in historical buildings have demonstrated that
Historical buildings can serve as a valuable reference applying traditional techniques, such as thermal mass and
for contemporary building design and renovation. In natural ventilation, to modern buildings can considerably
developing countries, drawing on the merits of historical impact energy consumption and thermal comfort. For
architecture may be a viable way to promote sustainable example, these techniques can reduce summer indoor
development and energy conservation. To substantiate temperatures by up to 5°C. In addition, natural ventilation
these hypotheses, a review of relevant literature is essential
to highlight the possible merits of historical architecture. has been associated with improved indoor thermal comfort
(Alwetaishi, 2020).
The literature summarized in Table 1 shows that the
advantages of historical buildings have been studied 2.1. Chinese courtyard buildings
and recognized worldwide. This widespread recognition Chinese courtyard buildings hold potential research
indicates that certain strengths of historical buildings can value for contemporary construction. The perceptions of
guide modern architecture toward greater sustainability. many generations regarding technology, nature, and the
These strengths do not require advanced technology relationship between humans and nature are embedded
and share similarities with modern passive building in the architecture of that era. In ancient China, there was
design. These findings support the previous hypothesis, a scientific study of the relationship between architecture,
emphasizing research perspectives that include materials, humans, and nature called feng shui (风水). Its main goal
life cycles, and special structures, thus providing a was to find a way for humans to live in harmony with
perspective for subsequent research described in this the environment, with the belief that survival depended
article. on considering nature and people as an entirety, with
Further literature review reveals that the insulation humans as part of nature (Xu, 1998). The development of
performance of historical building materials is often traditional houses in China was based on limited abilities to
underestimated. Standard U-value calculations, widely transform nature and the limited resources available. These
used in the building industry, underestimate the thermal limitations led traditional builders to accumulate extensive
properties of traditional wall materials such as stone. For ecological “low technology” experience (Ji et al., 2020).
instance, 77% of traditional building walls sampled in one The history of Chinese cities can be traced back to 6,000 –
study performed better than expected (Rye & Scott, 2012). 5,000 BCE, with physical evidence such as remnants of city
The durability of historical buildings, evident in their walls, suggesting that the history of Chinese architecture
continued existence, illustrates the advantages of certain may be over 8,000 years old (Steinhardt, 2019). The most
materials. These materials were sourced in a pre-fossil fuel common archetypal form of Chinese architecture is the
era, resulting in low embodied carbon, which has long courtyard building, a type of residential building known

Table 1: Architectural advantages of historical buildings
No. Architecture type and Objects Advantages
location
1 Historical dwellings in the Natural ventilation, sun The dwellings are well adapted to the local climate in the summer, although
hot summer and cold winter shading, and thermal the thermal comfort of the interior is not entirely satisfactory in the winter
regions of China insulation (Gou et al., 2015).
2 Traditional housing in Kashan, Courtyard in the center of Courtyards can positively improve ventilation performance, avoid using
Iran the house modern ventilation systems, and reduce energy consumption (Roodgar
et al. 2011).
3 Tata Somba homes in Benin Historical eco-technology Using natural admixtures reduces the need for unsustainable synthetic
and Togo for earth plaster stabilization admixtures, improving the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of
construction materials (Ghida, 2024).
4 Traditional Islamic Wooden lattice openings Installed in Mediterranean buildings, this system controls the natural light
architecture entering the building, regulates the airflow into the indoor environment,
mitigates climatic conditions, and ensures the comfort of the inhabitants (Di
Turi & Ruggiero, 2017).
5 Iranian vernacular buildings Water footprint analysis When building construction follows a vernacular model, the grey water
footprint can be reduced by a factor of 327, providing valuable insights into
sustainable building practices (Hosseinian et al., 2023).

Volume 6 Issue 3 (2024) 3 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.3187