Page 117 - JCAU-6-4

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Indoor wind environment in buildings for Qinghai-Tibet plateau of China

thermal comfort and wind environment in buildings, research on environmental adaptability presents both new
focusing on factors such as building structure, challenges and opportunities.
orientation, and window design. Across CFD This article combines a review of relevant literature
simulations and field tests, they analyze the thermal with the use of PHOENICS software simulations to
performance of buildings under different seasonal and delve into the physical environmental performance of
climatic conditions, offering recommendations for vernacular architecture. The discussion centers on the
improvement (Nie et al., 2017). wind environment and its impact on indoor airflow,
(iv) Optimization and evaluation of wind environment: exploring how architectural forms interact with the
Researchers aim to extend building wind environment environment. We emphasize the potential of the current
simulations from local to global scales, conducting research in promoting sustainable architectural design,
cross-scale analyses of building wind environments advocating for contemporary architectural practices to
(Liu et al., 2022). Multi-scale CFD simulations, incorporate the traditional wisdom and environmental
combined with integrated building information adaptability of vernacular architecture in the pursuit of
modeling techniques, allow for comprehensive greater sustainability and ecological friendliness.
evaluations and optimizations of building wind
environments (He et al., 2012). CFDs simulations of the wind environment of traditional
Tibetan vernacular architecture on the Qinghai-Tibet
In existing research, numerous CFD simulation studies plateau were conducted using PHOENICS VR software.
have been conducted on indigenous architecture in These simulations identify the research case’s excellent
different climatic regions, primarily focusing on enhancing performance in terms of the wind environment and
building comfort and functionality. However, there has analyze the factors contributing to this favorable airflow.
been limited exploration of the inherent architectural The analysis focuses primarily on how certain architectural
wisdom embedded in vernacular architecture itself (Wang forms significantly influence the wind environment. As the
& Cao, 2021). In addition, research on traditional Tibetan research case represents a concentrated embodiment of
architecture on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau remains scarce local building techniques and architectural culture and is
(Huang et al., 2016). Although there have been extensive well-preserved to this day, it contains climate adaptation
studies on the region’s architectural cultural history (Baimu techniques not found in modern local architecture.
& Qing, 2020), heritage protection (Wang et al., 2012), and Therefore, identifying and promoting the architectural
spatial design, scientific analysis using CFD to determine techniques that create favorable wind environments is
the technical merits of traditional architecture has been crucial for preserving local vernacular architecture. In
minimal. addition, this study holds further significance in the
This study aims to fill this gap by using CFD following aspects:
simulations to compare indoor airflow conditions across (i) Enriched research scope: This study conducts CFD
different architectural forms and their original states. simulations of the wind environment for traditional
The objective is to assess how different building shapes Tibetan vernacular architecture on the Tibet plateau,
affect indoor wind environments. The conclusions drawn a region that has received limited attention in
from this study are based on the correlation between international research. In addition, the research case
wind environments and building shapes, with the goal of exhibits complex structures and vast interior spaces not
identifying the excellent building techniques inherent in typically found in other buildings in the region. Most
vernacular architecture. existing research on climate adaptation in Tibetan
plateau architecture focuses on residential buildings.
2. Research case and characteristics However, these religious buildings, with their unique
volume, shape, and color, differ significantly from
2.1. Significance of the research
residential buildings and stand out prominently in
Although extensive research has been conducted on their settlements (He et al., 2015; Liu et al., 2018).
vernacular architecture (Gyaltsan, 2009), there remains Therefore, the current study expands the geographical
a lack of studies examining the correlation between scope and architectural typology of existing research,
environmental adaptability and the corresponding providing new research perspectives for vernacular
architectural factors. Much of the existing research architecture in different regions.
primarily focuses on addressing the shortcomings (ii) Green development of local vernacular architecture:
of vernacular architecture, with less emphasis on the The research case of the current study demonstrates
scientific aspects of its architectural forms. Further efforts excellent performance in terms of the wind
are needed to strengthen research in this area. Moreover, environment, and the study explores how architectural

Volume 6 Issue 4 (2024) 3 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.2396