Page 149 - JCAU-7-1

Journal of Chinese

Architecture and Urbanism

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Disappearance of vernacular character in

rural residences: An assessment of residents’
requirements for rural residential façades and

environments in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China

Sucheng Yao* and Kanjanee Budthimedhee
Laboratory of Urban Sense, School of Architecture and Design, King Mongkut’s University of
Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

This study, framed within the context of the Harmonious and Beautiful Countryside
policy, focuses on optimizing the living environment of rural housing by addressing
the loss of diverse heritage in rural architecture and landscapes. Through fieldwork
and importance-performance analysis methods, the research investigates the
*Corresponding author: façades and environments of rural houses in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. By incorporating
Sucheng Yao the “vernacular” evaluation factors identified in previous studies, this study adopts a
(sucheng.yao1@kmutt.ac.th)
user-centered perspective to provide practical insights into rural cultural landscapes,
Citation: Yao, S. & thereby augmenting existing literature. The study reconstructs elements of rural
Budthimedhee, K. (2025).
Disappearance of vernacular residences and their environments to enhance residents’ comprehension and yield
character in rural residences: more objective evaluation outcomes. Analysis reveals that both native and non-
An assessment of residents’ native residents share similar views on the importance and performance of various
requirements for rural residential
façades and environments in factors. Environmental quality and building functionality emerge as top priorities for
Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. Journal of residents, while Suzhou’s efforts to preserve traditional architectural esthetics are
Chinese Architecture and Urbanism, notably effective. However, field observations also highlight urbanization’s impact
7(1): 5719.
https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.5719 on rural housing, such as the use of non-native materials that compromise traditional
rural architectural styles. To tackle these challenges, this study proposes the following
Received: October 29, 2024 strategies for rural regeneration: (i) permit integration of new materials, technologies,
Revised: November 23, 2024 and spatial configurations with traditional rural architecture; (ii) incorporate historical
Accepted: December 2, 2024 context, cultural continuity, traditional materials, and lifestyle needs into building
renovations; and (iii) establish a dynamic regulatory mechanism for rural residential
Published online: January 10, architecture to aid residents in optimizing their buildings and surroundings. These
2025
strategies aim to mitigate the effects of excessive urbanization and provide a user-
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). centered approach for future research on rural cultural landscapes.
This is an open-access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution-
Non-Commercial 4.0 International Keywords: Rural regeneration; Importance-performance analysis; Rural living
(CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits all environment; Needs assessment
non-commercial use, distribution,
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited.
1. Introduction
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with In the pursuit of harmonious development between humans and nature, rural
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional areas have evolved into integrated spaces that combine natural and residential
affiliations. environments. This integration represents a comprehensive system encompassing

Volume 7 Issue 1 (2025) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.5719