IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i11p6492-d570363.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Dwelling Is a Key Idea in Traditional Residential Architecture’s Sustainability: A Case Study at Yangwan Village in Suzhou, China

Author

Listed:
  • Fengyi Ji

    (College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
    School of Geography, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Shangyi Zhou

    (School of Geography, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

Abstract

Previous studies have failed to grasp the essence of traditional building habits responding to natural challenges. Therefore, contradictions arise between unified regulations protecting traditional residential architecture proposed by experts and the diverse construction transformation performed by locals. To resolve these contradictions, fieldwork was conducted in Yangwan, a famous village in South China. The traditional residential architectural characteristics in three periods were obtained and compared. Peirce’s interpretation of the three natures of habit and Heidegger’s dwelling help determine the essence of building habits. The logic in traditional residential architecture is analysed through the “four-layer integrated into one” framework (including the natural environment, livelihood form, institution and ideology), yielding the following results. (1) The characteristics of the residential architectural form change with local livelihood form, institution and ideology. Nevertheless, the process by which local residents think, judge and respond to natural challenges remains unchanged (Thirdness of Habit), forming the core of dwelling . (2) The characteristics of the architectural form are determined by the causal chain of “four-layer integrated into one”. Stable causal chains are formed by the Thirdness of Habit, which represents people’s initiative in addressing natural challenges. Therefore, the protection of traditional residential architecture should centre on dwelling and people’s agency in response to the natural environment rather than on maintaining a unified physical form.

Suggested Citation

  • Fengyi Ji & Shangyi Zhou, 2021. "Dwelling Is a Key Idea in Traditional Residential Architecture’s Sustainability: A Case Study at Yangwan Village in Suzhou, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:11:p:6492-:d:570363
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/11/6492/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/11/6492/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qi Liu & Zaiyi Liao & Yongfa Wu & Dagmawi Mulugeta Degefu & Yiwei Zhang, 2019. "Cultural Sustainability and Vitality of Chinese Vernacular Architecture: A Pedigree for the Spatial Art of Traditional Villages in Jiangnan Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-27, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhou Li & Jiahui Diao & Shaoming Lu & Cong Tao & Jonathan Krauth, 2022. "Exploring a Sustainable Approach to Vernacular Dwelling Spaces with a Multiple Evidence Base Method: A Case Study of the Bai People’s Courtyard Houses in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-26, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Feiran Chen & Mengran Mai & Xinyi Huang & Yinghan Li, 2024. "Enhancing the Sustainability of AI Technology in Architectural Design: Improving the Matching Accuracy of Chinese-Style Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-26, September.
    2. Pingyi Han & Shenjian Hu & Rui Xu, 2024. "New Life in the Countryside: Conservation and Sustainability of Vernacular Architectural Facade Characteristics in the Jiangnan Region, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-21, April.
    3. Jiayi Shi & Tao Zhang & Hiroatsu Fukuda & Qun Zhang & Lujian Bai, 2022. "Socio-Environmental Responsive Strategy and Sustainable Development of Traditional Tianshui Dwellings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-27, July.
    4. Xinqu Liu & Yaowu Li & Yongfa Wu & Chaoran Li, 2022. "The Spatial Pedigree in Traditional Villages under the Perspective of Urban Regeneration—Taking 728 Villages in Jiangnan Region, China as Cases," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-36, September.
    5. Bin Shi & Hongtao Liu & Lu Huang & Yang Zhang & Zhangyong Xiang, 2023. "Increasing Vulnerability of Village Heritage: Evidence from 123 Villages in Aba Prefecture, Sichuan, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-29, November.
    6. Xiaohu Liu & Lei Yuan & Gangyi Tan, 2023. "Identification and Hierarchy of Traditional Village Characteristics Based on Concentrated Contiguous Development—Taking 206 Traditional Villages in Hubei Province as an Example," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-19, February.
    7. Mohd Amirul Hussain & Mohd Yazid Mohd Yunos & Nor Atiah Ismail & Nor Fazamimah Mohd Ariffin & Sumarni Ismail, 2020. "A Review of the Elements of Nature and the Malay Cultural Landscape through Malay Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-13, March.
    8. Jinliu Chen & Haoqi Wang & Zhuo Yang & Pengcheng Li & Geng Ma & Xiaoxin Zhao, 2023. "Comparative Spatial Vitality Evaluation of Traditional Settlements Based on SUF: Taking Anren Ancient Town’s Urban Design as an Example," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-20, May.
    9. Yuan Zheng & Yuan Sun & Zhu Wang & Feng Liang, 2022. "Developing Green–Building Design Strategies in the Yangtze River Delta, China through a Coupling Relationship between Geomorphology and Climate," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-22, December.
    10. Nan Yang & Jinliu Chen & Liang Ban & Pengcheng Li & Haoqi Wang, 2024. "Pre-Planning and Post-Evaluation Approaches to Sustainable Vernacular Architectural Practice: A Research-by-Design Study to Building Renovation in Shangri-La’s Shanpian House, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-22, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:11:p:6492-:d:570363. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.