The comparative study on the climate adaptability based on indoor physical environment of traditional dwelling in Qinba mountainous areas, China

Abstract

The acceleration of urbanization and the growth of population are considered to be the reasons of increasing demands for construction, life quality and energy consumption. This leads to more research in climate adaptive strategies such as traditional design methods, construction techniques and building materials. Traditional dwelling has been successful in achieving harmony between dwelling and climatic environment, which is one of the most important conditions for sustainability. Firstly, this paper focused on analyzing the characteristics of traditional dwellings in Qinba mountainous areas to adapt to the climatic environment. Secondly, two typical dwellings constructed respectively with brick and earth materials were selected for monitoring and simulating of its indoor thermal, luminous and ventilation environment in summer and winter. In addition, the research summarized the advantages and disadvantages of the dwelling's physical environment in response to climatic characteristics. It revealed that the traditional earth dwelling is well adapted to the local climate during summer, although the indoor thermal comfort is not fully satisfactory during winter. Finally, we prompted effective climate adaptive strategies of traditional earth dwelling, such as natural ventilation, thermal insulation and thermal buffer space. We want to provide guidance and reference for the development of traditional dwellings in the mountainous areas.