Chinese Building Research Articles

Investigation, Evaluation, and Dynamic Monitoring of Traditional Chinese Village Buildings Based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Images and Deep Learning Methods

The investigation, evaluation, and dynamic monitoring of traditional village buildings are crucial for the protection and inheritance of their architectural styles. This study takes traditional villages in Shandong Province, China, as an example, employing UAV images and deep learning technology. Utilizing the YOLOv8 instance segmentation model, it introduces three key features reflecting the condition of traditional village buildings: roof status, roof form, and courtyard vegetation coverage. By extracting feature data on the condition of traditional village buildings and constructing a transition matrix for building condition changes, combined with corresponding manual judgment assistance, the study classifies, counts, and visually outputs the conditions and changes of buildings. This approach enables the investigation, evaluation, and dynamic monitoring of traditional village buildings. The results show that deep learning technology significantly enhances the efficiency and accuracy of traditional village architectural investigation and evaluations, and it performs well in dynamic monitoring of building condition changes. The “UAV image + deep learning” technical system, with its simplicity, accuracy, efficiency, and low cost, can provide further data and technical support for the planning, protection supervision, and development strategy formulation of traditional Chinese villages.

Assessing the Fire Properties of Various Surface Treatments on Timber Components in Ancient Chinese Buildings: A Case Study from the Xianqing Temple in Changzhi, Shanxi, China

Traditional and modern coatings play a key role in enhancing the fire resistance of ancient Chinese buildings. However, further comparative analysis is needed on the fire properties of the two coatings and their effects on different timber structural components. This study focuses on the main hall of the Shanxi Changzhi Xianqing Temple, a typical traditional column and beam construction built between the Song and Jin periods. Firstly, the combustion characteristics of various timber structural component samples with different surface treatments (traditional “Yi-ma-wu-hui” and modern flame retardants) were analyzed using cone calorimeter. Secondly, the fire development process of the Xianqing Temple building model was analyzed by a fire dynamics simulator (FDS), and the effect mechanism of different surface treatments on the burning process was further studied. The results show that the fire resistance of timber structural components is significantly improved after modern and traditional surface treatments. The traditional method is more effective in delaying the peak heat release rate and reducing the surface temperature during combustion, while the modern surface treatment significantly prolongs the ignition time of the timber structural components. The FDS results confirm that modern and traditional surface treatments significantly improve the fire resistance of the building, delaying the flashover time by about 300 s, with no collapse occurring within 800 s. In addition, the fire resistance of buildings after traditional surface treatment is better compared to traditional methods. The above research results can provide direct data support for the selection and optimization of fireproof coatings and treatment methods for ancient buildings.

Manufacturing Techniques of the Mortar Excavated from the Tieguai Tomb of the Northern Song Dynasty in Nanling, Southern China

ABSTRACT Glutinous rice mortar is a traditional lime-based building material which was first used in China during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 CE) according to ancient Chinese documents. The Tieguai Tomb, dating back to the late Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 CE) in Nanling, Southern China, was built by using mortar for its tomb chamber, making it the earliest mortar tomb found in China to date. In this study, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thin-section petrography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and starch grain analyses were conducted to comprehensively investigate the manufacturing techniques of the mortar from the Tieguai tomb. The results show that the mortar is a type of organic–inorganic mixed material made of glutinous rice pulp, lime, clay, and fine sand. This finding indicates that glutinous rice mortar had already been used as a building material as early as the late Northern Song Dynasty, which is the earliest use record for this material in China. This study also provides direct scientific evidence for exploring the origin of glutinous rice mortar and is of great importance for reconstructing the history of Chinese traditional building materials and architectural techniques.

Out-of-plane behavior of unreinforced masonry walls with horizontal slip layers in RC frames

In some cases, the infilled walls may be subjected to in-plane（IP） earthquake and out-of-plane(OOP) earthquake action due to the uncertainty of earthquake action and infills’ position. As a new type of unreinforced masonry(URM) walls with horizontal slip layers, it can effectively reduce the in-plane damage of infilled walls of reinforced concrete frames under an earthquake. However，the infill wall out-of-plane damage has a greater security threat than in-plane damage. In this study, a numerical study about the difference of OOP behavior of URM walls with/without horizontal sliding layers are analyzed, mainly including failure mode, bearing capacity, displacement capacity and stiffness. The spacing of horizontal slip layers, length of annectent reinforcing bars and the friction efficient between slip layer and masonry unit are chosen to investigate the differences of OOP mechanical behaviors. The results show that the horizontal sliding layers reduce the integrity of URM walls in reinforced concrete frames, causing the constraint of surrounding frame on infilled wall and the arching effect inside infilled wall become weaker, and OOP bearing capacity to drop. It is found that i) the annectent reinforcing bars is conducive to reducing the out-of-plane failure of the wall; 2)the smaller the slip layer spacing of the wall is, the more serious the damage of the infill wall under the out-of-plane load is, and the smaller the out-of-plane bearing capacity and the out-of-plane stiffness of the wall are; iii) the influence of the friction coefficient between slip layers and masonry unit on OOP mechanical behaviors is small. Finally, Chinese building design code is also selected to estimate the OOP bearing capacity of URM walls with horizontal sliding layers. The value of λcr is recommended to be greater than 1.0, and the value of λP is greater than 3.3. The spacing of the slip layer should be greater than 1 / 5 of the wall height, and the length of the annectent reinforcing bars should not be less than 1 / 5 of the infilled wall length.

Micro-mechanical properties of Song Dynasty tilestones based on nanoindentation tests and homogenization approach

Song Dynasty tilestones are one type of ancient Chinese building materials. Studying their mechanical properties is of great significance for the design and development of restoration materials. It is a challenge to sample and perform traditional tests (ϕ50mm × 100mm) for the tilestone cultural relics. In this work, a combination of nanoindentation techniques and the homogenization calculation method based on the Mori–Tanaka model were used to determine the mechanical parameters of Song Dynasty tilestones. The study process involved several steps: (1) Using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy to examine the surface morphology and mineral composition of the tilestones. (2) Determining the mechanical parameters (i.e., the elastic modulus, hardness and fracture toughness) through nanoindentation tests. (3) Upgrading mechanical parameters from micro to meso-scale using the Mori–Tanaka model and comparing these with uniaxial compression test results. The result shows that the red tilestones and green tilestone are mainly composed of quartz, feldspar and mica. The average elastic modulus of the red tilestones and the green tilestones are 29.47 GPa and 30.21 GPa, respectively. Compared with the parameter result obtained by upscaling, the deviation rates of the red tilestones and green tilestones are 10.3% and 9.6%, respectively, which proves that the test method is reliable. The nanoindentation test and homogenization approach in this work provide the robust theoretical and practical basis for evaluating the mechanical strength of Song Dynasty tilestones.

Maintenance Approaches Using 3D Scanning Point Cloud Visualization, and BIM+ Data Management: A Case Study of Dahei Mountain Buildings

This study investigates the utilization of 3D laser scanning, GPS, BIM and GIS technologies for safeguarding historical wooden structures. As a case study, it focuses on two historic Chinese wooden buildings, the Guanyin Pavilion and Tangwang Palace, renowned for their exceptional historical significance and intricate timber architecture. The Guanyin Pavilion was subjected to high-precision modeling and tilt monitoring, which found that certain columns had a maximum tilt angle of 0.7892°. Additionally, a general tilt tendency was seen across various structural elements. The measurements from the point cloud data exhibited an error range of ±10 mm. However, the relative errors in smaller components approached 2.5%, which necessitated regular verification through human measurements. Using GIS and BIM technology in Tangwang Palace facilitated the meticulous documentation and dynamic supervision of architectural components, encompassing historical development and present state. The maintenance records revealed persistent problems with the roof tiles and wooden beams, exposing structural vulnerabilities. During various maintenance intervals, it was observed that the roof tiles were frequently loose and separated, indicating potential flaws in the design or materials used. The application of these modern technologies enhances the effectiveness and precision of conservation efforts and provides a robust scientific foundation for the continuous monitoring and study of cultural heritage.

Characteristics Of Two Original Facades (Gable and Gunungan) Of Malabero Chinese Shop House In Bengkulu City

Building facades convey a period of culture at the time the building was built, as well as providing the identity of a cultural group or community. Building facades and anthropology became the impetus to find out the original characteristics of the two main facades in the row of Malabero Chinese shophouses on Jalan D. I. Panjaitan Bengkulu City. This research uses the field observation method to obtain data through photographs as well as information from the surrounding community, historians, and cultural experts in Bengkulu and Malabero Chinese Village, to get a link to the facade pattern with an emphasis on building facade elements (roof, walls and building openings) through variables of Chinese shophouse facade characteristics and shop house facade indicators. Malabero Bengkulu's Chinese shophouses are grouped within the Chinese settlement (Chinese Kamp) in front of Fort Marlborough, initially having two characteristics of Chinese shophouse building styles based on their facades. The alteration of the south side of the Malabero Chinese shophouses eliminated many of the original characteristics of the original facade of the Malabero Bengkulu Chinese shophouses (gable roof). As a result, many new characteristics of the shophouse facade elements have been replaced. The shape of the roof (gunungan), the removal of the balcony, and the shape of the building openings became the characteristics of the facade face of the south side Malabero Chinese shop house (gunungan roof). This change in the facade is in anticipation of the load being responsive to earthquakes.

Future Prospects of the Assembly Model for MEP Systems in Chinese Buildings: A Whole Life Cycle Perspective

The assembly building M&E (Monitoring and Evaluation) system is a vital part of the transformation of China’s construction industry, featuring intelligent control, high efficiency, and high safety. The article provides a comprehensive review of research related to assembly M&E systems from the perspective of the whole life cycle of assembly, containing 125 journal articles from 1993 to 2024. The article analyzes some policies with updated iterations in the United States, Japan, Germany, Denmark, France, and the European Union. The literature review and semi-structured interviews with experts identified significant constraints limiting the various stages of the entire life cycle of assembled MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) systems. The absence of uniform design standards, personnel collaboration, prefabricated component testing, transportation, information utilization, intelligent testing, and recycling of disassemblability that can occur in the entire life cycle of assembled MEP systems are summarized. Finally, the article suggests that assembly M&E systems can be shared and marketed to improve the economic viability of assembly M&E systems and their wide application in the areas of technology, platform, and demand.

Optimal HVAC setpoints for energy efficiency and thermal comfort in Chinese residential buildings

The easiest way to improve energy efficiency and thermal comfort in existing buildings is to adjust setpoints. However, although Chinese standards regulated the heating and cooling setpoints for different climate zones in China, they lacked consideration for occupants’ thermal comfort and ignored the ventilation setpoints. Therefore, this study aimed to identify optimal heating, cooling, and ventilation setpoints at the design stage to enhance building energy performance and indoor thermal comfort in Chinese residential buildings. This study used DesignBuilder to simulate the energy usage and thermal comfort with different setpoints and judged which combination was the best. To conduct this study across the whole of China, the typical cities in different climate zones were selected by using machine learning. Results indicated that adjusting setpoints in Harbin, Beijing, and Shanghai could increase comfortable days by 43.95 %, 54.23 %, and 23.36 % respectively, with minimal impact on energy usage. In Guangzhou, energy usage could be reduced by 7.56 % with a 5.91 % decrease in comfortable days, while Kunming could see an 11.11 % increase in comfortable days with a 5.92 % rise in energy consumption. Additionally, sensitivity analysis revealed that activity template variation was most critical for energy usage in Harbin, Beijing and equipment power density variation was most important for thermal comfort in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Kunming. Furthermore, proposed setpoint combinations demonstrated resilience to future weather conditions in most typical cities, except for Guangzhou. These findings provide valuable insights for designers and researchers aiming to retrofit residential buildings, emphasizing the importance of considering both energy efficiency and occupant comfort. This study introduces innovative approaches like comprehensive setpoint optimization and machine learning for typical city selection, providing practical solutions to improve energy efficiency and thermal comfort in residential buildings.

Thermal performance of solar ground source heat pump system for rural buildings in Chinese cold zone

In response to China's national policy of “achieving carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060″, and to promote the heating system of rural buildings in China's severe cold zone. Two heating schemes of the GSHP (Ground Source Heat Pump) system and the SGSHP (Solar Ground Source Heat Pump) system are designed and simulated for a single rural residential building in Harbin city. The results present that the outlet temperature of buried pipe in SGSHP system is 13.86 % higher than that in GSHP system, and coefficient of performance (COP) correspondingly increases 9.2 %. There is a better comprehensive performance for the SGSHP system in cold climates. The standard coal consumption of SGSHP system is about 72.35 % less than that of biomass boiler system, showing a greater energy efficiency. Compared to the local conventional biomass boiler system, the dynamic cost payback period of the SGSHP system amounts to 11 years, while yielding a net present value (NPV) of 10,800 CNY throughout the project's life cycle. The emissions of CO2, SO2, and dust are reduced by 2617.13 kg, 19.38 kg, and 14.535 kg respectively. The results indicate a great overall performance of the SGSHP system for residential heating in the cold climate zone. This research offers an energy efficient and eco-friendly alternative for the space heating of Chinese rural buildings in cold climates.

MP-DGCNN for the semantic segmentation of Chinese ancient building point clouds

Point cloud semantic segmentation is a key step in the scan-to-HBIM process. In order to reduce the information in the process of DGCNN, this paper proposes a Mix Pooling Dynamic Graph Convolutional Neural Network (MP-DGCNN) for the segmentation of ancient architecture point clouds. The proposed MP-DGCNN differs from DGCNN mainly in two aspects: (1) to more comprehensively characterize the local topological structure of points, the edge features are redefined, and distance and neighboring points are added to the original edge features; (2) based on a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), an internal feature adjustment mechanism is established, and a learnable mix pooling operator is designed by fusing adaptive pooling, max pooling, average pooling, and aggregation pooling, to learn local graph features from the point cloud topology. To verify the proposed algorithm, experiments are conducted on the Qutan Temple point cloud dataset, and the results show that compared with PointNet, PointNet++, DGCNN, GACNet and LDGCNN, the MP-DGCNN segmentation network achieves the highest OA, mIOU and mAcc, reaching 90.19%,65.34% and 79.41%, respectively.

The Effects of Vertical Load and Gaps on Lateral Resistance of Fork-Column Dougong in Traditional MultiStory Wooden Structures

ABSTRACT This article investigates the mechanical performances of the Fork-Column Dougong (FCDG), also named as Cha-Zhu-Zao Dougong, which is a common type of connection between the upper and lower columns in a traditional multistory Chinese wooden building. Numerical results of a typical FCDG under different vertical loads illustrate that the vertical load can strengthen the lateral stiffness of FCDG to some extent. Because existing FCDGs have different lengths of column limbs in their construction, the effect of this variation on the lateral behavior of the FCDG is also studied with reference to the different contact states between different components of the FCDG. The FCDG without gaps between its components gives generally better lateral behavior according to the lateral force-displacement curve. Because the column is the main member of the structure to carry the structural load transferred through by contact between the column limbs and the supporting Fangs. The length of column limbs would directly affect the effective contact area at the bottom and roots of column limbs, and the variation of the contact area would change the bearing capacity and load path of the FCDG. Results from this study may serve as reference to the restoration and protection of traditional Chinese wooden structures.

Performance of traditional Chinese courtyard buildings from a sustainability perspective and implications for contemporary green building design

Climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity decline have prompted the construction industry to seek more sustainable solutions. While high-tech and often high-cost technologies and equipment support progress toward more sustainable built form, the sustainability performance of historical and vernacular buildings should also be reviewed. These buildings may offer advantages that are “hidden in plain sight.” This research focuses on the use of building information modeling technology to model and simulate a historical Chinese courtyard building. The outcomes of the simulation were evaluated using the green building council of Australia’s green star rating criteria to provide quantitative results. At the same time, relevant literature was explored to obtain a qualitative perspective. The final results indicate that courtyard buildings can serve as useful references for contemporary building design and retrofitting. The choice of building materials offers designers effective ideas for designing sustainable buildings. Courtyards can enhance ventilation, cooling, humidity control, light exposure, and connectivity to outdoor areas while ensuring privacy. In developing countries, this approach may be a viable way to promote sustainable development and energy conservation.

Optimizing the Performance of Window Frames: A Comprehensive Review of Materials in China

As the construction industry places increasing emphasis on environmental conservation and sustainability, this trend has spurred profound research into the optimization of door and window performance. One of the critical components of windows is their frames. Over the past several decades, the design of window frames has undergone significant innovations, ranging from introducing new materials to novel design concepts. The performance of window frames is typically influenced by materials, structural design, and the surrounding environment. Consequently, this paper analyzes the common window frame materials in Chinese civil buildings through investigation. It explores commonly used types of window frames available in the market, focusing on their materials and structural designs. It analyzes issues observed during their usage, integrates findings from existing research, and discusses the performance of window frame materials. Additionally, it explores improvement strategies to meet the evolving demands of contemporary and future architectural doors and windows, providing valuable reference points for designers. Finally, approaching the discussion from a sustainable development perspective, the paper evaluates the environmental impact of wood, aluminum alloy, polymer, and composite window frame materials. It emphasizes that wood- and aluminum-clad wood windows represent sustainable options with versatile applications in diverse scenarios.

Research on intelligent monitoring technology for roof damage of traditional Chinese residential buildings based on improved YOLOv8: taking ancient villages in southern Fujian as an example

In the process of preserving historical buildings in southern Fujian, China, it is crucial to provide timely and accurate statistical data to classify the damage of traditional buildings. In this study, a method based on the improved YOLOv8 neural network is proposed to select aerial photographs of six villages in Xiamen and Quanzhou cities in Fujian Province as the dataset, which contains a total of 3124 photographs. Based on the high-resolution orthophotographs obtained from UAV tilt photography, the YOLOv8 model was used to make predictions. The main task in the first stage is to select the buildings with historical value in the area, and the model's mAP (Mean Accuracy Rate) can reach 97.2% in the first stage task. The second stage uses the YOLOv8 model to segment the images selected in the first stage, detecting possible defects on the roofs, including collapses, missing tiles, unsuitable architectural additions, and vegetation encroachment. In the second stage of the segmentation task, the mAP reaches 89.4%, which is a 1.5% improvement in mAP50 (mean accuracy) compared to the original YOLOv8 model, and the number of parameters and GFLOPs are reduced by 22% and 15%, respectively. This method can effectively improve the disease detection efficiency of historical built heritage in southern Fujian under complex terrain and ground conditions.

Research on the effect of exercise behavior on thermal comfort and heating degree days in sports buildings

The exercise behavior has a significant impact on thermal comfort and energy consumption in heating buildings. It is crucial to strike a balance between building energy efficiency and indoor thermal comfort. In this study, we assessed thermal comfort during exercise under indoor conditions in winter by testing the exercise routine of 60 subjects and calculating the number of heating degree days and optimizing the heating cycle. The results showed that exercise behavior significantly affects thermal comfort, with the thermal sensory zone corresponding to thermal comfort shifting and expanding towards the neutral and cooler side. The actual thermal comfort range of the subjects expanded (14.5–17.1 °C) compared to the thermal comfort criterion, suggesting that exercise behavior enhanced the subjects' adaptive capacity. Specifically, at temperatures below thermal neutral (15.8 °C), subjects exhibited a high level of environmental satisfaction, reaching at least 80 %. Additionally, subjects demonstrated thermal 'superconductivity,' with preferred and comfort temperatures approximately 0.8 °C and 0.5 °C lower than the thermal neutral temperature, respectively, indicating a preference for neutral or slightly cooler environments in winter. Furthermore, the base temperature (15.7 °C) was 2.3 °C lower, indicating that heating degree days 18 significantly overestimated heating demand by a factor of at least 1.4. The upper and lower indoor heating set point temperatures (15–17 °C) are about 1–7 °C and 1–3 °C lower than the Chinese building energy efficiency standards, respectively, demonstrating superior energy efficiency in the context of exercise behavior.

Building Materials Classification Model Based on Text Data Enhancement and Semantic Feature Extraction

In order to accurately extract and match carbon emission factors from the Chinese textual building materials list and construct a precise carbon emission factor database, it is crucial to accurately classify the textual building materials. In this study, a novel classification model based on text data enhancement and semantic feature extraction is proposed and applied for building materials classification. Firstly, the explanatory information on the building materials is collected and normalized to construct the original dataset. Then, the Latent Dirichlet Allocation and statistical-language-model-based hybrid ensemble data enhancement methods are explained in detail, and the semantic features closely related to the carbon emission factor are extracted by constructed composite convolutional networks and the transformed word vectors. Finally, the ensemble classification model is designed, constructed, and applied to match the carbon emission factor from the textual building materials. The experimental results show that the proposed model improves the F1Macro score by 4–12% compared to traditional machine learning and deep learning models.

Knowledge-Driven and Diffusion Model-Based Methods for Generating Historical Building Facades: A Case Study of Traditional Minnan Residences in China

The preservation of historical traditional architectural ensembles faces multifaceted challenges, and the need for facade renovation and updates has become increasingly prominent. In conventional architectural updating and renovation processes, assessing design schemes and the redesigning component are often time-consuming and labor-intensive. The knowledge-driven method utilizes a wide range of knowledge resources, such as historical documents, architectural drawings, and photographs, commonly used to guide and optimize the conservation, restoration, and management of architectural heritage. Recently, the emergence of artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC) technologies has provided new solutions for creating architectural facades, introducing a new research paradigm to the renovation plans for historic districts with their variety of options and high efficiency. In this study, we propose a workflow combining Grasshopper with Stable Diffusion: starting with Grasshopper to generate concise line drawings, then using the ControlNet and low-rank adaptation (LoRA) models to produce images of traditional Minnan architectural facades, allowing designers to quickly preview and modify the facade designs during the renovation of traditional architectural clusters. Our research results demonstrate Stable Diffusion’s precise understanding and execution ability concerning architectural facade elements, capable of generating regional traditional architectural facades that meet architects’ requirements for style, size, and form based on existing images and prompt descriptions, revealing the immense potential for application in the renovation of traditional architectural groups and historic districts. It should be noted that the correlation between specific architectural images and proprietary term prompts still requires further addition due to the limitations of the database. Although the model generally performs well when trained on traditional Chinese ancient buildings, the accuracy and clarity of more complex decorative parts still need enhancement, necessitating further exploration of solutions for handling facade details in the future.

Seismic Risk Model for the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region, China: Considering Epistemic Uncertainty from the Seismic Hazard Models

This study presents a probabilistic seismic risk model for the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region in China. The model comprises a township-level residential building exposure model, a vulnerability model derived from the Chinese building taxonomy, and a regional probabilistic seismic hazard model. The three components are integrated by a stochastic event-based method of the OpenQuake engine to assess the regional seismic risk in terms of average annual loss and exceedance probability curve at the city, province, and regional levels. The novelty and uniqueness of this study are that a probabilistic seismic risk model for the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region in China is developed by considering the impact of site conditions and epistemic uncertainty from the seismic hazard model.

BIBLIOMETRIC REVIEW OF RESEARCH ON GREEN BUILDING ASSESSMENT METHOD BY CITESPACE AND HISTCITE

Numerous qualitative review studies have been conducted to enhance the understanding of current research status of green buildings (GBs). Green building assessment methods (GBAMs) are crucial to the development of GBs and relevant research works has received wide attention. However, there are very few reviews to quantitively explore these studies. Therefore, this paper aims to systematically review literatures on GBAMs, and visually analyzes them through CiteSpace and HistCite. The article identified the most influential journals, contributors, representative institutions and regions. The knowledge bases of this area focus on “triple bottom line”, “indicator”, “building design”, “life cycle costing”, “life cycle sustainability assessment”, “tropical climate”, “building information modelling” and “Chinese green building label”. Through citation analysis, “updating existing GBAMs by scheme comparison”, “updating existing GBAMs by GB case analysis”, “establishment of new GBAMs” and “incorporation of BIM in GBAMs” were found as the main research themes. “Design”, “LCA”, “model”, “energy”, “management”, “residential buildings” and “office buildings” are high-frequency keywords. Future research directions were finally proposed as “more investigation on the other types of GBs”, “incorporation of cost-related criteria”, “enhancing health-related indicators” and“integrating with BIM technology”. The results could provide a useful reference to industry practitioners and scholars interested in GBAMs.