A Research On The Developments Of Different Forms Of Townhouse

This paper starts with a summary of the emergence and evolution of Townhouses inassociation with the history of urban houses. The discussion of Townhouses is dividedinto two parts: traditional period and modern period. The former phase emphasizesthe emergence and spreading of European Townhouse as well as Terrace House inBritain from the Middle Age onwards in the following aspects: population, land,economy, laws, and regulations. The latter mainly focuses on generalizing differentforms of low-rise, high-density houses from 1950s onwards and polyforms oftownhouses since 1970s from the angle of the development of urban living space.Next in view of the Place Theory employed in modern house design, some strongtheoretical foundations are put forward in order to justify the existence of modernurban Townhouse. In the end the paper sums up some stylistic features concerning thetwo phases of Townhouses in relation to the plane, outer space, and interior space.The author also makes a horizontal comparison on the history and status quo of theTownhouse in China and that of foreign countries. Then the author suggests thatopportunities and challenges coexist in the development of Townhouse in our country.It is sincerely hoped that by writing this thesis, some contributions may be madetowards the research in related fields.