Research On The Climate Adaptability Of Doors And Windows On Cantonese Traditional Dwellings

The origin of construction was to provide a “shelter” for humanity from bad weather,heat and cold and to create a comfortable internal microclimate for them to live in.When isolated from the environment,people found it necessary to have a connection with the outside world,hence doors and windows were invented.Climate has a profound and long-term impact on traditional dwellings.Through long periods of constructions,traditional dwellings spontaneously formed a series of simple and effective adaptive methods to local climates.Doors and windows were not only the most direct part of climatic design but also the primary tools for these methods to be fully applied.Years after years,these methods were constantly adjusted and improved in practical trial and error and application until finalized.Cantonese accumulated lots of experience in traditional dwellings in how to adapt to their local climate through development.Cantonese traditional dwellings,as well as the doors and windows,showed excellent adaptability to the subtropical hot and humid climate.Today,sustainable development has become an essential requirement of Chinese scientific outlook on development,and energysaving and green buildings are the trend of future architecture.The design ingenuities discovered on doors and windows on these traditional dwellings may provide a reference for future sustainable development design.It is also a very meaningful topic.This paper mainly includes the following four parts:The first part introduced the research background and research trends of climate adaptability and doors and windows on traditional dwellings,as well as the research object,research contents,research methods,framework and summary of this paper.The second part mainly analyzed the relevant theories of doors and windows and climate adaptability of traditional dwellings,summarized the natural and climatic environments in Guangdong and discussed the effects of climate on doors and windows from the perspectives of solar radiation,wind,temperature,humidity and precipitation,explained the definitions of Cantonese traditional dwellings and their doors and windows and then analyzed the principles and requirements of climate adaptability of these doors and windows.The third part made example analysis of the doors and windows of four kinds of dwellings: courtyard house(three bays and two corridors),townhouse(bamboo tube)and combination houses(Xiguan mansion and Yu Yam Ancestral Garden),analyzed the practical application of climate adaptive strategies adapted by doors and windows of Cantonese traditional dwellings in comfortable thermal and humidity environment and lighting environment,explored the differences and connections between climate adaptabilities of doors and windows in different dwelling systems,studied their acclimation strategies and summed up their similarities and differences.The fourth part first outlined the idea of climate adaptability of traditional dwellings’ doors and windows against the background of Cantonese region.Then it discussed the climatic design strategies for doors and windows against Cantonese climate—ventilation,day lighting,sun shading,heat insulation,damp proofing and psychological comfort.At last,it analyzed the climate adaptability of doors and windows respectively from the angles of their layout and orientation,dimension,form,materials and structure.