Sustainable Design of Dwellings in Rural Southwest China – Improving Environmental Conditions and Performance

Description

The University of Huddersfield has been collaborating with universities and academic colleagues in China for 10 years. The focus of their research has been on redevelopment of rural villages – particularly villages in Southwest China. In 2017 money was provided from UK Government sources to set up a research network (The Sustainable and Creative Villages Research Network – SW China). A number of symposia and workshops have been held and this latest event is being held in Nanning in conjunction with the ASEAN Conference, and supported by Guangxi Arts Institute.

The research carried out has shown that there is a gap in knowledge and understanding and opportunities to improve communication between stakeholders (architecture and planning professionals; university academics; village groups; and other organisations). It was found that there was an opportunity to develop technical analyses which could produce guidelines on rural village dwelling design and construction.

Climate data for 46 locations in SW China were used to assess a range of simple (passive) design techniques for use in those locations. Next a more detailed computer analysis of energy and environmental features was used to analyse 15 locations in more detail. The research found it was important to know the specific climate where the construction would take place in order to provide the correct recommendations. Information on the general recommendations is provided and examples of detailed analysis for 3 locations in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Period	15 Nov 2019
Held at	Guangxi Arts University, China
Degree of Recognition	International