Dwelling Case Study

1420 Words3 Pages

1. Introduction
Dwelling is defined as a house, flat or other places for residence. That is to say, although some dwellings embody unique culture, they are primarily constructed to satisfy people’s demands for comfortable living conditions. The adjustability of a dwelling is positively related to whether they can provide people with a comfortable indoor environment counting on their own structure and materials.
In ancient China, different kinds of dwellings are built according to the local environment. Nevertheless, in recent years, China has witnessed the construction of thousands of similar dwellings with low adjustability to nature, depending on heating or cooling system rather than proper structures. Despite the fact that they can be extraordinary …show more content…

Contrary to the situation in Northeast China, the average temperature in South of the Five Ridges ranges between 28-29℃ during the hottest month (Guohua, 2005), higher than the Effective Temperature. Moreover, South of the Five Ridges is a typical humid place with hot summer and warm winter. As a consequence, dwellings there are built with an extraordinary ability in reducing heat and draining off water.
Solar radiation is the main source of heat in South of the Five Ridges. Consequently, constructing sunshades is an effective way to avoid excessive heat. Firstly, from the aspect of the roof, dwellings in South of the Five Ridges are always with long and rake eaves, casting a shadow on the exterior walls (Guohua, 2005), thus reducing the temperature of external surfaces. Additionally, roofs are covered with at least one layer of tiles, which protects themselves from sunshine (Guohua, 2005). Secondly, since solar radiation is terribly strong in the west, doors and windows seldom face towards this direction (Guohua, 2005). Recessed portals or corner gates are constructed to block sunlight from shining directly into the room as well (Guohua, 2005). Last but not least, as exterior walls occupy the largest outside surfaces, shaded effects of them almost determine that of the whole dwelling. However, it is a complete waste of materials to cover all these walls, so the structure called connecting rooms and houses comes into existence (Guohua, …show more content…

With the booming of the market economy, comes the real estate industry and consumerism. Dwellings are therefore viewed as more of a kind of merchandise than shelters for people. Since merchandise is produced for profits according to people’s requirements, many dwellings with newfangled and exaggerated structures as well as vivid colours are constructed to gratify people’s vanity and more importantly to make profits (Xingling, Yu, & Ping, 2004). However, if architects blindly follow people’s vain consumption psychology, which can be induced by advertisements, they will finally forget their responsibility and create countless similar dwellings (Xingling et al., 2004). It is impossible to find one dwelling structure fitting all kinds of natural environment. That is to say, once dwellings have no difference to one another, they may lose their adjustability to

Open Document