The decline of regionally specific vernacular architecture in the provinces of China, and its replacement with generic forms of construction in concrete, brick and tile is now recognised as a cultural loss to the country. This process is also creating great environmental concern as the new forms of building are energy thirsty and have a far higher environmental impact than the traditional house forms.
In response to this, a team led by John Lin from the University of Hong Kong has been looking at ways that vernacular archetypes might be evolved to meet the requirements of modern living, yet maintain the low environmental impact, and closeness to nature that has characterized the vernacular houses of China for thousands of years. Read more
