Research On The Relationship Between Climatic Factors And Representative Vernacular Settlements In Xijiang River Basin Of Guangxi

The study is the fundamental research of the sub-project "Demonstration and Technology System for Green Building Engineering of Western Typical Region" of the "13th Five-Year Plan" National Key R&D Program called "Multiculturalism-based Western Regional Green Building Mode and Technology System"(No.2017YFC0702405);the scope of the study is Xijiang River Basin of Guangxi(Province)where the demonstration project-Nanning Green City Art Gallery is located.With the representative vernacular settlements in the area listed in Chinese Traditional Settlements List as the basic study objects(129 objects),and typical vernacular settlements in climatic factor observation area\control plot as the key study objects(10 objects),the study is aimed to identify and extract ecological construction system and ecological culture of the representative rural settlements in the basin area by multi-disciplinary approaches such as literature collection,field survey,etc.from the perspective of anthropology,sociology,architecture,etc.in order to provide a basis for design and construction of the demonstration project and establishment of modern regional ecological green technology system(ecological purpose).First of all,the study introduces the general situations of natural and cultural environment in Xijiang River Basin of Guangxi Province and basic types of vernacular settlements/dwellings with reference to historical literature.It's known that Xijiang River Basin of Guangxi Province in hygrothermal environment has long-standing history of human settlement as one of the representative areas of Chinese valley civilization and Lingnan settlement culture.Meantime,as the gathering place for exchange between nationalities,the area has abundant building cultures.Secondly,the environmental factors with great impact on distribution of rural settlements in the macro areas are analyzed through superposition of the distribution diagram for representative rural settlements and that for environmental factors,and the corresponding settlement zoning is designed.Above all,it's known from superposition of basic study objects(in total of 129 representative settlements)and distribution diagram for geological,climate,and hazardous factors that,in general,representative settlements are rarely distributed in the area with extreme geological and climate conditions,indicating conventional universality from the point of view of natural environment adaptability.Then,given that macroscopic distribution of representative settlements is correlated to distribution of sunlight,wind,and precipitation,the Settlement Type Zoning Influenced by Major Climate Factors is drawn,with the classification of dominant climate factor influence zone,composite climate factor influence zone,and "blank space".Each influence zone has respective climate factor high value zone.The high value zone of each climate factor is taken as the observation zone,while the area with relatively weak impact by the climate factor in the surrounding area is the control plot.Through observation of mountainous\plain vernacular settlements\dwellings in each observation area and control plot,common features of regional settlements\dwellings are analyzed to select the typical rural settlements(key study objects).Through field research and literature collection,the related information regarding typical vernacular settlements is obtained.Based on comparative analysis for typical vernacular settlements under similar geological conditions in the observation area and respective control plot,different ecological construction systems(in respect to settlement location selection layout,dwelling construction material)and cultures(system,habit,and taboo)are developed for vernacular settlements in view of specific geological(mountainous area,plain area)and climate conditions(wind,sunlight,and rain),where,a total of 6 types of ecological construction systems for mountainous and plain settlements in response to wind,sunlight,and rain conditions are organized:1)Response to wind: The settlement pattern is comb-type,dwellings in mountainous area are three-room monomer(gabbled roof),and dwellings in plain area are courtyard type(gabbled roof).Both types of dwellings have the wind-proof and natural ventilation functions;2)Response to precipitation: The settlement pattern in mountainous area is scattered type,and dwellings are three-room monomer(suspension roof\ mud brick wall),provided with waterproof and damp-proof functions;settlement pattern in plain area is tree branch type,and dwellings are courtyard type(gabbled roof\blue brick wall\porch with eave),provided with waterproof functions;3)Response to sunlight: The settlement pattern is cluster type.Dwellings in mountainous area are longitudinal rectangle "one-bright & two-dark in the front and living room at the back" stilt style(suspension roof\porch with eave),provided with the functions of shading,heat insulation and heat dissipation.Dwellings in plain area are longitudinal rectangle "one-bright & two-dark in the front and living room at the back"(suspension roof\mud brick wall\porch with eave),provided with the functions of shading and heat insulation;It's known from each ecological construction system that:1)Construction system mainly includes local system and immigration system.Local system is primarily Baiyue nationality,mostly distributed in western and northern area of Xijiang River Basin of Guangxi;the immigrants are mainly Han people,mostly distributed in the plain area in central and eastern area of the basin area.Different types of settlements embody high adaptability in view of natural environment.2)Construction system is the complete system consisting of the settlement selection layout and dwelling construction materials.It's impossible to fully respond to the environment by only unilaterally selecting part of the system for observation.In addition,there is deficiency in traditional ecological construction system.3)The ecological construction system is provided with both defense and utilization characteristics to respond to natural factors4)There emerge other challenges while the ecological construction system is effectively responding to the specific climate factors.According to the specific settlement ecological construction system and ecological culture created by the settlements in different geological areas in response to various climate factors,it's known that the ecological culture created by residents in the process of settlement and dwelling construction,usage,and maintenance is not just the further response to climate factors,such as Lord of Wind Temple built in the strong wind area,and sacrificing the Lord of Water in the area of intensive precipitation,but also the perfection and support for the ecological construction system.For example,the overall space layout of the settlement has public characteristics,which is hard to maintain during evolvement of the settlement,but the residents maintain it by setting up the system and taboo or behavior custom.Furthermore,the residents also protect the trees in the settlements by taboo rules for their windproof and shading functions.For another example,residents in the area of strong wind and intensive precipitation will repair the roof regularly and replace roof tiles to keep the roof waterproof and windproof.In conclusion,the traditional vernacular settlements in Xijiang River Basin of Guangxi generate multiple unique intelligent construction concepts,strategies,measures and ecological culture in the process of coping with natural environments.In the further study and protection of vernacular settlements,first of all,the intelligent adaptability of vernacular settlements to natural environment cannot be ignored.Second of all,it's necessary to study the characteristics of each aspect of the settlement in an integral,comprehensive,dialectical,and objective way;otherwise,itmight be detrimental to the settlement.For example,paddy cultivation being changed to dry farming(sugar)in Baixue Village in recent years resulted in damage to the settlement structure and change of the living environment;in the protection of Huangyao Town,the original intention of the superior's appropriation is to protect the settlements,but the residents ended up stopping repairing their roofs(for maintenance)any more,resluting in increasing dwelling damage on the contrary.