Integration of Traditional Chinese Building Concepts with Contemporary Ecological Design Considerations: A Case for High-rise Wood Buildings

Abstract

The ecological design considerations are focusing on the built environment and the living process of the building. It considering the environment impact in designing building, and integrating ecological responsive design methods. While the traditional Chinese building shared the same design philosophy. Our ancestors are really concerning the connection between their living space with the broader environment, not only in the time they occupying the building, but also when they construct and demolish it. They use the word "harmony" to describe this relationship with the environment, and consider it as the high-quality pursuit of life. Wooden building has been a major building type in China for thousands of years, however, over 40 thousand traditional Chinese building has been demolished in the past 30 years, most of them are wooden buildings. Since the steel, concrete and other emerging materials has become the major materials for the modern building, wooden building seems to step down from the stage of history. Not until in recent years, wooden building come into people’s view again, it’s increasingly appeared in all over the world and take part in a major role in mordent architecture. Since the wood is a sustainable and renewable building material, and a good carbon sink, it is more environmental friendly than steel, concrete or some other building materials. The wooden building has a great potential to discover its ecological benefits and as a carrier of traditional Chinese culture. In seeking the development of wood as a building material, and the future of sustainable buildings, I integrate the theory with practice that human population is growing rapidly, the high-rise wooden building might be a best solution for this quest. I expect to explore the application of wood in high rise building’s envelope and structure, integrate the wood with other material to expand its performance, emotionally and reality connect the traditional Chinese culture and people’s memory of the land to the present day.